ROM Librarian
ROM Librarian is a free desktop application for organizing and maintaining retro gaming ROM collections on Windows and Linux.
What ROM Librarian is
ROM Librarian is a free desktop application for organizing and maintaining retro gaming ROM collections on Windows and Linux. Its regex-based batch renaming includes live previews, collision handling, and undo. A DAT rename tool matches ROMs against No-Intro or MAME files using CRC32, MD5, and SHA1 hashes. It can compress ROMs to ZIP or 7z and extract those archive formats, as well as convert CUE/BIN and ISO disc images to CHD. Windows bundles chdman for conversion; Linux users need chdman in PATH. Renaming can also update EmulationStation or RetroPie gamelist.xml metadata, with undo available to restore it. The application detects multi-disc games and creates M3U playlists. Duplicate detection uses SHA1 or MD5 and can account for region, file size, and date when choosing a copy to keep. One caveat: archives are compared as files rather than by the ROM contents inside, so the project recommends extracting them first for accurate duplicate checks. A Linux CLI supports renaming, compression, extraction, and DAT-based renaming, including a --yes option for scripts. The project is under the MIT License.
Good
- Batch renaming includes previews, collision handling, and undo
- Matches ROMs against No-Intro or MAME DAT files
- Converts CUE/BIN and ISO images to CHD
- Creates M3U playlists for multi-disc games
Watch out
- Archives are compared as files, not by ROM contents
- Linux disc conversion requires chdman in PATH
Who it suits
ROM Librarian suits people maintaining retro gaming collections who need batch renaming, archive handling, DAT matching, or duplicate checks. Linux users who want disc conversion should have chdman in PATH.
Verdict
ROM Librarian combines collection organization, archive tools, conversion, and duplicate detection in a free desktop application. Extract archives before duplicate checks if you need comparisons of the ROM contents inside.
Plans and prices
From ROM Librarian's own pricing page, checked 9 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| ROM Librarian | Free | No paid tiers or usage limits stated on the opened project pages |
The facts
Each one read from ROM Librarian's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Archive tools
- It can batch compress ROMs to ZIP or 7z and extract ZIP and 7z archives.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Batch renaming
- It offers regex-based batch renaming with live previews, collision handling, and undo support.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Comparison limitation
- The project says archives are compared as files rather than by the ROM content inside, and recommends extracting them first for accurate duplicate detection.checked 9 Oct 2026
- DAT matching
- Its DAT rename feature uses CRC32, MD5, and SHA1 hashes to match ROMs against No-Intro or MAME DAT files.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Disc conversion
- It converts CUE/BIN and ISO disc images to CHD, with chdman bundled for Windows and Linux users instructed to have chdman in PATH.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Duplicate detection
- It detects duplicates using SHA1 or MD5 hashing and supports region, file-size, and date preferences for choosing which copy to keep.checked 9 Oct 2026
- EmulationStation and RetroPie
- When renaming files, it can update EmulationStation or RetroPie gamelist.xml metadata and supports restoring it with undo.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Headless use
- Its Linux CLI supports renaming, compression, extraction, and DAT-based renaming, with a --yes option for scripted use.checked 9 Oct 2026
- License
- The project is released under the MIT License.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Multi-disc games
- It detects multi-disc games and generates M3U playlists for emulators.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- ROM Librarian is a desktop application for managing, organizing, and maintaining retro gaming ROM collections.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Updates
- The app checks GitHub for releases, can check on startup, and provides a manual update check and release notes preview.checked 9 Oct 2026
The company
- Maker
- The README credits development to RobotWizard.checked 9 Oct 2026
Where it runs
- Platforms
- The project provides portable Windows ZIP and Linux tar.gz downloads; its Linux build also runs on Steam Deck.checked 9 Oct 2026
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