How to install RetroBar

#Before you start

• Windows 10 or 11 (x64 or Arm64; 32-bit on Windows 10), or Windows 7 SP1 / 8.1. The installer picks the right build for your PC by itself.
• No administrator rights for RetroBar itself: it installs for your account only. Installing .NET, if it is missing, does need them.
• An internet connection if .NET 10 is not installed: the installer downloads it from Microsoft.

#The installer, screen by screen

1. Run RetroBarInstaller.exe

   Open the downloaded zip and run the installer from it, or extract it first. Because RetroBar is not code-signed, Windows SmartScreen may show “Windows protected your PC”: click More info, check that the app name is RetroBarInstaller.exe, then Run anyway. RetroBar's release notes warn that Windows “will likely require you to choose ‘more info,’ then ‘run anyway’”. (On our three test machines SmartScreen was running but did not show the warning when we opened the downloaded installer, so we have no screenshot of it.)

   When it starts, the installer checks dremin.github.io/updates/retrobar.json for a newer RetroBar and offers to open the download page if there is one.

2. Choose the installer's language

   

3. Accept the licence

   RetroBar is free software under the Apache License 2.0. Select I accept the agreement, then Next.

   

4. Keep the suggested folder

   RetroBar installs to C:\Users\you\AppData\Local\Programs\RetroBar and needs 5.4 MB. Keep it unless you have a reason: guides (including ours) assume this folder, and installing under Program Files would need administrator rights.

   

5. Choose the extra tasks

   Both are off by default:

   • Create a desktop shortcut: a RetroBar icon on the desktop. A Start menu shortcut is always created.
   • Automatically start RetroBar: starts RetroBar every time you sign in. Tick this if you want RetroBar instead of the Windows taskbar from now on. You can change it later in Properties (“Automatically start at logon”).

   

6. Install

   Click Install. If .NET 10 is already on your PC, this takes a few seconds.

   

7. Finish

   Leave Launch RetroBar ticked and click Finish. RetroBar appears at the bottom of the screen with the Windows 95-98 theme, and the Windows taskbar is hidden.

   

#If .NET 10 is missing: the step that looks stuck

RetroBar 1.22.122 needs the .NET 10 Desktop Runtime on Windows 10 and 11. If the installer does not find it, the Ready to Install page says so:

After you click Install, the installer downloads Microsoft's runtime installer and starts it. That opens a second window, “Microsoft Windows Desktop Runtime … Installer”, which waits for you to click Install. It often opens behind RetroBar's setup window, so all you see is a full progress bar and “Installing Microsoft .NET Desktop Runtime…” that never finishes.

Our Windows Server 2022 test machine had .NET 9 but not 10. The installer downloaded windowsdesktop-runtime-10.0.14-win-x64.exe from Microsoft's dotnetcli.azureedge.net server, as its log shows. You can also install the runtime yourself first from dotnet.microsoft.com (“.NET Desktop Runtime”, for your processor).

#What the installer changed

We recorded the PC before and after installing. RetroBar's installer:

• copied 103 files to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\RetroBar, with Themes, Languages and Resources folders inside (the uninstall entry puts the size at about 14.5 MB, although the wizard asks for 5.4 MB of free space);
• added a RetroBar shortcut to your Start menu;
• registered an uninstaller for your account (it appears in Settings › Apps);
• added a RetroBar entry to your sign-in startup list only if you ticked “Automatically start RetroBar”;
• installed the .NET 10 Desktop Runtime for all users, if it was missing.

RetroBar's own settings file, %LOCALAPPDATA%\RetroBar\settings.json, does not exist yet after installing: RetroBar writes it the first time you change a setting.

#Without installing: the portable version

If you would rather not install anything, download RetroBar.Portable.zip, extract it, and run RetroBar.exe from the folder for your PC (x64, ARM64 or x86; Win7-8 for Windows 7 and 8.1). The download chooser tells you which one. The portable version needs the .NET 10 Desktop Runtime too; if it is missing, Windows offers to download it when you start RetroBar.exe. There is no Start menu shortcut and no automatic start unless you tick “Automatically start at logon” in Properties.

#With winget

In Terminal or Command Prompt:

winget install dremin.RetroBar

winget runs the same installer silently. Its manifest installs RetroBar for all users in Program Files, so Windows asks for administrator permission. See winget, Scoop and Chocolatey for the current versions in each.

#Next steps

#Questions

Found something out of date or wrong? Tell us at hello@retrobar.dev and we will fix it.