Plugins Overview

With LaunchBox 13.15, we introduced the Plugin Manager, a more streamlined way to manage official plugins directly within the app. Plugins have long extended LaunchBox's functionality, but the Plugin Manager makes supported integrations easier to install, update, repair, and manage.

This guide explains the two types of plugins available in LaunchBox, what official emulator plugins can do, and which features are currently supported across official emulator integrations.

🛠️ Official Plugins

Official plugins are developed and maintained by the LaunchBox team. These plugins are tightly integrated into LaunchBox and can add support for emulator installation, updates, configuration, and other built-in features.

Official plugins can:

• Manage emulator installation and configuration

• Extend LaunchBox features like curated discovery playlists

• Deliver targeted improvements independently of a full LaunchBox release

You can manage official plugins from Tools > Manage > Plugins. There you can:

• View installed official plugins

• Filter available plugins by thing such as type, or popularity

• Check for updates

• Repair plugins

• Uninstall plugins

Official plugins are not all the same. Some support general LaunchBox features, while others are dedicated emulator integrations with deeper functionality.

📊 Emulator Compatibility Matrix

Official emulator plugins are LaunchBox integrations for supported emulators. They are not the emulators themselves. Instead, they allow LaunchBox to understand how a specific emulator works and automate parts of setup and maintenance.

Not every emulator plugin supports every feature. The matrix below shows the current and planned official emulator integrations and the capabilities associated with each one.

✅ indicates functionality supported by the current integration. ❌ indicates the feature is not supported by that integration. N/A indicates the feature does not meaningfully apply to that emulator. TBD marks integrations or features that still need confirmation before publication.

Detailed emulator plugin docs can be found below:

• RetroArch LaunchBox Integration Plugin

• Dolphin LaunchBox Integration Plugin

Each emulator integration doc will provide more detail on setup, update behavior, dependencies, controller expectations, and other emulator-specific notes.

📘 What Emulator Plugin Capabilities Mean

Depending on the emulator, an official plugin may support one or more of the following capabilities.

Download and Configure

LaunchBox can download supported emulators directly, extract them to the correct location, and create a ready-to-use emulator entry with associated platforms and common defaults.

Update and Reinstall

LaunchBox can check the version of a supported emulator, compare it against the latest available version, and help you update or reinstall it when needed.

LaunchBox Emulator Profile

Some emulator plugins create a preconfigured emulator profile in LaunchBox, including default command-line parameters, associated platforms, and other settings that make the emulator ready to use immediately.

Portable Mode

Some emulator plugins automatically configure the emulator to store its data inside the LaunchBox folder rather than in the Windows user profile. This keeps your setup self-contained and easier to move between systems.

Dependency Files

Some emulators require BIOS files, firmware, or other dependency files. Emulator plugins can define these files inside LaunchBox so you can see what is required, check whether files are present, and place them in the correct locations.

This can include:

• Marking files as required or optional

• Grouping files where one of several files is acceptable

• Identifying expected filenames and target locations

• Validating files with hashes where supported

RetroAchievements Integration

Some emulator plugins can configure RetroAchievements credentials and settings automatically. Depending on the emulator, this may be a simple credentials sync or a more emulator-specific process behind the scenes.

Automatic Controller Configuration

Automatic controller configuration indicates whether users typically need to configure controls manually inside the emulator, or whether the emulator handles that setup for them automatically.

This section is intended to answer a simple practical question: do users need to open the emulator and bind controls themselves, or will the emulator generally take care of that out of the box?

Bezel Download Integration

Some emulator plugins support bezel downloads through The Bezel Project. At present, this is limited to specific emulator integrations.

🔄 Plugin Updates vs Emulator Updates

It is important to distinguish between updating a plugin and updating an emulator.

Updating a plugin updates LaunchBox's integration for that emulator or feature. This may improve setup logic, add support for new functionality, or fix issues with how LaunchBox interacts with the emulator.

Updating the emulator updates the emulator application itself.

To update an emulator:

• Go to Tools > Manage > Emulators . Here you’ll see the version that is currently installed and whether any updates are available. A checkmark indicates the emulator is up-to-date, whereas a cloud download icon indicates an update is available.

• Select the emulator and click Edit

• Use the Update button to install the latest version

In short:

• Plugin update = updates LaunchBox's support for the emulator

• Emulator update = updates the emulator program itself

🌍 Community-Made Plugins

Community plugins are created by LaunchBox users and offer additional functionality beyond what’s included officially. They’re often shared on the LaunchBox forums and can extend the app in creative ways.

How to install a community plugin:

1. Visit the Community Plugins Forum

2. Download and unzip the plugin

3. Move the extracted folder into your LaunchBox\Plugins directory

4. Restart LaunchBox if it’s already running

Community plugins are not currently supported by the Plugin Manager. They must be installed manually. We hope to support unified plugin management in the future.

These plugins can add anything from new metadata tools to alternative game launching options — they’re a great way to customize your setup further.

✅ Summary

Official plugins help LaunchBox do more than simply launch software. For emulator integrations especially, they can automate installation, updates, dependency management, RetroAchievements configuration, and other setup tasks that would otherwise need to be handled manually.

The compatibility matrix on this page provides the high-level view. The dedicated emulator plugin pages will cover the details for each integration individually.