Is there any way to lock down retropie?

BuZz

You should remove RetroPie menu via retropie-setup -> core packages not via edited es systems or manually removing or else it will get added back on upgrade.

Capeman

It's very easy to remove the "Main Menu" and "Options" menus that appear in ES when you press start and select.

All you need to do is navigate to:
/opt/retropie/configs/all/emulationstation

open the file:
es_input.cfg

Inside this file you will see the ES controls for every controller you have setup. This is ONLY the controls for ES, adjusting anything in this file does not affect the retroarch controls.

All you need to do is locate the controller you wish to lock those menus out of in the file (they will be in there by name), and edit these 2 lines:

<input name="start" type="button" id="9" value="1"/>
<input name="select" type="button" id="8" value="1"/>

Set the ID value to a number that is not supported on your controller (if your controller supports 12 buttons, any number above 13 should work, but i recommend 99)

<input name="start" type="button" id="99" value="1"/> #9
<input name="select" type="button" id="99" value="1"/> #8

I add the #ed out numbers at the end so you can remember their original configuration. But doing this will set the menu buttons to buttons that are not on your controller, effectively rendering them inaccessible . You can also lock out random and add/remove favorites by doing this to the buttons corresponding to Y and X also.

Capeman

To remove the launch command, go into the retropie system on your carousel, choose
configure 'runcommand' launch script
and turn that setting off.

That will remove the box that appears when a game loads letting you adjust emulator and video settings.

Capeman

And finally...

Removing the retropie settings "system" from the carousel is also very easy.

FIRST close emulationstation and exit back to command line.

Just navigate to:
etc/emulationstation

Copy this file to your computer
es_systems.cfg

Copy this file back to your pi, but in this location:
/opt/retropie/configs/all/emulationstation

This will override the file that loads from the root protected /etc folder and give you a copy you can edit

Then all you need to do is open the new version that file and edit this section:

  <system>
    <name>retropie</name>
    <fullname>RetroPie</fullname>
    <path>~/RetroPie/retropiemenu</path>
    <extension>.rp .sh</extension>
    <command>sudo /home/pi/RetroPie-Setup/retropie_packages.sh retropiemenu launch %ROM% &lt;/dev/tty &gt;/dev/tty</command>
    <platform/>
    <theme>retropie</theme>
    <directlaunch/>
  </system>

and add HTML hide tags above and below

  <!--
<system>
    <name>retropie</name>
    <fullname>RetroPie</fullname>
    <path>~/RetroPie/retropiemenu</path>
    <extension>.rp .sh</extension>
    <command>sudo /home/pi/RetroPie-Setup/retropie_packages.sh retropiemenu launch %ROM% &lt;/dev/tty &gt;/dev/tty</command>
    <platform/>
    <theme>retropie</theme>
    <directlaunch/>
  </system>
-->

This will hide the retropie system on the carousel after you reboot emulationstation.

BuZz

@capeman Please see my post above - editing this file manually is not recommended, and any update will make it appear again. The retropie menu can be removed via Manage Packages -> Core Packages -> retropiemenu and removed from there.

Capeman

@buzz Yes, i've noticed that happens on an update. I usually edit this file to re-order the systems in my carousel, id rather go by age than alphabetical. When i update retropie it rewrites this file back to it's original state.

My method is definitely a very hacky way to adjust the carousel and i agree it's not recommended for newer users. My workaround is i always keep a duplicate of my es_systems.cfg file in the same directory, so when an update resets it, i can just restore my backup.

One question though, if you use the retropie menu to access the manage packages option, after reboot the retropie menu is gone... so how do you get back to the manage packages menu to restore it? That seems like a permanent change versus a temporary one.

BuZz

@capeman You run RetroPie-Setup from commandline/ssh and re-install retropiemenu.

dunginhawk

wow,, there is a ton of information here and it appears there are many ways to do it, most of which are disputed...
should be fun to wade through all the options lol ;)

Does it change things if retropie will NEVER be updated on this box? :)

Capeman

@dunginhawk My method to hide ES options/main menu works well. (see my first of 3 posts) It's simple controller mapping update, non-destructive and easily reversible. @hex suggested you might need ES kid's version to do this, but in my tests, a simple remapping like this achieves the same effect without needing to install a whole different version.
BUT... the unfortunate side effect of this is you lose the ability to shutdown from a menu, so you would need a different solution.

Hiding runcommand (my second of 3 posts) is standard and well documented, there is no unofficial way to do that. I was just reiterating the wiki on that one.

Hiding the "Retropie" system on the main carousel is your choice. @buzz's way is the official way to hide it semi-permanently, it's definitely better and if you have problems the mods can help you undo it, but if you are not savy with a command line, getting this menu back might be a bit intimidating.

The hacky and unrecommended way that I (and @edmaul69) suggested has unfortunate side effect of needing to be redone every time an update is made, but has the added benefit of re-ordering systems if you want your carousel to not be alphabetical. Only do this if you are comfortable with managing settings on your own with limited support.

Nice thing about working with linux and open-source is you can go with well documented options or you can hack to your heart's content. Just respect the code, know your skill level and don't touch things you don't know how to use and you should be fine.

dunginhawk

thank you for condensing it :)

Capeman

@dunginhawk No prob, the mods are probably laughing at me beause i had to edit it about 20 times to get all the ideas across. haha

ohmycommodore

As someone who never tried the "kids" version – and likely won't now that there's the ability to create a kids collection or custom collection for each of your kids... the idea of lock-down perhaps should remain a feature worth developing.

Has anyone considered a toggle in the menu for (at the very least) showing / hiding the Retropie selection in the carousel? That would lower the probability of accidental button mashing leading down a dark, dark path.

dunginhawk

@ohmycommodore yeah man thats exactly what i mean... it cant be hard to add that, and to unlock it, you type a key combination. UP UP DOWN DOWN LEFT RIGHT LEFT RIGHT B A B A Start :)

akafox

I as well think there should be a "toggle". I don't have a problem editing stuff by hand. However again updating makes me have to "do it all over again". The problem I have is..I don't want to have to "drag" out my keyboard to make a quick change...so doing everything from the gui would be nice..again though the problem being that I don't want everyone being able to do it either...

The kids/kiosk mode was a great idea..but again it being buggy. I was hoping to stir up some fire to "finish" it..I didn't think that it was this needed!

So I agree we need a better way..we are asking for a better way without having to edit with a keyboard..which is a pain..
and I am sure that there are many of us that will test it and break it and complain until it is done "right."

Thanks all for the ideas I had been wondering the best way myself.

edmaul69

@capeman copy your es_systems.cfg to /opt/retropie/configs/all/emulationstation/ to keep it from being overwritten. However if you add a system you need to copy that systems info from /etc/emulationstation/es_systems.cfg to the new one. I keep my systems organized by, first, console that i shoved my pi into, that companies other systems by age, (oldest first) then companies by age with the systems of that company by age, then arcade, then pc, then retropie menu.

dunginhawk

capeman, i must say your advice was 100% spot on... It is EXACTLY what i needed... not hard at all. obviously id love to have a checkbox to do it, but that wasnt hard.. and everything is reversible. by using winscp :)

thank you again.

lostless

@dunginhawk also I was thinking, disable the hot key for the retro arch menu as (hotkey x). Wouldn't want anyone to mess that up. I believe You actually disable it per controller in the controller config files. Meaning you can disable it per controller and if you need access, a keyboard or another controller will work.

dunginhawk

I use the hotkey + start button to back out of the emulator... so i need that.
So actually everything is perfect. thank you

HurricaneFan

@capeman If you change Start and Select button pushes, how do you shutdown?

Capeman

@dunginhawk said in Is there any way to lock down retropie?:

@ohmycommodore yeah man thats exactly what i mean... it cant be hard to add that, and to unlock it, you type a key combination. UP UP DOWN DOWN LEFT RIGHT LEFT RIGHT B A B A Start :)

YES THIS! an option to hide and show retropie menu with the Konami code would be literal perfection! Funny thing is this is an exact feature on OpemEmu on mac. Do the combo on your keyboard while the options menu is open and you get advanced options.