• Recent
  • Tags
  • Popular
  • Home
  • Docs
  • Register
  • Login
RetroPie forum home
  • Recent
  • Tags
  • Popular
  • Home
  • Docs
  • Register
  • Login
Please do not post a support request without first reading and following the advice in https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first

Is there any way to lock down retropie?

Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Help and Support
lock down
47 Posts 12 Posters 13.6k Views
Loading More Posts
  • Oldest to Newest
  • Newest to Oldest
  • Most Votes
Reply
  • Reply as topic
Log in to reply
This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
  • E
    edmaul69 @Capeman
    last edited by edmaul69 20 Aug 2017, 04:40

    @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.

    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
    • D
      dunginhawk
      last edited by 21 Aug 2017, 05:12

      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.

      L C 2 Replies Last reply 21 Aug 2017, 05:18 Reply Quote 0
      • L
        lostless @dunginhawk
        last edited by 21 Aug 2017, 05:18

        @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.

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • D
          dunginhawk
          last edited by 21 Aug 2017, 13:26

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

          L 1 Reply Last reply 21 Aug 2017, 14:05 Reply Quote 0
          • H
            HurricaneFan @Capeman
            last edited by 21 Aug 2017, 13:53

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

            C 1 Reply Last reply 21 Aug 2017, 13:58 Reply Quote 0
            • C
              Capeman @dunginhawk
              last edited by 21 Aug 2017, 13:55

              @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.

              Vector Artist, Designer and Maker of Stuff: Laser Cut Atari / Pixel Theme Bartop

              P 1 Reply Last reply 21 Aug 2017, 21:55 Reply Quote 0
              • C
                Capeman @dunginhawk
                last edited by 21 Aug 2017, 13:56

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

                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.

                Glad we could help you!

                Vector Artist, Designer and Maker of Stuff: Laser Cut Atari / Pixel Theme Bartop

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • C
                  Capeman @HurricaneFan
                  last edited by Capeman 21 Aug 2017, 13:58

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

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

                  I noted this was an issue. I find that using one of the many auto shutdown options or addons such as the powerblock are a good match for this issue.

                  The easiest is the single button GPIO shutdown option detailed in this video.

                  There are also lots of demos online of people setting up a "system" on the carousel. Here's one i found on youtube:

                  Vector Artist, Designer and Maker of Stuff: Laser Cut Atari / Pixel Theme Bartop

                  C 1 Reply Last reply 22 Aug 2017, 01:03 Reply Quote 0
                  • L
                    lostless @dunginhawk
                    last edited by 21 Aug 2017, 14:05

                    @dunginhawk I was actually talking about disabling the retro arch configs menu. Not the hot key itself. Lol

                    C 1 Reply Last reply 21 Aug 2017, 14:43 Reply Quote 0
                    • C
                      Capeman @lostless
                      last edited by Capeman 21 Aug 2017, 14:43

                      @dunginhawk Yes, i recommend what @lostless says.

                      It's very easy to disable specific hot key commands (such as retroarch menu and reset) from the controller while still keeping the hotkey functionality for exiting.

                      Simply navigate to this folder:
                      /opt/retropie/configs/all/retroarch-joypads

                      Open the file that corresponds with the controller you want to remove the hot key functions from

                      Inside that file you'll see settings that looks like this;

                      input_device = "USB gamepad           "
                      input_driver = "udev"
                      input_r_btn = "5"
                      input_save_state_btn = "5"
                      input_start_btn = "9"
                      input_exit_emulator_btn = "9"
                      input_l_btn = "4"
                      input_load_state_btn = "4"
                      input_up_axis = "-1"
                      input_a_btn = "1"
                      input_b_btn = "2"
                      input_reset_btn = "2"
                      input_down_axis = "+1"
                      input_right_axis = "+0"
                      input_state_slot_increase_axis = "+0"
                      input_x_btn = "0"
                      input_menu_toggle_btn = "0"
                      input_select_btn = "8"
                      input_enable_hotkey_btn = "8"
                      input_y_btn = "3"
                      input_left_axis = "-0"
                      input_state_slot_decrease_axis = "-0"
                      

                      Simply # out any functions you want to disable from hotkey activation.

                      Retroarch menu corresponds to input_menu_toggle. I'd also recommend removing save state functions and RESET for kids, they would get confused if the game suddenly backtracked for or jumped to the title screen for no discernible reason.

                      And you can switch the exit emulator button to something a little harder to press if you choose, i usually do select + L since that's a weird feeling on the left hand thats less likely to be pressed than start+select. But that's personal preference.

                      Vector Artist, Designer and Maker of Stuff: Laser Cut Atari / Pixel Theme Bartop

                      L 1 Reply Last reply 21 Aug 2017, 15:22 Reply Quote 0
                      • O
                        ohmycommodore
                        last edited by ohmycommodore 21 Aug 2017, 15:21

                        Can a triple button press be set up? High degree of difficulty and therefore less chance of being selected accidentally. My use case is a system that I use, turn on and let my kids use on occasion, insist on shutting down myself, and when necessary I (and I alone) drop into something advanced like RP config or into menus.

                        In other words, if it's an interesting discussion... what's the best balance of protection vs not disabling things so completely that it's a hassle?

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • L
                          lostless @Capeman
                          last edited by 21 Aug 2017, 15:22

                          @capeman actually I would leave reset, it's absolutely needed for one game in the world and one game only. X-men on genesis/mega drive. Can't beat the game without it.
                          Maybe 2 games. x-men 2 on genesis/mega drive it's used to select the character in the opening level.

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • C
                            cyperghost
                            last edited by 21 Aug 2017, 18:33

                            @hex @BuZz
                            chattr -R +i to

                            • /etc/emulationstation/
                            • /opt/retropie/configs/
                            • .... other folders???

                            Will surly lock files from changing

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • P
                              pjft @Capeman
                              last edited by 21 Aug 2017, 21:55

                              @capeman this is exactly how @Zigurana 's kids mode works.

                              As for your hack to lock down the ES menus, how do you exit ES? Do you have an external shutdown switch or something? That sounds like a big roadblock, or am I missing something obvious?

                              L C 2 Replies Last reply 21 Aug 2017, 22:07 Reply Quote 0
                              • O
                                ohmycommodore
                                last edited by ohmycommodore 21 Aug 2017, 21:59

                                Hang on, is it possible at all to simply set a password, and protect some of these things that way? Then they don't need oddball multiple button presses, etc. In my head it's still about keeping things open for who they need to be open for... the "admin" essentially. Closed for the rest who wouldn't (and shouldn't) have the password.

                                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • L
                                  lostless @pjft
                                  last edited by 21 Aug 2017, 22:07

                                  @pjft basically the way that @Capeman is recommending locks down the system per controller. If you always use the same controllers, you can lock those down and have a another controller or keyboard ,that isn't locked down and use that to shut Down or restart. Or even adjust retroarch setting. The only thing that you still can't get to is the retropie menu without editing the essystems.cfg from a computer or using a keyboard on the pie and manually edit it from there. That's

                                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • C
                                    Capeman @pjft
                                    last edited by 22 Aug 2017, 00:45

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

                                    @capeman this is exactly how @Zigurana 's kids mode works.

                                    As for your hack to lock down the ES menus, how do you exit ES? Do you have an external shutdown switch or something? That sounds like a big roadblock, or am I missing something obvious?

                                    I put a posted above with a couple videos to solve this issue. One of them is the GPIO shutdown button and the other is a way to add a shutdown/reset menu as a system to the carousel. These method's do effectively kill the ability to shutdown, as a powerblock user i kind of take that for granted, haha.

                                    I haven't tried @Zigurana's kid's settting, only mostly because I usually stick to the officially updatable version of ES. Is his version merged with favorites/collections? I'm hooked on those now, haha.

                                    Vector Artist, Designer and Maker of Stuff: Laser Cut Atari / Pixel Theme Bartop

                                    H 1 Reply Last reply 22 Aug 2017, 01:00 Reply Quote 0
                                    • H
                                      HurricaneFan @Capeman
                                      last edited by 22 Aug 2017, 01:00

                                      @capeman If you own the necessary hardware, it makes sense to use your approach. :)

                                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • C
                                        Capeman @Capeman
                                        last edited by 22 Aug 2017, 01:03

                                        @HurricaneFan
                                        Doing this shutdown method wouldn't require anything extra, set this up before disabling everything else and ES would be pretty kid friendly.

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

                                        There are also lots of demos online of people setting up a "system" on the carousel. Here's one i found on youtube:

                                        Vector Artist, Designer and Maker of Stuff: Laser Cut Atari / Pixel Theme Bartop

                                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • H
                                          Hex
                                          last edited by 22 Aug 2017, 02:49

                                          I think we can do better if there is a need for Shutdown system

                                          Sent from 20,000 leagues under the sea.

                                          Powersaver Emulation station : https://github.com/hex007/EmulationStation
                                          ES dev script : https://github.com/hex007/es-dev/blob/master/es-tests.sh

                                          C 1 Reply Last reply 22 Aug 2017, 10:24 Reply Quote 0
                                          41 out of 47
                                          • First post
                                            41/47
                                            Last post

                                          Contributions to the project are always appreciated, so if you would like to support us with a donation you can do so here.

                                          Hosting provided by Mythic-Beasts. See the Hosting Information page for more information.

                                            This community forum collects and processes your personal information.
                                            consent.not_received