Where is es_systems.cfg located in #ubuntu 16.04.4

James

hi there, my first post here, so hello everyone :) I'm a total beginner with Linux so please bear with me.

I really hope this hasn't already been covered.... if it has I certainly can't find it?

I am running Retropie/Emulationstation on an Ubuntu PC & I am trying to add Capcom play system 1, 2, 3, and other arcade systems to my UI.
I have installed all the necessary arcade emulators through the Retropie set up, but they still are not appearing.

I have read in many places I may need to add the systems to the es_systems.cfg file. I can find this file easy enough on my raspberry pi 3, but I cannot locate it anywhere on my Ubuntu system,

on my raspberry pi system, I have a configs folder where I can navigate through to find the file. but it doesn't seem to exist on the Ubuntu system?

am I looking in completely the wrong place?

thanks in advance for any advice given :)

jonnykesh

@james file paths should be the same in Ubuntu. https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/wiki/Add-a-New-System-in-EmulationStation

James

yea, that's what I thought!

I just found that I can show hidden folders in the toolbar at the top, and an emulationstation folder did pop up, but the file es_systems.cfg still isn't there?

this is really strange? if I do a filename search on the computer, it still returns no results??

I am looking at the same folder as my raspberry pi and its there on the pi, I'm going to try and just copy the file from there and paste it in and see what happens...

James

so I copied the es_systems.cfg file into the folder, started emulation station and it crashed and went straight back to the desktop... so removed it again, and it starts up fine again. so the file has got to be hidden in that folder somewhere? I am showing all hidden files but its just not there???. Any ideas?

jonnykesh

[Deleted]

jonnykesh

@james just re-reading that. Don't use the file from the Pi.
All the file paths will be wrong. Hence the crash. Copy the existing one on your PC to the other location.

EDIT: Sorry was on my phone so had to be brief. On the PC now.
The file does not exist. It is not hidden. You have to put it there. As explained in the documents if you want to add systems or change the order etc, you need to create a custom es_systems.cfgfile.
So copy the file from /etc/emulationstation and place it in /home/$user/.emulationstation(this is a symlink to the actual file which is located in /opt/retropie/configs/all/emulationstation/)
This new file is the one you should edit to add whatever you want to ES. This custom file will override the default in /etc/emulationstation/

James

its ok i've finally found it, was in the root of my computer in a file called etc, not in the home folder where the "retropie" & "retropie set up" folders were.

jonnykesh

@james I just edited my reply. See above.
Also, this is clearly explained in the docs I linked. It tells you exactly where the files are and what to do with them.

mitu

@james Normally the es_systems.cfg is in /etc/emulationstation. If you want to customize the list of systems, you can copy it to $HOME/.emulationstation/ - https://retropie.org.uk/docs/Add-a-New-System-in-EmulationStation/

James

ahh ok, I understand now! many thanks, ill give that a go. I was wondering how to edit the file once I found it as its root and I didn't have permission to edit it. but this makes perfect sense now.

thanks so much for your help!! :)

if I want to edit the theme art also, should I do the same thing with the theme folder?

jonnykesh

@james Yes, create a folder in /home/$user/.emulationstationcalled themes and put your custom theme in there. Make sure to name it something different from the original it is is based on.

James

it all worked like a dream! I'm fully up and running now!

Thanks again for your help :)

jonnykesh

@james Cool, glad to hear you got sorted. Have fun!