rom filename with "&" make runcommand crash.

TeeAce

I decided to upgrade my retropie PC working on ubuntu 22.04.

I took another HDD, I made a fresh install of retropie on a fresh ubuntu 23.04 > everything works ;-)

But, when I try any rom with "&" in the filename, it doesn't work! For exemple I try this file on mGBA emulator :

2 Game Pack! - Uno & Skip-Bo (Europe) (En,Fr,De,Es,It).7z

And I read this runcommand.log :

Parameters:
Executing: /opt/retropie/emulators/retroarch/bin/retroarch -L /opt/retropie/libretrocores/lr-mgba/mgba_libretro.so --config /opt/retropie/configs/gba/retroarch.cfg "/home/teeace/RetroPie/roms/gba/EUR-USA/2 Game Pack! - Uno %ROM% Skip-Bo (Europe) (En,Fr,De,Es,It).7z" --appendconfig /dev/shm/retroarch.cfg

So I see that the "&" in the filename is replace by "%ROM%", filename is wrong, the rom can't be found.

I test this issue on:
ubuntu 22.04 > no issue, every games work
ubuntu 22.10 > same issue, the game don't work

Any ideas? I'm a french linux beginner but i'll be happy to learn ;-)

mitu

Can't reproduce the issue with a similar named ROM file

Executing: /opt/retropie/emulators/retroarch/bin/retroarch -L /opt/retropie/libretrocores/lr-pcsx-rearmed/pcsx_rearmed_libretro.so --config /opt/retropie/configs/psx/retroarch.cfg "/home/pi/RetroPie/roms/psx/Bugs Bunny & Taz - Time Busters (Europe) (En,Fr,De,Es,It,Nl).chd" 
...

Are you sure the "&" is not some other character that just looks similar (like Fullwidth Ampersand) ?

Run emulationstation with emulationstation --debug and post the log file (from $HOME/.emulationstation/es_log.txt) on pastebin.com. Also, what's your exact RetroPie version ?

TeeAce

@mitu
Thanks for the answer.
I must said that these rom files worked great on ubuntu 22.04... so yes it is a simple &.

I'm very not familiar with linux command line so I'll try to launch emuationstation as you asked me...

I read the retropie setup and it seems to be a version 4.8.4 of retropie... installed today on a fresh ubuntu 22.10

TeeAce

@mitu

Is this the file you wanted?

link text

TeeAce

@mitu

I made a runcommand.log link, if it can help...

link text

mitu

Those are the correct log files. I see EmulationStation correctly sends the filename, but can't understand how that %ROM% gets to retroarch. Using the same filename, I don't have an issue

Executing: /opt/retropie/emulators/retroarch/bin/retroarch -L /opt/retropie/libretrocores/lr-mgba/mgba_libretro.so --config /opt/retropie/configs/gba/retroarch.cfg "/home/pi/RetroPie/roms/gba/2 Game Pack! - Uno & Skip-Bo (Europe) (En,Fr,De,Es,It).zip" --verbose --appendconfig /dev/shm/retroarch.cfg

Can you also post your /opt/retropie/configs/gba/emulators.cfg file ? You can post the contents right in the topic, without pastebin.com.

Is there any difference in configuration between the 2 installations (22.04 vs 22.10/23.04) ? Language, or login shell ?

TeeAce

@mitu

No difference
Find the issue by installing the ubuntu 23.04 iso
So I made a test by using the ubuntu 22.04 iso and the issue was not there!
So I download ubuntu 22.10 and the issue was there too ;-)

For my tests I formated HDD > installed ubuntu > installed videocard > installed retropie > installed emulator

TeeAce

@mitu

I can send emulators.cfg but I must say that the issue is present on every console... (I first find the issue by testing Zelda & four swords rom ;-)

lr-mgba = "/opt/retropie/emulators/retroarch/bin/retroarch -L /opt/retropie/libretrocores/lr-mgba/mgba_libretro.so --config /opt/retropie/configs/gba/retroarch.cfg %ROM%"
default = "lr-mgba"

mitu

The config file is ok - so it's not a configuration problem. The major difference may be the shell (runcommand.sh is just a shell script), Ubuntu 22.10 and 23.04 have an updated bash and that may be the culprit.
I'll have to test on a 22.10/23.04 system to see, maybe I can reproduce the issue there.

TeeAce

@mitu

Thanks again for your fast answers!

Yes I think that testing it on same ubuntu will reproduce it.

I want to use the last ubuntu because goverlay version 7 has issues on ubuntu 22.04... but works like a charm on ubuntu 22.10 and 23.04 (overlay version 9).

mitu

OK, I've reproduced the issue - it's because of the newer bash (5.2) and a new option added (patsub_replacement) which replaces & with the wrong value

x. New shell option: patsub_replacement. When enabled, a & in the replacement
string of the pattern substitution expansion is replaced by the portion of
the string that matched the pattern. Backslash will escape the &' and insert a literal &'.

Thanks for reporting, we'll see to get this fixed.

EDIT: update your RetroPie-Setup script and try again to see if the issue still occurs.

TeeAce

@mitu

BIG THANKS !!!!!

1 > I updated retropie-setup script
2 > I removed and reinstalled RUNCOMMAND
3 > I tested different games and they worked ;-)

Now I can play Zelda & 4 swords on Ubuntu 22.10 with Goverlay 9 !