RetroDisc

Plug 'n' play for portable Windows games on Linux.

RetroDisc is a small launcher that starts Windows games from a USB drive, SSD, HDD, SD card or any other storage using Wine or Proton.

The idea is simple: the game is the disc, your data is the memory card.

What it does

• Starts a game directly from its release folder, no installation needed.
• Treats the game files as read-only. Everything the game writes goes into a separate writable layer (fuse-overlayfs).
• Stores saves, config, registry changes and the Wine/Proton prefix outside the release, so they survive between launches.
• Optionally ships a preconfigured prefix with the release.

Disc and memory card

Because the game and its writable data are strictly separated, you can use them like a console:

• Game as a disc: The release can live on read-only media. A write-protected USB stick or SD card, a read-only mounted drive or an ISO all work, because the game never writes into its own folder. CDs, DVDs and Blu-rays work in principle too, but they are slow and noisy to read from, so in most cases they are not recommended. A fast flash drive or SSD is the better choice.
• Data as a memory card: With --datapath <dir> all persistent data (saves, prefix, runtime changes) goes to the directory you choose. Point it at a separate USB stick or SD card and you have a memory card: plug it in, play, take it to another machine with the same game and continue where you stopped.
• Several cards per game: Use a different --datapath for each player or each playthrough, so every card has its own saves.
• Shared card for several games: Keep one card per person and use it with different discs.

Without --datapath, persistent data goes to ~/Games/RetroDisc/<gameId>/ on the local drive.

What else you can do with it

• Carry a game on a drive and play it on any compatible Linux machine.
• Keep the release untouched, so it stays archive-friendly and easy to copy.
• Choose Wine or Proton per game.
• Build your own console-like setup around it, for example a launcher that mounts discs and memory cards and calls RetroDisc.

Release layout

Game/
├── RetroDisc        launcher
├── manifest.json    game name and executable
├── config.json      optional, runtime settings
├── gamedata/        original game files (read-only)
└── prefix/          optional, bundled prefix
    └── pfx/

Usage

./RetroDisc
./RetroDisc --datapath /path/to/memory-card

Requirements

Wine or Proton, fuse-overlayfs, fuse3 and util-linux.

License

GPL-3.0, see LICENSE.