Recalbox is free and always will be. Supporters on Patreon fund its development and get a few exclusive features in return, unlocked by a private key entered once and for all.
¶ What the patron status unlocks
| Feature | Where |
|---|---|
| Jukebox — exclusive mixtapes as background music | The Jukebox |
| Patron-only themes in the catalogue | Theme manager |
patron update channel — early access releases |
Update manager |
| Automatic scraping — games are scraped as you browse | Internal scraper |
Recalbox scraping server in addition to ScreenScraper |
Internal scraper |
¶ Getting your private key
- Support the project on patreon.com/recalbox.
- Go to recalbox.com/patreon and sign in with the Patreon account used for your pledge.
- Generate your private key: a long string of characters, personal, never to be shared.
¶ Entering the key in Recalbox
The key goes into the recalbox.conf file, on the patron.privatekey line:
patron.privatekey=YOUR_KEY_HERE
The easiest way to edit that file is the web manager (configuration tab) or over the network, as explained in file management. The file itself is described in The recalbox.conf file.
Then reboot your Recalbox: authentication happens at startup.
¶ Checking that it worked
When the key is valid, the main menu shows the JUKEBOX entry and the bottom of the menus reads PATRON FLAVOR next to the version number.
¶ Troubleshooting
Recalbox shows a message at startup when authentication fails:
| Message | What to do |
|---|---|
| Your private key does not allow to retrieve your Patreon information | The key is invalid or expired: generate a new one at recalbox.com/patreon |
| We're not able to retrieve your Patron level because no network is available | Recalbox has no Internet access — see the network configuration |
| HTTP error | The service is temporarily unavailable, try again later |
The check happens at startup and requires an Internet connection. Offline, patron features are unavailable even with a valid key.
Your key is personal: never publish it in a screenshot, a log file or a publicly shared support archive.