Scraping means attaching information and artwork to each game: official title, publisher, year, description, box art, screenshot, video, manual. It is what turns a list of files into a real games library.
Start with Recalbox's internal scraper:
START→SCRAPER. It runs straight on the machine, with no PC and no extra software, and covers the vast majority of needs. The tools below only matter if you want finer control or specific media.
gamelist.xml files directly (rename, hide, fix metadata).| Tool | Systems | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Skraper | Windows (Wine elsewhere) | The most widely used, free, very rich image composition options. Source: ScreenScraper |
| ARRM — Another Recalbox Roms Manager | Windows | Built with Recalbox in mind: scraping, gamelist editing, media management. Multiple sources |
| Skyscraper | Linux, macOS | Command line, ideal for automation |
| GameList Editor | Windows | Manual editing of gamelist.xml files |
Almost all of these tools rely on ScreenScraper, the same database as Recalbox's internal scraper. A free account there is strongly recommended: without one, the number of requests is very limited and scrapes fail in bulk.
ScreenScraper's financial contributors get extra download threads, and therefore a much faster scrape. It is also what funds the database's hosting.
Recalbox patrons additionally get a dedicated Recalbox source in the internal scraper — see Internal scraper.
gamelist.xml files and the media folders (media/, images/, videos/) to the Recalbox.START → SYSTEM-LISTS & GAMELISTS SETTINGS → UPDATE GAMELIST.The causes are almost always the same:
In every case, you can fix a game by hand from the Recalbox: press SELECT on the game → EDIT GAME.