Saves and Migration

Managing Saves🔗

NextUI uses more than one location for game data. In-game saves, save states, settings, and tracking databases are not all the same thing.

In-game saves🔗

Normal in-game saves live in:

Saves/<TAG>/

The <TAG> matches the emulator tag in the ROM folder name.

Examples:

Saves/GB/
Saves/GBC/
Saves/GBA/
Saves/MGBA/
Saves/PS/

These are the safest files to move between devices and emulators.

RetroArch `.srm` support🔗

By default, NextUI uses the MinUI save format. RetroArch-style .srm save support can be enabled in Settings.

Changing the save format changes the filename NextUI reads and writes. Existing saves must be renamed or copied to the configured format before NextUI sees them.

Formats:

MinUI default:  Game.gba.sav
RetroArch:     Game.srm
Generic:       Game.sav

Warning

Rename saves only after making a backup.

Save states and quicksaves🔗

Save states are different from in-game saves. They are emulator snapshots and are more sensitive to emulator version, core, and settings.

Save-state payloads are stored in hidden .userdata folders under:

.userdata/shared/<TAG>-<core>/

Examples:

Core	Save state dir	Config dir
FC (fceumm)	`.userdata/shared/FC-fceumm`	`.userdata/<platform>/FC-fceumm`
GB (gambatte)	`.userdata/shared/GB-gambatte`	`.userdata/<platform>/GB-gambatte`
GBA (gpsp)	`.userdata/shared/GBA-gpsp`	`.userdata/<platform>/GBA-gpsp`
GBC (gambatte)	`.userdata/shared/GBC-gambatte`	`.userdata/<platform>/GBC-gambatte`
MD (picodrive)	`.userdata/shared/MD-picodrive`	`.userdata/<platform>/MD-picodrive`
PS (pcsx_rearmed)	`.userdata/shared/PS-pcsx_rearmed`	`.userdata/<platform>/PS-pcsx_rearmed`
SFC (snes9x)	`.userdata/shared/SFC-snes9x`	`.userdata/<platform>/SFC-snes9x`
MGBA (mgba)	`.userdata/shared/MGBA-mgba`	`.userdata/<platform>/MGBA-mgba`
FBN (fbneo)	`.userdata/shared/FBN-fbneo`	`.userdata/<platform>/FBN-fbneo`
SUPA (mednafen_supafaust)	`.userdata/shared/SUPA-mednafen_supafaust`	`.userdata/<platform>/SUPA-mednafen_supafaust`
PCE (mednafen_pce_fast)	`.userdata/shared/PCE-mednafen_pce_fast`	`.userdata/<platform>/PCE-mednafen_pce_fast`

Replace <platform> with tg5040 for Trimui Smart Pro / Brick, or tg5050 for Trimui Smart Pro S.

NextUI also stores launcher resume metadata and preview images under:

.userdata/shared/.minui/<EMU>/

That .minui folder is not the actual save-state payload. It stores the slot marker and preview data used by the launcher and game switcher.

Quicksave and auto-resume use the same save-state system. Before sleep or power-off, integrated NextUI emulators write SRAM, RTC data, an autosave state, and an auto-resume marker. This depends on the emulator core supporting serialization. Standalone community emulator Paks can have different behavior.

Migrating to a new SD card🔗

To move to a new SD card:

Back up the old card.
Install NextUI on the new card following the Installation instructions.
Copy your personal folders back.
Safely eject the card before putting it in the device.

Back up at least:

Roms/
Bios/
Saves/
Collections/
Overlays/
Shaders/
Tools/        # if you installed custom Tool Paks
Emus/         # if you installed custom Emulator Paks
Cheats/
.userdata/    # settings, save states, recents, tracker databases

Also back up .media folders inside ROM folders if you added artwork manually.

Fresh install while keeping saves and settings🔗

For a fresh install, copy these folders somewhere safe first:

Roms/
Bios/
Saves/
.userdata/

After reinstalling, copy them back.

If you are troubleshooting a corrupted setting, do not copy all of .userdata back immediately. Restore Saves/ first, then restore only the specific hidden files you need.

Game Tracker data🔗

Game-time tracking data is stored in:

.userdata/shared/game_logs.sqlite

To reset the Game Tracker, back up the file first, then delete or rename it.

Battery tracking data is stored in:

.userdata/shared/battery_logs.sqlite

Recents and launcher settings🔗

Recent games are stored under:

.userdata/shared/.minui/recent.txt

Settings from the Settings app are stored in:

.userdata/shared/minuisettings.txt

If your menu settings are badly broken, deleting minuisettings.txt may reset Settings-app preferences.

Sync tools🔗

Syncthing and similar sync tools are community Paks, not part of base NextUI. See Paks for guidance before syncing saves between devices.

Hidden files on your computer🔗

Directories and files that start with a period are hidden by default.

Windows:

Open File Explorer.
Select View.
Enable hidden items.

macOS:

Press Command + Shift + . in Finder to toggle hidden files.

Linux:

Press Ctrl + H in many file managers, or use ls -la in a terminal.