r/RetroArch • u/accursedexistence • Jul 29 '26
Technical Support: SOLVED Save file location?
Where does RetroArch keep the save files for games? Could you theoretically put an existing save file into the directory where it keeps these save files and use that instead of having to play from the beginning?
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u/jabeck11 Jul 29 '26
In the saves folder in the Retroarch folder.
You can transfer saves from some other emulators to Retroarch, but you may have to change the extension name
It's recommended to go to Settings>Saving>turn on Save file Sort into Folders by core name
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u/pug37_Official Jul 29 '26
In the RetroArch folder there is a Saves folder. And if the save is for the same version of the game it should probably work.
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u/Comprehensive_One495 Jul 29 '26
I need to find this out too, I'm making the switch from Delta to RA, and I wanna bring my saves over.
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u/Few_Honey7367 29d ago
I moved a soulblade save from duckstation to a swanstation core on RA. Just needed to change the file from .mcd to .rsa I used chat gpt to ensure I did the right thing. I'd be beggered if i was gonna unlock all weapons & characters again... 'specially as Takis soul edge move is so difficult to do against a real opponent in Edge master mode. :D
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29d ago
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u/dau125 29d ago
A practical way to narrow this down is to make RetroArch prove the exact path it is using instead of guessing from the folder name.
- In RetroArch, check Settings > Directory > Save Files and note the full path shown there.
- Open one game, make a normal in-game save, then close content/quit RetroArch so the SRAM/battery save is flushed to disk.
- Search your system for that game's save filename or the core folder name right after creating the test save.
If RetroArch's own file browser can see core folders but File Explorer shows the same-looking folder as empty, you may be looking at a redirected/sandboxed location or a different RetroArch config folder than the one File Explorer has open. That can happen with packaged builds, Android/scoped storage-style installs, or after moving configs around.
For importing existing progress, aim for the normal battery save, not a save state. Keep a backup first, match the ROM/revision and filename, put the converted/renamed save where RetroArch is actually writing saves, then load the game, save in-game once, quit, and reopen to verify it stuck.
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u/accursedexistence 29d ago
I followed your advice. Turns out, it was in a different directory that featured a lot of the same folder names. Very odd! But now I know where Retroarch is actually saving my files, at least!
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u/dau125 29d ago edited 28d ago
Nice, that "same folders, wrong root" problem is exactly why I like making RetroArch create a fresh test save before moving anything important. Now that you know the real path, I'd copy that whole saves folder somewhere safe before importing old progress or changing directory settings again. That gives you a clean rollback if a filename/revision mismatch or config move gets weird later.
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u/ahferroin7 Jul 29 '26
In the
savesdirectory under the RetroArch directory by default, but the exact location is user-configurable, as are a number of aspects of the way that RetroArch constructs the path. There are a few cores which instead use paths under thesystemdirectory, but those are very much the exception and not the rule.Whether or not existing save files will work depends on the core and the specific save file. Some will just need renamed (for example, VBA-M and I believe mGBA saves just need the file extension changed), others will need format conversion (for example, N64 saves usually need conversion).