PortMaster: PC games ported to your Linux Retro Console

PortMaster is an interesting graphical tool for managing ported games from other systems to our Linux back console.

Thanks to the PortMaster system we can enjoy titles from multiple systems on our Linux console with ARM processor, it even supports popular PC games such as Celeste, Stardew Valley or Half Life. This tool is compatible with systems such as ArkOS, AmberELEC or ROCKMIX (formerly JELOS) among others. We can run it on consoles with very inexpensive Amlogic, Allwinner and Rockchip SoCs.

Check the best offers in PortMaster Compatible Consoles.
To install PortMaster we recommend a quality micro SD card, good speed and capacity as a SAMSUNG EVO PLUS 128 GB or SAMSUNG EVO PLUS 256 GB.
As a cheap alternative are the LD micro SD cards available on AliExpress with good speed and quality.

Table of Contents

what is PortMaster?

PortMaster offers a platform to download and play a lot of games ported to retro consoles with ARM processor. We have a nice interface, download and installation system and very good documentation. In its official website we can see the amount of available ports that grows every day.

PortMaster is a simple GUI tool designed to facilitate the download and installation of game ports for linux portable devices.

PortMaster does not install or update existing operating system libraries for any of the ports. Any of the ports that require a particular non-standard library are kept inside the ports folder and made available specifically for that port during execution.

Consoles supported by PortMaster

The PortMaster system is available on multiple consoles, it depends mainly on the version of the Linux system we have installed and if it is compatible.

Supported Linux: ArkOS, AmberELEC, JELOS, ROCKNIX, TheRA, RetroOZ, uOS, muOS…

Right now for Portmaster the POWKIDDY X55 ROCKNIX Linux console combination is one of the best you can have because of Rockchip’s open source compatibility.

Consoles	SoC
Anbernic RG351P/M, Game Console R33S/R35S/R36S, ODROID Go Advance, ODROID Go Super, Magicx XU10	Rockchip RK3326
Anbernic RG353P/M/V/VS/PS, RG503, Powkiddy X55 / RK2023, RGB10 Max 3, RGB30	Rockchip RK3566
Gameforce Ace, Orange Pi 5 / Pi 5 Plus, Radxa Rock 5b, and Indiedroid Nova	Rockchip RK3588
Anbernic RG552	Rockchip RK3399
Hardkernel ODROID Go Ultra, N2/N2 /N2L, Powkiddy RGB10 Max 3 Pro	Amlogic S922X
TrimUI Smart Pro	Allwinner A133

Install PortMaster

Normally, the default PortMaster system is already installed on many of the Linux CFW (Custom Firmware) we have discussed above, but you can also try to install it manually.

Download Portamaster in ZIP or SH executable.
On themicroSD card of the roms copy the file using a PC card reader
Copy the script in the /roms/ports folder and run it from Tools > PortMaster.
The ZIP is copied to different folders depending on your CFW. Read documentation.

Configuration and use of PortMaster

In our Linux system we will normally find a PortMaster section as if it were another console or emulated system. This section will show the games that we install, it must be updated once a new one is installed.

Portmaster Configuration

In our system we have to look for the settings section of the specific Emulators. In the case of ROCKNIX or JELOS for example is in Tools, inside we find the menu to launch Portmaster and be able to start installing games.

Once we have started PortMaster the system will update automatically and we find the menu with different options. The free games that we can install have all their files complete. On the other hand, commercial games such as Celeste, Stardew Valley or Half Life require us to download our legal copy purchased in Linux version.

FEatured ports: Featured games and new releases.
All Ports: All available games, some require additional files.
Ready to Run Ports: Ready to install games that do not need additional files.
Manage Ports: To reinstall and uninstall the installed Ports.
Options: We can change settings, disable music, sound or change language, among others.

Installing Games in PortMaster

In the list of games to install we only need to select the game, press A and select install to install it directly. When you exit PortMaster from its menu the games will appear in the corresponding section of the Linux CFW you have installed.

Adding additional files in Commercial Games

If we want to install commercial games from the Portmaster menu we will install the Port, then we will add the additional files necessary for the game to run.

Install the Port of the game from PortMaster, for example Half-Life.
Remove the game microSD card from the console and connect it to the PC with a reader.
Inside the roms/ports folder we will see that we have the Half-Life.sh file and a Half-Life folder.
In the roms/ports/Half-Life folder we must install the files of the legal game in Linux version.
For example, in the case of Half Life we need to copy the folder of our PC that is in /Steam/Steamapps/common/Half-Life/valve inside /roms/ports/Half-Life/valve
Each game is different in this, it is explained in the Info section in its PortMaster installer tab.