Configuring Ludo

Ludo doesn't expose a log of settings, but you can find them under the settings tab:

Ludo settings interface

These settings are global, they affect all the games at once.

Advanced users can edit the settings file manually. It is located in your home directory, under:

• ~/.config/ludo/settings.toml on Linux

• ~/Library/Application Support/ludo/settings.toml on MacOS

• %LOCALAPPDATA%\ludo\settings.toml on Windows

Don't forget to close Ludo prior to editing this file.

Video settings

Video Fullscreen Switch between full screen and windowed mode. The full screen mode will try to use the highest resolution possible.

Video Monitor Index If you have more than one monitor, changing the index will target a different monitor in full screen mode. Use this if you want to use Ludo in full screen on an external display.

Video Filter

Post processing filter to use for the game image. Also know as pixel shader.

• Raw: Nearest neighbor interpolation, the game will look pixelated.

• Smooth: Bilinear interpolation, the game will look blurry.

• Pixel Perfect: Sharp bilinear, the game will look pixelated. Use this when your game pixel grid doesn't align well with your screen grid.

• CRT: A fast cathode ray tube effect with scan lines.

• LCD: A fast liquid crystal display for handheld consoles.

Audio settings

Audio Volume: Volume of the game audio.

Menu Audio Volume: Volume of the menu audio effects.

Input settings

Map sticks to DPad

When activated, maps the left analog stick of your joypad to the directional arrows. Useful for some games that didn't had native analog support, or some arcade games.

You should disable this when playing a game that supports native analog inputs, like Nintendo 64 games and some specific PlayStation games.

Directory settings

By default Ludo will create a ludo directory in your application data folder, and most of the following directories will be under ludo. In this guide, we refer to the data folder as DATA. Which means, depending on your OS:

• On Linux: something like ~/.local/share/ludo

• On Windows: something like %APPDATA%\Roaming\ludo

• On Mac OS: something like ~/Library/Application Support/ludo

Cores Directory: Where to look for libretro cores. The default value will vary depending on the OS.

Assets Directory: Where to look for icons and audio effects. The default value will vary depending on the OS.

Database Directory: Where to look for database of games used for scanning. The default value will vary depending on the OS.

Savestates Directory: Where to store quick saves created by Ludo. By default DATA/savestates

Savefiles Directory: Where to store regular game saves. By default DATA/savefiles

Screenshots Directory: Where to store screen captures. By default DATA/screenshots. Screenshot associated to savestates will also be stored in there.

System Directory: Where to look for BIOS files. By default DATA/system. Note that most emulator can also look for BIOS files in the same directory as the game you load.

Playlists Directory: Where Ludo will store playlists generated when you scan your games. By default DATA/playlists. Note that playlists can be modified using a simple text editor, and can safely be deleted.

Thumbnails Directory: Where to store game thumbnails that appear in playlists. By default DATA/thumbnails. Note that you don't have to manually place thumbnails here. Ludo will automatically download and display them if you are connected to internet while browsing your playlists.

Manually editing configuration

Ludo configuration file is located in the application configuration directory:

• ~/.config/ludo/settings.toml on Linux

• ~/Library/Application Support/ludo/settings.toml on MacOS

• %LOCALAPPDATA%\ludo\settings.toml on Windows

You can modify it using a text editor. You can also delete it to reset everything to defaults.

This is what the configuration looks like on Linux:

assets_dir = "/usr/share/ludo/assets"
audio_volume = 0.5
bluetooth_service = false
cores_dir = "/usr/lib/ludo"
database_dir = "/usr/share/ludo/database"
input_map_axis_to_dpad = true
menu_audio_volume = 0.35
menu_showhiddenfiles = false
playlists_dir = "/Users/kivutar/.local/share/ludo/playlists"
samba_service = false
savefiles_dir = "/Users/kivutar/.local/share/savefiles"
savestates_dir = "/Users/kivutar/.local/share/savestates"
screenshots_dir = "/Users/kivutar/.local/share/screenshots"
ssh_service = false
system_dir = "/Users/kivutar/system"
thumbnail_dir = "/Users/kivutar/.local/share/thumbnails"
video_dark_mode = false
video_filter = "CRT"
video_fullscreen = false
video_monitor_index = 0

[core_for_playlist]
  "Atari - 2600" = "stella2014_libretro"
  "Atari - 5200" = "atari800_libretro"
  "Atari - 7800" = "prosystem_libretro"
  "Atari - Jaguar" = "virtualjaguar_libretro"
  "Atari - Lynx" = "handy_libretro"
  "Atari - ST" = "hatari_libretro"
  "Bandai - WonderSwan" = "mednafen_wswan_libretro"
  "Bandai - WonderSwan Color" = "mednafen_wswan_libretro"
  "Cave Story" = "nxengine_libretro"
  ChaiLove = "chailove_libretro"
  "Coleco - ColecoVision" = "bluemsx_libretro"
  "FBNeo - Arcade Games" = "fbneo_libretro"
  "GCE - Vectrex" = "vecx_libretro"
  "Magnavox - Odyssey2" = "o2em_libretro"
  "Microsoft - MSX" = "bluemsx_libretro"
  "Microsoft - MSX2" = "bluemsx_libretro"
  "NEC - PC Engine - TurboGrafx 16" = "mednafen_pce_fast_libretro"
  "NEC - PC Engine CD - TurboGrafx-CD" = "mednafen_pce_fast_libretro"
  "NEC - PC Engine SuperGrafx" = "mednafen_supergrafx_libretro"
  "NEC - PC-FX" = "mednafen_pcfx_libretro"
  "Nintendo - Family Computer Disk System" = "fceumm_libretro"
  "Nintendo - Game Boy" = "gambatte_libretro"
  "Nintendo - Game Boy Advance" = "mgba_libretro"
  "Nintendo - Game Boy Color" = "gambatte_libretro"
  "Nintendo - Nintendo DS" = "melonds_libretro"
  "Nintendo - Nintendo Entertainment System" = "fceumm_libretro"
  "Nintendo - Pokemon Mini" = "pokemini_libretro"
  "Nintendo - Super Nintendo Entertainment System" = "snes9x_libretro"
  "Nintendo - Virtual Boy" = "mednafen_vb_libretro"
  "SNK - Neo Geo Pocket" = "mednafen_ngp_libretro"
  "SNK - Neo Geo Pocket Color" = "mednafen_ngp_libretro"
  "Sega - 32X" = "picodrive_libretro"
  "Sega - Game Gear" = "genesis_plus_gx_libretro"
  "Sega - Master System - Mark III" = "genesis_plus_gx_libretro"
  "Sega - Mega Drive - Genesis" = "genesis_plus_gx_libretro"
  "Sega - PICO" = "picodrive_libretro"
  "Sega - SG-1000" = "genesis_plus_gx_libretro"
  "Sega - Saturn" = "mednafen_saturn_libretro"
  "Sony - PlayStation" = "duckstation_libretro"

As you can see, the libretro core used to launch games of a playlist is set there.