Welcome

APIExpose is the engine that gives your RetroBat installation superpowers: automatic media, localized gamelists, ROM packs, smart scraping, collections, arcade data and a real-time local API that feeds the MarqueeManager and LedManager plugins.

What APIExpose does

• Media: finds, organizes and projects screenshots, logos, boxarts, videos, manuals — your personal files always take priority.
• Scraping: local first, ScreenScraper when needed, with live updates of the current game's entry without reloading the list.
• Localized gamelists: descriptions, genres and data in EmulationStation's language, realigned when the language changes.
• ROM packs and collections: drop an archive, APIExpose imports it — with an on-the-fly mode for large packs.
• Arcade data: control-panel buttons, colors and layouts (dynpanels), per-game RAM definitions, high scores.
• Local API and WebSockets: everything is exposed on http://127.0.0.1:12345 for plugins, themes and tools.

Where to start?

• Getting started — install APIExpose and check that it runs.
• Menus and options — every APIExpose option inside EmulationStation.
• Media and scraping — your priority media and automatic scraping.
• Local API — endpoints and real-time streams for tools and themes.
• Role guides — players, streamers, venues, organizers, builders: the step-by-step journeys live on their own wiki.

Read this first

APIExpose is powerful: it can modify gamelists, media, EmulationStation settings, collections and theme files. Back up your RetroBat folder before using it on an installation that matters, or test on a copy.

The ecosystem

RetroBat / EmulationStation
   ↕ APIExpose (media, gamelists, events, local API)
        → MarqueeManager (marquee, topper, DMD, LCD)
        → LedManager (LED buttons, light panels)
        → your own tools (WebSocket + REST)