1Retro
1Retro vs RetroArch Cloud Sync
RetroArch's built-in cloud sync is the closest thing retro gaming has to console cloud saves. Here's what it covers, what it doesn't, and when you'll want more.
The short version
Choose 1Retro if you want
- Saves that follow you across RetroArch, standalone emulators, MiSTer, and handhelds
- A hosted service instead of a WebDAV server you install and maintain
- Version history, rollback, and a proper conflict screen when saves diverge
- A web dashboard to browse and download every save from anywhere
- Background sync while you play, not just at launch and exit
Choose RetroArch Cloud Sync if
- Everything you play runs inside stock RetroArch
- You already run Nextcloud or another WebDAV server and enjoy self-hosting
- You want configs and BIOS files synced along with saves
- Open source end to end, with your data on your own hardware
A feature versus a service
RetroArch Cloud Sync is a checkbox inside RetroArch, and that's both its charm and its limit. Flip it on and RetroArch will mirror saves, states, and configs to a server when it starts and when it exits. But you bring the server: a WebDAV host you install, secure, pay for, and back up yourself. The feature is also still marked experimental in RetroArch's own settings.
1Retro is the whole service. The cloud storage, the version history of every save, the conflict screen when two devices disagree, and a dashboard to browse it all from any browser. And because it lives outside any single emulator, it follows your saves into standalone emulators, MiSTer, and handhelds where RetroArch's sync can't go.
Feature by feature
| 1Retro | RetroArch Cloud Sync | |
|---|---|---|
| Works with any emulator | RetroArch only | |
| Hosted service, no server to run | Bring your own WebDAV server | |
| Save versioning & rollback | ||
| Conflict resolution | No review UI when saves diverge | |
| Syncs in the background as you play | Runs when RetroArch starts and exits | |
| Web dashboard for your saves | ||
| In-game save metadata | Play time, party, items for supported games | |
| MiSTer FPGA | ||
| OnionOS / Miyoo handhelds | Not available in Onion's build | |
| Syncs save states | ||
| Syncs emulator configs & BIOS | Saves and states only | |
| Self-hosted option | Your server, your data | |
| Open source | ||
| Free | Free tier; paid plans add storage | Free client; you supply the server |
The differences that matter
Your setup is bigger than RetroArch
Almost nobody plays retro games in exactly one program. There's a standalone emulator for that one system RetroArch doesn't do well, a MiSTer in the living room, a handheld in your bag. RetroArch Cloud Sync stops at RetroArch's walls; even RetroArch-based handheld firmwares like OnionOS don't ship it. 1Retro treats the save as the thing that matters and moves it between all of them.
You become the cloud provider
RetroArch gives you the client and wishes you luck with the rest. A WebDAV server means picking a host, setting up TLS and credentials, typing that URL into every device, and remembering that the server holding your only copies now needs backups of its own. 1Retro replaces all of that with an account.
When saves diverge, you want a UI
Play the same game on two devices before they sync and you have a conflict. RetroArch Cloud Sync has no screen for this moment, no history to fall back on, and no way to see what happened after the fact. 1Retro shows you both versions, lets you pick, and keeps every prior version of the save so a wrong choice is never fatal.
Keep RetroArch. Seriously.
This isn't RetroArch versus 1Retro. The 1Retro app auto-detects RetroArch installs and follows its save sorting settings, so you change nothing about how you play. RetroArch stays your emulator; 1Retro becomes the memory card that never forgets. As a bonus, your cloud saves are also reachable over WebDAV as a mounted network drive.
Where RetroArch Cloud Sync genuinely wins
Fair is fair. It's built into the app, so there's nothing extra to install on that device. It syncs emulator configs and BIOS files, which 1Retro doesn't touch. It's open source, and your data sits on hardware you control. If your whole retro life is stock RetroArch and you already run a home server, it's a tidy solution.
Common questions
Should I just use RetroArch's built-in cloud sync?
If every device you play on runs stock RetroArch, you already operate a WebDAV server, and you're comfortable with an experimental feature, it may be enough. The moment a MiSTer, a standalone emulator, or a Miyoo Mini enters the picture, your saves split into worlds that can't see each other.
Do I need my own server for 1Retro?
No, and that's the core difference. RetroArch Cloud Sync is a client feature: you supply and maintain the storage behind it, including its uptime and its backups. 1Retro is the service. Sign in, point it at your emulators, done.
Can I keep using RetroArch with 1Retro?
Of course. 1Retro isn't a RetroArch alternative, it works alongside it: the desktop app auto-detects RetroArch installs and honors its save sorting settings. Change nothing about how you play. Just don't run both sync mechanisms on the same save folders at once.
Does 1Retro sync save states too?
Yes. 1Retro backs up save files (SRAM, memory cards) and save states, versioned in the cloud. Emulator configs and BIOS files are out of scope; RetroArch Cloud Sync does cover those.
Cloud saves for everything you play
Free to start. No credit card required. No server to babysit.
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