Set up RetroArch Cloud Sync.

Cloud Sync arrived in RetroArch 1.16 for Apple devices, reached Linux in 1.19 and Windows in 1.20, and HTTPS on Android in 1.22. On the current stable release (1.22.2) it is in:

• Windows, from retroarch.com or Steam
• Linux, including the Flatpak and the Steam Deck
• Android 1.22 and later, including Android handhelds
• The App Store versions for iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, and Mac

The Mac build from retroarch.com doesn't have it in 1.22.2; use the Mac App Store version. Linux handheld systems vary: muOS has the setting, and others depend on how they build RetroArch.

With Sync Mode on Automatic, RetroArch syncs when it starts and each time you close a game. It compares what changed on the device and on the server since the last sync, uploads and downloads the difference, and skips any file that changed on both sides (it says "finished with conflicts").

It syncs your saves and states, and if you want, configuration files (core options, shader presets), thumbnails, and system files such as BIOS. It never syncs retroarch.cfg or your playlists, so each device keeps its own paths.

1. 1Create a SaveSync account, or log in with your Fastwater account.
2. 2Open Set up a device, give the device a name (such as "Steam Deck"), and press Make a key.
3. 3Keep the page open: you'll copy the URL, username, and password into RetroArch. SaveSync shows the password once. Each device gets its own key, so you can turn one off without touching the others.

1. 1In RetroArch, open Settings, then Saving, then Cloud Sync.
2. 2Turn on Enable Cloud Sync.
3. 3Set Cloud Sync Backend to WebDAV.
4. 4Set Cloud Storage URL to https://savesync.fastwater.app/saves/, with the slash at the end, then enter the Username and Password from SaveSync.
5. 5Leave Sync: Saves/States on. Sync: Configuration Files is up to you: it syncs core options and shader presets, which you may want different on each device.
6. 6Leave Destructive Cloud Sync off. RetroArch then moves a file to its cloud_backups folder before it overwrites or deletes it.
7. 7Leave Sync Mode on Automatic, then restart RetroArch so it does its first sync.

RetroArch syncs saves by their path inside its saves folder. Two devices only share a save when the path matches, so check these settings in Settings, Saving on every device:

• Sort Saves into Folders by Core Name and Sort Save States into Folders by Core Name
• Sort Saves into Folders by Content Directory and the same for save states

The game's file name matters too: Pokemon Emerald (USA).srm only matches a ROM with the same name. Rename the ROM on one device if they differ. Use the same core for a game on each device as well, since a core's saves sit in its own folder when sorting by core name is on.

RetroArch syncs when it starts and when you close a game, not while you play. Close the game before you put a device down, and let RetroArch start on the next one before you load the game there.

If two devices change the same save between syncs, RetroArch skips that file and says "Cloud Sync finished with conflicts". To keep the copy in the cloud, delete the save on the device and sync again (in Settings, Saving, Cloud Sync, Sync Now). SaveSync keeps the 20 newest versions of every save either way, so you can restore one from the dashboard.

Typing a URL and a long password with a controller is slow. Instead, with RetroArch closed (it rewrites its config when it quits), open retroarch.cfg in RetroArch's config folder and set:

cloud_sync_enable = "true"
cloud_sync_driver = "webdav"
webdav_url = "https://savesync.fastwater.app/saves/"
webdav_username = "savesync"
webdav_password = "<your SaveSync password>"
cloud_sync_sync_saves = "true"
cloud_sync_destructive = "false"

Not sure where the file is? In RetroArch, Main Menu, Configuration File, Save Current Configuration shows its path.

1. 1Load a game, save in it, and close the content to go back to RetroArch's menu. RetroArch syncs then.
2. 2Open your saves on the dashboard: the save is there, under the same folders as on the device.
3. 3On your second device, set up Cloud Sync the same way with its own key and restart RetroArch. Load the game and pick up where you left off.