ConsoleMini

What is ConsoleMini?

ConsoleMini is a macOS Electron + React launcher designed to turn a Mac mini into a living-room console experience for playing games from multiple emulator systems. The app is built around controller-first navigation and is intended for a “Mac mini → TV → controller” loop, where you pick a system and launch games with a large, TV-friendly interface.

Instead of creating its own save-state format, ConsoleMini is designed to launch supported emulators and provide a dashboard-style view of save states by indexing the emulators’ native save locations on disk.

Key Features

• Controller-first navigation via the HTML5 Gamepad API: Any controller exposed through the browser/gamepad API can be used to navigate the menu (D-pad/left stick to move, A/Cross to confirm, B/Circle to go back).
• Purpose-built “kiosk” mode for the Mac mini: Includes a setup script to auto-launch at login, hide the Dock, and disable sleep (per the kiosk script description), supporting a TV-ready experience.
• Apple Silicon native app and signed releases: The repo describes Apple Silicon native behavior, with releases distributed as signed and notarized DMGs.
• One launcher for multiple emulator systems: The Settings tab provides emulator install notes and one-click installs (via scripts) for listed systems.
• No ROM/BIOS bundling: The project explicitly lists “zero ROMs, zero BIOS” and expects users to bring their own content.
• Save states dashboard (read-only): ConsoleMini does not re-implement save states; it surfaces each emulator’s native save-state “vaults” and can reveal save folders in Finder.

How to Use ConsoleMini

1. Install on macOS using one of the provided options:
   • Homebrew (recommended): add the tap and install the cask. The cask pulls the signed and notarized DMG from the GitHub release and verifies a SHA-256 before placing ConsoleMini.app in /Applications.
   • From releases: download the latest signed DMG, move ConsoleMini.app to /Applications, and launch.
2. Set up kiosk mode (optional): run the kiosk setup script to configure auto-launch at login, hide the Dock, and prevent sleep.
3. Connect a controller: pair it over Bluetooth; ConsoleMini uses HTML5 Gamepad API for menu navigation, while emulator input is handled by each emulator.
4. Install or verify emulators via the app: open the app’s Settings tab, check live install status, and use one-click installs where available.
5. Use the save states panel: open Settings → Save states to view available save-state vaults, file counts, last-modified times, and use Reveal to open vaults in Finder.

Use Cases

• Living-room console setup on a Mac mini: Use the kiosk mode and controller-first UI to browse systems and launch games from a TV without mouse/keyboard reliance.
• PlayStation-focused emulation on macOS: Use ConsoleMini when you want a menu experience purpose-built for the Mac mini → controller workflow, while working with emulator solutions listed for PS1–PS4/PSP where supported.
• Multi-emulator library management: Keep a single launcher for multiple systems (e.g., PS1, PS2, PSP, N64, SNES/NES, GBA, Dreamcast) rather than switching between emulator UIs.
• Save-state inspection without duplicating tooling: Use the read-only dashboard to see which save-state vaults exist for each emulator and open their folders on disk.
• Installer-driven emulator provisioning: Start from the Settings tab where install status is shown and scripts handle emulator installs using Homebrew formulas listed in the project.

FAQ

• Does ConsoleMini provide ROMs or BIOS files? No. The project states “zero ROMs, zero BIOS”—you provide your own (legally).

• How does ConsoleMini handle save states? ConsoleMini does not implement save states itself. It delegates to each emulator’s native save-state system, then indexes the save vaults for display and Finder “Reveal.”

• What controllers are supported? Any controller exposed through the HTML5 Gamepad API should work for menu navigation (the repo lists examples such as DualShock 4, DualSense, Xbox, and 8BitDo).

• How are emulators installed? The app’s Settings tab shows live install status and provides one-click installs via scripts (notably scripts/install-emulators.sh). The repository also documents Homebrew-based install commands for each emulator.

• Can ConsoleMini run as a TV/kiosk app? The repository includes a kiosk setup script (scripts/setup-kiosk.sh) intended to auto-launch at login, hide the Dock, and prevent sleep.

Alternatives

• OpenEmu (macOS emulator frontend): Also targets multiple systems on macOS, but the project description notes that OpenEmu doesn’t cover “modern PlayStation.”
• RetroArch (multi-system emulator frontend): The source describes RetroArch as powerful but with a menu that can be rough on a TV; ConsoleMini focuses on a controller-first big-picture UI.
• Other emulator frontends or launcher-style apps: If you prefer a different workflow (e.g., per-emulator UI navigation instead of a single controller-first launcher), you can use alternate frontends, though the emphasis here is on the Mac mini → TV → controller loop.