In development · ahead of Alpha 0.1

Clamshell A launcher for retro handhelds and two-screen devices

Clamshell finds your ROMs, downloads their art, and launches each game in the emulator you choose.

  • Android 8.0 or later
  • Controller and touch
  • No public build yet

Features

What the app does

A controller-first home screen and game library for Android handhelds, on one screen or two.

Home

Four layouts

Console is one row of big tiles with the selected game shown above. Grid is a grid you can zoom, rearrange, and sort into folders. XMB runs categories across the screen and games down. Minimal is a plain list in large type, with the focused line filled.

Screens

One screen, or two

With two screens, one shows the selected game and the other is where you browse. Automatic puts Console and XMB on the top screen and Grid and Minimal on the bottom. Swap them in Settings › Screens.

Library

One folder per system

Point Clamshell at one ROM folder with a sub-folder for each system. It scans that folder and keeps the list up to date. Smart folders include Continue playing, Favorites, Never played, a folder per platform, and genre. Search covers every system.

Launch

The emulator you choose

Signed emulator definitions pick the app and the intent for each system. Set one emulator for a system, or override it for a single game. Updated definitions download on their own, so a launch fix does not wait on a new app build.

Art

Box art and game info

Sources run in an order you set. Built in are SteamGridDB, ScreenScraper, Libretro thumbnails, and IGDB, plus art already on the device from Cocoon or ES-DE. Downloads run in the background, pause while a game is playing, and show progress on Home.

Your files

A folder you can copy

An optional data folder holds saved art, gamelist.xml exports, logs, and backups. Reinstall, point Clamshell at that folder, and the library comes back.

Controls

A pad, or a tap

Every setting works with a gamepad. Button letters follow the Nintendo, Xbox, or PlayStation layout printed on the controller. Accounts and keys can be pasted from a phone by scanning a QR code. On the first screen, whichever button you press becomes OK. Using touch? Tap anywhere.

Look

Lagoon, and a lighter load

Lagoon is the default theme. Lagoon Night is darker. Material You follows the wallpaper. Lite, Standard, and Rich match the device. Lite turns off video and blur. Change it in Settings › Performance.

In progress

RomM

Games from a RomM server

The RomM add-on browses a RomM server and downloads games into the library. It is still in progress.

Screenshots

Frames, not captures

These are placeholders. Clamshell does not have public screenshots yet. Each frame says so on the glass.

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Home

No screenshot yet

One screen. Console, Grid, XMB, or Minimal.

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Top screen

No screenshot yet

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Bottom screen

No screenshot yet

Two screens. The selected game on one, the list on the other.

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Game details

No screenshot yet

Art, and the description, developer, genre, and year when a source has them.

Devices

Built for the screen you have

Clamshell measures the window. A wide screen and a near-square screen lay Home out differently, and a handheld it has never seen still gets a layout. It does not keep a list of supported model names.

Android 8.0 or later
Phones and handhelds. Clamshell can be the Android home screen.
One screen or two
The second screen can be part of the device or plugged in later. Turn it off in Settings › Screens.
Controller, or touch
Built-in controls and Bluetooth pads. Touch works where the device has it. Neither is required.
App drawer
Games, emulators, and other apps, from Home. Hide the ones you do not want in the list.

Download

Get Clamshell

Clamshell is in development, ahead of Alpha 0.1. There is no public build yet, and early builds can change. Builds go to patrons before a public release.

Placeholder link. Nothing is published on the releases page yet. When a public build exists, this button will point at it.