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BlastEm is a Sega 8-bit and 16-bit systems emulator

BlastEm Table of Contents

Getting Started with BlastEm

How to Install BlastEm

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The Basics

$HOME or ~ refer to your home directory. On a typical linux distro, the full path will be \$HOME/\$USER. On a Steam Deck, the full path will be /home/deck. When navigating using the file manager, the file manager may not be display the username visually in the full file path.

Directories with a . in front of their name, like $HOME/.steam, are hidden by default. In Dolphin (a file manager), click the hamburger menu in the top right and toggle on Show Hidden Files. The setting may vary depending on which file manager you are using.

$HOME/Applications refers to the Applications folder in your home directory. On a typical linux distro, the full path will be \$HOME/\$USER/Applications. On a Steam Deck, the full path will be /home/deck/Applications. When navigating using the file manager, the file manager may not display the username visually in the full file path. The Applications folder is not created by default. If you have not created one already, do so before following the steps in this section.

BlastEm is available as a binary file on Linux. This page will cover how to utilize and install the binary file.

To download BlastEm:

  1. Open the BlastEm nightly page on a browser of your choice
  2. Click the most recent Linux 64-bit button
  3. Move the newly downloaded tar.gz file to the $HOME/Applications folder
    • $HOME/Applications refers to the Applications folder in your home directory. On a typical linux distro, the full path will be \$HOME/\$USER/Applications. On a Steam Deck, the full path will be /home/deck/Applications. When navigating using the file manager, the file manager may not display the username visually in the full file path. The Applications folder is not created by default. If you have not created one already, do so before following the steps in this section.
  4. Extract the tar.gz file
  5. In the newly named blastem folder, locate the blastem file, Right click the application in question, click Properties, click Permissions, check Is Executable.
  6. BlastEm will now be downloaded

BlastEm Tips and Tricks