🎮 Myrient Downloader

Fast, reliable, resumable downloads from Myrient ROM archives

Download entire ROM collections from myrient.erista.me with ease!

Features • Quick Start • Usage • Examples • FAQ

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🌟 What is This?

Myrient Downloader is a powerful bash script that automates downloading ROM collections from Myrient's archives (No-Intro, Redump, TOSEC, MAME, and more). It handles everything from parallel downloads to smart resumption and verification.

Perfect for:

• 🕹️ Retro gaming enthusiasts building their collection
• 📚 Preservationists archiving gaming history
• 🎯 Power users who want efficient, hands-off downloads

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✨ Features

Feature	Description
⚡ Parallel Downloads	Download up to 5 files simultaneously (configurable)
🔄 Smart Resumption	Automatically resumes interrupted downloads
✅ Verification	Validates file integrity by comparing sizes
🎯 Flexible Filtering	Exclude unwanted files with pattern matching
🛡️ Robust Error Handling	Retries failed downloads with exponential backoff
🚦 Graceful Interruption	Ctrl-C safely stops all downloads and cleans up
🔍 Progress Tracking	Per-platform .completed cache prevents re-downloads
🌐 Multi-Collection	Supports No-Intro, Redump, TOSEC, MAME, and more
💬 Verbose Mode	Detailed logging for debugging
🍎 Cross-Platform	Works on macOS and Linux

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🚀 Quick Start

Installation

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/trentas/myrient-downloader.git
cd myrient-downloader

# Make the script executable
chmod +x myrient-downloader.sh

First Run

1. Create your platforms list (or use the example):

cp platforms-example.txt platforms.txt
nano platforms.txt  # Edit to add your desired platforms

2. Create your exclusions list (or use the example):

cp exclude_patterns-example.txt exclude_patterns.txt
nano exclude_patterns.txt  # Edit to add patterns you want to skip

3. Start downloading!

./myrient-downloader.sh platforms.txt exclude_patterns.txt

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📦 Requirements

Tool	Purpose	Installation
bash	Shell (v4+)	Pre-installed on most systems
wget	Download engine	brew install wget (macOS)
curl	Metadata fetching	Pre-installed on most systems
python3	URL decoding	Pre-installed on most systems

macOS Setup

brew install wget

Linux Setup

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt-get install wget curl python3

# Fedora/RHEL
sudo dnf install wget curl python3

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📖 Usage

Basic Syntax

./myrient-downloader.sh [OPTIONS] platforms.txt exclude_patterns.txt

Options

Option	Description	Example
--verbose	Enable detailed logging	--verbose
--base-url URL	Override default collection URL	--base-url https://myrient.erista.me/files/Redump

Configuration Files

platforms.txt

List platforms to download (one per line). Names must exactly match folder names on Myrient:

Nintendo - Game Boy
Nintendo - Game Boy Advance
Sony - PlayStation
Sega - Mega Drive - Genesis

💡 Tip: Browse myrient.erista.me to find exact platform names.

exclude_patterns.txt

Pattern matching (case-insensitive) to skip unwanted files:

# Skip documentation
README
datfile

# Skip certain regions
(Japan)
(Germany)
(France)

# Skip certain types
(Proto)
(Beta)
(Demo)
(Unl)
(Pirate)

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💡 Examples

Download No-Intro Collection (Default)

./myrient-downloader.sh platforms.txt exclude_patterns.txt

Output:

🔍 Fetching list from: https://myrient.erista.me/files/No-Intro/Nintendo%20-%20Game%20Boy/
📁 Local folder: ./Nintendo - Game Boy
⏭️  Skipping (excluded): README.txt
✅ Already complete: Pokemon - Red Version (USA, Europe).zip
⬇️  Downloading: Tetris (World).zip
✅ Download verified by size: Tetris (World).zip
🚀 Starting parallel downloads for: Nintendo - Game Boy
📊 Download Summary
----------------------
🧾 Total attempted: 127
✅ Completed:       126
❌ Errors:          1
✅ Done: Nintendo - Game Boy

Download Redump Collection

./myrient-downloader.sh --base-url https://myrient.erista.me/files/Redump platforms.txt exclude_patterns.txt

Verbose Mode (Debug)

./myrient-downloader.sh --verbose platforms.txt exclude_patterns.txt

Download Multiple Collections

# No-Intro
./myrient-downloader.sh --base-url https://myrient.erista.me/files/No-Intro platforms-no-intro.txt exclude_patterns.txt

# Redump
./myrient-downloader.sh --base-url https://myrient.erista.me/files/Redump platforms-redump.txt exclude_patterns.txt

# TOSEC
./myrient-downloader.sh --base-url https://myrient.erista.me/files/TOSEC platforms-tosec.txt exclude_patterns.txt

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📂 Output Structure

myrient-downloader/
├── myrient-downloader.sh
├── platforms.txt
├── exclude_patterns.txt
├── Nintendo - Game Boy/
│   ├── .completed              # Tracks finished downloads
│   ├── Pokemon Red (USA).zip
│   ├── Tetris (World).zip
│   └── ...
├── Sony - PlayStation/
│   ├── .completed
│   └── ...
└── ...

• Each platform gets its own directory
• .completed files track successfully downloaded ROMs
• Interrupted downloads resume automatically on next run
• Files are verified by size comparison with remote server

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🛠️ Advanced Usage

Adjust Parallel Download Count

Edit MAX_PARALLEL in the script:

MAX_PARALLEL=10  # Download 10 files at once (default: 5)

Interrupting Downloads

Press Ctrl-C to safely stop:

^C
🛑 Interrupting downloads...
✅ Cleanup complete

All temporary files are cleaned up automatically, and you can resume where you left off!

Resume After Failure

Simply run the same command again:

./myrient-downloader.sh platforms.txt exclude_patterns.txt

The script automatically:

• ✅ Skips completed files (tracked in .completed)
• ✅ Validates existing files by size
• ✅ Re-downloads incomplete/corrupted files

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❓ FAQ

Q: Can I download from other Myrient collections?

A: Yes! Use --base-url:

# Redump
./myrient-downloader.sh --base-url https://myrient.erista.me/files/Redump platforms.txt exclude_patterns.txt

# TOSEC
./myrient-downloader.sh --base-url https://myrient.erista.me/files/TOSEC platforms.txt exclude_patterns.txt

# MAME
./myrient-downloader.sh --base-url https://myrient.erista.me/files/MAME platforms.txt exclude_patterns.txt

Q: How do I only download specific regions?

A: Use exclusion patterns. For USA-only ROMs:

# exclude_patterns.txt
(Japan)
(Europe)
(Germany)
(France)
(Spain)
(Italy)
(Korea)
(World)

Q: Downloads are slow. Can I speed them up?

A: Yes! Edit MAX_PARALLEL in the script:

MAX_PARALLEL=10  # Increase from default 5

⚠️ Warning: Too many parallel downloads may trigger rate limiting.

Q: What if a download fails?

A: Just run the script again! It will:

1. Skip verified files
2. Re-check file sizes
3. Re-download incomplete/failed files

Q: Can I pause and resume later?

A: Yes! Press Ctrl-C to stop. Run the same command again to resume exactly where you left off.

Q: How do I find exact platform names?

A: Browse the collection on Myrient:

• No-Intro: https://myrient.erista.me/files/No-Intro
• Redump: https://myrient.erista.me/files/Redump
• TOSEC: https://myrient.erista.me/files/TOSEC

Copy folder names exactly as they appear (including spaces and special characters).

Q: Does this work on Windows?

A: Not natively, but you can use:

• WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux)
• Git Bash
• Cygwin

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🐛 Troubleshooting

"No downloadable files found"

• ✅ Check platform name matches exactly (case-sensitive)
• ✅ Verify the URL is accessible in your browser
• ✅ Try --verbose mode for more details

Downloads keep failing

• ✅ Check your internet connection
• ✅ Lower MAX_PARALLEL count
• ✅ Run with --verbose to see detailed errors

"Command not found: wget"

# macOS
brew install wget

# Linux
sudo apt-get install wget

Files not resuming properly

• ✅ Check disk space (df -h)
• ✅ Delete the .completed file to force re-download
• ✅ Check file permissions in the download directory

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🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Feel free to:

• 🐛 Report bugs
• 💡 Suggest features
• 🔧 Submit pull requests

Development

# Run in verbose mode for testing
./myrient-downloader.sh --verbose platforms.txt exclude_patterns.txt

# Test interrupt handling
# (Press Ctrl-C during downloads to verify cleanup)

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📋 License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

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🙏 Acknowledgments

• Myrient for hosting and preserving gaming history
• No-Intro for ROM verification and cataloging
• Redump for disc preservation standards
• TOSEC for comprehensive archival efforts
• The entire ROM preservation community 🌍💾

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⭐ Support

If this tool helped you build your collection, consider:

• ⭐ Starring this repository
• 🐛 Reporting issues you encounter
• 📢 Sharing with other retro gaming enthusiasts
• 💝 Supporting Myrient for hosting costs

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Happy Gaming! 🎮✨

Made with ❤️ by the ROM preservation community