Make an M3U playlist from the CLI

Build an .m3u playlist for a multi-disc game with rom-weaver playlist, so an emulator such as RetroArch can change discs.

Write a playlist

Repeat --input for each disc, in any order:

rom-weaver playlist \
  -i 'Game (Disc 2).cue' -i 'Game (Disc 1).cue' \
  -o Game.m3u

The command orders the discs by the number in names such as Disc 1, (Disc 2), and .disc02, then writes one line per disc. Each line is the disc's path relative to the playlist. Track files that a given .cue or .gdi names are not listed as discs of their own.

Leave out -o to write the playlist beside the first disc. It takes the disc's name without the disc number, such as Game.m3u.

It never overwrites an existing output.

Most emulators name save files after the playlist. Saves made while playing one disc directly keep that disc's name, so rename them to match the playlist.

Control the order

--no-sort lists the discs exactly as given:

rom-weaver playlist --no-sort -i disc-b.chd -i disc-a.chd -o Game.m3u

Names without a disc number follow the numbered ones, in name order.

Copy the game into a frontend's folder

Give a folder as --output, and pick the --layout your frontend expects:

rom-weaver playlist \
  -i 'Game (Disc 1).cue' -i 'Game (Disc 2).cue' \
  -o roms/psx/ --layout folder

This copies the playlist, the discs, and their track files into roms/psx/Game/, and makes any folder that is missing. Use folder for MinUI and muOS, m3u-folder for ES-DE and RetroDECK, and the default flat for RetroArch and Batocera. The CLI reference shows where each layout puts the files.

The source files stay where they are. The command stops before copying anything when a file it would write already exists.

Bundle the discs in a ZIP

An --output ending in .zip holds the playlist, the discs, and the track files their sheets name, side by side:

rom-weaver playlist -i 'Game (Disc 1).cue' -i 'Game (Disc 2).cue' -o Game.zip

Unzip it into one folder and open the .m3u.

When every disc has tracks with the same names, such as track01.bin beside each .gdi, add --layout disc-folders. Each disc then gets its own folder in the ZIP.

Rename the discs

--rename names the copied discs <game> (Disc N) in playlist order, and their track files to match:

rom-weaver playlist --rename --name 'Final Fantasy VII' \
  -i ff7.disc01.cue -i ff7.disc02.cue -i ff7.disc03.cue \
  -o roms/psx/

The copies are Final Fantasy VII (Disc 1).cue and so on, and each copied .cue names its renamed track files. Without --name, the game name comes from the first disc's name. --rename works with a folder or .zip output, never on the original files.

Write bare file names

--flat writes each disc's file name alone, for a playlist you will save in the same folder as the discs:

rom-weaver playlist --flat -i discs/a.chd -i discs/b.chd -o Game.m3u

Batocera hides a playlist's discs from its game list only when each line is a bare file name.

For every flag, see CLI reference. To start from a multi-disc PBP, extract it first.