# Install mame with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, zypper Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator. Version 0.288 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-22. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:mame ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install mame ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata - MacPorts (94%): ```sh sudo port install mame ``` Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: emulators/mame/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ### Linux - apk (92%): ```sh sudo apk add mame ``` Evidence: Alpine Linux edge package indexes: mame from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/testing/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz - Debian apt (92%): ```sh sudo apt install mame ``` Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: mame from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz - dnf (92%): ```sh sudo dnf install mame ``` Evidence: Fedora Rawhide package metadata: mame from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst - Nix (92%): ```sh nix profile install nixpkgs#mame ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ma/mame/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - pacman (92%): ```sh sudo pacman -S mame ``` Evidence: Arch Linux sync databases: mame from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz - zypper (92%): ```sh sudo zypper install mame ``` Evidence: openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: mame from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:mame - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 0.288 - **Source summary:** Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** GPL-2.0-or-later - **Source archive:** - **Last updated:** 2026-06-22T14:05:26-07:00 - **Generated:** 2026-07-08T07:18:31+00:00 ## Executables - mame (cli) - mame (alias) ## Dependencies - flac - jpeg-turbo - portaudio - portmidi - pugixml - sdl3 - sqlite - utf8proc - zstd ## Build dependencies - glm - pkgconf - rapidjson - sphinx-doc ## Uses from macOS - expat ## Install behavior - Post-install hook: not defined - Bottle: available on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-07-08 - Package-manager version: 0.288 - Package-manager updated: 2026-06-22 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://github.com/mamedev/mame - info: No cached GitHub release or tag data was available. ## Project history and usage MAME is a multi-purpose emulation framework whose stated purpose is to preserve decades of software history by documenting hardware and how it functions. Although originally the Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator, official documentation says it later absorbed sister projects and now covers arcade games, computers, consoles, calculators, and other vintage systems. ### Project history MAME 0.1 was released on February 5, 1997. Early development moved quickly: MacMAME appeared in February 1997, X/MAME appeared in April 1997, vector-game support arrived in July 1997, and MAME32 also appeared in July 1997. The official history records a steady expansion from arcade CPU and sound emulation toward broader hardware documentation. The project accumulated preservation infrastructure as it grew: CRCs for identifying ROMs in 1998, ZIP support in 1998, `history.dat` support in 1999, CHD support in 2002, and later major device-model and source-tree changes. In 2015 MESS merged into MAME, widening the project beyond arcade machines, and in 2016 MAME became GPL-2.0-or-later free and open source software with new documentation and licensing. ### Adoption history MAME has had a broad cross-platform packaging history, with official Windows binaries and source releases, Unix-like ports, macOS variants, and package-manager entries across Homebrew, Debian, Fedora, Arch, Nix, MacPorts, Alpine, openSUSE, and others. The project history page explicitly treats supported ROM set growth as one measure of project success. For users, adoption is tied less to a single GUI and more to the shared command-line executable and data formats. Front ends, ROM managers, preservation workflows, and downstream OS packages all orbit the same MAME release stream and compatibility expectations. ### How it is used The ordinary package-manager workflow installs the `mame` executable, then users provide legally obtained ROM, disk, or media images separately. Official documentation emphasizes that copyrighted software images are not included and must be supplied by the user. MAME reads configuration from INI search paths that differ by platform. Official command-line documentation lists default INI paths for Windows, macOS, and other platforms including Linux, making those paths important to packagers and users debugging why a setting is or is not being applied. ### Why package nerds care MAME is package-manager lore because it is both an emulator and a preservation corpus interface. The package is just the executable and support files; the user's ROM sets, CHDs, artwork, plugins, shaders, and INI layers are separate data concerns. For maintainers, MAME is a large C++ project with fast-moving compiler requirements, platform notes, bundled tools, and frequent releases. Small packaging differences around paths, SDL support, Lua/plugins, and INI locations can change user-visible behavior. ### Timeline - 1997: MAME 0.1 released. - 1998: MAME began using CRCs to identify ROMs and added built-in ZIP support. - 2002: CHD support was introduced for hard-disk and other large media images. - 2006: SDLMAME was released, improving Unix-like platform packaging. - 2015: MESS merged into MAME. - 2016: MAME became GPL-2.0-or-later free and open source software. ### Related projects - MESS, the Multi Emulator Super System, was a sister project and was merged into MAME in 2015. - SDLMAME, MacMAME, MAME32, front ends, ROM managers, and MAME data files are part of the wider packaging and user ecosystem. ### Sources - - - - - ## Security Notes narrow executable package without higher-risk signals. - **Geiger risk:** green / low - narrow executable package without higher-risk signals ## Configuration and credential file locations These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval. ## Configuration files - Linux: ~/.mame/mame.ini, ./mame.ini, ./ini/mame.ini - macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/mame/mame.ini, ~/.mame/mame.ini, ./mame.ini, ./ini/mame.ini - Windows: ./mame.ini, ./ini/mame.ini, ./ini/presets/mame.ini ## Source Database Details - **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API - **Tap:** homebrew/core - **Full Name:** mame - **Version Scheme:** 0 - **Revision:** 0 - **Head Version:** HEAD - **Bottle Stable Root URL:** - **Deprecated:** no - **Disabled:** no - **Keg Only:** no - **URL Keys:** head, stable ## Other Package-Manager Records - Debian apt - mame - 0.276+dfsg.1-1+deb13u1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: mame from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator (MAME) | https://mamedev.org/ - Debian apt - mame-data - 0.276+dfsg.1-1+deb13u1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: mame-data from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator (MAME) -- data files | https://mamedev.org/ - Debian apt - mame-doc - 0.276+dfsg.1-1+deb13u1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: mame-doc from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | Documentation for MAME | https://mamedev.org/ - Debian apt - mame-tools - 0.276+dfsg.1-1+deb13u1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: mame-tools from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | Tools for MAME | https://mamedev.org/ - Nix - mame: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ma/mame/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - Ubuntu apt - mame - 0.264+dfsg.1-1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: mame from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator (MAME) | https://mamedev.org/ - Ubuntu apt - mame-data - 0.264+dfsg.1-1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: mame-data from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator (MAME) -- data files | https://mamedev.org/ - Ubuntu apt - mame-doc - 0.264+dfsg.1-1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: mame-doc from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | Documentation for MAME | https://mamedev.org/ - Ubuntu apt - mame-tools - 0.264+dfsg.1-1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: mame-tools from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | Tools for MAME | https://mamedev.org/ - apk - mame - 0.285-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: mame from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/testing/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Multi Arcade Machine Emulator with GroovyMAME/Switchres/No-nag patchset. | https://mamedev.org/ - apk - mame-common - 0.285-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: mame-common from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/testing/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | MAME - Common configuration files | https://mamedev.org/ - apk - mame-data - 0.285-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: mame-data from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/testing/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Distribution data files for MAME | https://mamedev.org/ - apk - mame-doc - 0.285-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: mame-doc from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/testing/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Multi Arcade Machine Emulator with GroovyMAME/Switchres/No-nag patchset. (documentation) | https://mamedev.org/ - apk - mame-lang - 0.285-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: mame-lang from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/testing/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Localization files for MAME | https://mamedev.org/ - apk - mame-plugins - 0.285-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: mame-plugins from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/testing/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Distribution plugins for MAME | https://mamedev.org/ - apk - mame-tools - 0.285-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: mame-tools from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/testing/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Tools for MAME | https://mamedev.org/ ## Related links - [Terminal utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/terminal-utilities/) - Matched terminal and command-line workflow metadata. - [Networking and protocol packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/networking-protocol-tools/) - Matched network, protocol, or remote-service metadata. - [Game and emulation packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/game-emulation-tools/) - Matched game or emulation metadata. - [Homebrew utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew-utility-packages/) - Matched Homebrew package provider. - [flac](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/flac/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [jpeg-turbo](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/jpeg-turbo/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [sqlite](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/sqlite/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [pkgconf](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/pkgconf/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew. - [sphinx-doc](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/sphinx-doc/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew. - [rom-tools](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/rom-tools/) - Shares the same upstream source repository. - [dosbox-staging](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/dosbox-staging/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, emulation, emulator, games. - [huexpress](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/huexpress/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, emulation, emulator, games. - [mednafen](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/mednafen/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, emulation, emulator, games. - [mupen64plus](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/mupen64plus/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, emulation, emulator, games. - [nestopia-ue](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/nestopia-ue/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, emulation, emulator, games. - [ppsspp](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/ppsspp/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, emulation, emulator, games. - [supermodel](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/supermodel/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: arcade, cli, emulation, emulator, games. - [vice](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/vice/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, emulation, emulator, games. - [scummvm](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/scummvm/) - Local package facts share a topical domain. Shared terms: cli, emulation, flac, games, jpeg. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/mame.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/mame.yml) ## Sources - Nucleus package database - Geiger risk classifier - package-page enrichment - curated configuration and credential file locations - curated package history - package version freshness - av.db category and tag curation - package relationship graph - external package-manager database matches - cross-ecosystem install command graph