RomM 5.0.0-alpha.1 release notes

[!WARNING] This is the first alpha of v5.0.0. It ships a brand-new frontend that lives alongside the current one. Expect rough edges, and please report anything you find. The new UI is still on beta: enable it from your user settings (UI version). The classic UI remains the default and is untouched.

[!NOTE] Environment Variables

OIDC_ALLOW_REGISTRATION: Gate automatic user registration on OIDC login (default false) DISABLE_LOGS_VIEWER: Disable the logs viewer for every user, including admins (default false)

Highlights

A brand-new frontend

v5 kicks off the biggest visual overhaul in RomM’s history: a ground-up frontend with a new design system, a fresh visual language, and a universal input model that feels at home with mouse, touch, keyboard and gamepad alike. This first alpha is your early look, opt in and let us know what you think. The mobile version of the new frontend it’s currently being worked on, so expect it to not be really smooth. #3436

[!NOTE] Controller support

This new frontend has been designed to make it controller friendly from the beginning. Some controls and navigation has been already implemented but it’s half baked, not every piece of the UI is wired to the controller yet.

Live playing sessions

See what’s being played, as it happens. Active game sessions are now tracked in real time, so you always know what’s running across your library. #3272

Live logs

Tail your server logs straight from the UI, streamed live, now with semantic module names and a module filter to cut through the noise. Debugging a scan or a player issue no longer means digging through the container. #3557 #3578

Shared savestates

Pick up where someone else left off. Saves and savestates can now be shared with other users, so progress travels with the game instead of being locked to a single device. #3569

Shared screenshots

Captured a great moment? Screenshots are now first-class shared assets, complete with the uploader’s avatar, making it easy to show off (or get help with) what’s happening on screen. #3549

Interactive 3D boxart

Covers get a new dimension. Boxart can now be rendered as an interactive 3D box on the game detail hero, bringing a bit of shelf-appeal back to your digital collection. Can be enabled selecting 3D box boxart in the UI settings. #3580

Overlay debug mode

A new debug overlay draws live diagnostics right on top of the UI, perfect for tracking down layout and rendering issues without leaving the app. It can be enabled from the UI settings #3554

Controller debug view

Wondering if your gamepad is mapped correctly? The new controller debug view shows inputs as you press them, making setup and troubleshooting a breeze. #3436

Changelog preview

What’s new is now front and center. A built-in changelog dialog, reachable from the user menu, surfaces release highlights directly in the app so you never miss what changed. #3436

QR auth for TV-like devices

Signing in on a TV or other input-limited device just got painless. RomM now implements the OAuth device authorization flow (RFC 8628): scan a QR code with your phone to pair and authenticate, no on-screen keyboard wrestling required. #3308

Minor changes

Faster search with full-text indexes and caching by @bonofiglio in https://github.com/rommapp/romm/pull/3540
Add ES-DE <sortname> import and edit support for ROM ordering by @gantoine with @Copilot in https://github.com/rommapp/romm/pull/3460
Backend connection status notice + offline-aware boot by @zurdi15 in https://github.com/rommapp/romm/pull/3550
Add user avatar to shared assets like notes and screenshots by @zurdi15 in https://github.com/rommapp/romm/pull/3551
CRT mode as a theme setting by @zurdi15 in https://github.com/rommapp/romm/pull/3552
Add dropzone to saves/states by @zurdi15 in https://github.com/rommapp/romm/pull/3556
Unify upload UX across Game Details subtabs by @zurdi15 in https://github.com/rommapp/romm/pull/3570
Restore “remove from continue playing” action by @zurdi15 in https://github.com/rommapp/romm/pull/3572
Render cover art at its natural aspect ratio by @gantoine in https://github.com/rommapp/romm/pull/3573
Improve gallery responsiveness by @zurdi15 in https://github.com/rommapp/romm/pull/3576
Add tile animations to the gallery by @zurdi15 in https://github.com/rommapp/romm/pull/3578
Various v2 UI tweaks by @gantoine in https://github.com/rommapp/romm/pull/3579
Add OIDC_ALLOW_REGISTRATION toggle to gate OIDC auto-registration by @Spinnich in https://github.com/rommapp/romm/pull/3577

Fixes

Fix gallery animation by @zurdi15 in https://github.com/rommapp/romm/pull/3553
Refresh platforms on scan by @zurdi15 in https://github.com/rommapp/romm/pull/3555
Handle missing ROM files during delete-from-filesystem requests by @zurdi15 with @Copilot in https://github.com/rommapp/romm/pull/3562
Guard SiblingBadge against missing sibling_roms (scan crash with Group ROMs) by @androosio in https://github.com/rommapp/romm/pull/3568

Other changes

Integrate Hypothesis property-based testing for the backend by @gantoine in https://github.com/rommapp/romm/pull/3403
Run backend tests in parallel with pytest-xdist by @gantoine in https://github.com/rommapp/romm/pull/3559
Split v2 constitution into focused agent skills and make CLAUDE.md holistic by @gantoine in https://github.com/rommapp/romm/pull/3581

New Contributors

@bonofiglio made their first contribution in https://github.com/rommapp/romm/pull/3540
@androosio made their first contribution in https://github.com/rommapp/romm/pull/3568

Full Changelog: https://github.com/rommapp/romm/compare/4.9.2…5.0.0-alpha.1