Best Self Hosted Alternatives to Roon (for library-style browsing)

RomM is a self-hosted ROM and game library manager for organizing and browsing your retro game collection. It scans your filesystem, identifies games, fetches metadata and artwork from external databases, and presents everything in a clean web interface with powerful filtering.

Key Features

• Library scanning and automatic matching of ROMs to game metadata
• Rich metadata and media enrichment (box art, screenshots, logos, descriptions)
• Platform/system organization with browsing, sorting, and filtering
• Web UI for searching and managing your collection
• Supports multiple users (auth-enabled deployments) and per-user experience
• Import/maintenance tools for rescans, deduping-like workflows, and metadata refresh

Use Cases

• Build a searchable “Netflix-style” catalog for a large ROM archive
• Keep consistent metadata/artwork across devices and emulators
• Centralize a household retro collection with a shared web interface

Limitations and Considerations

• Metadata quality depends on external sources and accurate file naming; some titles may require manual fixes
• Actual gameplay requires compatible emulators/clients; RomM focuses on library management rather than being a full emulator stack

RomM is best suited for retro enthusiasts who want a centralized, metadata-rich catalog of their ROMs with an easy web interface. It streamlines collection hygiene and discovery while integrating with external metadata providers for enrichment.