Batocera is much more enjoyable when your game lists include artwork, descriptions, and video previews. Without scraping, most systems show only ROM filenames, which makes browsing clunky and unsatisfying.
In this blog post, we will explain what a screen scraper is in Batocera and walk through how to use ScreenScraper to automatically add box art, screenshots, metadata, and video previews.
- What Is a Screen Scraper in Batocera?
- Before You Scrape
- Entering ScreenScraper Credentials in Batocera
- Configuring ScreenScraper Options
- Running the Scraper
- Scraping an Entire System (Recommended)
- Video Art (Video Snaps)
- Fixing Bad Matches
- Final Thoughts
What Is a Screen Scraper in Batocera?
In Batocera, a “screen scraper” (often just called a “scraper”) is a tool that:
- Scans your game library
- Identifies each game
- Downloads matching metadata and media assets
This typically includes:
- Box art and cover images
- Screenshots
- Game descriptions
- Release dates, genres, and publishers
- Video previews (often called video snaps)
Batocera supports multiple scraping sources. One of the most popular is ScreenScraper, a community-driven database that provides high-quality media and metadata.
Before You Scrape
Batocera includes a built-in scraper, but for best results you should use ScreenScraper, which requires a free account.
Create a ScreenScraper Account
Before scraping large libraries, create an account:
- Visit: https://www.screenscraper.fr
- Register for a free account
- Note your username and password
Using an account improves match accuracy and avoids aggressive rate limits.
Entering ScreenScraper Credentials in Batocera
To configure your account in Batocera:
- Press Start
- Go to Game Settings
- Select Scraper
- Open ScreenScraper Account
- Enter your username and password
- Save changes
Once saved, Batocera will authenticate to ScreenScraper during scraping.
Configuring ScreenScraper Options
With credentials entered, configure how media is scraped.
From Main Menu → Game Settings → Scraper, adjust the following:
- Scraper Source: ScreenScraper
- Region: USA, Europe, Japan, or World (choose what matches your ROM set)
- Image Style: Boxart, Mix, Screenshot, Wheel, etc.
- Video: Enable if you want video previews
- Ratio: Preserve aspect ratio if your theme requires it
These options control what media is downloaded and how it is displayed in your theme.
Running the Scraper
You can scrape at different scopes depending on your needs.
Scraping a Single System
- Highlight the system
- Press Start
- Select Scrape
This is useful when adding a new console or testing scraper settings.
Scraping All Systems
To scrape everything:
- Press Start
- Go to Game Settings → Scraper
- Select Scrape Now
You will be prompted to:
- Overwrite existing media
- Or only fill in missing artwork
Choose carefully to avoid replacing custom artwork.
Scraping an Entire System (Recommended)
To scrape all games for a single console/system:
- Press Start
- Go to Game Settings
- Select Scraper
- Choose to scrape the current system
Batocera will:
- Iterate through every ROM in that system
- Download matching images and metadata
- Optionally download video previews
Video Art (Video Snaps)
Video previews significantly improve the browsing experience.
When enabled in scraper settings:
- Short gameplay preview videos are downloaded
- Videos play automatically in supported themes
Important considerations:
- Video files consume more storage
- Scraping videos takes longer
If space is limited, scrape images first and add videos later.
Fixing Bad Matches
Sometimes scraping matches the wrong game, especially when filenames are messy or regional variants exist.
If a game matches incorrectly:
- Re-scrape that single title
- Choose a different match from the list
- Save the corrected metadata
Taking a minute to fix mismatches makes the library feel polished.
Final Thoughts
Scraping is one of the biggest quality-of-life improvements you can make in Batocera. With ScreenScraper, your library transforms from a list of filenames into a clean, visual interface with artwork, descriptions, and video previews.
Once you scrape your systems, browsing becomes faster, more fun, and much more console-like — exactly how a Batocera setup should feel.
