Getting Started

1. Getting Started

This chapter covers the basics required to run Oxide and start loading ROMs.

Requirements

To run Oxide from source you need:

• Rust toolchain (cargo, rustc)
• A desktop environment supported by eframe
• An audio output device if you want to test buzzer playback

Run from source

cargo run

This launches the splash screen first, then the main application window.

Build a release version

cargo build --release

The release binary will be generated under target/release/.

First startup behavior

On startup, Oxide currently:

• initializes a splash window
• restores saved user preferences when available
• resets runtime-only emulation state
• opens the main application window after the splash delay

On Windows, Oxide also prevents multiple instances from running at the same time.

Load a ROM

From the UI:

Game -> Load game

Supported file extensions:

• .ch8
• .rom
• .bin

Oxide can also reopen the most recent ROM from the Game menu.

First things to try

Recommended first checks after launch:

1. Open a ROM from Game -> Load game
2. Verify the display is rendering correctly
3. Open Settings and choose your language/theme
4. Open the Debug Terminal if you want runtime logs
5. Try a save state once a ROM is running

Useful defaults

Common default shortcuts:

• O: load game
• P: pause / resume
• R: reset ROM
• Esc: stop emulation
• F11: fullscreen
• F1-F3: save state slots 1-3
• F5-F7: load state slots 1-3

All of these can be changed in Settings.