A portable RetroArch keeps saves, configs and cores on one stick. It only stays portable if every path inside it is relative and nothing writes to the user profile.
Use the **portable install** (a file named `portable` next to the executable), keep **saves, states and config** inside the folder and use **relative paths** in the directory settings.
RetroArch writes to the user profile unless a file named **portable** sits next to the executable. Create it as an empty file before the first start.
retroarch.exe
portablePoint saves, save states, screenshots, cores and playlists at folders on the stick. Absolute paths break the moment the drive letter changes on another PC.
Settings > DirectoryRetroArch accepts paths starting with a colon for its own folders. They resolve against the install directory and survive a new drive letter.
:\aves
:\tates
:\oresOne core per system is enough. A folder with every core makes updates slow and turns the menu into a list nobody reads.
Plug the stick into another PC with a different drive letter and load a game with a save state. That single test catches every remaining absolute path.
Replace the executables and keep the folders. Copy the old config aside first; a full update overwrites settings that live outside the portable folder.
The portable marker is missing there, so it reads the profile instead. Check that the file travelled with the stick.
The save directory changed with the drive letter. Point it at a relative path and reload the content.
A 32-bit core with a 64-bit build, or the core directory points at the old location. Rebuild the core path.
Small files on a cheap drive. Use a USB 3 stick and keep thumbnails off.
Yes, once the directories are relative. Keep one stick per person to avoid two copies of the same save.
Yes. Point the frontend at the stick's executable and let RetroArch handle the paths.
Delete the portable marker to return to the profile-based setup. Nothing outside the stick is modified.
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