Ask API. GET https://whichemulator.wtf/ask answers questions from the same data as this page, and it is the only place the setup steps are published. It takes the question as q and, optionally, this page's path as page, and returns JSON with answer, sources and follow_ups, or Markdown with Accept: text/markdown. No key needed.
curl -G 'https://whichemulator.wtf/ask' --data-urlencode 'q=How do I set up MAME for the Arcade?' --data-urlencode 'page=/arcade/'Questions it answers:
Guide: /skill.md. This page as Markdown: /arcade.md
Coin-op arcade hardware, Various, 1971. Coin-op boards from Computer Space onwards.
whichemulator.wtf calls its recommendation for each system the Gold Cartridge pick. For the Arcade, the Gold Cartridge pick is MAME.
MAME emulates more arcade hardware than anything else, from early-70s discrete boards to 2000s PC-based cabinets, and its ROM set definitions are the reference the whole scene works from. It is GPL, documented, and released every month or two. Official binaries are Windows-only (x64 and ARM64); macOS and Linux get it through Homebrew or distro packages.
Runs on Windows · Mac · Linux. Open source. Download: https://www.mamedev.org
ROM sets must match: Each MAME release can change set contents. A set built for a different version, or for FinalBurn Neo, may fail to load or report missing files.
CHDs: Games on hard drives, CDs or LaserDiscs need a CHD file alongside the ZIP. Don't zip CHDs; they're already compressed.
Pick the core first, then build the ROM set to match it. Sets for one core rarely work in another.
Arcade emulation means thousands of different boards rather than one machine, and MAME is the only project that tries to cover all of them. That breadth is why it’s the pick: whatever cabinet you remember, MAME is the most likely to run it, and the ROM set names everyone uses come from MAME’s own driver list.
FinalBurn Neo is the better choice if you mostly play 80s and 90s fighting games and shmups. It covers fewer boards but runs them with less overhead and has netplay and run-ahead built in.
Use the MAME core on anything reasonably modern. MAME 2003-Plus is for low-power devices. It’s built on MAME 0.78, so it needs its own sets; don’t point it at a current MAME collection and expect everything to load.
Setup steps for MAME are published only by the Ask API: How do I set up MAME for the Arcade?
Reference: WEM-ARCADE-731D