Configuration

You can configure several aspects of how PICO-8 runs by editing a file called config.txt. The location of this file depends on which operating system you use.

• Windows: C:/Users/Yourname/AppData/Roaming/pico-8/config.txt
• Mac OS X: /Users/Yourname/Library/Application Support/pico-8/config.txt
• Linux: ~/.lexaloffle/pico-8/config.txt

The file includes comments about the various options. If a line begins with // then it is treated as a comment line.

Note: PICO-8 overwrites the config.txt file each time you exit the app. If you open PICO-8, edit the config file, then exit (or restart) PICO-8, you will lose your changes. Close PICO-8 before editing config.txt. Settings may be changed during runtime using the config command.

For information on configuring game controllers, see Controllers.

See also Running PICO-8.

Video settings

video_mode width height bitdepth

Sets the width, height, and bit depth. For PICO-8, width and height adjust the window size (when not in full screen mode) and the PICO-8 display is a square of the smaller dimension, centered. Bit depth is ignored.

show_fps n

If n is 1, displays the current frame rate in the corner of the screen. The default is 0 (no display).

Window settings

windowed n

If n is 1, PICO-8 starts up in windowed mode. Set to 0 to start up in full screen mode.

window_position x y

The initial position of the window, or -1 -1 to use the window manager default.

frameless n

If n is 1, try to use a window with no frame.

fullscreen_method n

0 = "safe", 1 = borderless desktop-sized window, 2 = OS full screen

System settings

frame_sleep_ms n

An amount of time to sleep each frame, in milliseconds.

sessions n

The number of times PICO-8 has been run. PICO-8 updates this value automatically.

rmb_key n

The scan code for a key that you can hold down while left-clicking the mouse to simulate right clicking. Good for laptops with one-button trackpads, like MacBooks. 224 is left Control, 226 is left Alt, 0 is none.

Audio settings

sound_volume n

The sound effects volume, 0 to 256.

music_volume n

The music volume, 0 to 256.

mix_buffer_size n

The memory size of the audio mixing buffer. 1024 or 2048.

Other settings

version n

The version of PICO-8 that is installed. PICO-8 manages this value.

root_path path

The filesystem path of the PICO-8 cartridge folder. This is the location of the files you can access from the command prompt.

cdata_path path

The filesystem path of where PICO-8 stores persistent cartridge data.

joystick_index n

"Specify which player index joystick control begins at (0..7)"

button_keys p1_0 p1_1 p1_2 p1_3 p1_4 p1_5 p2_0 p2_1 p2_2 p2_3 p2_4 p2_5

Scan codes for the player 1 and player 2 controller keys on the keyboard. 0 uses the built-in default. The keyconfig command updates this line.

live_notes n

If n is 1, the sound editor's frequency mode plays the note as it is being adjusted. The default is 0 (no sound).

aspect n

Sets the aspect ratio of the display. 420 is 1:1 (square, the default), 560 is 4:3, 525 is 5:4. Wider aspect ratios stretch the pixels. You may need to adjust video_mode.

cursor_snap n

If n is 1, the keyboard-driven cursor snaps to the closest pixel or map cel. (TK: how to move the cursor with the keyboard?)

gif_len n

Set the maximum movie recording length to n seconds. If not set, the default is 8 seconds. PICO-8 is always recording so that you can save a video at any time, so larger values of n use more memory. (Press F8 to clear the video recording buffer. Press F9 to save the previous n seconds of video to a file as an animated GIF.)

tab_width n

Set the width of tab characters in the code editor.