Linux KMS Mode

Linux KMS Mode

Purpose

KMS (Kernel Mode Setting) mode is a feature where RetroArch can use the OpenGL driver outside Xorg, running straight in the virtual terminal. It is a fairly obscure feature, but very powerful in a console scenario.

Requirements

To use KMS mode you need:

•      Recent version of MESA (9.0+) (dev)
•      libgbm 9.0+, libdrm (dev)
•      Open source driver which supports KMS
•      ./configure with flags "--enable-kms" and "--enable-egl"

These require a fairly up-to-date distro.

After compiling RetroArch, you should see this when running retroarch --features:

KMS:
     KMS / EGL context support: yes

If KMS mode is working correctly, RetroArch should start up outside Xorg as well.