A Super Nintendo (SNES) emulator focused on performance, features, and ease of use.
Publisher’s description
What is bsnes?
bsnes by bsnes-emu is open-source Windows software in the emulators category. It ranks 13th by popularity among emulators in this catalogue. It is written in C++. Besides Windows, it is available for Linux.
Installation and requirements
The publisher provides Portable installers for 64-bit Windows. It runs without installation (portable).
Popularity and file types
The Chocolatey package has been downloaded 1,052 times. The source code on GitHub (bsnes-emu/bsnes) has 2,006 stars. Similar programs include PCSX2, BizHawk and SameBoy.
Project description on GitHub: “bsnes is a Super Nintendo (SNES) emulator focused on performance, features, and ease of use.”
Pros / Cons
Pros
- Open source: the code can be inspected and built by anyone
- Portable: runs without installation
- Also runs on Linux
Cons
- No native ARM64 build
In short: bsnes is an open-source emulator tool for 64-bit PCs.
Key features
- True Super Game Boy emulation (using the SameBoy core by Lior Halphon)
- HD mode 7 graphics (by DerKoun) with optional supersampling
- Low-level emulation of all SNES coprocessors
- Multi-threaded PPU graphics renderer
- Speed mode settings which retain smooth audio output
- Built-in games database with over 1,200 game entries
- Built-in cheat code database (by mightymo) with hundreds of game entries
- Built-in save state manager with screenshot previews and naming capabilities
- Customizable game mappings to support any game cartridges, including prototypes
- 7-zip decompression support
- Extensive Satellaview emulation, including BS Memory flash write and wear-leveling support
- Optional higan game folder support (standard game ROM files are also supported!)
- Advanced mapping system allowing multiple bindings to every emulated input
- MSU1 support
AppStream · Flathub
Is bsnes safe to download?
- The file is served by github.com, the publisher’s own domain
- The download link uses HTTPS
- A SHA256 hash is published, so you can verify the file:
86FBD51A82E93D1608D71D79F7E3D320F9225B2246494C1BE4131710A6E0E8CC· Open the VirusTotal report for this hash - The link has not been checked yet
- The source code is public
- ExeAtlas does not host, wrap or modify installers
Related guide: How to check a file’s SHA256 hash on Windows
Security practices (OpenSSF Scorecard)
Automated checks of the bsnes-emu/bsnes repository on GitHub by the Open Source Security Foundation, last run on October 19, 2026.
- No dangerous workflows10
- No binaries in the repository10
- Licence declared9
- Code review6
- Actively maintained2
- Restricted token permissions0
- OpenSSF Best Practices badge0
- Pinned dependencies0
- Security policy0
- Fuzzing0
- Signed releases0
- Branch protection0
- Static code analysis0
The score rates how the project is developed and released, not whether the program is safe to install. scorecard.dev
Recent versions
All 1 versions ›| Version | Date | Size | Files |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-01-09Latest | January 9, 2026 | — | 64-bit ZIP |
Install from the command line
Silent install ›winget install --id bsnes-emu.BSNES -echoco install bsnes -yRelated guide: How to use winget: install and update apps
Also for other systems
flatpak install flathub dev.bsnes.bsnesInformation
- Publisher
- bsnes-emu
- Category
- Emulators
- Licence
- GPLv3
- Price
- Free
- Source code
- github.com/bsnes-emu/bsnes
- Written in
- C++
- Content rating
- All ages
- Requires
- Windows 11 / 10
- Architecture
- 64-bit
- Installer
- Portable
- Other platforms
- Linux
- Version
- 2026-01-09
- Released
- January 9, 2026
- Added to the catalogue
- February 10, 2026
- Versions listed
- 1
- Chocolatey downloads
- 1,052
- GitHub stars
- 2,006
- GitHub forks
- 204
- Website
- bsnes.org
- winget ID
- bsnes-emu.BSNES
- Chocolatey package
- bsnes
Ratings and reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to rate it.
Alternatives to bsnes
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BizHawk2.11A core-based, multi-system emulator written in C#. Provides nice features for casual gamers such as full screen, and controller/joystick support in addition to full rerecording and debugging tools for all system cores.Open source4.3K ↓ -
SameBoy1.0.4SameBoy is an open source Game Boy (DMG) and Game Boy Color (CGB) emulator, written in portable C.Other licence712 ↓ -
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Proprietary20.6K ↓
Frequently asked questions
Is bsnes free?
Yes. bsnes is open-source software under the GPLv3 licence.
Is bsnes safe to download?
The download comes from github.com, which belongs to the publisher; ExeAtlas does not host or change the file. Compare its SHA256 hash with the one shown here, or open the VirusTotal report for that hash.
How do I install bsnes with winget?
Open PowerShell or Windows Terminal and run the winget command shown on this page. winget downloads the official installer and checks its SHA256 hash before running it.
Does bsnes run on ARM (Windows on Arm)?
There is no ARM64 build; Windows 11 on Arm can run the 64-bit version through emulation.
Can I use bsnes without administrator rights?
Yes, it is portable: unpack and run it.
What are alternatives to bsnes?
PCSX2, BizHawk, SameBoy, shadPS4 and Cemu. The alternatives page compares them.
