What is it?
Bananapass is a new arcade identity layer. Your profile and scores can now be tracked across every game you play, and across every machine and every launcher, loader or frontend. Scores, saves and progress are all tied to a single physical card.
The Bananapass Service, however, is for those who still prefer to use their favorite launchers and don’t wish to switch to Ultra Loader just yet. We totally get it. You’ve used other launchers and loaders for years, and many games currently work. Ultra Loader is new, and will need to prove itself over time, and as it stands right now, many games don’t work. Game compatibility will get better with time, but there needed to be a starting point somewhere. If we didnt do this now, then when? Another five years later? Ten? No, it needed to be done, and all it took, was for one person to stop complaining and actually do the work.
And given that understanding, we know that switching over won’t be easy. You have your setups and everything set in place. Changes are not always easy. But we must do it, if we want things to be better. Will you keep paying for a gatekept service, when you know its not right? Will you keep encouraging this type of selfish behavior? We have to stop this, and the only way to do it, is to support solutions that make these things open and free for everyone. Thus in the meantime, we wanted to help facilitate that change, to make it easier to switch over time by allowing all users to enjoy one of the features of Ultra Loader, the new Bananapass, and we created a small, extremely lightweight service that runs on your PC and integrates the Bananapass layer for you with no setup or coding needed. Just download and launch. This is another way we showcase our commitment to the community, and we will never lock down and gatekeep useful features to ourselves.
The service is extremely lean, and calls the backend ultra loader server exactly once to activate your Bananapass, and will never call it again for that card if you sync your files locally. Your profile will stay local on your machine unless you opt in to the Cloud Sync service. The OPTIONAL Cloud Sync is available now as an opt-in feature for those who want automatic cross-machine backup. We will charge a small fee for this in the amount of $2.99/month with no commitment and no lock-ins. This paid service is an optional extra-enhancement on top of the free and open Bananapass service that people are now paying a monthly subscription for. Therefore, if you use the FREE Bananapass local service, you are already getting a product for free that you were paying for, and if you use the Bananapass Cloud Sync service, you will get far more for less than half the price of what you are paying for and receiving now. This is the way. Community value for free. Optional high-value enhancement for a small and fair fee. The local Bananapass service itself, remains free of charge for all users to use, forever.
Features
Any Launcher
Works with TeknoParrot, LaunchBox, Retrobat, EmulationStation, Hyperspin, Batocera, Bazzite, and any custom setup. No changes to your existing config.
Zero Setup
Runs silently at startup. Enter your card number once in the tray popup and it handles everything from there. No ports to open, no config files to edit.
Privacy First
Activates once with the server, then goes offline permanently for that card. Your profile, saves, and history stay on your own machine unless you enable Cloud Sync.
Cloud Sync
Opt-in cloud backup for your profile, saves, and game history. Enable it anytime from the tray icon. Restore everything on a new machine in seconds.
Portable History
Game history preserved across reinstalls, new PCs, and hardware changes. Your data lives with your card number, not your machine.
Open Integration
Endpoint data is published publicly. Any frontend developer can integrate Bananapass natively into their own software without depending on Ultra Loader.
Lightweight
Under 5MB installed. Virtually no CPU or memory footprint. Runs silently in the background. You won't notice it until you need it.
Always Free
The core Bananapass service is free for every user, forever. No trial period, no paywall, no card required. Cloud Sync is the only paid option and it's entirely optional.
Compatible Launchers
The Bananapass Service works alongside any of these and more, with zero configuration on your part.
We have also published the endpoint data publicly, so anyone may integrate Bananapass into their software or frontend directly if they so choose.
Cloud Sync
With an OPTIONAL cloud sync subscription service enabled, your Bananapass profile, game saves, session history, and per-game stats are automatically backed up. Restore your full setup on any new machine in seconds.
What Bananapass Saves
Per-Game
+Play count and total time
+High scores and rankings
+Save states where supported
+Unlocks and achievements
Profile-level
+Player name and preferences
+Session history across all games
+Cross-game activity timeline
+Tied to card number, not your PC
Cloud Sync (Optional Subscription)
+Videos and clips of your runs
+Cross-device persistence anywhere in the world
+Automatic backup on every session
+Restore your full setup on any machine
Download
Need a Bananapass card first? Get one free here →