This article compiles a list of all third party apps and tools you can get with Onion in your Miyoo Mini or Miyoo Mini Plus. I will try to explain the function of each application, and give you a quick recommendation (in my opinion). Hope that it could help you summarize all the best Miyoo Mini’s Onion apps.
To enable an application, go to Apps › Package Manager.
List of all Miyoo Mini’s Onion apps
Activity Tracker
| App | Important? |
| Activity Tracker | ✗ |
The first and foremost application of Onion in Miyoo Mini is the Activity Tracker app. As its name implies, the application can track playing activities in your Miyoo Mini Plus.
For me, the idea of tracking gaming sessions is awesome, but I don’t see myself in need of checking playing time for the Miyoo Mini Plus. Perhaps because I only use the Miyoo Mini Plus as a mean of entertainment for short periods. Moreover, I use the Miyoo Mini Plus as an alternative for my Game Boy Advance, and I use save states excessively (about 1000 save slots for a simple Metroid Fusion), I don’t think that Activity Tracker will work efficiently with save states (need editing).
However, if you like this application, it would be one of the best applications on Onion. I will try to answer some questions around Activity Tracker issues.
Activity Tracker Onion not working?
If the Activity Tracker isn’t working, perhaps you’re not using the latest 4.2.0 version of Onion, or you’re using the 4.2.0 beta version. Either way, update to the latest Onion using my Onion installation guide.
My Activity Tracker Onion is broken, how can I recover it?
To recover Activity Tracker’s play activity, you should look for playActivityTMP.db file in /mnt/SDCARD/Saves/CurrentProfile/saves/, if available, just rename it to playActivity.db. Otherwise, you need to manually backup your play activity, which stores in /mnt/SDCARD/Saves/CurrentProfile/saves/PlayActivityBackup/. Find the database file that has a size of 0KB, which would be the corrupted activity file, and select the highest numbered version just before it. Copy it to /mnt/SDCARD/Saves/CurrentProfile/saves/, remember to rename the file to playActivity.db, which overwrites the located one there.
My Activity Tracker Onion shows 0 min, how can I fix it?
If you still can’t fix Activity Tracker showing accurate time, you can try insert your SD card into the computer, and search for playactivity_tmp.db. Make a copy of this file, rename it to playActivityTMP.db and put it under /mnt/SDCARD/Saves/CurrentProfile/saves/. It should fix the problem.
How do I reset Activity Tracker data?
You can reset Activity Tracker data by going to /mnt/SDCARD/Saves/CurrentProfile/saves/ and delete playActivityTMP.db file. Then you should go to /mnt/SDCARD/Saves/CurrentProfile/saves/PlayActivityBackup/ and delete everything in this folder.
Advance MENU
| App | Important? |
| Advance MENU | ✗ |
The Advance Menu is an alternative frontend which has the ability to display video thumbnails of games. In short, it makes short videos of games in Miyoo Mini. It is really impressive to have an application to do such task on a low-CPU device like the Miyoo Mini. The animated thumbnails require a particular format, .mng files and a separated .mp3 sound file.
For me, I think the frontend is very cool. But I often use Game Switcher to select games, so I won’t use the Advance Menu anytime soon. If you are a lazy people who just want to enjoy games, I believe the process to make Advance Menu work is troublesome. Believe me, I’m a lazy handheld person who has been through this.
You will need to copy your snap files (mng+mp3) to %ROMROOTFOLDER%/Snaps. I recommend you to just take the premade snap packs, as the whole process to make snap files is really, really time-consuming. You can choose either from AdvanceMAME snap pack or Tiny Best Set snap pack.
Here is the instruction to use the Advance Menu on Onion:
| Button | Action |
|---|---|
| A | Validate |
| B or MENU | Back or exit |
| X | Select sort mode for the game list (by name, emulator, type, year, size, manufacturer, play times…) |
| Y | Select current item, useful for type filter menu |
| L/R | Prev/next page |
| L2/R2 | Go to prev/next category (if you filter per type of game it goes to the next type) |
| START | Display main menu |
| SELECT | Change current display mode (Full, mixed, tile small, tile big, enormous…) |
How to set AdvanceMENU as the start application instead of MainUI?
You should go to Apps › Tweaks › System › Startup... › Start application.
How to scrape my own snap files?
If you truly want to scrape your own snap files, you should download a software named Skraper. Then, look for folder App\AdvanceMENU\tools\Roms_and_Medias_Management\mp4_to_mng, copy it to your PC, make a new folder named videos and then copy the video files there, every system at a time, and run the script to convert to mng+mp3 files. Finally, copy the mng folder content to the Snaps folder in every systems folder.
Clock
| App | Important? |
| Clock | ✗ |
Clock is an Onion application that set emulated time for roms. By default, the system increments elapsed time while the device is powered on, then writes that time to a file before powering off. After powering on, it reads the file then adds 4 hours. The clock is just an editor so you can edit the elapsed time.
I don’t use this application because the default setting to add 4 hours on every boot is enough.
Display Calibration
| App | Important? |
| Display Calibration | ✗ |
Display Calibration (240pSuite) is an application to help in the evaluation of upscalers, upscan converters, line doublers and of course TV processing of 240p video signals. The 240p test suite is made by Artemio author, and it can also help you test audio and control in Miyoo Mini Plus.
It would be nice to have it for first test when buying the Miyoo Mini, but after that, I don’t think we will use the application again.
How to exit Display Calibration on Onion?
To exit Display Calibration (240pSuite) on Onion, you should press MENU + SELECT. If it doesn’t work, you need to turn off the device then turn on again. It would exit the Display Calibration test.
Easy Netplay
| App | Important? |
| Easy Netplay | ✓ |
Netplay is a function of RetroArch, and with the Miyoo Mini Plus only, you can now play together with your friend. Yes, trading Pokemon is possible with this feature, and I make a simple guide on how to trade Pokemon on Miyoo Mini Plus. Remember that you need to enable both Easy Netplay (GLO, MMP only) and Easy Netplay – Pokemon Trading.
To activate these features, you navigate to a random game in your library, then press Y when hovering over the game’s title. You can host or join, but make sure that you do both altogether. This feature should be enabled using RetroArch setting menu, but I try it many times to no avail. So, perhaps you need this Easy Netplay app for multiplayer games.
Ebook Reader
| App | Important? |
| Ebook Reader | ✓ |
The Ebook Reader application works as its name suggests, and it works with .epub format only. I heard that some languages don’t work as expected, like Chinese. It is just a few limitations for having another ebook reader.
I recommend to get that application because the Miyoo Mini Plus has enough battery for a book. Though I must confess, I don’t read book on my Miyoo Mini.
Expert
| App | Important? |
| Expert | ✓ |
This is a feature to add an Expert tab in the MainUI, which is required to access expert systems enabled. To enable expert systems, you should go to the Package Manager.
File Explorer
| App | Important? |
| File Explorer | ✓ |
The File Explorer application (Dingux Commander) is a two-panel file manager for the Miyoo Mini. It is quite necessary for some people like me, who has a paranoid that continuously removing SD cards can damage them.
However, I don’t find myself in need of using this application. I also made an ultimate handheld SD card guide for anyone interested, hoping to ease the worry about damaging your SD card a bit.
Ftp Server
| App | Important? |
| FTP Server | ✓ |
Together with the File Explorer application, the FTP Server is necessary in adding and removing files from your computer to the Miyoo Mini. I don’t like to constantly removing SD cards, as I think more fractions mean more damage, that’s why I usually select an SD card with bigger storage than usual. So for me, the application is game changer, and I will use the Miyoo Mini Plus over any vertical handheld retro emulator in the same price range.
You go to Apps › FTPServer, then it will announce that the FTP server has been launched. Then go to Settings › WiFi, copy the address. Finally, you just need to type ftp://address in the Windows Explorer address bar, just like this:
Make sure that you’re on the latest version of Onion, otherwise you may encounter the bug “Error: unable to connect to the server”.
Guest Mode
| App | Important? |
| Guest Mode | ✓ |
The Guest Mode application runs a parallel mode for your kids. If you have kids and want them to play games on Miyoo Mini, consider using this application.
Perhaps that’s why I select it as “important”.
If you want a clear explanation of this application, when activating Guest Mode, the Miyoo Mini stores saves in a different folder than the primary save folder. As a result, it won’t overwrite the save slots in your games.
Http Server
| App | Important? |
| HTTP Server | ✓ |
The Http Server works for the same purpose as the FTP server application, however, you need to access your web browser to access. For example, I will access with my Microsoft Edge web browser:
The default username and password is admin/admin. After that, you will access your SD card the same way as the Ftp server.
Music Player
| App | Important? |
| Music Player | ✓ |
The Music Player app (gmu) on Onion is very cool. I can easily impress my friends by listening to the Miyoo, though that’s all for the application. Surprisingly, the Miyoo Mini Plus can support that many file formats, so you don’t have to convert your music files into something new. 10 points for Griffin… I mean Miyoo Mini.
Here is the keymap for using the Music Player app (gmu) on Onion:
| Button | Action |
|---|---|
| R | Skip to next track in playlist/Start playback |
| L | Skip to previous track in playlist |
| MENU + R | Seek 10 seconds forward |
| MENU + L | Seek 10 seconds backward |
| START | Pause/resume playback |
| X | Stop playback |
| MENU + START | Exit player |
| SELECT | Toggle file browser/playlist view/track info |
| MENU + A | Program info |
OTA Update
| App | Important? |
| OTA Update | ✗ |
The Onion OTA (Over the air) Update is an application which can update the Onion version on your Miyoo Mini Plus (only) without manual installation. It is a good feature in theory, but unless you are someone who love tinkering with your Miyoo Mini Plus, you don’t really need to update the system. If I don’t write a blog post, I won’t find any motivation to use this application myself. So yeah, it is a hard no for me.
If your Miyoo Mini Plus is connecting to Internet, the OTA app will serve you the latest update of Onion OS. Just click MENU, then choose Yes to install.
If you choose No, you need to exit the application.
What does OTA mean in OTA Update app of Onion?
OTA is abbreviation for Over The Air.
I have OTA Update issue “github.com not reachable. Check your wifi connection”, what can I do?
Your firmware may not have DNS support, so you need to upgrade Onion firmware.
PDF Reader
| App | Important? |
| PDF Reader | ✗ |
The PDF Reader (Green) is exactly what its name implies, which would be great if you’re going to read a comic or something with images. However, I only need it as a Ebook reader, so I don’t think it is important. Your mileage may vary.
RetroArch
| App | Important? |
| RetroArch | ✓ |
The RetroArch application is simply a shortcut for RetroArch in Onion. It brings all advanced emulator settings for the device, including scaling, video filter or audio resample. If you feel like optimizing your system a bit, it would be a valuable shortcut.
I actually use the default setting for RetroArch, but I still enable the application to log in my retroachievements account. Go to Settings › User › Accounts › Retroachievements. Don’t forget to sign up an account in Retroachievements.
Video Player
| App | Important? |
| Video Player | ✗ |
The Video Player (FFplay) application on Onion is a cool feature, but I don’t need another pocket video player, so it isn’t important to me.
First, you need to place your videos in the Media › Videos folder. It is recommended to create only one-level-deep subfolder inside the Videos folder.
On Miyoo Mini, go to Games › Videos to access the videos folder. You can delete a video by highlighting a video and pressing SELECT, then click on Delete. If you don’t see your videos, refresh the list the same way as you do with your games, so go back to Games folder, press SELECT and choose Refresh all roms.
Here is the keymap for the video player:
How to enable 16:9 startup for Video Player Onion?
Rename the file Emu/ffplay/bin/ffplay to Emu/ffplay/bin/ffplay_4_3. Then, rename the file Emu/ffplay/bin/ffplay_16_9 to Emu/ffplay/bin/ffplay
Theme Switcher
| App | Important? |
| Theme Switcher | ✗ |
If you want to add theme for your Miyoo Mini, you need this application. It would help you switch themes that you previously downloaded to Themes folder. Not really something that I need, but hey, it’s cool to show off your Miyoo Mini, right?
That’s it, if you have any other questions, please find it in my Miyoo Tutorial.
