If you haven’t booted the device yet, you can force enable SSH:
EmuELEC uses the root user for administration. There is no sudo; you log in directly as root.
find /storage/roms -name "*.txt" -type f -delete
Unlike standard Linux distributions, EmuELEC does not always run the SSH daemon by default on first boot to save resources. emuelec ssh
Method A: Via EmulationStation (Recommended)
Method B: Via autostart.sh (Headless/Pre-configuration)
If you need SSH enabled before booting the UI (e.g., for headless setup), you can modify the autostart.sh file on the SD card's STORAGE partition: If you haven’t booted the device yet, you
Sometimes you need to upload a single core file or a BIOS, and Samba is too slow. Use scp (built into Linux/macOS/Windows PowerShell).
From your PC to EmuELEC:
scp /home/user/Downloads/bios_file.bin root@192.168.1.120:/storage/roms/bios/
From EmuELEC to your PC:
scp root@192.168.1.120:/storage/roms/snes/rom.sfc /home/user/Desktop/
ssh root@<YOUR_EMUELEC_IP>
# password: emuelec
On Windows – use PuTTY, or just the built-in terminal in Windows 10/11: Unlike standard Linux distributions, EmuELEC does not always
ssh root@192.168.1.123