retroarch_load_state_slot
Load a save state from a numbered slot without altering RetroArch's current-slot pointer. Use to access specific bookmarks while preserving ongoing save location.
Instructions
PURPOSE: Load state from an explicitly-named save slot number, without modifying RetroArch's currently-selected slot pointer. USAGE: Use to load from a specific slot when you don't want to disturb the current-slot pointer (e.g. you're alternating between two bookmarks while keeping the 'live' slot for ongoing saves). For loading from the currently-selected slot, use retroarch_load_state_current — semantically distinct: this tool ignores the current-slot pointer entirely and addresses by number. Slots are numbered 0-9 by RetroArch convention. There is no retroarch_save_state_slot counterpart in the NCI — saving to a specific slot still requires walking the pointer with state_slot_plus/minus and then calling save_state_current. BEHAVIOR: DESTRUCTIVE TO LIVE STATE: replaces ALL current emulator state with the named slot's contents. Anything not previously snapshotted is lost. The state file MUST come from the same ROM and core version that produced it. Transport: RetroArch's Network Control Interface (NCI) over UDP (default 127.0.0.1:55355, requires network_cmd_enable = true in retroarch.cfg). UNLIKE most NCI control commands, LOAD_STATE_SLOT does send a reply (this client awaits it), so a UDP timeout will surface as an error here even though sibling load/save calls are fire-and-forget. If the named slot has no saved state, RetroArch's reply still indicates the command was processed — verify with a memory-read or screenshot. The current-slot pointer is unchanged after this call. RETURNS: Single line 'Loaded from slot N' echoing the requested slot number.
Input Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| slot | Yes | Save state slot number to load from. RetroArch's standard slot range is 0-9 (ten slots), but the NCI does not enforce a hard upper bound — slot numbers outside the configured range will simply find no file and silently no-op. This call does NOT change the currently-selected slot pointer (use retroarch_state_slot_plus / retroarch_state_slot_minus for that). |