vPinOps - A cross platform font end for Visual Pinball

[Mdkbot]

Hi all,

 

vPinOps 1.0 is out — a lightweight front end for Visual Pinball on Windows, macOS, and Linux. I'm going to keep working on it, and if there's interest, I'll open source it.

 

It started about a year ago after Major Frenchy posted that VPX Standalone was on iOS. I wanted a pinball cab on a Mac mini and to get off the giant space heater PC. That turned into a cross-platform way to set up and run VPX, and then into the front end I actually use on my cab.

 

What it does differently — OpsLink

 

The cabinet is managed from a browser or a phone on your own network. For years I was annoyed at standing at my cab with a keyboard, or using RDP just to manage stuff.

 

From the browser you can:

• Import a .vpxz or a .vpx (even inside a zip). It builds the table folder the way Standalone expects. Names are suggested from VPSdb but never gated on it.
• Pull frontend artwork from vpinmediadb into empty slots only — it never overwrites art you've put there yourself.
• Manage the media wheel look from the browser.
• Launch a table, set volume, work the coin door, place screens.
• Drop a ROM, backglass, PuP pack, altsound, or artwork into the right directory from the browser.
• Pinball FX and Pinball FX Midnight launch from Steam on the same wheel (Windows and macOS). Linux is tested on KDE Plasma and Omarchy / Hyprland — Steam games aren't on Linux yet.

 

Requirements:

 

VPX Standalone BGFX, 10.8.1 or newer — that's the build with the per-screen ini blocks a front end can write.

On a Mac it's not signed yet, so you'll need to approve it once per version in Privacy & Security.
It's a folder you copy — no installer, no runtime to install first. I might build an actual installer later.

 

What it does not do:

 

It does not install VPX, PinMAME, DOF, or B2S. It never downloads tables or ROMs — you bring those. It also doesn't try to manage all ~1,670 keys in the INI, but there's a way to manage per-table or global settings for the keys most used on a desktop or a 2/3-screen cab. I can add more if people think it's needed.

 

Links

Setup guide: https://vpinops.com/start/getting-started/
Download: https://github.com/vPinOps/vPinOps/releases/latest
Something broke: https://github.com/vPinOps/vPinOps/issues/new/choose — About vPinOps → Copy details, plus your run log, is what makes an issue answerable.

 

It's a v1, so expect some rough edges — mostly around understanding it rather than stability. I run it daily on my own cab. Please try it and tell me what you think.

 

I'm still working through the docs and website — feedback is welcome.

 

Cheers!
MDKbot (jamesbrock)