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Cocoon 3.0 Setup Guide: The Front End Built for Dual Screen Handhelds

2026-07-20 · Setup guide

Affiliate disclosure: This guide contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Learn more.

Most Android handhelds ship with a launcher that is fine and forgettable. Cocoon is the free front end that makes the whole device feel like a console instead. Version 3.0 landed on July 18, 2026, rebuilt from the ground up under the name Project Metamorphosis, and it is one of the most polished launchers in the hobby right now. It is also one of the few built with dual screen handhelds in mind.

This guide covers what Cocoon 3.0 is, which devices it supports, and how to get it set up. We only cover playing games you legally own.

What Cocoon Is

Cocoon is a launcher, not an emulator. Like Daijishō or ES-DE, it sits on top of your emulators and gives you a clean, controller-first interface for your library. You tell it where your games are and which emulator runs each system, and it handles the box art, the layout, and the navigation.

The big difference is polish and, on the right hardware, a second screen. Cocoon is free and open source, available on GitHub, with no ads or paid unlocks.

Supported Devices

Cocoon runs on single screen Android handhelds, but its headline feature is proper dual screen support. Confirmed compatible devices include:

On the AYN Thor there is a single screen mode toggle so you can pick which display to use when you do not want both active. On single screen devices, Cocoon works as a normal front end.

What Is New in Cocoon 3.0

Version 3.0 is a full rebuild, not a patch. The highlights:

Pods. These are the new mini apps that live inside Cocoon. Log tracks your playtime, Picnic manages your screenshots, and Silk is a built-in theme store.
A faster scraper. The metadata scraper now pulls from LaunchBox, IGDB, HowLongToBeat, and more, at up to roughly 50 games a minute.
Achievements. Game info screens can show RetroAchievements and Steam achievements alongside activity logs and media.
Social panels. You can see Discord friends and their game activity, plus Steam friends, activity, and messages.
The Glass surface. An experimental liquid glass style material with customizable blur and refraction, similar to the glassy icon look popular on phones.
Widgets and layouts. A redesigned home screen with larger game icons, customizable layouts, and widgets placed alongside your games.

Under the hood it also moves faster, with smoother transitions and better memory management than the older versions.

How to Set Up Cocoon

Install your emulators first. Cocoon launches the emulators you already have, so set them up before you wire them in. Our Android emulation overview and RetroArch guide cover that side.
Install Cocoon. Grab the latest build from the project's official GitHub releases and sideload it. Because it is open source, you install it as an APK rather than from a store.
Add your systems. Point Cocoon at your game folders and assign the right emulator to each system. Keeping one folder per system makes this painless, as our ROM organization guide explains.
Scrape your art. Run the scraper to pull box art and metadata. A clean, art-filled library is where Cocoon earns its reputation.
Set it as your launcher. Make Cocoon your default home app so the device boots straight into your library, console style.
Tune the look. Browse the Silk theme store, try the Glass material, and set up your Pods and widgets to taste.

Cocoon or Something Else?

Cocoon's strengths are visual polish and dual screen support, which no other front end matches right now. If you own an AYN Thor or an AYANEO Pocket DS, it is close to essential. On a single screen device it competes head to head with Daijishō and ES-DE, where the choice comes down to taste. Daijishō is lighter and simpler, ES-DE has the deepest theme scene, and Cocoon has the flashiest modern interface. Our best emulation front ends guide breaks down the full comparison.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Cocoon free?

Yes. Cocoon is free and open source, available from its GitHub. There are no ads and no paid unlocks.

Is Cocoon an emulator?

No. It is a launcher that runs the emulators you already have installed, then wraps them in a clean, console-like interface.

Do I need a dual screen handheld to use Cocoon?

No. Dual screen support is the standout feature, but Cocoon works as a normal front end on single screen Android handhelds too.

What is Project Metamorphosis?

It is the internal name for the Cocoon 3.0 rebuild, released July 18, 2026, which introduced Pods, the new scraper, achievements, and the Glass interface.