The short version
What Heronite is and where it runs.
Heronite is one launcher for every game you own. Your Steam library shows up with no login, and once you log in to Epic, GOG or Amazon, Heronite downloads, updates and repairs those games itself, so you don't need their launchers.
It runs on Windows 10 and 11, any Linux distribution and the Steam Deck. There's no Mac version.
It's free and open source under the GPL-3.0 licence, with no account, no ads and no telemetry.
Download HeroniteWhat it does
From heronite.app.
Every store in one library
No login for Steam. Steam games are read straight from your Steam install. Epic, GOG and Amazon games install from Heronite. Battle.net, EA, Ubisoft and Rockstar games show up too, and their own apps still install them. On Windows, PC Game Pass and Microsoft Store games show up as well.
Emulators
17 found. It finds emulators like Dolphin, PCSX2, RetroArch and Ryujinx on your PC, scans your ROM folders and gives every game cover art.
A TV and controller layout
No mouse. Console mode plays your whole library with a controller, with eight layouts and seven themes. It can open by itself when a controller connects.
Your play history
Any store. It records every session, with weekly and yearly stats, a goal for how many games to beat this year and a year in review you can share.
Save backups
With Ludusavi. Install Ludusavi, a free save backup tool, and Heronite backs up a game's saves after each session. You can restore any backup.
Light on your PC
About 190 MB. It's one native app with no bundled browser, so it uses about 190 MB of memory while idle and shows your library in about a fifth of a second.
Download
Pick your system.
AppImage in Gaming Mode
Set up once in Desktop Mode, then play from Gaming Mode.
Steam Deck guideSet up
Set it up once on your system. Nothing to redo if you're coming from Playnite or Heroic.
On Windows
Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit.
- 1
Download the installer
Get Heronite-Setup-x86_64.exe from the latest release. It installs for your user only, so it needs no administrator rights. There's also a portable zip if you'd rather keep everything in one folder or on a USB drive.
- 2
Get past the blue warning
Windows may show "Windows protected your PC" because the files aren't code-signed yet. Choose More info, then Run anyway. Every release is still signed, and Heronite checks that signature before it installs an update.
- 3
Let it find your games
On the first start it adds your Steam games with no login, and on Windows it also picks up games the Epic Games Launcher, GOG Galaxy or the Amazon Games app already installed, so nothing downloads again.
- 4
Log in to Epic, GOG or Amazon
Open Stores (Ctrl 4), pick the store and press Log in. You type your password on the store's own login page. On Windows 10, the login window may ask for the free Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime.
- 5
Install and play
Press Install on a game. One download queue installs, updates and repairs your Epic, GOG and Amazon games, and checks for updates every 3 hours.
On Linux
Any 64-bit distribution.
- 1
Install a Vulkan driver first
Heronite draws its window with Vulkan. Mesa covers AMD and Intel, and NVIDIA needs its own driver.
- 2
Download the AppImage and run it
The AppImage works on any distribution. Make it executable and start it. There are also .deb, .rpm and Arch packages on the release page.
chmod +x Heronite-x86_64.AppImage && ./Heronite-x86_64.AppImage - 3
Keep it in a folder you can write to
The AppImage updates itself, so keep it somewhere like ~/Applications rather than Downloads.
- 4
Add the optional tools you want
Each one turns on one feature. python3 is needed for GOG downloads, Ludusavi for save backups, and gamescope for its option in a game's settings.
- 5
Pick Proton for Windows games
Windows games run through Wine or Proton, and each game can have its own version. Heronite can install and update GE-Proton for you.
On a Steam Deck
SteamOS, set up once in Desktop Mode.
- 1
Switch to Desktop Mode
Press the Steam button, open Power and choose Switch to Desktop. A keyboard and mouse help for setup, or use the touch screen and the on-screen keyboard (Steam and X).
- 2
Download the AppImage and make it executable
Get Heronite-x86_64.AppImage in the desktop browser, move it to a folder like ~/Applications, then right-click it, open Properties, Permissions and tick Is executable.
- 3
Log in once
Start it, open Stores (Ctrl 4) and log in to Epic, GOG or Amazon. Your Steam games show up by themselves.
- 4
Add it to Steam for Gaming Mode
Add the AppImage to Steam as a non-Steam game and give it the launch option --console. In Gaming Mode it opens straight into the controller layout, with the Deck's own button pictures.
- 5
Install games anywhere
Pick any install folder, the SD card included. Heronite isn't Steam Deck Verified, which is why the setup is by hand.
Coming from Playnite or Heroic
Nothing to redo.
On Windows, Heronite imports your installed Playnite games with their play time. Heronite also runs on Linux, which Playnite doesn't yet.
On Linux, it copies your Heroic logins, settings and hand-added games once and never changes Heroic's files, so Heroic keeps working. Both use the same open source store tools, legendary for Epic, gogdl for GOG and nile for Amazon.
It can also bring in games from Lutris, Bottles and Faugus.
If it breaks
Heronite is a few weeks old, so most AI models haven't heard of it. These are the usual fixes.
- "Windows protected your PC"
- Choose More info, then Run anyway. The Windows files aren't code-signed yet.
- A black window or it won't start on Linux
- Install the Vulkan driver for your graphics card and check that vulkaninfo lists it.
- The store login window doesn't open
- Use Or log in with your browser on the same page and paste the code it gives you. On Windows 10, install the Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime.
- GOG downloads fail on Linux
- Install python3. The GOG download tool needs it.
- A game won't start on Linux
- If it closes within 30 seconds, Heronite's Launch problem window offers a one-click fix. Otherwise right-click the game, choose Troubleshoot, or try another Proton version in its settings.
- Games with anti-cheat
- On Windows they work like with any launcher. On Linux it depends on the game, and Heronite shows each game's status from Are We Anti-Cheat Yet? in its details.
- The AppImage won't update
- Move it to a folder in your home like ~/Applications. It replaces itself, so its folder must be writable.
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