GameVault
Local game library manager for non-Steam games on Windows — with real launcher smarts.
A desktop app that turns a folder of cracked, indie, or manually-installed games into a first-class library — the way Steam handles yours. GameVault exists for the long tail of titles that never land in a single launcher.
Built on Electron with Svelte 5 for a snappy, reactive UI, GameVault focuses on the tedious parts: finding the right .exe, fetching artwork, and knowing when a game is actually running. Heuristics filter out installers and redistributables so launch targets stay clean.
Steam and Epic imports pull installed titles alongside manual folders. Artwork comes from Steam CDN and SteamGridDB with per-game overrides. A process watcher accumulates play-time in real time, and backup/restore exports the whole library as a portable snapshot.
Custom launch arguments and a gamevault:// protocol handler close the loop for one-click starts from anywhere on the machine. The project is a practical study in desktop tooling: OS integration, background process awareness, and a UI that stays responsive while scanning large folders.
Auto executable detection
Scans a directory tree and heuristically picks the launch .exe, filtering out installers, uninstallers, and redistributables.
Steam + Epic import
Reads installed games from Steam manifests and the Epic Games Launcher and adds them alongside manual entries.
Artwork fetching
Pulls posters, heroes, and logos from Steam CDN and SteamGridDB, with per-game override support.
Play-time tracking
Process watcher detects when a game's executable is running and accumulates play-time in real time.
Backup & restore
Exports the entire library — metadata, artwork paths, and play-time — to a portable snapshot.
Custom launch args & protocol
Per-game launch arguments and a gamevault:// protocol handler for one-click launches from anywhere.