BlueStar Launcher

Universal Steam Game Instance Manager, Depot Staging, Manifest Resolver, and Multi-Engine Launcher

BlueStar is an all-in-one desktop game management and launcher ecosystem designed for modern PC gaming. It seamlessly integrates Steam depot downloads, manifest staging, automated engine detection, multi-engine emulation, DLC unlocking, prerequisite management, and mod injection into a clean, modern, and dark-themed interface.

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Downloads and Installation

You can download the latest version from the Releases page:

Edition	File	Description
Windows Setup (Recommended)	BlueStar-Setup-v1.0.0-win-x64.exe	Standard Windows installer with start menu shortcuts, desktop icons, and uninstaller.
Portable Edition	BlueStar-v1.0.0-Portable-win-x64.zip	Standalone zero-install archive. Extract anywhere and launch BlueStar.exe.

Note

All release binaries are digitally signed with an Authenticode certificate issued to Corøna (BlueStar Developers).

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Key Features

Explore and DepotBox Integration

• Browse hundreds of games with metadata, banner art, system compatibility tags, and DLC counts.
• Real-time SteamDB integration for accurate depot release dates and version resolution.
• One-click instance creation and background downloading.

Instance Lifecycle and Depot Updates

• Manage multiple independent game installations without file conflicts.
• Smart Update Resolver: Detect newer manifests on DepotBox and apply updates non-destructively while preserving save games, mods, and emulator configurations.
• Direct quick actions: launch game, open folder, generate desktop/Steam shortcuts, create mobile companion QR codes, or safely delete files.

Multi-Engine Multiplayer and Emulation

• ReFix Online (Steam Spacewar): Full Steamworks Spacewar (AppID 480) multiplayer proxy support with Steam friends list, invites, and online lobbies.
• Re:Goldberg LAN: Pure standalone, offline, and LAN multiplayer emulation requiring zero internet connection or Steam client.
• Community Ratings: Real-time crowd-sourced voting on emulation compatibility and best-working modes for each title.

Automated DLC Entitlement

• Integrated SmokeAPI and CreamInstaller pipelines.
• Automatically generates and writes cream_api.ini and SmokeAPI.config.json with support for all known game DLCs.
• Clean one-click installation and restoration.

1-Click Windows Game Prerequisites

• Automatically scans the host OS and game directory for missing runtimes:
  • Visual C++ 2015–2022 Redistributable (x86 & x64)
  • DirectX End-User Runtimes (Legacy D3DX9 / XAudio2)
  • .NET Desktop Runtime 8.0 (x64)
  • Unreal Engine Prerequisites
• Supports silent batch installation and interactive setup wizards.

Modding and BepInEx Framework

• Native engine detection for Unity (Mono / IL2CPP), Unreal Engine, Godot, and Native executables.
• One-click BepInEx installation with auto-configured doorstop_config.ini and folder structures.
• Steam Workshop preview browser and mod management.

Built-in Auto-Updates

• Integrated update checker notifying users of new BlueStar releases published to GitHub.
• Background downloading with seamless one-click restart and upgrade.

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System Requirements

• Operating System: Windows 10 (Build 19041+) or Windows 11 (64-bit)
• Architecture: x64 (64-bit)
• Framework: .NET 8.0 Desktop Runtime (pre-bundled in self-contained releases)
• Optional: Active Steam Client (required only for Steam Spacewar online multiplayer mode)

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Solution Architecture

BlueStar/
├── src/
│   ├── BlueStar.Core/             # Domain models, contracts, and interfaces
│   │   ├── Models/                # GameInstance, DepotInfo, DlcInfo, Engine, etc.
│   │   └── Interfaces/            # IInstanceManager, IEmulator, IDlcInstaller, etc.
│   ├── BlueStar.Infrastructure/   # Implementation of business logic & storage
│   │   ├── DepotBox/              # DepotBox REST client, Lua parser, archive reader
│   │   ├── Downloader/            # DepotDownloader wrapper & Steam manifest helper
│   │   ├── Emulators/             # ReFix suite, Goldberg, SmokeAPI, Rating service
│   │   ├── Engine/                # Unity, Unreal, Godot PE & assembly detector
│   │   ├── Mods/                  # BepInEx injector & game mod resolvers
│   │   ├── Services/              # Prerequisites, Auth, Notifications, Licensing
│   │   └── Storage/               # AppSettingsService & DPAPI SecureStorage
│   └── BlueStar.App/              # WPF Modern Dark UI application
│       ├── Views/                 # Home, Explore, Library, InstanceDetail, Settings, About
│       ├── ViewModels/            # MVVM CommunityToolkit ViewModels
│       └── Themes/                # DarkTheme XAML styles, brushes, typography, icons
├── tests/
│   ├── BlueStar.Core.Tests/       # Unit tests for domain logic
│   └── BlueStar.Infrastructure.Tests/ # Integration tests for parsers, engines, and managers
└── workers/
    └── emulator-ratings/          # Cloudflare Worker for community emulator ratings

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Configuration and Settings

BlueStar is designed to work right out of the box with zero required configuration:

• Default Backend API: Pre-configured with the default DepotBox backend service.
• Personal API Key Override: Power users can optionally enter their personal API key in Settings -> API Configuration to override the default backend.
• Storage Directory: Games and instances are safely stored in %AppData%\BlueStar\instances.

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Building from Source

Prerequisites

• .NET 8.0 SDK
• Inno Setup 6 (optional, for compiling the installer)

Build and Run

# 1. Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/Coronitaa/BlueStar.git
cd BlueStar

# 2. Run all unit and integration tests (107 tests)
dotnet test

# 3. Launch the development build
dotnet run --project src/BlueStar.App

Packaging Release Binaries

# Publish self-contained win-x64 release
dotnet publish src/BlueStar.App/BlueStar.App.csproj -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained true -o dist/publish

# Compile Setup Installer executable
& "ISCC.exe" build/installer.iss

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Credits and Attributions

BlueStar proudly relies on and thanks the following open-source projects:

• ReFix Suite by Coronitaa — Multi-engine multiplayer fix & deployment suite
• DepotDownloader by SteamRE — Steam depot downloading tool
• SmokeAPI by acidicoala — Universal Steamworks DLC entitlement emulator
• CreamInstaller by pointfeev — Automatic DLC unlocker installer
• BepInEx by BepInEx Team — Unity and .NET game plugin framework
• Goldberg Emulator by Mr_Goldberg & Detanup01 — Steam LAN emulator
• SteamKit2 by SteamRE — .NET library for Steam network communication
• DepotBox — Depots and manifest index service

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License

This project is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0.
Copyright (C) 2026 Corøna & BlueStar Developers.