Game Launcher

A powerful and flexible Node.js library for launching and managing game processes across different platforms

✨ Features

🖥️ Cross-Platform Support - Works seamlessly on Windows, macOS, and Linux
🎮 Process Management - Launch, monitor, and control game processes with precision
⚡ Event-Driven Architecture - Real-time events for complete game lifecycle tracking
🎯 Steam Integration - Built-in support for Steam games and platform detection
🍷 Proton Integration - Native support for running Windows games on Linux via Proton
⚙️ Configuration Management - Flexible, environment-aware configuration system
📘 TypeScript Support - Full TypeScript definitions and IntelliSense support
🛡️ Error Handling - Robust error handling and automatic recovery mechanisms
📊 Resource Monitoring - Track memory, CPU usage, and system resources
🔄 Hot Reloading - Dynamic configuration updates without restarts
🎨 Extensible Architecture - Plugin-friendly design for custom implementations

🚀 Quick Start

Installation

# Using npm
npm install @team-falkor/game-launcher

# Using yarn
yarn add @team-falkor/game-launcher

# Using bun
bun add @team-falkor/game-launcher

Basic Usage

import { GameLauncher } from '@team-falkor/game-launcher';

// Create a new launcher instance
const launcher = new GameLauncher({
  verbose: true
});

// Launch a game
const gameId = await launcher.launchGame({
  gameId: 'my-awesome-game',
  executable: '/path/to/game.exe',
  args: ['--windowed', '--resolution=1920x1080']
});

console.log(`🎮 Game launched with ID: ${gameId}`);

// Set up event listeners
launcher.on('launched', (event) => {
  console.log(`✅ Game ${event.gameId} started successfully`);
});

launcher.on('closed', (event) => {
  console.log(`🔴 Game ${event.gameId} closed (exit code: ${event.exitCode})`);
});

launcher.on('error', (event) => {
  console.error(`❌ Game ${event.gameId} encountered an error:`, event.error);
});

Advanced Example

import { GameLauncher } from '@team-falkor/game-launcher';

const launcher = new GameLauncher({
  verbose: true,
  maxConcurrentGames: 3
});

// Launch multiple games with different configurations
const games = [
  {
    gameId: 'steam-game',
    executable: 'steam://rungameid/123456',
    timeout: 30000
  },
  {
    gameId: 'local-game',
    executable: './games/local-game.exe',
    args: ['--debug'],
    cwd: './games',
    env: { GAME_MODE: 'development' }
  }
];

for (const game of games) {
  try {
    const gameId = await launcher.launchGame(game);
    console.log(`🚀 Launched ${game.gameId}: ${gameId}`);
  } catch (error) {
    console.error(`💥 Failed to launch ${game.gameId}:`, error.message);
  }
}

// Monitor running games
setInterval(() => {
  const runningGames = launcher.getRunningGames();
  console.log(`📊 Currently running: ${runningGames.length} games`);
}, 5000);

📚 Documentation

Explore our comprehensive documentation for detailed guides, examples, and API references:

🎯 Getting Started

📖 Getting Started Guide - Complete setup and usage walkthrough
⚙️ Configuration Guide - Configuration options and patterns
🏆 Best Practices - Recommended patterns and practices

🔧 API Reference

📋 API Overview - Complete API documentation
🎮 GameLauncher Class - Main launcher class reference
📡 Events System - Event types and handling
📝 Type Definitions - TypeScript interfaces and types
🛠️ Utilities - Helper functions and utilities

💡 Examples

📁 Examples Overview - All available examples
🎮 Simple Launcher - Basic game launching
📡 Event Handling - Advanced event patterns
🎯 Steam Integration - Steam platform integration
🎪 Multiple Games - Managing multiple games
⏱️ Playtime Tracker - Track and analyze playtime
📚 Game Library Manager - Comprehensive library management
🌐 Cross-Platform - Platform compatibility handling
🍷 Proton Integration - Running Windows games on Linux
⚙️ Configuration Management - Advanced configuration patterns

🎯 Use Cases

🎮 Game Launchers

Build custom game launcher applications with modern UI frameworks like Electron, Tauri, or web-based interfaces.

📚 Game Management

Organize and launch extensive game collections with metadata, categories, and search functionality.

🛠️ Development Tools

Create development and testing tools for game developers, including automated testing and deployment pipelines.

🤖 Automation

Automate game testing, performance benchmarking, and continuous integration workflows.

📊 Monitoring & Analytics

Track game performance, usage statistics, and system resource consumption for optimization.

🔗 Integration

Integrate games into larger applications, Discord bots, streaming platforms, or content management systems.

🖥️ Platform Support

Platform	Status	Features	Notes
Windows	✅ Full Support	Native process management, Registry integration, UAC handling	Supports .exe, .bat, .cmd files
macOS	✅ Full Support	App bundle support, Permission handling, Spotlight integration	Supports .app bundles, .command files
Linux	✅ Full Support	AppImage support, Desktop entries, Display server detection	Supports AppImage, .desktop files

Platform-Specific Features

Windows: Registry game detection, Windows Store app support, UAC elevation
macOS: Info.plist parsing, Gatekeeper compatibility, Accessibility permissions
Linux: Desktop file parsing, Wayland/X11 detection, Flatpak/Snap support, Proton integration for Windows games

🤝 Contributing

We actively welcome and encourage contributions from the community! Whether you're a seasoned developer or just getting started, there are many ways to help improve the Game Launcher library.

🌟 Ways to Contribute

🐛 Bug Reports & Feature Requests

Use our issue templates for consistent reporting
Provide detailed reproduction steps and system information
Include logs, error messages, and expected vs. actual behavior
Search existing issues before creating new ones

💻 Code Contributions

Bug fixes - Help resolve open issues
New features - Implement requested functionality
Performance improvements - Optimize existing code
Platform support - Enhance cross-platform compatibility
Test coverage - Add unit, integration, or end-to-end tests

📝 Documentation

Improve existing documentation clarity
Add new examples and use cases
Create tutorials and guides
Fix typos and formatting issues
Translate documentation to other languages

🎨 Community Support

Help answer questions in discussions
Review pull requests
Share your projects using the library
Provide feedback on proposed changes

🚀 Getting Started

First-time Contributors

Look for issues labeled good first issue or help wanted - these are perfect starting points!

Development Setup

# Fork the repository on GitHub, then clone your fork
git clone https://github.com/YOUR-USERNAME/game-launcher.git
cd game-launcher

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Create a new branch for your feature/fix
git checkout -b feature/your-feature-name

# Make your changes and test them
npm test
npm run build

# Commit your changes with a descriptive message
git commit -m "feat: add support for new game platform"

# Push to your fork and create a pull request
git push origin feature/your-feature-name

📋 Contribution Guidelines

Code Standards

Follow the existing code style and conventions
Write clear, self-documenting code with appropriate comments
Ensure all tests pass and add new tests for your changes
Update documentation for any API changes

Pull Request Process

Fork the repository and create a feature branch
Make your changes with clear, atomic commits
Test your changes thoroughly across platforms
Update documentation and examples if needed
Submit a pull request with a clear description
Respond to feedback and iterate as needed

Commit Message Format

We use Conventional Commits:

type(scope): description

feat(launcher): add Steam game detection
fix(process): resolve memory leak in game monitoring
docs(examples): add cross-platform configuration guide

🎯 Priority Areas

We're especially looking for help with:

🖥️ Platform-specific optimizations (Windows, macOS, Linux)
🎮 Game platform integrations (Epic Games, GOG, etc.)
🧪 Test coverage improvements
📚 Documentation and examples
🌐 Internationalization support
♿ Accessibility features

💬 Questions?

Don't hesitate to ask! We're here to help:

💭 Start a Discussion for general questions
🐛 Open an Issue for bugs or feature requests
📧 Reach out to maintainers for guidance on larger contributions

Thank you for considering contributing to Game Launcher! Every contribution, no matter how small, helps make this library better for everyone. 🙏

📄 License

This project is licensed under the BSD 3-Clause License - see the LICENSE file for details.

📞 Support & Community

💬 Get Help

📖 Documentation: ./docs/
🐛 Issues: GitHub Issues
💭 Discussions: GitHub Discussions

🔗 Links

📦 npm Package: https://www.npmjs.com/package/@team-falkor/game-launcher
📊 GitHub: https://github.com/team-falkor/game-launcher

Built with ❤️ for the gaming community

Empowering developers to create amazing game management experiences

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
.github/workflows		.github/workflows
docs		docs
examples		examples
proton_docs		proton_docs
src		src
.gitignore		.gitignore
LICENSE		LICENSE
README.md		README.md
biome.json		biome.json
build.ts		build.ts
bun.lock		bun.lock
example.ts		example.ts
package.json		package.json
simple-example.ts		simple-example.ts
tsconfig.json		tsconfig.json

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