Open Game Launcher. A desktop app for macOS, Windows, and Linux that installs, updates, and launches open-source games such as OpenRCT2, OpenTTD, and OpenLoco.
Warning
OGL has only been tested on macOS so far, and only the Mac version is signed and checked by Apple. The Windows and Linux versions are built automatically but have not been tried on a real machine yet. If something does not work there, please open an issue.
New to OGL? The project page shows what it does before you download anything.
The buttons download the newest version. Every version, with all its files, is on the releases page, under Assets at the bottom. x.y.z below stands for the version number.
Which file you need depends on your Mac. Open the Apple menu → About This Mac:
| About This Mac shows | Download |
|---|---|
| Chip: Apple M1, M2, M3, … | OGL-x.y.z-arm64.dmg |
| Processor: Intel | OGL-x.y.z.dmg |
- Open the downloaded
.dmgand drag OGL into Applications. - Open OGL from Applications. macOS asks once whether you want to open an app downloaded from the internet. Click Open.
The Mac version is signed and checked by Apple, so there is no further warning.
Download OGL-Setup-x.y.z.exe.
- Run the downloaded file.
- Windows shows "Windows protected your PC", because the Windows version is not signed yet. Click More info, then Run anyway.
- Follow the installer. OGL appears in the Start menu.
Download OGL-x.y.z.AppImage.
-
Make the file executable: right-click → Properties → Permissions → allow running as a program, or in a terminal:
chmod +x OGL-*.AppImage -
Double-click the file, or run
./OGL-*.AppImage.
You can ignore the other files in the release (.zip, .blockmap, .yml). OGL uses them to update itself.
OGL checks for a new version when it starts, and when you press the refresh button at the bottom left. A new version shows up in the sidebar with an Update button; OGL downloads it and restarts.
Mac versions before 0.1.5 cannot update themselves. If you have one, download the new .dmg once and replace the app in Applications.
OGL is a hobby project. I love open-source games, but I got tired of the hassle: every game has its own website, its own download page, its own way of updating. I wanted one place that installs them, keeps them up to date, and starts them. So I built it.
It is made in my spare time, so expect rough edges, and do not expect fast answers.
The games are a list of JSON files in catalog/games. OGL reads that folder from this repository on launch, so a new game shows up without a new version of the launcher. Each game's versions come from that game's own GitHub releases.
OGL updates itself from the releases of this repository.
Some games have a mod browser on their page: NewGRFs for OpenTTD, plugins for OpenRCT2 and Endless Sky.
npm install
npm run devnpm test and npm run typecheck run the checks.
catalog/games the games
src/shared catalog rules and asset matching
src/main window, downloads, launching, self-update
src/preload the bridge into the window
src/renderer the interface
- Adding games
- Releasing OGL
- How we work on OGL
- AI usage policy: OGL is built with AI tools, and this is what that means for contributions
The Mac version is signed with the Developer ID of Digital Vibes GmbH and notarized by Apple.
The Windows installer is not signed yet. OGL is applying for free code signing provided by SignPath.io, certificate by SignPath Foundation.
Every release is built from this repository by GitHub Actions; no release file is built or changed by hand.
- Committers and reviewers: @fabianfreund
- Approvers: @fabianfreund
Changes from anyone else arrive as pull requests and are reviewed before they are merged.
OGL has no account, no analytics and no tracking. It will not transfer any information to other networked systems unless specifically requested by the user or the person installing or operating it. To do its job it downloads from the internet: the game catalog and its own updates from GitHub, and the games, their pictures and release notes from each project's own download location. Those servers see the request and the IP address it comes from, as with any download. Browser games open the game's own website, and getting original game files from Steam runs Valve's SteamCMD with the account you enter; both are subject to those services' own policies.
Questions, ideas, or a game that should be in the catalog? Reach me here:
