Seaglass

A Windows game launcher that finds the games installed on your PC on its own, from store launchers and other sources alike, and plays great with a DualSense.

_{Formerly WaterLauncher. WaterLauncher doesn't update to Seaglass on its own: install Seaglass over it, and it keeps your library and settings.}

Download Seaglass for Windows 10 and 11 (64-bit). It installs for your account only, without administrator rights, and keeps itself up to date. Release notes are on the Releases page; the plan is in docs/PLAN.md.

• Finds Steam, Epic, GOG, EA, Ubisoft, Battle.net and Xbox installs, plus games installed outside a store launcher (external copies, such as standalone and DRM-free installers, backups or games set up with a Steam API emulator) and plain game folders, and works out which game each one is.
• Desktop mode for mouse and keyboard, and a big picture mode for controllers with three layouts to choose from (Deck, Console, Orbit).
• Starts games and tracks playtime. While you play, the interface closes to free memory, and the PS button opens an overlay over the game.
• DualSense first: native button glyphs, haptics, lightbar, and the PS button to open the launcher. Games without DualSense support start through Steam Input automatically.
• Works with Syncer to keep saves in sync before and after you play. Settings → Saves installs Syncer with one click.
• Hide whole libraries you don't want to see (Settings → Library), for example Xbox or external copies.

Intended use

Seaglass is a library manager. It indexes, identifies and launches games that are already installed on your PC. It does not download, distribute, unlock or modify games, and it contains no tools to bypass copy protection, license checks or DRM.

Recognising a game installed outside a store launcher is a compatibility feature, so that every game on the PC can be found in one place; it is not an endorsement of how a copy was obtained. You are responsible for making sure that the games you install and play, and how you use them, comply with their license terms and the laws that apply to you.

Seaglass is an independent project and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Valve, Epic Games, GOG, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Blizzard, Microsoft or Sony. Their names and trademarks are used only to describe compatibility.

Install and update

• Installer: Seaglass-setup.exe installs to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Seaglass with Start menu and desktop shortcuts. Uninstall from Settings → Apps; it asks before deleting your library.
• Without installing: Seaglass.exe from the same release runs from any folder.
• Updates: checked on GitHub when Seaglass starts, or by hand (Settings → General). New versions download in the background and install the next time Seaglass starts, or straight away while it waits in the tray. Each one must be signed with a release key that never leaves the maintainer's PC (docs/RELEASING.md).
• Start with Windows: Settings → General. Seaglass then waits in the tray.
• Games started elsewhere: start a library game from Steam or a shortcut and Seaglass still counts its playtime and lets go of the controller (Settings → Big picture → While playing).
• Command line: --play <id> starts a game without the interface (for shortcuts), --tray starts in the tray, --quit closes a running Seaglass, --diagnostics writes a report to the desktop.
• Something wrong? Settings → About → Copy diagnostics, then Report a problem. If the interface won't open: Seaglass.exe --diagnostics.
• Your data: %APPDATA%\Seaglass (library, settings, encrypted keys, log) and %LOCALAPPDATA%\Seaglass (art, the game database, updates).

Builds aren't code-signed yet, so SmartScreen may warn the first time: More info → Run anyway. See SECURITY.md for how Seaglass keeps you safe.

Develop

Requirements: Go 1.27+, Node 24+, Wails v3 (go install github.com/wailsapp/wails/v3/cmd/wails3@v3.0.0-beta.26).

wails3 build                              # bin/Seaglass.exe
wails3 task installer VERSION=v1.0.0 MAKENSIS="C:/Program Files (x86)/NSIS/makensis.exe"   # bin/Seaglass-setup.exe
go test ./...                             # backend tests
cd frontend && npm run check              # type-check the interface
cd frontend && npm run dev:mock           # interface in a browser with made-up games
WL_REAL_SCAN=1 go test -run RealScan -v ./internal/scan   # scan this PC and print what was found

The backend lives in internal/: scan (sources, external-copy detection, executable picking), identify (Ludusavi matching), library (the game library), settings, meta (metadata and art), pad (controllers through SDL3), launch (game sessions: hooks, process tracking, playtime), syncer (client for Syncer's launcher API), owned (owned games from Steam, GOG and Epic accounts), update (updates from GitHub releases), sqlite (read-only SQLite reader for GOG Galaxy), steaminput (Steam shortcuts for the Steam Input route), app (services the interface calls, windows and tray), plus small helpers (lnk, platform, logx). The installer is build/windows/nsis/project.nsi; signing is described in docs/SIGNING.md. Steam and game-database parsing comes from gamekit. The Svelte 5 interface is in frontend/src: desktop/ for desktop mode, bigpicture/ for the controller layouts, overlay/ for the in-game overlay.

The DLSS Updater add-on host lives on the feature/dlss-addon branch; docs/dlss-addon.md there has ideas for bringing it back.

License

GNU Affero General Public License v3.0. Releases up to 1.4 (as WaterLauncher) were MIT licensed.