itch app Steam shortcuts and headless launching

What the report says

itch app Steam shortcuts and headless launchingFollow itch.ioFollowing itch.ioUnfollow itch.ioFollow itch.ioFollowing itch.ioUnfollow itch.ioToday we’re launching the next version of the itch app with a handful interesting features that have been requested a few times over the years. Here are the highlights of v26.20.0.Steam shortcutsYou can now add games installed through the itch app to Steam! If you’re deep in the Steam ecosystem and are using a Steam Deck or Big Picture mode, you can now have your itch games show up directly in Steam and you can launch them without having to change apps.

For this update, we’ve introduced a new headless runner mode for itch games that allows them to run with the full support of the itch app without having to actually boot up the app. More info below.The Steam Shortcuts tool can be found from the itch apps preferences page or you can right click on any game within itch and click on Steam Shortcuts. All shortcuts synchronized to Steam are automatically placed in an itch.io collection.This is a somewhat experimental feature, so please give it a try and tell us if you encounter any bugs.

In order for the highest compatibility, you can configure each shortcut with two different launch modes:Launch with itch: Steam starts the game through the itch app. Play time is recorded on your itch.io profile, and your per-game launch settings apply, including sandboxing and environment variables.Direct: Steam is pointed at the game’s executable and runs it on its own. The itch app isn’t involved at all, which avoids any interference with Steam’s overlay or Proton, but the app isn’t aware of the running game and cannot provide any sandboxing or API key integration.Launching games without the app runningSteam shortcuts needed a way to start a game without the full app in the way, so we added one.

Key details

The new headless launch mode starts an installed game with a single command: itch-setup --run-game <gameId> [--profile-id <profileId>] We built this for Steam, but it isn’t tied to it. Any launcher, shortcut system, or script can use it, and we hope this makes it easier for other launchers to add itch.io integration.Check out this guide we put together for interfacing with the itch app to build your own custom launcher: https://itch.io/docs/butler/launcher-integration.htmlA headless launch still respects everything you’ve configured in the app. Sandboxing, prerequisites, per-game launch settings, play time tracking, and the API key passed to the game all work the same as launching from inside the app.

(Under the hood this is a new butler launch subcommand that runs the launch machinery directly against your existing app database, while itch-setup locates your installation and settings and hands off to it.)Note that not every type of game is supported. For example, HTML5 games require a browser, so if you attempt to use --run-game on an HTML5 game, the itch app will launch in order to run the game.Link an existing folder to a gameIf you’ve downloaded a game from itch.io outside of the app, you can now register that folder with the app using the new Link existing folder… option, instead of downloading it again.

Open the game’s install dialog and you’ll find it alongside the normal download options.Once linked, the game appears in your library as installed, and it can be launched like normal.This is an escape hatch, and we’ve kept it deliberately simple: no files are verified when you link a folder, and the app takes your word that what’s in there is the game. It’s meant for cases where a redownload isn’t practical, or where the project only offers a download the app can’t process on its own, like an external download link.Getting the updateYou can get the app from https://itch.io/app.

More from the announcement

If you already have it installed, it will update itself. You can also check for updates manually from the Preferences screen.The full list of changes, fixes, and security hardening is in the release notes on GitHub.Thank you to everyone who contributed translations for this version. You can help translate the app on Weblate.That’s all for today, see you for the next update! Updates#itch-appWhat is itch.io?