Decompilers and extractors
To translate a game, mod it, rescue its music or read its script, you first need to see inside it, and MacLauncher’s decompilers and extractors do that on your Mac. Most game types come with these tools in the inspector.
The tools belong to the game type, so they read the game’s original data whichever runtime plays it. They all follow the same pattern. You press the action, and if it needs a tool that isn’t installed yet, MacLauncher downloads it and then continues where it left off. Results go into a separate export folder, so the game’s files stay as they are. The one exception is Near Infinity, an external editor for Infinity Engine games: edits you save in it can change the game’s resources.
By game type
Section titled “By game type”Each game type links to the tools section of its guide.
Desktop engines
Section titled “Desktop engines”| Game type | What you can do |
|---|---|
| Ren’Py | Extract RPA archives and decompile .rpyc scripts back to readable .rpy (unrpyc, rpatool and UnRen) |
| RPG Maker MV and MZ | Decrypt images and audio into a readable project (RPGMakerDecrypter); the scripts, plugins and database are readable as they are |
| RPG Maker XP/VX/VX Ace | Decrypt .rgssad/.rgss3a archives, export and repack the Ruby scripts, inspect save and data files |
| RPG Maker 2000/2003 | Export the database and maps to JSON, or the game’s text for translation |
| WOLF RPG Editor | List and extract archives, including WOLF Pro archives (UberWolf), and export project data as JSON (WolfTL) |
| Godot | Recover the project, including GDScript (GDRE Tools) |
| GameMaker | Decompile Studio games’ GML and export textures and sprites (UndertaleModTool), rebuild classic GameMaker 8 projects (GM8Decompiler) |
| Unity | Decompile Mono code to C# (ILSpy), recover IL2CPP assemblies for ILSpy (Cpp2IL), browse and export assets (AssetRipper) |
| FNA / XNA 4 | Decompile to C# with ILSpy |
| Java | Decompile to Java (Vineflower) |
| LÖVE | Recover Lua and LuaJIT source (LJD and unluac) |
| Flash | Export ActionScript, images, sounds, fonts and text (JPEXS FFDec) |
| Construct and Tyrano | Extract the packaged HTML, scripts and resources |
Visual novels
Section titled “Visual novels”| Game type | What you can do |
|---|---|
| KiriKiri | Export TJS and KAG scripts |
| AliceSoft | Decompile System 1–3 and System 3.5–3.9 scenarios, disassemble System 4 games and export their text, and edit the variables of a running System 3.5–3.9 game |
| Siglus / RealLive | Decompile Siglus scripts (Siglus SceneScript Utility), export RealLive scripts and text (RLdev) |
| NScripter | Export the script, including encoded scripts |
| Nitroplus | Inspect archives, extract the NSS script source and check it with the script compiler |
| Minori | Export scripts as UTF-8 text |
| MAGES. | Inspect archives and scripts, export compiled scripts and, for supported editions, dialogue text |
| FAVORITE / FVP | Export dialogue (msg-tool) and extract assets |
| BGI / Ethornell | Export compiled programs and messages (msg-tool) |
| CatSystem2 | Decode archives and export scripts as readable transcripts |
| AI5WIN | Report the game’s data and configuration |
| VNDS | Open the scripts, which are plain text |
Mobile, consoles and native programs
Section titled “Mobile, consoles and native programs”| Game type | What you can do |
|---|---|
| Android | Recover Java source and resources (JADX), or decode smali, the manifest and resources (Apktool) |
| iOS / iPadOS | Inspect and extract the contents of an IPA, and inspect unencrypted executables |
| PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch | Inspect programs and export functions, strings and C pseudocode (Rizin and Ghidra) |
| macOS Game, Windows Game, DOS and Haxe native build | Inspect the executable and export C pseudocode with Rizin and Ghidra |
Other game types
Section titled “Other game types”| Game type | What you can do |
|---|---|
| Infinity Engine | Browse and edit resources and saves (Near Infinity) |
| ScummVM | Identify the edition and extract resource archives (ScummVM Tools) |
| MUGEN / Ikemen GO | Export sprites as PNG files |
| HashLink | Inspect bytecode and export its opcodes and pseudocode (hlbc) |
| Video | Report a video’s streams, chapters and tags |
The tool reference lists every action, output format and limit by game type, and native binary inspection describes the Rizin and Ghidra exports.
Installers and packed games
Section titled “Installers and packed games”Many games don’t arrive as a plain folder. MacLauncher opens the common wrappers on import, so you can usually drag the download straight in.
Installers
Section titled “Installers”GOG’s offline Windows installers, like many others, are built with Inno Setup: a setup_….exe, often with numbered .bin parts beside it. MacLauncher reads the installer as data with innoextract, without running it, then detects the game type inside like any other folder. A GOG Windows installer of a Ren’Py, GameMaker or RPG Maker game can therefore end up on a native runtime, with no Windows or WINE at any step. Stores and downloads gets those installers, older versions included, from inside MacLauncher. Encrypted installers aren’t supported.
Packed games
Section titled “Packed games”Some games ship entirely inside one .exe, and the game type’s module reads it in place:
- TyranoScript, Construct and LÖVE games with their data appended to the executable as a ZIP;
- Godot games with their data embedded in the executable;
- RPG Maker XP/VX/VX Ace and NScripter games inside self-extracting archives (ZIP, RAR, 7z, NSIS, Inno Setup or CAB), opened with 7-Zip;
- RPG Maker XP/VX/VX Ace, NScripter and Tyrano games packed with Enigma Virtual Box, unpacked with evbunpack.
The unpacked copy lives in MacLauncher’s own game data, and importing the same installer again reuses it. innoextract downloads the first time it’s needed; 7-Zip and evbunpack are included.
Guide: Installer reader
What you get back
Section titled “What you get back”Decompiled output is a faithful reading of what the game shipped, which is different from the developer’s original project. Script engines such as Ren’Py, RPG Maker and KiriKiri come back very readable. Compiled code (C#, Java) usually decompiles well. Machine code from native programs comes back as pseudocode, which is good for understanding a program and useless for rebuilding it.