Stores and downloads
The External window, next to Settings in the toolbar, connects MacLauncher to the game stores you already use. It finds the games you’ve already installed, and it downloads the games you own in exactly the version and platform you want.
Games you already have
Section titled “Games you already have”The External window’s Installed tab gathers the games installed by Steam, Epic Games (including through Heroic and Legendary), GOG and itch.io, both in their usual macOS locations and inside CrossOver bottles. It reads the stores’ local records, so it works offline. Tick the games you want and press Import. The games stay where they are, and MacLauncher adds them to your library.
Versions that MacLauncher downloaded for you appear in the Downloaded tab instead, which works the same way.
Downloading what you own
Section titled “Downloading what you own”Each store has its own tab, and these tabs let you choose more than the official launchers do. The Steam client on a Mac, for instance, won’t normally let you download the Windows version of a game. MacLauncher will, and if the game is built on an engine with a native runtime, that Windows build can run natively without CrossOver.
What you can choose depends on the store:
| Store | What you can pick |
|---|---|
| Steam | Branches, builds, individual depots, and historical manifests (look up older manifest IDs on SteamDB, or fetch the history from inside MacLauncher) |
| Epic | Published platform builds, or an exact historical manifest |
| GOG | Offline installer versions and Galaxy builds, including previous ones |
| itch.io | Uploads for each platform, and earlier builds when you sign in |
| Google Play | The current version for a choice of Android device profiles, or exact version codes |
| F-Droid and IzzyOnDroid | Every published APK version |
The platform is your choice too: Windows, Linux, Mac (including old 32-bit Mac builds) and, where a publisher offers one, Android. Downloads go into their own version folders, so you can keep several versions side by side, and they’re imported into your library automatically unless you untick that option.
Accounts
Section titled “Accounts”You can use more than one account per store.
For Steam, you can reuse the account signed in to the Steam app on your Mac. MacLauncher talks to the running client and doesn’t copy your credentials. You can also sign in to any number of additional accounts inside the External window, with Steam Guard and QR sign-in supported. Remembered sign-ins are protected by the macOS Keychain, and passwords are never stored.
Epic, GOG and itch.io have their own sign-ins in their tabs. Google Play accounts are shared with the Android runtimes, with a choice of device profiles.
Steam API without Steam
Section titled “Steam API without Steam”Some games refuse to start unless Steam is running. MacLauncher includes offline Steam API support for the runtimes that need it, so those games can run locally, with the genuine Steamworks libraries used where a game requires them.