Hey c/selfhosted,

In my last post here, I introduced the Web UI and said it would become the foundation for a cross-platform desktop client. Quite a few of you were waiting for a Linux application. I'm really happy to finally be back with one: GameVault 2 is now available to everyone as a public beta!

For anyone coming across it for the first time, GameVault is a self-hosted platform for managing your own DRM-free game collection. Your server holds the library, and the desktop client downloads and installs games so you can play them locally and share your collection with friends and family.

The new desktop app runs on Linux, Windows and macOS. On Linux, we provide AppImage and .deb packages, and Windows games can run through umu-launcher with Wine/Proton. Each game gets its own prefix.

We've also rebuilt the interface around the frontend we started with the Web UI. It's a huge visual improvement over the old client, and it's responsive, so the layout adapts when you're browsing on a phone or using a smaller window. The browser and desktop app share the same interface. You can now keep multiple versions of a game in your vault and pick the version you want to download, too.

When we first shared GameVault here, it was a small project built with the technology we knew. A lot has changed since then. We're still two developers, and being able to come back here with the Linux client people asked for means a lot to me. I'm proud of this release.

There are still rough edges: GameVault 2 is a public beta, GameVault+ features are still missing, and games installed through GameVault 1 need to be downloaded and installed again. The old client remains available while we work on the missing functionality and stability.

Thanks to everyone who stuck around, tested builds or gave us feedback. We've already moved to GameVault 2 ourselves, and I'm excited for more of you to try it.

Download GameVault 2, and please report any bugs you find.

AI disclosure:

• Implementation — Pair
• Testing — Pair
• Documentation — Pair
• Deployment — Pair

GameVault was originally built about 3–4 years ago without AI. For the new client rewrite, we worked alongside LLM agents on the implementation. We spent dozens of hours testing the new client and ran an Early Access phase with real users before this release. AI also helped with the wording of this announcement.

Hey c/selfhosted,

we've finally done it. After years of people asking for it, GameVault now has its very own Web UI!

For anyone who hasn't heard of it yet: GameVault is a self-hosted gaming platform that gives you a Steam-like library experience, but for your own DRM-free games. You host it yourself, you own your data, and you can share your collection with friends and family. Basically, it's for gamers who also love the selfhosting mindset.

This Web UI / Cross-Platform Client has been the most requested and long-awaited feature for as long as we've been working on GameVault. When we first built it, it was just a small project for the two of us, written with the tech we knew at the time. Over the years, especially here on Lemmy, people gave us plenty of criticism for the tech stack and the UX, because you guys love to use linux. And honestly... fair enough. We knew it wasn't great.

The new Web UI is our way of addressing all the feedback we've received and setting the stage for the future. It’s not just a nicer interface. This also represents the first building block for a new cross-platform client that we’re working on.

The Web UI acts as a cross-platform core, which means that in the future we will be able to package GameVault to run both directly in the browser as well as a native application on Windows, Linux, or even mobile devices. This upcoming client will be built on the same foundation, ensuring a smoother and more unified experience whether you're on a desktop OS or just checking your vault from your phone.

Right now, we're planning to expand the Web UI continuously and figure out how to handle the legacy windows desktop client moving forward. The technology underneath is much cleaner now, so we finally have the freedom to iterate and improve without being stuck in the past.

Anyway, we're really excited about this step. It feels like a true milestone for the project, and we're looking forward to hearing your thoughts and feedback. If you're self-hosting and love gaming, give it a try, I'm curious what you think.

You can also check out a live running demo version on demo.gamevau.lt
Username: demo
Password: demodemo

Hello c/selfhosted,

GameVault is a free, self-hostable gaming platform for organizing, browsing, downloading, installing, and playing your DRM-free game files stored on your home servers. It’s a full-featured alternative to platforms like Steam, designed for users who want complete control over their infrastructure and share their gaming library with friends and family.

With GameVault, you get:

• A native Windows client with full offline gaming support
• A beautiful library to browse your game collection
• Fully automated game installations
• Game progress tracking
• Rich metadata and cover art
• Cloud save functionality for seamless play across devices
• Multi-user architecture with role-based access control

Check it out here if you haven’t had a chance to set it up yet!

We’re excited to announce a major new release: The Identity Update

Why This Update Matters

Until now, GameVault used Basic Auth and supported one user per user device. This simple approach worked when the platform was just a side project for two friends.

But GameVault has grown, thousands of users, more setups, and higher expectations. This update lays the foundation for secure, scalable identity management and multi-user capabilities. We’ve shipped several great features with this release, including:

🔐 Modern Authentication & SSO Support

SSO support has been one of the oldest and most requested features on our issue tracker. Reworking the entire auth system was no small task, it took over five months to implement and test. But it’s done, marking a major step forward.

GameVault now uses OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect as its authentication foundation. This enables secure, modern login flows while staying flexible: traditional username and password login still works, but now runs on token-based authentication with session-based access and refresh tokens instead of basic auth.

If you want to use an identity provider, GameVault can integrate directly with providers like Keycloak, Authentik, Authelia, Google, Microsoft, Discord, or virtually any other RFC-compliant OAuth 2.0 or OIDC service.

This overhaul not only improves security and user experience, but also opens new possibilities for the platform, like web-based clients.

👥 Multi-Profile Support (GameVault+)

Need to support multiple users or connect to multiple servers on the same machine? GameVault+ now offers fully separated user profiles, each with its own server connection, game library, save data, preferences, and more. Whether you’re sharing a PC with family or housemates or just want to stay organized, profiles keep everyone’s games and progress completely separate.

💾 Installing Games Across Multiple Drives

Long overdue: GameVault now supports multiple root install directories, letting you choose where each game is installed. Whether you’re splitting your library across SSDs and HDDs or just organizing games, GameVault manages paths and indexing automatically.

How to Update

Due to the massive changes older clients and servers are not compatible with the newer infrastructure anymore, so you will probably need to update:

• Client: Update via Microsoft Store or GitHub.
• Server: Update via Docker or GitHub.
• Docs: Full documentation available here.

Thank You

Reaching so many regular users and GameVault+ subscribers is something we never imagined when we started this project. Thank you for trying it, testing it, using it and most of all, supporting it.

We still enjoy spending all our free time on this project, and as long as you keep us going, we won’t stop.

Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts,

The Phalcode Team

Hey everyone,

it’s me again, one of the two developers behind GameVault, a self-hosted gaming platform similar to how Plex/Jellyfin is for your movies and series, but for your game collection. If you've hoarded a bunch of games over the years, this app is going to be your best friend. Think of it as your own personal Steam, hosted on your own server.

If you haven’t heard of GameVault yet, you can check it out here and get started within 5 minutes—seriously, it’s a game changer.

For those who already know GameVault, or its old name He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, we are excited to tell you we just launched a major update. I’m talking a massive overhaul—so much so, that we could’ve rebuilt the whole thing from scratch. Here’s the big news: We’re no longer relying on RAWG or Google Images for game metadata. Instead, we’ve officially partnered with IGDB/Twitch for a more reliable and extended metadata experience!

But it doesn’t stop there. We’ve also rolled out a new plugin system and a metadata framework that allows you to connect to multiple metadata providers at once. It’s never been this cool to run your own Steam-like platform right from your good ol' 19" incher below your desk!

What’s new in this update?

• IGDB/Twitch Integration: Say goodbye to unreliable metadata scrapers. Now you can enjoy game info sourced directly from IGDB.
• Customizable Metadata: Edit and fine-tune game metadata with ease. Your changes are saved separately, so the original data stays intact.
• Plugin System: Build your own plugins for metadata or connect to as many sources as you want—unlimited flexibility!
• Parental Controls: Manage age-appropriate access for the family and children.
• Built-in Media Player: Watch game trailers and gameplay videos directly in GameVault.
• UI Overhaul: A fresh, streamlined look for the app, community, game and admin interface.
• Halloween Theme: For GameVault+ users, we’ve added a spooky Halloween skin just in time for the season!

Things to keep in mind when updating:

• GameVault Client v1.12 is now required for servers running v13 or above.
• Older clients won’t work on servers that have been updated to v13.

For a smooth update and a guide on how to use all these new features, check out the detailed migration instructions in the server changelogs. As always, if you hit any snags, feel free to reach out to us on Discord.

If you run into any issues or need help with the migration, feel free to join and open a ticket in our Discord community—we’re always happy to help!

If you want to support our pet-project and keep most upcoming features of GameVault free for everyone, consider subscribing to GameVault+ or making a one-time donation. Every little bit fuels our passion to keep building and improving!

Thanks for everything! We're more than 800 Members on our discord now and I can’t wait to hear what you think of the latest version.