Start playing and installing mods

For: players using the desktop app. No code editor or command line is required. To run the source code instead, use Developer Setup.

Launch your first game

1. Get the app for your system from the project's GitHub releases. Extract the downloaded app package before opening it.
2. Open the app. In the launcher, select the game you want to import and choose Import ROM, or drop your ROM file onto the window.
3. Choose your supported game file. A ROM is a file containing data from a game cartridge. You supply it; the app does not include it.
4. Wait for import to finish. Once imported, launch that game from its Play control if it has not started automatically.
5. At the title screen, start a new game or continue the save you intend to use.

The current launcher includes Red, Blue, Yellow, Gold, Silver, Crystal, and FireRed, LeafGreen, Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald (all five marked Beta). It checks the supplied file against accepted US releases; a .zip or .7z holding the ROM is also accepted. A ROM-hack patch or a modified ROM is not a substitute. If the file is rejected, check Troubleshooting before trying again.

Import creates a local cache: files the game can reuse next time. You do not need to edit those files. Mods are installed separately.

Basic desktop controls

Action	Default key
Move	Arrow keys or WASD
A: talk, confirm	Z, Enter, or Space
B: cancel	X or Backspace
Open the Start menu	Escape
Select	Tab or Shift
L / R (Gen 3)	Q / E, or Left/Right Ctrl
Open the mod manager	F10 (Gen 1); START menu > MODS (Gen 2 and Gen 3)

Use your configured controls if you changed the bindings. On some keyboards, F10 requires holding Fn. Touch/controller controls use the mapped game actions.

Install a mod

1. Obtain the mod's installable .zip and read which games it supports. Choose the mod package, not a repository's general "source code" archive.
2. Open MODS in the launcher and choose Import mod .zip. On desktop, you can also drop the archive onto the launcher window.
3. Check the result and the mod's row. A dependency is another mod it needs; the launcher reports missing dependencies. A required file import also needs to be completed before that mod can load.
4. Use Show for to view the intended game, and enable the mod for that game. Do not assume an enabled Red mod is also enabled or supported in Gold or FireRed: enablement is per game, and a mod only loads on the games its author lists.
5. Launch the game and perform the check described by the mod's author.

Success has two parts: the mod loads without an error, and its advertised change appears in the game. A mod in the list can still be disabled, waiting for a dependency, or unsupported for that game.

Turn a mod off

Return to the launcher, turn the mod off for the game you are using, then launch again. In-game, the manager (F10 on Gen 1, START > MODS on Gen 2 and Gen 3) can change it; apply staged changes with APPLY & RESTART. Keep the mod installed while comparing on/off behavior.

If a mod added creatures, items, maps, or saved progress, read its removal instructions before continuing that save without it. Disabling a mod removes active changes; it does not restore an earlier save. Use a separate save slot for learning and experiments. See Save Model.

What next?

• Link Play: connect with another player.
• Save Editor: make and verify a save edit.
• Troubleshooting: a mod is missing, failed, or unchanged.
• Your First Change: write a small mod yourself.
• Custom Carts: launch a packaged collection of choices.

UI names and game choices are based on src/import/LauncherView.lua, src/import/RomImporter.lua, src/core/GameVersion.lua, and src/mods/ManagerState.lua in the engine source.