Story Forge

Story Forge

is not just like any other launcher - at least that's what our users say.

One launcher, optimized for every platform imaginable

Windows. macOS. Every Linux distro you can name - and a dozen you've never heard of.
(Yes, even UwUntu, or the much lesser known* SteamOS - for all you Steam Deckers!)

Optimized with .NET management

Tired of having to download and manage .NET versions to play the game?
Story Forge handles that automatically - you don't have to download .NET to play the game anymore.

Optimized for Linux

Story Forge ships as a Flatpak (on the Github releases) as well, which means it runs on Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch, Debian, openSUSE, Pop!_OS, SteamOS, elementary OS, Solus, NixOS, Void, Alpine, Gentoo, Clear Linux, Endless OS, and any other distribution with Flatpak support.
No more "hunting for the right package format".
No more "works on my machine".
One build, everywhere.
You could be on a hand-compiled Linux From Scratch box running a tiling window manager you configured yourself - Story Forge technically should work there too.

Optimized for macOS

On macOS, Story Forge detects whether you're on an Intel or Apple Silicon Mac. Starting with Vintage Story v1.22.3 (and all current 1.0.0 release candidates), it activates macOS Game Mode on ARM64 - the same performance boost Apple reserves for native games. Your M1-4 Mac routes maximum CPU and GPU resources to Vintage Story, reduces background task interference, and lowers Bluetooth latency for controllers. No config file, no terminal incantation - it just happens.

Story Forge also sniffs your system for an ARM-native dotnet runtime and prefers it over x64 emulation, so your game isn't dragging Rosetta behind it.

What It Actually Does

At its core, Story Forge is a Vintage Story launcher that treats your time with respect:

Installations with personality - each install gets its own icon, name, mod list, and playtime tracking so you know the vanilla run from the heavily modded run at a glance
Modpacks - bundle mods together, version them, share them - import a modpack with a single paste (`modid@version,modid@version,…`) and watch the launcher fetch and install everything with live progress
Mod tags - click any tag to filter the entire mod library instantly - no more scrolling through 2000+ mods looking for the one that tweaks clay forming
Server browser - favorite servers, connect in one click
Account switching - sign in once, switch between accounts instantly - family sharing, alt accounts, server admin or player - one click away
World maps - view your world maps complete with markers and prospecting data, no need to launch the game
Mod config editor - tweak mod JSON/JSON5 configs with a proper code editor, syntax highlighting and all or just do it via a UI
Update everything - one button updates every mod across an installation - parallel downloads, progress tracking
Auto-updater - Story Forge updates itself - no re-downloading from a website

Why It's Different

Story Forge is built on Tauri - a Rust backend with a web frontend.
That means:
Tiny footprint - the binary is measured in megabytes, not hundreds of megabytes - no Chromium embedded, no "Electron bloat"
Native performance - file operations, downloads, and extraction run at Rust speed (which in technical terms is VERY fast, wroom wroom)
Secure by default - Tauri's permission model means the app only accesses what is allowed
Dark mode - follows your OS preference, switches instantly

Installing Story Forge

Story Forge runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux - including obscure and niche distributions (even immutable ones) via Flatpak.

Usually it's as easy as going to the Story Forge website and downloading it straight from there.

But in some cases, like with the Flatpak - you need to grab it from the Github Releases page.

macOS Specific

Story Forge is not notarized by Apple yet, so Gatekeeper will block it on first launch.
To allow it, open Terminal and run:

sudo xattr -rd com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Story\ Forge.app

Enter your password or use Touch ID when prompted.

You only need to do this once, after that, Story Forge launches normally - double-click it, right-click → Open, or launch from Spotlight or Raycast.

Flatpak (Linux) Specific

Flatpak works on virtually every Linux distribution, including niche and independent ones:
Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch, Debian, openSUSE, Pop!\_OS, SteamOS, elementary OS, Solus, NixOS, Void Linux, Alpine, Gentoo, Clear Linux, Endless OS, and many more.

1. Install Flatpak (if you haven't already)

Distribution	Command
Ubuntu / Pop!_OS / Mint	sudo apt install flatpak gnome-software-plugin-flatpak
Fedora	sudo dnf install flatpak
Arch / Manjaro / EndeavourOS	sudo pacman -S flatpak
openSUSE	sudo zypper install flatpak
Debian	sudo apt install flatpak
Solus	sudo eopkg install flatpak
NixOS	Add services.flatpak.enable = true; to your configuration
Void Linux	sudo xbps-install flatpak
Alpine	sudo apk add flatpak
Gentoo	sudo emerge sys-apps/flatpak

2. Download & Install the Story Forge Flatpak

1. Go to the latest release
2. Download io.github.LovelessCodes.StoryForge-*.flatpak
3. Install it:
flatpak install --user ./io.github.LovelessCodes.StoryForge-*.flatpak

4. Launch from your app launcher, or from the terminal:
flatpak run io.github.LovelessCodes.StoryForge

The --user flag installs Story Forge for your account only - no sudo needed.

Auto-Updates

Story Forge checks for updates on launch and can update itself.
You'll see a notification when a new version is available - one click and you're current.

Release Candidates

Releases tagged with -rc (e.g. v1.0.0-rc.12) are pre-release builds - they include the latest features and fixes but may have rough edges.
They're marked with a warning on the release page and are not pushed through the auto-updater to stable users.
If you want to test the bleeding edge, download the release candidate from the releases page and install it manually.

Troubleshooting

> "StoryForge is damaged and can't be opened" (macOS)

Run the Gatekeeper workaround above.
If you've already done it, Apple may have re-applied the quarantine flag after a macOS update - run the same command again.

> Blank or white window on Linux

This is typically an NVIDIA + Wayland issue.
Story Forge applies a fix automatically.
If you still see a blank window, try launching with:
WEBKIT_DISABLE_DMABUF_RENDERER=1 ./Story.Forge_*.AppImage

> Flatpak permissions

Story Forge's Flatpak is sandboxed.
If you store Vintage Story installations outside your home directory, you may need to grant filesystem access:
flatpak override --user --filesystem=/path/to/games io.github.LovelessCodes.StoryForge

> AppImage won't run

Make sure libfuse2 is installed:
Ubuntu / Debian: sudo apt install libfuse2
Fedora: sudo dnf install fuse-libs
Arch: sudo pacman -S fuse2

Getting Help

Discord: discord.gg/gByx63peUC
GitHub Issues: github.com/lovelesscodes/storyforge/issues
Website: getstoryforge.app

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Development

I want to be transparent about how this project was built, since AI played a role in its development.
All code has been reviewed by me (a software engineer by trade) before being committed.

The backend (Rust) is partially AI-generated. I started with zero Rust experience and used AI to scaffold and write significant portions.
As time went on, I learned enough Rust to review, and improve that code myself - everything you see is something I understand and stand behind.

The frontend (React) is mostly hand-written by me, with AI assistance for things like autocompletion, quick snippets, and the occasional debugging.
No large frontend sections were generated from scratch - the design and architecture have been developed by me, a human.

All of the code is publicly available on the Github page, and can be reviewed and/or improved upon by you guys, the community.
I'm more than happy to review contributions, and welcome them with open arms.

Happy to answer questions on the development process or the code itself!