FAQ

Is Hoard free?

Yes. It's open source under the MIT license, with no accounts, ads or tracking.

Does Hoard see my store passwords?

No. You sign in on each store's own page, in Hoard's window, and Hoard only keeps the "stay signed in" pass the store hands out, encrypted by your operating system. See Security and privacy.

Is it allowed?

Hoard reads your own purchases, signed in as you, the way your browser would, and waits between pages to stay polite. It's unofficial: not affiliated with or endorsed by any of the stores. Downloading doesn't change what you're allowed to do with an asset, so follow each creator's license and each store's terms.

Does it work on a Mac or Linux?

Yes. There's a package for macOS 11 or newer (Apple Silicon and Intel), and a Flatpak for Linux (x86_64), each opening in Hoard's own window: see Installing Hoard. It also runs from source anywhere with Python 3.10 or newer. Hoard for Unity works wherever Unity 2022.3 does.

Will it download the same file twice?

No. Hoard records what it downloaded and where, and only downloads what's new, plus files the creator has updated. See Downloads.

Which stores does Hoard work with?

Booth, Gumroad, Jinxxy, Payhip and itch.io. Hoard lists what you own on all of them, and downloads from all but Payhip, where you download the files yourself from each product's download page. See Stores.

Where do my files go?

A Hoard folder in your Documents, in <Store>/<Creator>/<Product> folders, unless you choose another folder in Settings.

Can I move my downloads folder?

Yes. Move the whole folder (Hoard's records inside it move with it), then choose its new place in Settings. Changing the setting alone doesn't move any files.

Can two computers share one downloads folder?

Yes, a NAS for example: copy integrity.key between them. See Where Hoard keeps things.

Can I use Hoard on my phone?

You can browse your library and downloads from another device, once you've set it up on the computer running Hoard: see Using Hoard on other devices.

Does Hoard update itself?

When you ask it to. In Settings, Updates: Check now asks GitHub whether there's a newer version, and in the installed Windows app Update to downloads it, checks it, closes Hoard, installs it and opens Hoard again. Turn on Check for updates automatically and Hoard checks once a day when it starts, and shows Update to at the bottom of the page when there's a new version. It's off unless you turn it on. See Installing Hoard.

Is the hidden library encrypted?

No. It's a privacy screen for Hoard: hidden items stay out of view everywhere in Hoard until you unlock them, but the files on your disk are ordinary files. See Your library.

Does Hoard use AI?

Hoard itself doesn't, and your data never goes to one. Most of its code, design and documentation was written by an AI assistant, directed and tested by the maintainer: AI-DISCLOSURE.md explains what that means for you.