Launcher

Launcher

From framework 1.6.0, Launcher.exe can run before the game and bring your mods up to date before you play. It's Windows only.

How it starts

The Installer puts it in BepInEx\DragNWash.Installer and, while Check for mod updates when the game starts is ticked, sets the game's launch options in Steam to:

"<game folder>\BepInEx\DragNWash.Installer\Launcher.exe" %command%

From then on, Play in Steam starts the launcher, and the launcher starts the game. It stays the game's parent while you play, so Steam keeps counting your play time.

To turn it on or off later: Mods → Drag'n Wash ModFramework → Settings → Launcher → Check for mod updates when the game starts. Switching it closes the game, closes Steam for a moment to change the launch option, and starts both again. Or untick the box in the installer.

What you see

• No updates: the logo shows for a moment, and the game starts.
• Updates: the game's own update check (once a day, in the game) found newer versions last time. The launcher lists them with their release notes. Tick the ones you want and press Update and play, or Play without updating. Skip this version stops a version from being offered again.

While updating, each step shows: waiting for the game to close, downloading, checking, backing up, installing. When it's done, the game starts again after a 10-second countdown, or at once with Start now.

The window's ✕ closes the launcher without starting the game.

Updating from the Mods screen

A mod the installer put in gets Update now next to Open release page when a newer release is out. The first press asks; Quit and update closes the game, the launcher updates the mod, and the game starts again. This works whether or not the launcher is in the launch options.

What it does with the internet and your files

• It goes online only when you press Update, and only to github.com and release-assets.githubusercontent.com. It reads what's new from BepInEx/cache/DragNWash.ModFramework/updates.json, which the game's update check wrote.
• It only updates mods the installer put in (they have a mod-install.json), from the release's zip, checked by size and SHA-256.
• Everything it replaces is backed up to BepInEx\DragNWash.Installer\backup\<date_time> first, and if a step fails, the files are put back.
• Its log is BepInEx\DragNWash.Installer\launcher.log.

When something is off

• It needs the WebView2 runtime (Windows 10 and 11 usually have it). Without it, the game simply starts as usual.
• Whatever fails in the launcher, the game still starts.
• On the Steam Deck, Linux and macOS there is no launcher; update with the installer or the release page.

How it's built: docs/LAUNCHER_APP.md. The updates.json format: docs/LAUNCHER.md.