v2.2.1

Shiori RPC v2.2.1

New

• Traditional Chinese: thanks peter910820!
• No more Beta tab: VN descriptions and characters, Ctrl+K search, keyboard shortcuts and the cover hover effect are now part of the app. The compact sidebar is still one click away, with the button at the bottom of the sidebar.
• New sidebar icons for the Library, Share and Mascots.

Improved

• Screenshots open faster: thumbnails load as you scroll, and the gallery no longer jumps when you come back to it.

Fixed

• Random crashes, mostly with mascots on. Thanks Kumo Pon for the crash logs and the testing!
• The "failed to acquire webview reference" error, which could block the main window until you restarted the app.

Discord

Questions, bugs or ideas: https://discord.gg/cDTUQFq4Hn

Updating

Accept the update in the app, or download shiori.exe below and replace your old one.

v2.2.0

Shiori RPC v2.2.0

Visual Novel RPC is now Shiori RPC! Same app, new name. Your Library, time read, settings, covers and mascots are copied over on the first launch, and your old folder is left untouched.

New

• Installer: shiori_setup.exe installs the app without admin rights, adds Start menu and desktop shortcuts, and uninstalls from the Windows settings. Prefer no install? shiori.exe still runs from any folder.
• Your finished VNs from VNDB in the Library: turn on Add my finished VNs from VNDB to the Library in Settings → General → VNDB list. They show up even if they're not on your PC, with their cover, your rating and their finish date. If you start one later and confirm its VNDB entry, it merges with the game by itself.

Improved

• The data folder is now %APPDATA%\moe.lenn.shiori\.
• New screenshots go to Pictures\Shiori RPC\, unless you already have a Pictures\Visual Novel RPC\ folder: then the app keeps using it.
• "Launch when Windows starts" carries over by itself.

Fixed

• Updates that left .new.exe files next to the app: this could happen when the folder name had accents or Japanese characters. Thanks mahoroba for the report! The app now replaces its own .exe, restarts and removes the leftovers.

Discord

Questions, bugs or ideas: https://discord.gg/cDTUQFq4Hn

Updating

Accept the update in the app, or download shiori.exe below and replace your old one. If you're moving to the installer, close the old copy first.

This update still goes through the old updater: if you get a .new.exe one last time, open it once. It renames itself and cleans up.

v2.1.9

Visual Novel RPC v2.1.9

New

• Your own Discord layout (beta): Settings → Presence lets you write each line yourself with variables like {title}, {section}, {total} or {progress}. You can also add text on the cover, a small icon, a timer and up to 2 buttons, with a live preview.
• New VN check: the first time a VN is detected, the app shows what it found (program, engine, window) and the VNDB match, so you can confirm it, pick another one or mark it as not a VN. If the app is in the tray, a notification takes you there.
• Welcome screen on first launch: language, Discord status and how detection works.
• Now reading badge and green outline on the VN you're reading in the Library.

Improved

• Settings are tidier: new Presence, Advanced and Beta tabs.
• Discord privacy is now on the VN's page.
• Share cards only list VNs you read for 15 minutes or more.
• A banner tells you when Discord isn't found.
• A notification tells you the app keeps running in the tray when you close the window.
• After your first confirmed VN, the app offers to sync with your VNDB list.

Fixed

• "Not a VN" is no longer shown for emulators on the home page. It used to block the whole emulator.
• Options that do nothing on their own (Mark as Playing on VNDB, idle delay) only show when they're active.
• The "Playing" status is now called "Reading", like the rest of the app.

Discord

Questions, bugs or ideas: https://discord.gg/cDTUQFq4Hn

Updating

Accept the update in the app, or download vnrpc.exe below and replace your old one.

v2.1.8

Visual Novel RPC v2.1.8

New

• Yearly recap: from December 20 to January 10, Visual Novel RPC offers your year in visual novels: hours read, top 5, busiest month, longest streak, night-owl score and more. It opens on wrapped.maia.moe, and your data stays in the link.
• A My 2026 recap button on the Share page opens it at any time.
• Reading time is now also counted by hour of the day.

Improved

• Hiding or adding a mascot only updates that mascot: the others stay where they are.
• A mascot whose window crashes is rebuilt on its own.
• The app keeps a small events.log in its data folder, to help with crash reports.

Fixed

• Random crashes when a mascot talked on its own, even with the PC idle (thanks Kumo Pon for the reports!).
• A crash when hiding a mascot.
• Time read counted twice after merging two library entries.
• Titles like Re:LieF ～…～ showing a stray ～ section in the presence.

Discord

Questions, bugs or ideas: https://discord.gg/cDTUQFq4Hn

Updating

Accept the update in the app, or download vnrpc.exe below and replace your old one.

v2.1.7

Visual Novel RPC v2.1.7

Fixed

• Crashes: the speech balloon and the screenshot notice are now reused instead of being recreated each time, which was behind several crashes.
• Focus stolen in game: the speech balloon and the screenshot notice can no longer take focus away from your game (holding TAB, etc.).
• Mascots disappearing: the app now notices when a mascot vanishes or stops responding and brings it back by itself.
• Speech balloon cut off with two monitors using different scaling (100% / 125%…).
• Share card: covers are no longer stretched.
• Time read chart: the tooltip no longer goes past the right edge.

Improved

• Crash reports: crash.log now lists the last things the app did before a crash.
• New sidebar icons, and a filled controller for the Game status.
• Updated Tauri, wry and tao.

Discord

• Join the Discord: report bugs or share ideas.

Updating

• From 1.2.1 or newer: the app offers this update by itself.
• From 1.2.0 or older: download vnrpc.exe below and replace your old one.

v2.1.6

Visual Novel RPC v2.1.6

New

• Background image: Settings → Theme → "Background image". Pick any picture and adjust blur, darkness and panel opacity.
• Screenshots, Folder view and By date: a grid with file names like Windows Explorer, and screenshots sorted by day.
• Labs (test features) in Settings, each one can be turned off:
  • VNDB description and characters (with stats) on a VN's page
  • Ctrl+K to search a VN or a page
  • Compact sidebar with icons and a smooth animation
  • Covers lift when hovered
  • Keyboard shortcuts: 1 to 6 switch pages, Alt+← goes back

Improved

• Sidebar: new Game and Discord status with icons, and a new pause button.
• Reading days calendar no longer gets huge in full screen.
• Discord Application ID moved to Settings → Advanced.
• Crash reports: if the app crashes, it now saves crash.log and crash.dmp in %APPDATA%\moe.lenn.vnrpc-tauri. Send them to me so I can find the cause.

Discord

• Join the Discord: tell me what you think of the Labs features!

Updating

• From 1.2.1 or newer: the app offers this update by itself.
• From 1.2.0 or older: download VisualNovelRPC.exe below and replace your old one.

v2.1.5

Visual Novel RPC v2.1.5

Fixed

• Steam games with a launcher (like Irotoridori no Sekai): Play now starts them through Steam, even when the detected program is in a subfolder.
• "Locate…" is kept: the program you pick (a launcher, for example) is used by Play and desktop shortcuts, and the app won't replace it anymore. "Locate…" is always on the VN's page.

Updating

• From 1.2.1 or newer: the app offers this update by itself.
• From 1.2.0 or older: download VisualNovelRPC.exe below and replace your old one.

v2.1.4

Visual Novel RPC v2.1.4

Fixed

• Echo on mascot voices: with several mascots on screen, only the one you click plays its voice now.

Updating

• From 1.2.1 or newer: the app offers this update by itself.
• From 1.2.0 or older: download VisualNovelRPC.exe below and replace your old one.

v2.1.3

Visual Novel RPC v2.1.3

Fixed

• Mascot voices: every sound file gets used now, not always the same one.
• Voice matches the line: for "When you click it" and "Now and then", the 1st sound (by file name) goes with the 1st line, and so on. Number your files (quote1, quote2…).
• Several mascots: they take turns talking instead of always the same one.

Improved

• Crash log: if the app crashes, it writes what happened to %APPDATA%\moe.lenn.vnrpc-tauri\crash.log. Send it to me!

Discord

• Join the Discord: report bugs or share ideas.

Updating

• From 1.2.1 or newer: the app offers this update by itself.
• From 1.2.0 or older: download VisualNovelRPC.exe below and replace your old one.

v2.1.2

Visual Novel RPC v2.1.2

New

• Mascot voices: "Voices…" on each mascot lets you add your own sound files (MP3, WAV, OGG, M4A, OPUS, FLAC) for each moment: starting a VN, a new route, a screenshot, clicking it… Give a moment several sounds and one is picked at random.
• Mascots talk on their own: in Mascots → Options, pick how often they say something (every 1 to 30 minutes). Each personality got new lines for it, and Custom mascots can have their own.
• View only mascots: turn on "View only" and clicks go through the mascot, so it can't steal the focus from a game.
• Key to switch clicks on or off: set a key in Mascots → Options to make every mascot click-through (or clickable again) at once, even in the middle of a game.
• Original title on Discord: Settings → Presence → "Title on Discord" can show the VN's original title from VNDB (ドーナドーナ…). The romanized title shows when hovering the cover.
• Discord language: "Language on Discord" keeps your status in one language (for example English) whatever language the app is in.
• Full screen: press F11.

Improved

• Share page loads much faster: covers are resized once and kept, so switching periods is instant.
• Big screens: pages now use the full width instead of leaving empty space on the right.

Fixed

• Desktop shortcuts with the wrong icon: if a game has moved, "Desktop shortcut" now asks you to locate it instead of using the app's icon.
• App icon in the taskbar: Windows no longer borrows a game shortcut's icon for Visual Novel RPC. Recreate your shortcuts once to be sure.

Discord

• Join the Discord: tell me if your VN isn't detected or share an idea. New versions are announced there first.

Updating

• From 1.2.1 or newer: the app offers this update by itself when it starts.
• From 1.2.0 or older: download VisualNovelRPC.exe below and replace your old one.