Phantom Fire Launcher

Beta — v1.0.0-beta

A tactical game launcher for Linux built on Qt6/C++. Zero accounts, zero telemetry, zero bloat.

Why Phantom Fire Launcher?

Most game launchers are designed like shopping malls — stores, ads, accounts, DRM. Phantom Fire Launcher is designed like a military armory. It gives you direct control over your game library with no intermediaries.

• No accounts or telemetry — runs entirely offline, no sign-in required
• Tactical performance — built in C++/Qt6 with a ~50MB RAM footprint, so your system's power goes to the game, not the launcher
• Manual discipline — you curate your library with precision: add executables, configure launch flags, set per-game environment variables
• Nobara-first integration — native toggles for GameMode, MangoHud, VKD3D, resolution forcing, and Proton/Wine per-game
• Portable by design — distributed as a single AppImage; move it anywhere, your database follows
• Self-updating — ZSync delta updates via AppImageUpdate with automatic version checking

What it can do

Feature	Description
Game library management	Add, edit, remove games with full metadata
Tactical Launch Suite	Per-game toggles for GameMode, MangoHud, VKD3D, borderless, sandbox
Proton/Wine support	Select Wine or Proton per-game for Windows executables
Resolution forcing	Launch any game at a specific resolution via Gamescope
Gallery & Ledger views	Toggle between poster grid and sortable data table
Playtime tracking	Automatic time tracking via /proc monitoring
Live system stats	CPU and RAM readout in the status bar from /proc
Secret Vault	Store CD keys and tactical notes per game
Switchable themes	Obsidian (dark charcoal/orange) and Centurion (gold/crimson)
Self-updating	Checks GitHub for new releases, supports ZSync delta updates
AppImage import (Phase 2)	Import AppImages, extract icons, create desktop entries

Installation

# Download the AppImage
wget https://github.com/PhantomFireGames/Phantom-Fire-Launcher/releases/latest/download/Phantom-Fire-Launcher-x86_64-beta.AppImage

# Make it executable
chmod +x Phantom-Fire-Launcher-x86_64-beta.AppImage

# Run it
./Phantom-Fire-Launcher-x86_64-beta.AppImage

Optional: Integrate into system

# Move to Applications folder
mkdir -p ~/Applications
mv Phantom-Fire-Launcher-x86_64-beta.AppImage ~/Applications/

# Register with AppImageLauncher (if installed)
appimagelauncher-integrate ~/Applications/Phantom-Fire-Launcher-x86_64-beta.AppImage

For automatic delta updates, install AppImageUpdate:

# Fedora/Nobara
sudo dnf install AppImageUpdate

# Arch
yay -S appimageupdate

# Install from source
wget https://github.com/AppImage/AppImageUpdate/releases/download/continuous/AppImageUpdate-x86_64.AppImage
chmod +x AppImageUpdate-x86_64.AppImage
sudo mv AppImageUpdate-x86_64.AppImage /usr/local/bin/AppImageUpdate

Usage

Action	How
Add a game	Toolbar → + Add Game
Launch	Double-click a game card or right-click → Launch
Toggle view	Toolbar → Toggle View (Gallery ↔ Ledger)
Switch theme	Toolbar → Switch Theme (Obsidian ↔ Centurion)
View version	Bottom-right of status bar
Check for updates	Automatic on startup; click "Update Available" when present

The database is stored at ~/.local/share/PhantomFire/PhantomFireLauncher/games.db.

Building from source

Dependencies:

sudo dnf install qt6-qtbase-devel qt6-qtsvg-devel

Build:

git clone https://github.com/PhantomFireGames/Phantom-Fire-Launcher.git
cd Phantom-Fire-Launcher
qmake6 PhantomFireLauncher.pro
make -j$(nproc)
./PhantomFireLauncher

Project Structure

PhantomFireLauncher/
├── PhantomFireLauncher.pro   # qmake project file
├── src/
│   ├── core/                 # Database, process launcher, playtime tracker, tactical updater
│   ├── models/               # Game entry data struct
│   └── ui/                   # Main window, dialogs, grid/ledger views, sidebar, status bar
├── assets/themes/            # Obsidian (default) and Centurion QSS themes
└── packaging/                # AppImage build scripts and AppDir

License

MIT