A Playnite plugin that lets you launch games without UAC elevation prompts by registering them as Windows Scheduled Tasks.
When you enable GameTask for a game, it:
- Creates a small
.vbslauncher file for the game - Sets that launcher as the Play Without UAC action in Playnite
- Registers a Windows Scheduled Task that runs the game's
.exewith elevated rights - When you click Play, Playnite calls the launcher → the launcher triggers the scheduled task → the game starts elevated, with no UAC popup
- Windows 10 or 11
- Playnite 9 or later
- .NET Framework 4.8 (included in Windows 10/11)
- Download the latest
.pextfile from the Releases page - Double-click the
.pextfile — Playnite will install it automatically - Restart Playnite
- Download and extract the release
.zip - Copy the folder to:
%AppData%\Playnite\Extensions\GameTask - Restart Playnite
- Right-click a game in Playnite
- Go to GameTask → Enable GameTask
- A notification will appear: "N game(s) need elevated tasks. Click here."
- Click the notification — a UAC prompt will appear once to register the task
- Done. The game will now launch without any further UAC prompts
Some games use launchers or non-standard directory structures. In that case:
- A red notification will appear for the game
- Right-click the game → GameTask → Fix Executable Path
- A file browser will open — navigate to and select the game's main
.exe - A confirmation message will appear, and the pending task notification will show up
- Click the notification to register the task with elevated rights
If you selected the wrong .exe and want to reset:
- Right-click the game → GameTask → Remove Custom Executable Path
GameTask will then try to detect the executable automatically again.
| Menu item | What it does |
|---|---|
| Enable GameTask | Tags the game and sets up the launcher + scheduled task |
| Disable GameTask | Removes the launcher, action, and scheduled task |
| Create Pending Tasks | Runs the elevated helper to register queued tasks |
| Rebuild Selected | Fully removes and recreates everything for the game |
| Repair Selected | Re-applies launcher and action without deleting the task |
| Fix Executable Path | Opens a file browser to manually select the game's .exe |
| Remove Custom Executable Path | Clears a manually selected path |
| Open Data Folder | Opens the plugin's data folder in Explorer |
| Open Task Scheduler | Opens Windows Task Scheduler |
GameTask uses Playnite's built-in tracking system (process name detection). Playtime is recorded automatically as long as the game's main .exe is correctly configured.
Note for contributors: The
TrackerManagerclass is reserved for future advanced tracking experiments (child process detection, window title tracking, etc.). See its source code for details.
The game still shows a UAC prompt
→ The scheduled task may not have been created yet. Look for the notification in Playnite and click it to run the elevated helper.
No notification appears after enabling
→ Right-click the game → GameTask → Create Pending Tasks
The task was created but the game doesn't launch
→ Right-click → GameTask → Fix Executable Path and point it to the correct .exe
I want to start over for a game
→ Right-click → GameTask → Rebuild Selected
Where are the logs?
→ Right-click any game → GameTask → Open Data Folder → Logs\GameTask.log
Pull requests are welcome! Areas that would benefit from help:
- Advanced playtime tracking — see
TrackerManager.csfor ideas and integration points - Multi-user support — currently uses
$env:USERNAMEfor task principal - Automatic
.pextbuild via GitHub Actions
MIT — see LICENSE.txt
If GameTask saved you some frustration, a coffee is always appreciated! ☕
