Universal Game Launcher Technical Wiki

This technical wiki documents how Universal Game Launcher is built: the decoupled core architecture, the in-app modular plugin system, the developer guides for authoring plugins, the Rust backend with generic SQLite persistence and fast-tier in-memory KV caching, the SvelteKit frontend, and the non-invasive security and privacy model.

<span class="section-number">01</span>
<div>
  <p class="eyebrow">Architecture &amp; Core Engine</p>
  <h2>Core Internals</h2>
</div>

How the core application is structured and decoupled from features:

Architecture — core launcher responsibilities, Universal Core plugins boundaries, and module map.
Plugins Architecture — Universal Core plugins framework, global helper modules, automatic multi-source metadata cascade, and tabbed settings dialog.
Plugin Developer Guide — comprehensive step-by-step developer tutorial with TypeScript templates for Universal Core Platform, Metadata, Utility, and Media plugins.

<span class="section-number">02</span>
<div>
  <p class="eyebrow">Implementation</p>
  <h2>Backend &amp; Frontend</h2>
</div>

Backend (Rust) — the Tauri v2 command surface, multi-source metadata engine, title normalizer backend, in-memory KV tier (`mem_kv`), and SQLite persistence (`database.sqlite`).
Frontend (SvelteKit) — frameless titlebar navigation, Library-only sidebar games list with authentic vector SVG platform icons, unified media showcase, per-game customization modal, and `PluginSettingsDialog`.

<span class="section-number">03</span>
<div>
  <p class="eyebrow">Project</p>
  <h2>Development &amp; Assurance</h2>
</div>

Development & Contributing — building from source, quality gates, authoring plugins, and verification workflows.
Security — non-invasive invariants, zero credential harvesting, and secrets handling.
Privacy — 100% on-device local operation and zero telemetry.