tgeorgiadis/quiver-launcher

What it is

Quiver Launcher is a cross-platform launcher for software people publish through GitHub and GitLab releases, especially PC ports, recompilations and fan projects. Instead of manually tracking release pages, you browse the Quiver catalog, press Get, and the launcher downloads, checksum-verifies and installs the release. It then handles updates.

Beyond catalog installs, the app provides a personal library with sorting, filtering, playlists and optional shared playlists; you can add arbitrary GitHub or GitLab repositories, programs already installed on the machine, or your own folders. It also includes a controller-friendly TV mode, mod browsing for Thunderstore and GameBanana, Steam/desktop shortcut creation, and running Windows builds on Linux through Wine or Proton. Optional sign-in with GitHub or Discord syncs the library across devices.

It is aimed at players and tinkerers who want a single place to manage releases distributed outside conventional app stores, including Steam Deck users.

Getting started

Download only from the repository's Releases page, which the README identifies as the official distribution channel. Pick the package for your platform:

• Windows: extract QuiverLauncher-win-Portable.zip anywhere and run QuiverLauncher.exe. The app updates itself afterwards.
• macOS: open the …_universal.dmg, drag Quiver Launcher into Applications. The build supports Intel and Apple silicon.
• Linux / Steam Deck: use the …_amd64.AppImage (mark it executable, then run it) or the …_x86_64.flatpak (flatpak install --user --bundle <file>). On Steam Deck, install in Desktop Mode and add Quiver to Steam to launch it from Game Mode.
• Android: install the …_arm64.apk, allowing installation from this source when prompted. Android 7 or newer is required.

On first start you can optionally turn off usage data. Users of Quiver Launcher 3 are offered a library migration on first launch or later in Settings.

Constraints and privacy

The application is distributed as prebuilt installers and executables for Windows, macOS, Linux, Steam Deck and Android; there is no browser-based version. Checksum verification confirms that a downloaded file matches the release the developer published, but it does not establish that the file itself is safe. The catalog relies on community feedback and Quiver's release records rather than a security review of each app.

Quiver sends optional usage data such as opened screens and installed apps; when signed in, events can be linked to the account, including earlier events from the same device. Typed text, files, paths and the computer name are excluded, and collection can be disabled at first start, in Settings, or from the account. Details are in the usage-data documentation.

Quiver Launcher 4 is source-available under Business Source License 1.1: reading, building, modifying and testing are allowed, but production use of a version during its first year is limited by the Additional Use Grant; each version becomes MIT one year after publication. The name, logo and icons have a separate trademark policy. Building from source and contributing are covered in CONTRIBUTING.md.

HotRepo's take

There is no recorded GitHub daily ranking, star snapshot or discussion thread for this repository in the HotRepo data, so the current popularity signal is the 3,844 stars and 118 forks alone. That makes the project's practical value rest on the launcher workflow described in the README: catalog browsing, checksum-checked downloads and automatic updates for Git-hosted releases. The main thing a prospective user must weigh is the prebuilt-installer distribution model combined with a source-available license; the README does not document how the published binaries map to the source tree.