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Documentation4 min read

Ascendara (asend-era)

What is Ascendara?

Ascendara is a game discovery, download, and library app created by tago. It browses a game index built from trusted sources, downloads and installs games for you (no manual extracting or setup), and keeps everything you play in one library. Ascendara is meant as a way to try games before you buy them, and it encourages you to support the developers of games you enjoy.

Ascendara became open source in May 2024 and is actively maintained by a solo developer. Everything from the website to the application source code is available at ascendara.app and on GitHub.

Supported Platforms

  • Windows 10 and 11 (64-bit): the primary platform with full feature support.
  • Linux (x64 AppImage): Windows games run through Proton, UMU-Launcher, or Wine. See Linux and macOS.
  • macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel): available from the GitHub releases. Windows games run through the bundled Highball on Apple Silicon or Wine on Intel Macs, and some features are Windows-only.

On Linux and macOS, Ascendara shows a compatibility notice on first launch. Windows is recommended for the best experience.

Game files are never stored on Ascendara's servers. The game index contains links to third-party file hosts such as GoFile, Buzzheavier, PixelDrain, MegaDB, and others. Ascendara only organizes those links and handles the download and installation on your computer. Read the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) notice here to learn how to make a claim of copyright infringement.

Core Principles

Free to Use

Downloading, installing, and playing games is completely free and does not require an account. Ascend is an optional subscription that adds social, cloud, and automation features and funds development.

Safety and Privacy

Ascendara does not require personal details or an account to download or play games. Your library, playtime, and profile level are stored on your computer unless you choose to sync them with Ascend.

Public API

The game index is served by a public API at api.ascendara.app that is free for non-commercial use. See the API Reference.

Key Features

Discover and Download

  • Game Index: A local copy of the game list is kept up to date automatically so browsing is instant and works offline. See Your Game Index.
  • Ascendara Magic Links: Supported hosts download inside the app with no browser, ads, or CAPTCHA (previously called Seamless Downloads).
  • Browser Downloads: The Ascendara Download Handler extension sends downloads from your browser to Ascendara, including games that aren't in the index.
  • Download Manager: Downloads, extracts, verifies, and installs games, with a download queue, speed limits, and resumable transfers. See Downloading Games.
  • Debrid and Torrents: Optional TorBox, Real-Debrid, AllDebrid, Premiumize, Debrid-Link, and qBittorrent support. See Debrid Services.
  • External Sources: Load games from a community source bucket instead of the official index. See External Sources.

Library and Play

  • One Library: Downloaded games, custom games, and games imported from Steam, Epic Games, GOG Galaxy, Ubisoft Connect, and Battle.net.
  • Organization: Folders, Favorites, Play Later, History, and Smart Collections. See Your Library.
  • Game Details: Steam details and screenshots, time to beat, soundtracks, achievements, and community reviews. See Game Information.
  • Save Backups: Back up and restore saves with Ludusavi.
  • Big Picture Mode: A controller-first interface for the couch. See Big Picture Mode.
  • Ascendara Retro: A separate library for classic console games launched through your own emulators. See Ascendara Retro.

Personalization and Tools

  • Themes: Built-in light and dark themes, custom colors, and community themes.
  • 105 Languages: 12 built-in languages plus 93 more translated on your computer.
  • Discord Rich Presence: Show what you're playing.
  • System Center: Health checks, storage overview, settings recovery points, and version rollback. See System Center.

Getting Started

Quick Setup

  1. Install Ascendara.
  2. Follow the welcome setup: choose a download folder, theme, and your game index.
  3. Install the game dependencies when prompted (Windows).
  4. Start browsing games.

For the Best Experience

Community and Support