Kate Importer

The importer is in early access, there are known issues.

The Importer allows you to play PC releases of Ren'Py games in your browser, offline, through Kate.

Source code   |   Manual   |   Community

How does it work?

The importer lets you provide a ZIP file with the PC game release (i.e.: the one you'd download from Itch.io), then it stores the game files in your browser's storage, as a Kate ROM cartridge. The cartridge uses the Ren'Py Web runtime to run the game, so it has lower performance and some of the features available on PC (e.g.: video displayables) are not yet available in Ren'Py Web.

Once you install the game through the Importer you can play it offline at any time; all files are already in your device. There's no download happening when you play the game.

For details of what works and what doesn't, currently known issues, and the control scheme used, see the Ren'Py section of the manual.

How safe is it?

The importer inherits Kate's heavily restricted sandbox. This makes it safer than running the native executable on Windows/Linux/MacOS because the game will not have regular access to your computer files or network. So, even if you run a buggy or malicious game, it's unlikely that it could cause any major damage.

The downside of this heavily restricted sandbox, however, is that it may prevent you from playing legit games that happen to make network calls or try to access system services (e.g.: Steam integration) for a good reason. There's unfortunately no way to reconcile Kate's sandbox with the needs of those games, so they can't be played through the Importer.

Source code for both the Importer and Kate is also openly available, and you're encouraged to audit it to make sure it's not doing anything you don't want it to.

I've found an issue!

You can report issues or request features either through the Kate community forum, or through the Issue tracker on GitHub.

Note that we have a special process for reporting security issues . This special process is in place to ensure the least amount of people are harmed in case a security issue is found; it allows us to make it public once a patch is available, along with proper communications and actions people can take to keep themselves (and their devices) safe.

Roadmap

The plan for the importer is to support more engines and platforms in the
future, and also to improve the current Ren'Py support. Among other things,
the following is planned:

• Support for RPG Maker, Godot, and Twine games
• Improved startup time for Ren'Py games
• Text input support in Ren'Py