VNAR

Your visual novel library, without the locale headaches.

A lightweight Windows launcher for visual novels with Locale Emulator integration, VNDB metadata, cover editing, developer browsing, favorites, WebP support, and smart desktop shortcuts.

Español · Download Beta 1.3

Downloads

Windows 10/11 x64

Package	Description	Download
Installer	Self-contained installation with Start Menu integration and optional desktop shortcut	VNAR-Setup.exe
Portable	Self-contained portable build; extract and run VNAR.exe	VNAR-Portable-win-x64.zip

Locale Emulator is not bundled with VNAR. On first launch, VNAR can use an existing LEProc.exe or download the official Locale Emulator release for you.

The portable package needs no installation, but both packages store settings, the game library, and artwork in %LOCALAPPDATA%\VNAR. Back up that folder to preserve your library. Builds are currently unsigned, so Windows may show a SmartScreen warning. Release assets include SHA256SUMS.txt for integrity checks.

What is VNAR?

VNAR is a Windows launcher focused on visual novels and other region-dependent games. It keeps your library in one place and launches configured games through Locale Emulator without changing the Windows system locale.

Each game can keep its own executable, command-line arguments, administrator preference, VNDB metadata, cover artwork, favorite status, and desktop shortcut behavior.

Features

• Locale Emulator integration using the real Run in Japanese and Run in Japanese (Admin) profiles.
• First-run Locale Emulator setup, including optional download and extraction of the official release.
• EXE drag & drop, individual executable import, and recursive game-folder scanning.
• VNDB integration for visual novel titles, covers, and developer metadata.
• Developer browser that groups configured VNDB games by developer.
• Favorites with a dedicated tab and quick star toggle directly on game cards.
• Configurable pagination from 10 to 50 entries per page.
• English and Spanish UI, with the initial language selected from the Windows UI language (Spanish for es-*, English otherwise).
• Non-destructive cover editing with zoom, positioning, black/white/transparent/blur backgrounds, and high-quality export.
• WebP compatibility through SkiaSharp normalization.
• Browser image drag & drop for game and developer artwork.
• Desktop shortcut generation with selectable icons extracted from executables in the game folder.
• Smart shortcuts launch by VNAR game ID, so later changes to the game's Locale Emulator/admin configuration remain effective.
• Double-click launch and contextual actions directly from the library.
• Dark VNAR interface with themed controls and scrollbars.
• No background service required.

Quick start

1. Download either the installer or portable build.
2. Launch VNAR.
3. On first launch, select your existing LEProc.exe or use Download / configure LE.
4. Add an executable, drag a game folder into VNAR, or scan a library folder.
5. Configure the game and optionally add its VNDB ID.
6. Double-click its cover or press Play.

Locale Emulator

VNAR interoperates with Locale Emulator as an external application. It reads the configured Locale Emulator profiles and launches games using LEProc.exe -runas <profile-guid>.

VNAR does not modify the game executable and does not require changing the Windows system locale.

VNDB and cover search

VNDB integration is used for visual novel metadata, cover artwork, and developer associations. Google Images results inside VNAR are optional and require a user-provided SerpApi key. Browser drag & drop and VNDB search remain available without SerpApi.

Building from source

Requirements:

• Windows 10/11
• .NET 10 SDK

dotnet restore .\LocaleGameHub\LocaleGameHub.csproj
dotnet run --project .\LocaleGameHub\LocaleGameHub.csproj

Portable release build:

dotnet publish .\LocaleGameHub\LocaleGameHub.csproj -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained true -p:PublishSingleFile=true -p:IncludeNativeLibrariesForSelfExtract=true

The repository also includes build_portable.bat and build_small.bat for local Windows builds.

Shortcuts and Windows icons (Beta 1.3)

The recommended Modern shortcut is an Internet shortcut (.url) that opens a vnar://launch/<game-id> link. It never targets VNAR.exe directly, so Windows does not reuse the last game's name or icon for VNAR in Task Manager. It still launches the same single VNAR.exe, avoiding a separate executable or first-run SmartScreen warning for every game.

Traditional Classic (.lnk) shortcuts remain available when taskbar pinning is required, but Windows may associate their game icon with VNAR because they target the launcher executable. Existing shortcuts keep working; recreate them as Modern to receive the new behavior. The administrator option still only selects the Locale Emulator profile.

Modern shortcut icons are stored in VNAR's data folder so custom icons and the generic VNAR icon survive moving a portable installation. If the portable folder is moved, VNAR refreshes its per-user vnar:// registration on the next normal start.

Windows shell regression checks:

dotnet run --project .\tests\VNAR.ShellTests\VNAR.ShellTests.csproj -c Release

Project status

Current public build: Beta 1.3 (1.0.0-beta.1.3).

Bug reports and suggestions are welcome through GitHub Issues.

License

VNAR source code is licensed under the MIT License.

Third-party components and online services retain their own licenses and terms. See THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md.

Disclaimer

VNAR is not affiliated with Locale Emulator, VNDB, SerpApi, or any visual novel developer or publisher. Game artwork, covers, executable icons, and user-imported assets belong to their respective copyright holders.