Shade Launcher

The modern Minecraft launcher built for power users.

Reproducible profiles · Deduplicated storage · Blazing fast

Download · Features · Why Shade? · Architecture

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📥 Download

Get the latest version of Shade Launcher:

Platform	Download	Format
🪟 Windows	Download Installer	.exe setup

🌐 Or visit our website: shadelauncher.web.app for a one-click download.

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✨ Features

📦 Deduplicated Storage Install the same mod across 10 profiles — it's stored once. SHA-256 content-addressed store means zero wasted disk space.	📜 Declarative Profiles Your setup is a single JSON file. Version control it, share with friends, diff changes, and restore anytime.
⚡ Blazing Fast Built in Rust with Tauri. Near-instant startup, parallel downloads, and minimal memory footprint.	🌐 Modrinth + CurseForge Search and install mods, resource packs, and shaders from both platforms directly in the launcher.
🔒 Private & Secure Zero telemetry. No launcher account required. Your data stays local. Works perfectly offline.	⚙️ All Mod Loaders Fabric, Forge, Quilt, NeoForge — with automatic version resolution and dependency management.
👤 Multi-Account Switch between Microsoft accounts instantly with secure, encrypted token storage.	🕵️ No Hidden State Plain JSON on disk. Predictable directory layout. Fully inspectable — no magic, no mystery.

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💡 Why Shade?

Most launchers come with bloat, telemetry, and opaque state. Shade takes a different approach:

Your game setup is code. Declarative, reproducible, and efficient.

• One library, infinite profiles — Content-addressed deduplication means mods are shared, not copied
• Profiles are portable — Plain JSON files you can git-commit, share, or restore
• Nothing hidden — Every file is inspectable, every directory is predictable
• Built for speed — Rust backend with parallel I/O, no Electron overhead
• Your data is yours — No accounts, no tracking, no cloud sync you didn't ask for

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🏗️ Architecture

Principle	How it works
Single source of truth	Profiles are JSON manifests. Instances are derived, regenerated on demand.
Deduplication	SHA-256 content-addressed store. One file, infinite profiles.
Transparency	Plain JSON on disk. Predictable layout. Fully inspectable state.
Modular	Auth, Minecraft data, and profiles are isolated and swappable.

📂 Data Layout

~/.shade/
├── store/                    # Content-addressed storage
│   ├── mods/sha256/
│   ├── resourcepacks/sha256/
│   └── shaderpacks/sha256/
├── profiles/                 # Profile manifests
│   └── <id>/profile.json
├── instances/                # Materialized game directories
├── minecraft/                # Versions, libraries, assets
├── accounts.json             # Encrypted account tokens
└── config.json               # Launcher settings

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🛡️ Tech Stack

Layer	Technology
Backend	Rust
Framework	Tauri v2
Frontend	React + TypeScript
Storage	SHA-256 content-addressed filesystem
Auth	Microsoft OAuth (MSAL)
APIs	Modrinth API, CurseForge API

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📄 License

Shade Launcher is open-source software licensed under the MIT License.

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Shade Launcher
_{Built with ❤️ in Rust}

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