NicoLauncher-Hub
NicoLauncher-Hub is a tool for Windows that installs, updates, and plays native PC ports of arcade games by snicolast.
- Type: tool
- Runs on Windows
- By snicolast
- Latest release v0.2.2, 2026-11-12
- Source: https://github.com/snicolast/NicoLauncher-Hub
README
Install, update and play snicolast's arcade recomps on PC.
Press Install, wait, press Play.
How to play
- Download
NicoLauncher-setup.exefrom the latest release and run it. Windows says "Windows protected your PC"? Click More info, then Run anyway. - The first time, accept the license and choose a folder for your games.
- Pick a game and press Install.
- Choose your own ROM file when it asks.
- Wait a few minutes while it builds the game on your PC.
- Press Play.
Updates are one click: an Update button shows up when a game has something new, and the launcher updates itself.
The games
- Nico SWT: an unofficial recomp of the 1998 arcade game Star Wars Trilogy Arcade.
- Nico TLW: an unofficial recomp of the 1997 arcade game The Lost World: Jurassic Park.
- Nico SR2: an unofficial recomp of the 1998 arcade game Sega Rally 2.
You need
- Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit), internet and a few GB free.
- Your own ROM file for each game. Not included, and we can't tell you where to get one.
Nothing else: no Visual Studio, no Python. The launcher brings its own tools.
Good to know
- No ready-made downloads. Each game is built on your PC from its source code and your ROM. Built games can't be shared.
- Not an emulator. The original code, translated to run directly on PC.
- Free, forever. There is an optional coffee button in Credits; it gets you nothing extra.
- Unofficial fan projects, not affiliated with the owners of the original games, with no obligation of support.
Something went wrong?
- Most of the time, pressing Install again is enough (after an internet cut, for example).
- Still failing? Press Show log, then Copy log, and open an issue in that game's repository with the log pasted in.
- Problems with the launcher itself go to Issues here.
- To remove a game, open it and press Uninstall. Only the game's folder is deleted.
- Want everything in one folder? Use
NicoLauncher-portable.zipinstead: see docs/portable.md.
For developers
A Rust engine and a Tauri 2 app with a plain HTML, CSS and JavaScript interface.
| Path | What |
|---|---|
crates/hub-core | The engine, no interface: registry, source download, build kit, build steps, updates, news, settings |
src-tauri | The app: the commands the interface calls, window, icons |
ui | The interface. No build step |
registry.json | The projects the launcher offers. Read from main, so adding one needs no release |
news.txt | The launcher's own news |
kit.json | The build tools the launcher downloads, each pinned by SHA-256 |
docs/manifest.md | The hub.toml format a project uses to say how it is built |
docs/portable.md | Portable mode: where the launcher keeps its files, relative paths |
To build it you need Rust and Node.js, on Windows:
cargo test -p hub-core
npx @tauri-apps/cli@2 build --no-bundle
The exe is target\release\nicolauncher.exe. npx @tauri-apps/cli@2 dev runs it while you work on it. Releases are described in docs/releasing.md.
License
MIT with additional terms: see LICENSE. In short: keep the credit to snicolast, do not sell it, and do not change it to share built games or ROM data.