GitHub - stared/rusted-doom-launcher: Steam-like experience for DOOM maps & mods - for GZDoom & UZDoom source ports

A modern open-source launcher for classic Doom WADs and mods. Browse community-made maps and episodes, then install and launch them with a single click - essentially bringing the Steam experience to Doom.

• Browse the catalog: Search by mood, type, and difficulty
• Cacowards included: Yearly awards for the best Doom maps, megawads, and mods
• One-click play: Download and launch with a modern source port (GZDoom or UZDoom)
• Stack gameplay mods: Run mods on top of any base game or WAD
• Bring your own: Drop in a WAD you already have
• Track your runs: Per-level stats and session history
• Plays the classics: Doom, Doom II, Final Doom, Heretic, Hexen, Freedoom
• Auto-extracts game files: Pulls IWADs directly from GOG installers
• Cross-system: macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel), Windows, Linux (dev)

If you want or need other features, open a feature request describing what you would like to see, or even better - open a pull request.

I am also open to expanding the maps, megawads and mod library - if you want to add your favorite WAD (or your WAD!), feel free to open a PR.

The scene is alive and well - see newest releases at Doomworld. I got inspired by gameplays shared at Doom & Retro FPS Mods Facebook group.

I built it for myself, so I can run it on my Apple Silicon Macbook - but sharing it so others may enjoy it as well. While there are similar apps, notably Doom Launcher, they are either Windows-only or lack features I wanted.

• GZDoom - Doom source port
  • works also with the newer UZDoom
• doom.wad and doom2.wad - Doom game data from GOG.com or Steam
  • The app can extract IWADs directly from GOG installers using innoextract (brew install innoextract)

The easiest way is to use Homebrew via my tap stared/doom.

brew install --cask stared/doom/rusted-doom-launcher

Alternatively, download a binary from releases. Since it is unsigned open-source software, you must remove the quarantine attribute before running (otherwise macOS will report it as damaged):

xattr -cr /Applications/Rusted\ Doom\ Launcher.app

You also need a Doom engine. Install it manually or via Homebrew:

brew install --cask gzdoom
# or newer:
brew install --cask stared/doom/uzdoom

See Windows binary in releases.

No pre-built binary yet. You can run it from source — see Building from source below.

When you open the app for the first time, it will prompt you to locate your Doom engine (GZDoom/UZDoom) and your base game WADs (doom.wad / doom2.wad). If you have GOG offline installers, the app can extract the game files for you automatically (requires innoextract).

To build from source, you need pnpm and Rust.

Install dependencies and run:

pnpm install
pnpm tauri dev

Build for production:

The app includes tauri-plugin-mcp-bridge for AI debugging via Claude Code.

# Install MCP server for Claude Code
npx -y install-mcp @hypothesi/tauri-mcp-server --client claude-code

With the app running (pnpm tauri dev), Claude Code can take screenshots, click elements, execute JS, and inspect the DOM.

• Tauri 2 (it's in Rust, hence the project name)
• Vue 3 in TypeScript
• Python scripts for some processing
• Claude Code and Gemini for vibe coding

Piotr Migdał and contributors

MIT