Launchers
Linux supports multiple game launchers, Kodi media playback, web browser URLs, and shell scripts.
Steam
Scans Steam library for installed games and non-Steam shortcuts. Works with native Steam, Flatpak, and Snap installations.
| System ID | Scheme |
|---|---|
PC | steam:// |
Auto-detected paths:
~/.steam/steam~/.local/share/Steam~/.var/app/com.valvesoftware.Steam/.steam/steam(Flatpak)~/snap/steam/common/.steam/steam(Snap)
To specify a custom Steam installation directory:
[[launchers.defaults]]
id = "Steam"
install_dir = "/path/to/steam"
Kodi
Media playback through Kodi is available when the Kodi JSON-RPC API is enabled.
Local Files
These launchers play files directly from disk:
| System ID | Folders | Extensions |
|---|---|---|
Video | videos, tvshows | .avi, .mp4, .mkv, .iso, .bdmv, .ifo, .mpeg, .mpg, .mov, .wmv, .flv, .webm, .m4v, .3gp, .ts, .m2ts, .mts, .m3u, .m3u8 |
MusicTrack | music | .mp3, .flac, .ogg, .m4a, .wav, .wma, .aac, .opus |
Library Media
These launchers play media from Kodi's indexed library:
| System ID | Description |
|---|---|
Movie | Movies from Kodi library |
TVEpisode | Individual TV episodes |
TVShow | Entire TV show (plays next unwatched episode) |
MusicTrack | Songs from Kodi music library |
MusicAlbum | Albums from Kodi music library |
MusicArtist | Artists from Kodi music library (plays all songs) |
Configuration
Add Kodi API settings to config.toml:
[kodi]
enabled = true
host = "localhost"
port = 8080
username = ""
password = ""
See LibreELEC for detailed Kodi API setup instructions.
Web Browser
Opens URLs in the default system browser using xdg-open.
| Scheme | Description |
|---|---|
http:// | HTTP URLs |
https:// | HTTPS URLs |
Shell Scripts
Custom shell scripts (.sh files) can be launched directly. Scripts must be added to the allow_file list in config.toml.
[launchers]
allow_file = [
"^/home/user/scripts/.*\\.sh$"
]
Example Script
Create a launcher script for an emulator:
#!/bin/bash
# ~/scripts/launch_nes.sh
EMULATOR="/usr/bin/fceux"
GAME="$HOME/games/nes/SuperMarioBros.nes"
"$EMULATOR" "$GAME"
Make executable and add to allowlist:
chmod +x ~/scripts/launch_nes.sh
[launchers]
allow_file = [
"^/home/user/scripts/launch_nes\\.sh$"
]
Restart Zaparoo after modifying the config for changes to take effect.