Tidycade 0.11.0

Browse free games, install the ones you want and play them. This is the first matched official Windows and Ubuntu release, built from the same launcher code and interface.

Play

Windows: extract the Windows ZIP into a folder you can write to, then open tidycade-windows-x86_64.exe. Python is included. The executable has the official TC application icon.

Ubuntu: extract the Ubuntu archive into a folder you can write to, then open tidycade-ubuntu-x86_64. If your file manager asks, allow it to run as a program. Python is included in the executable. To add this copy to your applications menu, run python3 install-desktop.py from its extracted folder. This optional step registers the TC icon for your user only, with no administrator access. If you move the folder, run it again. Remove ~/.local/share/applications/tidycade.desktop to remove the menu entry (or the equivalent under XDG_DATA_HOME).

The launcher opens in your existing browser at http://localhost:8866/. A modern browser and an internet connection for game downloads are needed. Only one copy can use the default ports. Keep THIRD_PARTY, LICENSING.md and attribution with the executable.

Keep the home folder when upgrading. Move it beside the new executable while Tidycade is closed to keep installs, settings, cached game lists and launcher-managed saves. Do not delete the old copy until you have checked the new one. Individual games can also store saves in their normal user-data folders. Uninstalling a game does not intentionally remove launcher-managed saves.

Matched launcher, different game availability

Windows and Ubuntu now share the same launcher version, search, shelves, keyboard/mouse controls, game-list updates, download progress/resume and installed-game actions. Game availability is not the same: this release reads the existing online catalogue with 50 Ubuntu and 14 Windows games on supported devices. Compatibility filters can hide games on other devices. Without the online list, the included fallback contains 25 Ubuntu and 14 Windows games. No new games or Windows recipes were added for this release.

Games download separately. Their licenses and requirements are independent of Tidycade. Pocket the Place and Platform Pests remain separate retained-rights games. Their cards in these packages use original MIT text-only title cards instead of the retained-rights gameplay images in older player previews. Other media and game launch recipes are unchanged.

Controller navigation, first stage

With the launcher page focused, a browser-recognized standard-layout controller can use D-pad or left stick to move, A to activate, and B to close a credits dialog. This maps to the existing keyboard actions. Keyboard and mouse remain available. A held button or stick is ignored when focus returns until released. Non-standard mappings are not guessed.

This stage is not a full controller-only launcher. It does not add controller support to games, capture the Xbox/Home button in the background, bring the launcher forward from a game, or provide a controller-only way to close and switch games. Those return-to-launcher controls are separate work. No physical-controller or native-Windows hardware test is claimed for this release.

Verification and limits

The Ubuntu executable was opened and inspected with the real online catalogue. The Windows executable was run under Wine with the same interface and its 14-game list, not on a native Windows desktop. Both embedded interfaces, the TC brand and the text-card substitution were checked against the packaged source. The Windows executable contains seven checked TC icon sizes. Foreground controller navigation passed 27 browser tests using simulated standard-layout inputs, including loss of focus, held inputs and disconnects. That is not physical-controller compatibility evidence.

Existing process detection has limits, especially launchers that detach or processes outside Tidycade's ownership. Running-game guards do not guarantee detection of every game. This release does not promise every game runs on every Windows or Ubuntu machine. Audio, GPU and controller hardware vary.

Source and build

The matching source ZIP contains the launcher code and media for both executables. Game programs and sources download separately. See LICENSING.md, LICENSE and attribution notices for boundaries.

Python 3.10+ can run the source: install requirements-build.txt, then run python app/server.py. Build on the target operating system with python -m PyInstaller --clean --noconfirm games-launcher.spec. Windows uses Python 3.12.8; Ubuntu uses Python 3.10.12 for these packages. PyInstaller is not a cross-compiler. The Windows build was made with Windows Python under Wine. This is not a reproducible-binary claim.