RusticGU

A Windows game-library compact tool.
Transparent WOF compression so titles stay playable, with Live Compact after patches.

Download · What it is · Quick start · Update channels · Build from source · License

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Download

Windows installers will appear on GitHub Releases when a release is published.

→ RusticGU releases

Nightly (unsigned, may be unstable) is an on-demand GitHub pre-release for testing new work before a Stable cut. In the app, set Settings → General → Update channel to Nightly, or grab a build from the releases list.

Asset	What it contains
RusticGU-windows-x64-setup.exe	Recommended: NSIS installer (Start Menu, uninstaller, optional app-data cleanup)
RusticGU-windows-x64.zip	Portable desktop app (rusticgu.exe + rusticgu-updater.exe)

Install (recommended)

1. Download RusticGU-windows-x64-setup.exe when a release is published.
2. Run the installer (per-user install; no administrator rights required unless an ACL on a game folder needs it).
3. Launch RusticGU from the Start Menu.

The installer places files under %LOCALAPPDATA%\RusticGU\, creates a Start Menu shortcut, and registers an uninstaller in Apps & Features.

Settings and window state live under %APPDATA%\RusticGU\. Uninstall via Apps & Features (optionally remove app data).

Note: Builds are unsigned. SmartScreen may warn until code signing is added.

Portable install (ZIP)

1. Download RusticGU-windows-x64.zip when a release is published.
2. Extract anywhere you like (for example C:\Tools\RusticGU\).
3. Run rusticgu.exe.

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What is RusticGU?

RusticGU is a game-library compact tool for Windows. It uses transparent WOF compact /EXE so titles stay playable. It is not LZNT1, not a rewriter, and not for WindowsApps. There is no savings-% promise.

• Game-launcher UI with teal-cyan + gold chrome (Rust + GPUI + gpui-component)
• Steam library cards (logical vs on-disk size when cheap to read)
• Compact / uncompact a selected game folder (default XPRESS8K)
• Tray flyout: compact vs inflated summary, pause Live Compact, one-click recompact, open main window
• Live Compact recompacts after patches with XPRESS8K; games stay playable
• Shelf is the only LZX path, for cold games

Requirements: Windows 10 version 1607+, NTFS, launcher indexes.

Skip: saves, caches, already-compressed media. If dstorage.dll or dstoragecore.dll is in the tree, warn and skip unless the user overrides. Auto-exclude Guild Wars 2 and Secret World Legends.

Not included (this repo / this first cut)

• Extra-store discovery (Epic, GOG, EA, Ubisoft, Riot, Battle.net, itch)
• src/watch/** (Live Compact file watching)
• Shelf implementation
• macOS / Linux
• MSIX / Microsoft Store

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Quick start

From source (developers)

cargo run

Release build:

cargo build --release

Binary: target/release/rusticgu.exe.

Commands

rusticgu                 Open the launcher
rusticgu --help          Usage

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Update channels

Same model as RusticDL: GitHub Releases is the feed. Origin/Buildkite are not used.

Channel	What the app follows	How it is published
Stable	/releases/latest (non-prerelease)	Push a vX.Y.Z tag (not v*-nightly.*)
Nightly	Newest published vX.Y.Z-nightly.* pre-release	Actions → Nightly → Run workflow

In the app: Settings → General → Update channel, then Check for updates. When a newer build is ready, Update hands off to RusticGU Updater (rusticgu-updater.exe).

To cut a stable release from a clean tree:

git tag v0.1.0
git push origin v0.1.0

To publish a nightly: Actions → Nightly → Run workflow.

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Build from source

Requirements

Tool	Notes
Rust stable	Install via rustup
Windows C++ build tools	Visual Studio Build Tools with the “Desktop development with C++” workload (needed by GPUI)

Layout

.
├── src/
│   ├── main.rs
│   ├── app/              GPUI chrome, settings, toasts, tray flyout
│   ├── library/          Steam scan
│   ├── compact/          WOF compact /EXE engine
│   ├── updater.rs
│   └── branding.rs
├── apps/updater/         Dedicated self-update helper
├── assets/brand/         Icons and logo
├── scripts/              Icon regen + NSIS packaging
└── .github/workflows/    CI, Nightly, Release

Tests

cargo test

Build the Windows installer (developers)

cargo install cargo-packager --locked --version 0.11.8
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File scripts/package-windows.ps1

Output: dist-release/RusticGU-windows-x64-setup.exe.

Data location

• Windows: %APPDATA%\RusticGU\
  • settings.json: prefs (camelCase), including update channel
  • state.json: window placement and UI state

Continuous integration

Intended GitHub Actions workflows (same shape as Rustic-AT) live in .github/workflows/:

Workflow	When it runs	What it does
CI (ci.yml)	Push / PR to main	cargo fmt check, clippy, test
Release (release.yml)	Tag v* except v*-nightly.*	Build Windows NSIS installer + zip; publish a Stable GitHub Release
Nightly (nightly.yml)	Manual Run workflow only	Same installer + zip as Release, stamped X.Y.Z-nightly.YYYYMMDDHHMMSS, published as a GitHub pre-release (make_latest: false). Skips when that commit already has a nightly. Keeps the last 14 nightlies.

Contributing / attribution

Issues and pull requests are welcome.

If you fork, modify, redistribute, or ship RusticGU (including commercial products), keep the MIT copyright notice and license text intact, and credit the original project:

• Project: RusticGU
• Author / maintainer: JustNak
• Upstream: https://github.com/JustNak/RusticGU

That attribution requirement is part of the MIT license terms for this repository.

License

RusticGU is released under the MIT License.

You may use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and sell copies of the software, including for commercial purposes, provided you include the copyright notice and permission notice in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.