Klay - Play your games on KDE

I built Klay because I love Linux and I am also a huge gaming nerd. I recently switched to Bazzite (based on Fedora, btw.), and my game library was scattered across too many places.

Some were in Steam. Some were cloud-only in GeForce NOW (thank you anti-cheat), and some were from Heroic, Lutris, Bottles, itch, or random desktop launchers. I wanted one launcher that felt native on KDE and gave me one clean library to manage. I was tired of the different ways to launch games. I used Cartridges for a long time, but I felt the time was right to go in a different direction. Something that suited me, and something I am proud to share in case it helps others as well.

I use this application/code daily because it solves a real need / want for me. I will continue to evolve it based upon feedback and things that I would use daily as a bazzite gamer!

Are you looking for a great game launcher and manager for Linux?

Klay is that project.

It is heavily inspired by Cartridges for GNOME, but built around a Qt/KDE workflow.

AI Assistance

Klay is developed by me, and I also use AI tooling, including Codex, to help with some code, refactoring, debugging, and documentation work. All changes are still reviewed, tested, and curated by me before they are released.

Why I Built Klay

• I wanted one place for all my games on Linux.
• I wanted it to feel right on KDE, not like a GTK app bolted on.
• I wanted better control over covers, metadata, categories, and launch behavior.
• I wanted GeForce NOW support that works with how Linux users actually run it (Flatpak + cache data).

Who Klay Is For

Klay is for you if:

• You game on Linux (especially KDE/Bazzite) and use more than one launcher.
• You are tired of hunting through Steam, Heroic, Lutris, and desktop entries just to find what to play.
• You care about organizing your library (covers, categories, metadata) instead of just launching binaries.
• You want a local-first launcher that still supports online metadata when you opt in.

Klay is probably not for you if you only use a single launcher and never want to customize your library.

What It Does

• Qt desktop app (PySide6) tuned for KDE workflows
• Imports from:
  • Steam
  • GeForce NOW
  • Lutris
  • Heroic
  • Bottles
  • itch
  • Legendary
  • RetroArch
  • Flatpak
  • Desktop Entries
• Main library cover grid with animated cover support (.gif, animated .webp)
• Game details page with metadata and quick actions
• SteamGridDB + IGDB integration for covers and metadata (you provide your own API keys)
• Playtime on game cards when source data is available
• Category management (create, rename, delete, assign, custom icons)
• Optional splash screen + startup sound

Screenshots

Download (Flatpak)

Latest releases:

https://github.com/gshipley/Klay/releases/latest

Install from a downloaded release asset:

flatpak install --user --reinstall ./com.grantshipley.Klay.Devel.flatpak
flatpak run com.grantshipley.Klay.Devel

Build From Source

meson setup _build
meson compile -C _build

Run:

./_build/klay/klay

Runtime Dependencies

• Python 3
• PySide6 (Qt frontend)
• PyGObject (gi, GLib/Gio bindings used by import backends/settings)
• Brotli Python module (needed for full GeForce NOW library cache decoding)

Fedora:

sudo dnf install python3-pyside6 python3-gobject

Install the Brotli Python module from your distro packages as well if you want full GeForce NOW library imports from a source build.

Pip (user install):

python3 -m pip install --user PySide6 Brotli

Optional:

• ffprobe for accurate splash sound duration detection
• For source builds, make sure python3 -c "import brotli" works in the same Python environment that launches ./_build/klay/klay if you want full GeForce NOW library imports instead of preview-only fallback.

CLI Options

• klay --search "term": open with a pre-filled search term
• klay --launch GAME_ID: launch a game directly by id

Using Klay

Import games

• Use Import from the main UI.
• Enable/disable sources in Preferences -> Sources.
• Configure source paths if your launchers are in non-default locations.
• You can trigger an on-demand import from Preferences -> Import -> Import Games Now.

GeForce NOW notes:

• Requires NVIDIA GeForce NOW Flatpak (com.nvidia.geforcenow) installed.
• Imports linked GeForce NOW library entries from local GeForce NOW cache:
  • Full owned-library pages from Chromium HTTP cache:
    • ~/.var/app/com.nvidia.geforcenow/.local/state/NVIDIA/GeForceNOW/CefCache/Default/Cache/Cache_Data
    • ~/.local/state/NVIDIA/GeForceNOW/CefCache/Default/Cache/Cache_Data (fallback)
  • ~/.var/app/com.nvidia.geforcenow/.local/state/NVIDIA/GeForceNOW/CefCache/Default/Service Worker/CacheStorage
  • ~/.local/state/NVIDIA/GeForceNOW/CefCache/Default/Service Worker/CacheStorage (fallback)
• Full-library import behavior:
  • Klay prefers cached requestType=apps GeForce NOW responses from the Chromium HTTP cache because those correspond to the full owned-library view and include pagination.
  • If those responses are missing or cannot be decoded, Klay falls back to the smaller panels/Library preview data from the service-worker cache.
  • Steam ownership data can still supplement supported Steam titles that are not already present in the cached GeForce NOW library data.
• Cover behavior:
  • Klay prefers GeForce NOW catalog KEY_ART when available instead of wide hero/banner art.
  • Square GeForce NOW KEY_ART is cropped to fill the portrait card instead of being shown as centered art on a blurred background.
  • After upgrading, the next GeForce NOW import rewrites existing GFN square-KEY_ART covers once in bulk so older blurred-background cards are replaced automatically.
• Uses the GeForce NOW catalog API to resolve launch-route metadata (cmsId, shortName, parentGameId, store variant ids).
• Launches through the GeForce NOW Flatpak entrypoint with --url-route:
  • flatpak run --command=/app/cef/GeForceNOW com.nvidia.geforcenow '--url-route=#?cmsId=...&launchSource=External&shortName=...&parentGameId=...'
• Supports linked store variants present in your GFN library (Steam, Epic, Xbox/Game Pass, Ubisoft Connect, EA App, and other stores exposed by GFN variants).
• GeForce NOW count differences:
  • The GeForce NOW client count is the number of app cards in your library.
  • Klay imports store-linked variants as separate entries when GFN exposes multiple owned stores for the same title, so Klay can show a higher count than the GeForce NOW app.
  • Steam fallback can also add supported Steam titles beyond what appears in the cached GeForce NOW library.
• Persists store metadata on imported games so details can show source + store (text and logo when a logo asset exists).
• Re-import does not create duplicate entries for existing IDs; it refreshes launch/store metadata when values change.
• Installed Steam titles are still considered.
• Steam games you own but do not have installed are read from local Steam data (userdata/*/config/localconfig.vdf) when available.
• Public Steam profile lookup is only a fallback when local Steam ownership data is unavailable and GFN library cache data is unavailable.
• By default, GeForce NOW entries appear under the GeForce NOW source filter and are not included in All Games.

Preferences -> GeForce NOW includes:

• Include GeForce NOW games in All Games
• Close GeForce NOW after stream ends (best effort)

Browse and filter

• Left nav shows:
  • All Games
  • Added
  • source groups
  • custom categories (if assigned)
• Search filters by title, source/store metadata fields, and categories.
• Sort modes include A-Z, Z-A, newest, oldest, and last played.

Game details

From details view you can:

• Play
• Edit
• Hide / Unhide
• Remove
• Search external databases
• Refresh metadata
• Change cover
• Manage categories
• View GeForce NOW source + store badges (for example Steam, Epic, Ubisoft, Xbox) when store metadata is available

Click outside the details card to return to the main library.

Covers and animation

• Supports static and animated covers.
• Cover picker shows candidates in card form and marks animated options.
• Animated covers are prioritized when enabled.
• Custom chosen covers are preserved and not overwritten by startup auto-import.

Metadata providers

Preferences -> SteamGridDB:

• Add SGDB API key
• Enable cover lookup
• Prefer SGDB covers
• Allow animated SGDB covers
• Optionally include image updates during metadata refresh

Preferences -> IGDB:

• Provide Client ID and either:
  • Access Token
  • Client Secret (Klay can fetch token automatically)
• Enable IGDB metadata enrichment
• Refresh metadata on demand

Categories

• Assign categories per game from details view (Categories) or right-click menu (Categories...).
• Manage definitions in Preferences -> Categories:
  • Add
  • Rename
  • Delete (with confirmation)
• Customize category icons in Preferences -> Categories:
  • Pick from built-in icon set
  • Upload your own icon
  • Clear custom icon and fall back to default

Category filters show up in the left nav only when games are assigned to that category.

Preferences

General settings include:

• Dark mode
• Splash screen + startup sound
• Auto import on startup
• Exit after launch
• Cover click launches game vs opens details
• High-quality image preference
• Remove missing imported games

GeForce NOW settings include:

• Include GeForce NOW games in All Games
• Optional auto-close of GeForce NOW when a stream ends (best effort)

Data Paths

Klay uses its own namespace:

• Config: ~/.config/klay/
• Data: ~/.local/share/klay/
• Games JSON: ~/.local/share/klay/games/
• Covers: ~/.local/share/klay/covers/

Troubleshooting

IGDB metadata not loading

• Verify Client ID is set.
• Provide either a valid Access Token or Client Secret.
• If using secret-only mode, ensure outbound access to Twitch token endpoint is allowed.

Cover picker appears slow

• First open may fetch and cache provider results.
• Subsequent opens use local cache and should be faster.

A launcher game is missing

• Confirm source is enabled in Preferences.
• Verify source path values.
• Re-run import and check status output in the import dialog.

GeForce NOW game is missing

• Confirm GeForce NOW source is enabled in Preferences -> Sources.
• Confirm com.nvidia.geforcenow Flatpak is installed.
• Launch GeForce NOW once and open Library so both preview and full-library cache data are populated.
• Run one normal import after upgrading so the one-time GeForce NOW cover migration can replace older blurred-background KEY_ART covers.
• If you still only see a small subset of your library, confirm the Python runtime used by Klay can import brotli, then re-run import.
• For non-Steam titles, make sure the platform account is connected in GeForce NOW and the game appears in your GFN Library.
• Ensure Steam has logged in at least once on this machine so local ownership data exists under userdata/*/config/localconfig.vdf.
• If local ownership data is missing, Klay falls back to Steam profile lookup.
• If Klay shows more entries than the GeForce NOW client, that is usually expected because Klay imports owned store variants separately and may supplement with Steam ownership data.
• If import reports duplicates for GFN games, that is expected for already-imported entries; Klay still refreshes metadata such as store/source/executable.

GeForce NOW auto-close not working

• Enable in Preferences -> GeForce NOW -> Close GeForce NOW after stream ends.
• This is best-effort behavior based on runtime/log signals and can vary between GFN client versions.

Project Notes

• App ID: com.grantshipley.Klay
• Binary: klay
• Python namespace: klay
• Extension docs: docs/klay.md