goatcorp/FFXIVQuickLauncher: the launcher Square Enix did not build

A repository name the project stopped using

The GitHub repository is goatcorp/FFXIVQuickLauncher. The README's first heading is XIVLauncher, the body calls it XIVLauncher throughout, and it gives the abbreviation XL. The project was renamed at some point: the continuous integration badge in the README still points at an actions URL under the older goaaats owner, and the repository itself sits under goatcorp.

So there are three names in play and only one of them is current. The directory name on disk says FFXIVQuickLauncher, the badges say goaaats, and the product the users actually talk about is XIVLauncher. Search for any one of them and you land in the right place, but if you are writing a deployment script or a dependency pin, the repository name is the one that has to be exact.

The language is C# and the shape is a desktop application: a src/ directory, a release.ps1 script for building, an appdata manifest, and a RELEASE.md. The repository is not archived and the last push was on 2026-10-05.

What actually changes from the stock launcher

The README's argument is short: the original launcher is slow and cannot save your password. Everything else is built on that. The feature list is worth reading closely because it describes an input method and a social layer rather than a graphics feature.

Auto-login and password saving are the reason most people switch. Fast patching is the second. Then Discord Rich Presence, so your status reflects what you are doing in game. Fast in-game market board price checks, which matter if you play the economy rather than the combat. Chat filtering. A chat bridge to Discord, and Discord notifications for duties and retainer sales.

Read together, this is a launcher aimed at someone with several characters, an active market portfolio, and a group chat. If you log one character once a week and do not use Discord, most of the list does nothing for you, and the case for the stock launcher is unharmed.

Installing on Windows and, separately, on Linux

The installation instructions are short. Download the latest Setup.exe from the releases page and run it; XIVLauncher starts and installs itself to your start menu. Uninstalling is through the Windows Programs and Apps menu, or by right-clicking the entry in the start menu.

Then there is a separate section, and it makes a claim that does not sit comfortably with the paragraph above. The README says XIVLauncher now has a native Linux version that works on Steam Deck and Desktop Linux, with a wine version especially tuned to XIV, and it points at a guide rather than describing the steps itself.

Both statements can be true, since a Windows installer and a native Linux build are different artifacts, but a reader skimming for the install path will find a Setup.exe first and a native Linux claim second, with the second pointing somewhere else for detail. If you are on Steam Deck, the guide at goatcorp.github.io/faq/steamdeck is the document that matters and the README is only the signpost. The repository tree also carries an appdata manifest, which is what Linux and other Unix systems use for desktop integration, so the Linux side is a real part of the project rather than a promise.

Antivirus false positives and the trust question

The README tells you, before you ask, that commercial antivirus programs frequently detect XIVLauncher as a false positive, and instructs you to check your antivirus and disable it for XIVLauncher if you hit install errors or misbehaviour. It points at VirusTotal so you can check yourself rather than take the word for it.

This is the single most consequential instruction in the document, and it is also the one most likely to be skimmed past. A download from a GitHub releases page that your security software flags is a familiar shape of problem for any unsigned desktop application. The mitigation the project offers is manual verification. The mitigation most readers will reach for is disabling protection, which is a worse answer than the project would presumably prefer.

The safety FAQ entry is the other half. The README says a lot of effort goes into ensuring XIVLauncher is safe to use for everyone and links a dedicated entry for the question, so the argument is not made on the README page. What is stated plainly on the README page is the licence: MIT is not the licence here, the project is GPL-3.0, which for a distributed application means source availability is part of the deal rather than a courtesy.

Dalamud plugins and where the line is drawn

The feature that pulls in the most users is the plugin system, and it is not built into XIVLauncher itself. Plugins are installed through Dalamud, Square Enix's in-game scripting add-on host, reached from the system menu in game or with a chat command:

/xlplugins

If the command is missing or the options do not appear, the README's instruction is to check that the in-game add-on is enabled in the launcher settings. That is a nice detail: the launcher is the thing that decides whether the plugin host runs.

The plugin policy is the part to read before writing anything. XIVLauncher states three things a plugin must not do: interact with the game servers outside of specification, so allowing the player to do things a normal player on PC or PS4 could not; act automatically, by polling data or making requests without direct user interaction; or circumvent paywalls, such as enabling access to items that require a purchase.

That is a real policy with teeth, and it is narrower than plugin authors often want. It is also the reason the third-party plugin list is curated rather than open. The plugin API documentation and a sample plugin live in the goatcorp Dalamud repository, and a browsable plugin list is published alongside the launcher.

Where the release cadence and the source diverge

The repository was last pushed on 2026-10-05, which is recent enough that the project is plainly not abandoned. The newest tagged release is 7.0.20, published on 2025-12-06, and it is described as a maintenance release: fixes for auto-launch applications failing to start alongside the game, desktop shortcuts for accounts created from the account switcher menu, game patches failing when the chosen game directory was a root directory, and confusing warning messages.

Those are the right kinds of fixes to ship under a maintenance label, and they describe a launcher that sits close to the operating system: starting other applications, creating desktop shortcuts, writing to arbitrary directories. Every one of those is a place where a security tool has an opinion.

The gap between a current source tree and a release ten months old is the thing to plan around. If you are evaluating the project, the question is not whether the code is moving, it is whether the build you can download contains what you need. The repository also carries the account switcher feature implied by that changelog entry, which means multiple characters per install is a supported path rather than a workaround, and it is the main reason the password saving matters.

Contributions, licensing and the terms of service line

The README closes with a section that says Dalamud and XIVLauncher do not accept contributions made using generative AI, and asks that people not interact with the repository using automated systems driven by language models. That is an unusual thing to find in a 2026 README, and it is worth noticing as a project policy rather than treating as an obstacle.

The disclaimer is equally direct. XIVLauncher is not in line with the game's terms of service. The project says it is doing its best to make the launcher safe for everyone and that, to their knowledge, no one has ever gotten into trouble for using it, while asking readers to be aware that it remains a possibility. The trademark notice states that Final Fantasy is a registered trademark of Square Enix Holdings and that the project is not affiliated with Square Enix in any way.

So the honest position, as the project states it, is: the launcher is not authorised, the project believes it is safe, and the risk is not zero. GPL-3.0 governs the source, and the terms of service question is separate from licensing and cannot be settled by either. What that means for any individual account is not something a README can answer.

Editorial conclusion

XIVLauncher earns its place for the people it was built for: a player who re-logs many characters across many regions, patches on a schedule, and wants their game to talk to Discord. It is not a drop-in for everyone, because it is not in line with the game's terms of service and it asks you to disable antivirus software during installation. The first thing to verify is the release you are about to download: the newest tagged build is 7.0.20 from 2025-12-06, while the source repository itself was last pushed on 2026-10-05, so what is current in the tree and what ships to users are not the same thing.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

1. goatcorp/FFXIVQuickLauncher on GitHub
2. License: GPL-3.0
3. Project website
4. README
5. Releases