Visual NovelRPC docs
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Now reading

The app's main page: the VN that's open, where you are in it, and what Discord shows.

Sanoba Witch, found automatically (KiriKiri engine).

What's on the page

  • Cover and name of the VN, with its engine and .exe underneath (e.g. KiriKiri · SabbatOfTheWitch.exe).
  • Where you are (blue pill), like Nene Route. It comes from the game's window title; see Chapters & routes. If the title doesn't say, a + Route / chapter button lets you type it yourself.
  • Time read for this VN, all sessions added up. When VNDB knows how long the VN is, your progress comes after it (11h 12m read · 22%): your time read compared with the average length on VNDB. Hover it to see that average. Past 100%, only the time is shown.
  • Change VN / cover… opens VN & cover for this game: pick another VNDB entry or another picture.
  • VNDB page opens the VN on vndb.org.
  • Library page opens this VN's page in the Library.
  • Discord preview: exactly what your friends see right now. When nothing is shared, it says why (paused, idle, or the game's privacy is set to Off).

The first time you start a VN

The first time a VN is detected, a New VN detected window shows what the app found: the program, the engine and the window title on one side, the VNDB match on the other. That name and cover are what your friends see, so it's worth a look.

  • Yes, that's it confirms the match.
  • Pick another VN… opens the search, if it's the wrong one or nothing was found.
  • Not a VN: this program is never detected again. It isn't offered for emulators, so you can't block the emulator itself.
  • Later closes it until the next time the app starts.

Your answer is remembered for this game. The window only shows for a VN with less than 10 minutes read and no confirmed VNDB entry. If the app is hidden in the tray, a notification appears instead: click it to open the app.

Wrong VN or cover?

The VN is guessed from the window title and the .exe name. Some games share a launcher or a series name, so the first match on VNDB isn't always the one you're reading. The ? button on the card explains it, and Pick the right VN… takes you to the fix: search VNDB and click Use on the right entry. The name, cover and VNDB link all switch to it, and the choice is remembered for this game. See Covers.

Detection: Auto or Manual

At the bottom of the page, the Detection bar has two modes. When a VN is found, the bar also shows the program it detected (SabbatOfTheWitch.exe above).

Auto (default)

The app looks at the open windows and recognizes visual novel engines by their program, their window and the files next to them. These engines are recognized:

  • Ren'Py
  • KiriKiri / KiriKiri Z
  • SiglusEngine
  • RealLive
  • TyranoScript
  • Artemis
  • YU-RIS
  • NScripter / ONScripter
  • Unity
  • Buriko General Interpreter (BGI / Ethornell)
  • AdvHD
  • CatSystem2
  • KaGuYa
  • Majiro
  • Musica
  • Propeller
  • ShSystem
  • AI6WIN
  • Qlie
  • Softpal
  • SystemNNN
  • TmrHiroAdvSystem

Browsers, Discord, Steam, OBS, code editors and other everyday programs are always ignored, and so is everything Windows itself runs (lock screen, Start menu, widgets…). Launchers, config tools and uninstallers that come with a game (LAUNCHER.exe, config.exe, unins000.exe…) are skipped too, so the app waits for the game itself. When a game has several windows, the biggest one is used.

VNs installed through Steam get their proper Steam name, which also gives better cover matches (Use Steam library names in Settings).

Wrong program? Not a VN

If the app picked something that isn't a visual novel, click Not a VN next to the detected program. It's never detected again, and its entry is hidden from the Library. To undo it, remove it from Settings → Never detect. The button isn't there for emulators.

Manual

If your VN uses an engine that isn't recognized, switch to Manual and choose the game in Pick the game window…. Opened the game after? Click Refresh to update the list. The app remembers your choice: the next time that program runs, it's detected right away. If that program has several windows, the biggest one is used.

Separate games by window title is for programs that run several games, like an emulator the app doesn't know: with it on, each window title gets its own entry, with its own time read, cover and VNDB page. Known emulators already do this by themselves (see below).

Switch back to Auto once you're done if you read several VNs, so the others are found by themselves.

Emulators

VNs played on an emulator get one entry per game, not one for the whole emulator. The game is told apart by its ID or its name in the emulator's window title. These emulators are known: Ryujinx, yuzu, suyu, Sudachi, Citron, Torzu, PPSSPP, Vita3K, RPCS3, DuckStation, PCSX2, Dolphin, Citra, Lime3DS, Azahar, melonDS, DeSmuME and RetroArch.

If Auto doesn't find the emulator, pick its window once in Manual. A game seen for the first time shows New Ryujinx game: pick it with “Change VN / cover…”. Do that once to give it its VNDB name and cover; it's remembered for that game.

A new game in Ryujinx: no cover yet, until you pick its VNDB entry.

Pause

The Pause button (bottom-left) stops sharing your status, and counting time read, until you click it again. The Discord preview says Paused: nothing is shared. The same switch is in the tray menu (Pause / resume presence).

Idle in the background

If you leave the game open while doing something else, you probably don't want Discord to say you're reading, nor the time read to keep going up. Turn on Go idle when the VN isn't the active window in Settings → Presence.

When the game has been in the background for Seconds in the background before going idle (60 by default), your Discord status clears and the timers stop. The preview says Idle: nothing is shared until the VN is back in front. Click back into the game and everything resumes.