Alicorn

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That launcher of the block game, once with the magic of friendship.

Alicorn Latest Version Download

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# Alicorn Launcher

That launcher of the block game, once with the magic of friendship.

![Alicorn Badge](https://img.shields.io/badge/Alicorn-3.x-df307f)
![Node.js CI](https://github.com/Andy-K-Sparklight/Alicorn/actions/workflows/build.yml/badge.svg)
![CodeQL](https://github.com/Andy-K-Sparklight/Alicorn/actions/workflows/codeql.yml/badge.svg)
![Creation Date](https://img.shields.io/github/created-at/Andy-K-Sparklight/Alicorn?label=since)
![License Badge](https://img.shields.io/github/license/Andy-K-Sparklight/Alicorn)
![Repo Size](https://img.shields.io/github/repo-size/Andy-K-Sparklight/Alicorn)

## IMPORTANT NOTE

> [!NOTE]
>
> TL; DR We're focusing on a new work with maximum performance, compatibility and safety. We can't
> achieve the same on the base of Alicorn. Alicorn is not abandoned, bugs will still be fixed until
> the day we release a new alternative (and may still feature as a good platform for experiments).

**The Electron version of Alicorn is now in maintenance mode.** Bugs and critical errors will still
be fixed once found, but new features (like quickplay) won't likely to be added. This decision was
made after struggling with rewriting and adding new features for over a year, with the only result
being a shadow of the original version. The reason is complex, but can be concluded as:

<details>
<summary>Expand</summary>

- **Things change fast.** Mirrors changing their policies, features added in vanilla, the status of
  GNU/Linux support, AIs, WebView2 getting bundled, and more. The design of Alicorn is just not
  flexible to embrace all of these.

- **Electron.** We've been enjoying Electron as an all-in-one JS framework, but with too much cost.
  The size (both memory and file) of Alicorn has always been one of its major drawbacks and affects
  it in multiple ways, like availability in modpacks. Over time, we found that Electron can no
  longer serve as our optimal choice, yet the migration is proven to be hard.

- **The stale codebase.** The development of Alicorn is based on a very agile way, which prioritizes
  new features over stability. This leads to tricky bugs and vulnerabilities in the codebase, which
  traps the overall development. We previously believe that a complete rewrite shall solve this, but
  it didn't.

- **Lack of user feedback.** After a major refactor without rebranding, most users continue to stick
  on the previous version (container-based), which does not come with up-to-date support. There is
  no way for us to "build a launcher for the community" without these feedbacks.

</details>

Making such a decision is not easy, but it would be mandatory with only the matter of time. Alicorn
is our attempt on creating a universal, user-friendly and privacy-aware launcher, but has never
been production-ready nor battle-tested. Thus, it's time to put an end on the "add and bloat" way of
development.

However, the development of Alicorn is not stopped (neither likely in the near future). We're giving
our time to a new project that inherits all the highlights of Alicorn, while also being able to
address most of the flaws in Alicorn. We have to trade the development of new features for that.

For users of Alicorn, it's still safe to run Alicorn (I'm running all my games using it!) and
everything will continue to work: games will launch, mods will install, nothing would break. You're
also welcome to submit feature requests — they may get landed in our new work!

## Our Goal

The development of Alicorn is based on the following vision:

- **Game First**

Craft your game experience and click to play. Leave the technical jobs to us.

- **Free as in Pricing**

You're paying for playing, no more for launching.[^1]

- **Free as in Freedom**

Things related to your game really shouldn't be touched by something you can't control.

- **Cross Platform**

Play on any computer regardless of its OS.[^2]

- **Fast**

Spend time in your world, not entering your world.

- **Space Utilization**

Create hundreds of game experiences while storing only one copy of game assets.

- **User First**

Play the game in the way you like. It's never a crime to fly in your own world.[^3]

- **Privacy Aware**

We collect limited anonymous data only for improving Alicorn. This will only happen under your
  approval.

## Supported Platforms

Systems:

- Microsoft Windows 10 / 11
- Apple macOS (Big Sur or later)
- GNU/Linux
  - There are no detailed compatibility metrics, but recent releases should work.

Architectures:

- `x64` (`amd64`)
- `arm64` (`aarch64`)

> [!NOTE]
> Official support for `arm64` on major platforms was only added recently (since 1.19). We're
> planning to provide
> addition support for earlier versions, but it's not prioritized.

## Build Instructions

See [BUILDING.md](docs/BUILDING.md).

## License

![GPL-3.0 Logo](https://www.gnu.org/graphics/gplv3-or-later.svg)

[GPL-3.0](https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.html) (or any later version)

## FAQs

<details>
<summary>Click to Expand</summary>

> Is this project related to *[name of a company / organization]*?

No. Alicorn is an independent project. It's made by the players, for the players.

> Is it a cracked launcher? / Can I play the game without an account?

No. We provide no support for that. Note that it breaks the EULA by doing so.

> My system says that Alicorn contains virus / cannot be trusted.

Our released binaries are pulled directly from the CI artifacts which are built automatically from
publicly visible
build scripts. You can always check the source code (or ask someone experienced to do so) to be
convinced that our
program doesn't contain malicious code. You'll understand why we're not signing the binaries (and
that's why your system
complains) if you know that it's not a process which happens for free.

> I've found a bug. / I want a new feature that's not included.

You're welcome to [open an issue](https://github.com/Andy-K-Sparklight/Alicorn/issues/new) for that.

> Electron is *[names of downsides]*. It's 2025 now, why not just use *[name of an alternative]*?

We choose Electron for its easiness in web integration,
security and the exclusion of the necessity of writing platform-dependent code.
We want to provide a software based on a framework built by a large team of experienced engineers,
limiting the bugs and pitfalls that may happen if we were inventing wheels by ourselves.

> 100+ MiBs is too large!

Anyone who creates more than one game will notice that the size of their game folders grows at the
speed of hundreds of
MiBs. Even a resource pack can often be larger than Alicorn. If you're running out of available
space, it's generally
suggested to start cleaning up something (e.g. temporary files, recycle bin, etc.).

> Why is Alicorn taking up GBs of memory?

Applications that perform heavy I/O operations (like Alicorn) usually ask the system for more memory
to improve the
throughput. The allocated memory space will be left unused after those operations are finished, yet
not being reclaimed
(actively) until the system decides to divert them to other processes. That is to say, the GBs of
memory can be reused
by the game (or other apps) once needed. It shall not impact the game performance.

</details>

## Disclaimer

Alicorn is an unofficial (third-party) work. The development of Alicorn is not related to Mojang or
Microsoft.

[^1]: We as developers follow the EULA of the game and advocate copyright protection.
A valid account is required to enter the game session.

[^2]: When supported by the game.

[^3]: Cheat clients are forbidden in certain servers and are protested by the community. Use them at
your own risk.

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