Linking an existing folder
Some downloads are hosted outside itch.io (on Google Drive, Mega, and so on), so the app can't install them for you. If you downloaded and extracted such a game yourself, you can link its folder to your library entry: the game then shows up as installed and launches through the app like any other.
This is a power-user feature. The app takes your word that the folder contains the right files, and once linked, it manages the folder as its own.
Linking a folder
- Move the game's folder inside your install location. The app only manages folders that live there.
- Open the game's install dialog, then the menu in the top right of the cover image, and choose Link existing folder.... The install dialog also points you there when a download can't be installed automatically.
- Drop the folder on the dialog or pick it with Choose folder....
- Pick which of the game's downloads the folder contains, then press Link folder.
No files are copied or moved. The app records the folder as an install of the selected download, detects its executables, and writes an install receipt inside it.
Caveats
- Uninstalling deletes the folder. From the moment it's linked, the folder belongs to the app: uninstalling the game later removes the folder and everything in it.
- The contents aren't verified. The app can't check that the folder actually matches the download you picked. If it doesn't, launching may not work, and anything that relies on the download's metadata will be wrong.
- Externally hosted downloads still can't update automatically. To move to a new version, download and extract it yourself, uninstall the linked install (this deletes the old folder), and link the new folder.
- A download that is already installed, or currently downloading, can't be linked again.
- A folder that already contains an install receipt was installed by the app; use Scanning for games to import it instead of linking it.