FAQ¶

Frequently asked questions about Xenia Manager. If your question is not answered here, check Troubleshooting or open an issue.

General¶

Is Xenia Manager free?¶

Yes. It is open source under the BSD-3 License.

Is it affiliated with the Xenia Team?¶

No. Xenia Manager is not affiliated with the official Xenia Team. It is a third-party launcher/manager for the Xenia emulator. Please do not ask the Xenia Team for Xenia Manager support (and vice versa - emulator-core bugs belong upstream).

Does it include games, Xenia builds, DLC, or patches?¶

No. The Manager downloads emulator builds (Xenia Canary/Mousehook/Netplay) and community metadata (compatibility, artwork, optimized settings, patch files from public databases), but never games or copyrighted content. You must supply your own legally owned dumps, DLC, and TUs. See Installation and Quickstart.

Which Xenia version should I use?¶

Start with Xenia Canary (best general compatibility). Add Mousehook for keyboard-and-mouse titles and Netplay for online multiplayer. Assign per game - you can mix variants in one library. Details: Manage Xenia.

Is it safe for my PC / saves?¶

The Manager only writes inside its own folder (Config/, Emulators/, Cache/, Downloads/, Backup/, Logs/) plus Steam shortcuts when you ask for them. Still: enable automatic save backup before experimenting (Profiles & Saves), keep a copy of Config/games.json, and treat nightly emulator builds as unstable by definition.

Installation¶

Do I need the .NET runtime?¶

Yes - install a .NET 10 runtime with desktop support. The app is framework-dependent. If it refuses to start with a dotnet-missing error, you installed a runtime without desktop support (the Desktop variant includes it). See Installation.

Is there an installer? Is it portable?¶

Releases ship as a ZIP you extract anywhere - the app is portable, with settings and emulators stored next to XeniaManager.exe. See folder layout.

Can I move the Manager folder after setup?¶

Yes, as long as you move the whole folder (exe + Config/ + Emulators/ + the rest). Library file paths are absolute - after moving your games folder (not the Manager), rescan. Steam shortcuts store the old launcher path and must be recreated after moving the Manager. See Steam Shortcuts.

Library & Games¶

Which game formats are supported?¶

Disc images and extracted Xbox 360 formats handled by the built-in parsers (ISO/XISO, XEX, STFS/SVOD containers, ZAR archives, and related containers). If a file will not parse here, Xenia itself would not boot it either - fix the dump. See Library.

Why is my game "Unknown Game"?¶

Usually an incomplete dump or an ID the database does not recognize. Work through Unknown Games: verify the dump, toggle Xenia-based parsing, toggle Media-ID title matching, then hand-edit details as a last resort.

Can one entry cover multiple discs?¶

Yes - merge multi-disc sets into one entry with a disc picker (Library). The Manager remembers the last-played disc.

Where do playtime and last-played come from?¶

Tracked automatically on each launch and stored in games.json. Editing them by hand is possible (it is plain JSON) but unnecessary.

Content, Patches, Settings¶

How do I install DLC / Title Updates?¶

Via Install Content on the Manage page, without opening Xenia: Content guide. Install the TU before the DLC, and match the DLC region to the game's Title ID.

Where do I get patches? Why is my game missing from the list?¶

Patches come from the Canary and Netplay community databases (Patches). If your title is absent, none are published for its Title/Media ID in that variant's database. Check you are browsing the right variant's list and that your IDs are correct.

Should I use community optimized settings?¶

They are good starting points (Xenia Settings), applied as per-game overrides so your global config stays clean. Revert them if your hardware behaves differently.

Global vs. per-game settings - which do I edit?¶

Per-game first; global only when every game benefits. A per-game override always wins over the global value, which is the #1 cause of "my setting does nothing". See Xenia Settings.

Profiles, Saves, Shortcuts¶

How do I move saves to another PC?¶

Export the profile first, then each game's saves, then import profile-then-saves on the new machine (Profiles & Saves). The Manager remaps XUIDs during the managed import - do not just copy raw folders.

Do Steam shortcuts update when I change artwork?¶

No - shortcuts snapshot art at creation time. Refresh artwork, then recreate the shortcut. See Steam Shortcuts.

Can I use the Manager from the couch / TV?¶

Yes - BigScreen mode. Configure everything in desktop mode first, then use BigScreen for launching.

Problems¶

My problem isn't listed here - where do I start?¶

Head to Troubleshooting. If nothing helps, open an issue and attach your log files (see Logs) plus the Manager version from the About page.