Install and update

Galaxy Forge is a desktop app that runs outside the game, on Windows, macOS and Linux.

Download the latest release

Each section below says which file on the Releases page to download.

Install on Windows

Download Stellaris-Galaxy-Forge-<version>-Windows-Installer.exe and run it.

To run it without installing, download Stellaris-Galaxy-Forge-<version>-Windows-No-Install.zip instead. Unzip it and run the app inside. There is also an MSI for managed installs.

Get past the Windows warning

The installer is signed by "Open Source Developer, Ian Heinrich". Windows SmartScreen may still show a warning because the signing certificate is new. Click More info, then Run anyway.

Your browser may also say the file isn't commonly downloaded. Choose Keep. SHA256SUMS on the Releases page lists a checksum for every file, so you can check a download before you run it.

An antivirus that reports the file as malware is a different warning from SmartScreen. Check the file against SHA256SUMS first. If it matches, report it with the name of the detection.

Install on a Mac

Download Stellaris-Galaxy-Forge-<version>-Mac.dmg. It runs on Intel and Apple silicon Macs.

1. Open the .dmg and move Stellaris Galaxy Forge into Applications.
2. The app isn't signed, so Gatekeeper refuses to open it at first. Open Terminal and run xattr -cr "/Applications/Stellaris Galaxy Forge.app", or right-click the app in Applications and choose Open.
3. Open the app from Applications.

Install on Linux

Download Stellaris-Galaxy-Forge-<version>-Linux.AppImage. In a terminal, go to the folder you saved it in, make the file executable and start it:

cd ~/Downloads
chmod +x Stellaris-Galaxy-Forge-*-Linux.AppImage
./Stellaris-Galaxy-Forge-*-Linux.AppImage

Use the folder you downloaded it to. If it holds more than one version, use the full file name in place of the *. There are also Linux-Debian-Ubuntu.deb and Linux-Fedora.rpm packages. All of them are built on Ubuntu 22.04 for x86_64.

I use Galaxy Forge on Windows. The Mac and Linux builds have had less use.

Open it again

Galaxy Forge is an app of its own. Open it from the Start menu on Windows, or from Applications on a Mac. Stellaris and its launcher don't start it.

It isn't a mod. Its Workshop page has no mod files, so subscribing to it installs nothing. Most scenarios are played through the Paint a Galaxy mod.

Update the app

The app checks for a new release when it starts and shows a badge when it finds one. Click it to read the release notes of every version since yours, then choose "Install and restart". The no-install zip and the .deb and .rpm packages send you to the releases page instead. The Help menu has "Check for updates…" and turns the check at start on or off.