Arcadible Developer FAQ
About Arcadible
What are Arcadible Studio and the Arcadible CLI for?
The CLI, arc, creates, checks, and deploys games from your machine or from CI. Arcadible Studio is where you manage your games once they're published. See How Arcadible Works.
Where can players play my game?
In the Arcadible desktop app, and in any modern browser on desktop or mobile, from your game's play link or its store page. See How Arcadible Works.
Does it cost anything to publish a game on Arcadible?
No. Arcadible doesn't currently charge to publish or play games.
Can I publish without the CLI?
No. A game's first release is always arc deploy. After that, a release can also come from a tag pushed to its GitHub repository, which arc deploy git creates for you. See Deploying from GitHub.
How do I update the CLI?
Install the latest version with npm: npm install -g arcadible@latest. Check it with arc --version. See Arcadible CLI.
Building games
Which engines and frameworks work with Arcadible?
Any engine or framework that builds to a folder with an index.html. See Game Engines for the starters, and how to set up each kind of engine.
Do I need the Arcadible SDK?
No. Your game is a web build, and Arcadible publishes it as it is. The Arcadible SDK is optional, for saves that carry over from one version to the next. See Saves.
Does Arcadible provide leaderboards, achievements, or player accounts?
No. Arcadible doesn't currently provide these to games. Run them on your own server. See Networking.
Can my game tell whether it's running in a browser or in the Arcadible desktop app?
No. Detect the capabilities you need instead, such as touch. See Browsers and the desktop app.
Should my game use relative or absolute paths?
Either works, because your game is served at the root of its own origin. Prefer relative paths, which also work from a subdirectory during local testing. See How your game is loaded.
How large can my game be?
deploy_dir can be up to 64 MB compressed, and the packed game, including .arcadible/, up to 256 MB uncompressed. See Limits.
Can my game make network requests to my own servers, or use WebSockets for multiplayer?
Yes, over HTTPS and WSS, with CORS that accepts any *.arcadible.io origin. WebSockets, WebTransport, and WebRTC data channels all work. See Networking.
Can my game use gamepads, go fullscreen, lock the pointer or orientation, or autoplay audio?
Yes. In a browser, fullscreen, pointer lock, and audio need a click, tap, or key press first, and a gamepad appears once the player presses a button. The Arcadible desktop app plays audio without one. See The sandbox and Permissions.
Can my game open popups, show alert() or confirm() dialogs, download files, or submit forms?
No. The Arcadible sandbox blocks them. See The sandbox for what to do instead.
Can my game work offline, or be installed as an app?
Not offline: each play loads the game from Arcadible. Players who want an app can play in the Arcadible desktop app. See Browsers and the desktop app.
How do I test my game locally the way it runs on Arcadible?
Run arc serve. It builds your game, then serves it as Arcadible does, framed in a local play page with the sandbox, cross-origin isolation, case-sensitive paths, and the Arcadible SDK. Then deploy prereleases to staging to test on Arcadible itself. See Testing Your Game.
Why does my game work locally, but not on Arcadible?
Your engine's dev server doesn't reproduce the sandbox, though arc serve does: paths are case-sensitive on Arcadible, assets from other servers need CORS, and dialogs and pop-ups are blocked. See Troubleshooting.
Can I embed my game on my own website?
No. Play pages can't be embedded in other sites. Link to the play page or the store page instead. See How your game is loaded.
Can I use my own domain?
No. Games are played at play.arcadible.com, and their store pages are on arcadible.com. See Links.
Saves and player data
Does save data carry over when I deploy a new version?
Saves made with the Arcadible SDK do. Browser storage doesn't: each build has its own origin, so each version starts with it empty. See Saves.
Are saves kept in the player's account, or synced between devices?
No. Saves are kept on the player's device, separately in each browser and in the desktop app. See Where saves are kept.
Can I use saves with Unity, Godot, or another engine's web export?
No. The Arcadible SDK doesn't currently have a plugin for engines. See Add the SDK.
Can I test saves locally?
Can my game identify the Arcadible player who's playing it?
No. Arcadible doesn't currently give games any information about the player. Use your own accounts on your own server. See Networking.
Can my game use cookies?
No. Every build's origin is under arcadible.io, which browsers treat as one site, so other games could read or replace your game's cookies, and most browsers block or partition a frame's cookies anyway. Use saves for progress, and tokens for your servers. See Storage and saves.
Projects and the manifest
Does my project need a package.json or Node.js?
No. The CLI needs Node.js 24 or later, but your game doesn't. A package.json, if present, supplies version and the build command. See Sources.
If my project has a package.json, which version do I bump?
The one in package.json. A version in arcadible.toml overrides it, so leave it out to keep one version number. See version.
Which fields in arcadible.toml are required?
Only id and version, and version can come from package.json instead. Every other field is optional. See game.
Can I keep my repository README separate from my store page?
Yes. Put the store page in arcadible.md, which the CLI reads instead of README.md. See The file.
Why is my title, tagline, or bio rejected?
They're plain text, limited to letters, digits, spaces, and . , ! ? ' " ( ) : ; -, and to a maximum length. Curly quotes, &, /, and emoji are rejected. See Limits.
Why is my description over the limit when it has fewer than 3,000 characters?
The limit applies to the rendered HTML, so tags and URLs count too. See description.
Can I publish several games from one repository?
Yes, with direct deploys: give each game its own directory and arcadible.toml, and deploy each with arc deploy -C <dir>. Git deploys support one game per repository, at its root. See Several games in one repository.
What happens if I change a game's id?
Arcadible treats the project as a different game. Commit the id and never change it. See id.
Can I change my game's handle after it's published?
Yes, with a release version. Links with the old handle stop working, and links with the game's id keep working. See handle.
What counts as generative AI for the ai field?
Art, audio, text, and levels generated by a model, before release or during play, even if edited by hand afterward. Code written with an AI assistant doesn't count. See Disclosing AI.
Deploying and releases
Should I deploy with direct or git?
Either. direct builds and deploys from your machine, and needs you to be logged in. git pushes a release tag that GitHub Actions builds, so every release maps to a commit, and anyone who can push to the repository can release without logging in. See Deploying from GitHub.
How do I deploy from CI, without a browser?
Release with arc deploy git: GitHub Actions builds the release from a tag, with no login. Other CI providers can't currently deploy, since arc login needs a person to approve it. See Deploying from GitHub.
Do I need to install the Arcadible GitHub App to deploy with git?
Yes. Arcadible publishes a release only from a repository connected to the game: install the Arcadible GitHub App from Settings ▸ Integrations in Arcadible Studio, then connect the repository on the game's Repository tab. The game's first deploy has to be arc deploy, since a release can't create a game. See Set it up.
Why can't I deploy the same version twice?
Each version identifies exactly one build, and play links can point at a version, such as star-drift:1.2.0. Bump the version before every deploy. If a deploy fails before its build is published, the version is still free. See Versions, releases, and builds.
How long does it take for a deploy to become playable, and how do I know it succeeded?
A direct deploy is published within a few minutes, and a git deploy after its GitHub Actions run, which can take several minutes, depending on the build. arc deploy waits until the release is published, then prints its links, or says why it failed and exits with 1. Arcadible also emails you either way, and changes can take up to 10 minutes to reach all of Arcadible. See Releases.
Where do I see why a release failed?
arc deploy prints the reason, and so do the "Release Failed" email and Builds ▸ Failed in Arcadible Studio. Each reason, and its fix, is in Errors.
Is there a limit on how often I can deploy?
Yes. An account can deploy up to 30 builds an hour, and 100 a day, and can have up to 100 games, not counting deleted ones. See Limits.
How do I roll back to an earlier version?
Deploy the earlier code again with a new, higher version. Earlier versions stay playable at their own links, such as play.arcadible.com/star-drift:1.2.0/. See Rolling back.
Can I delete a build?
No. Every build stays playable at its version link until you delete the game. See Rolling back.
Can I delete a game?
Yes, in Arcadible Studio: open the game, then Delete game. It's removed from Arcadible at once, with all of its builds, and it can't be undone. Its handle is held for your account for 30 days, and its id can't be deployed again; give the project a new id to publish it as a new game. See Delete a game.
Who can see and play staging builds?
Anyone with the link, such as play.arcadible.com/star-drift:staging/. Staging builds aren't shown in the store. See On staging.
Do staging builds update my store page?
No. Only release versions change the store page, and Arcadible Studio's Store tab shows what a staging build would publish, under Staging. A game's first deploy claims its handle, even a prerelease. See Channels.
Is there a review before a game goes public?
No. A release is published as soon as it passes Arcadible's checks, and a public game is listed with its release. See Going Public.
Store page
How do I make my game public?
Set visibility = "public" and deploy a release version. See Going Public.
How do players find my game?
Public games appear in the Arcadible store and in search. Unlisted games, the default, are playable only by link. See Visibility.
How do I get my game featured?
Arcadible picks the games in Featured, and you can ask from the game's Overview in Arcadible Studio once it's public. See Getting Featured.
Why aren't my screenshots showing on the store page?
Only gallery files named screenshot_<number>, with a lowercase .png or .mp4 extension, appear in the carousel. Screenshots for another platform, such as _phone, are hidden on other devices. See Screenshots.
Do I need to provide every piece of art?
No. Every art field is optional. See Media files.
Should my art include the game's title?
It can, on the cover, banner, and poster. Keep text off the icon and the splash, and leave taglines and slogans off everything. See Text in art.
Why is my image or video rejected when it looks like the right size?
Aspect ratios are exact, so 1030 × 512 isn't 2:1. Also check the minimum and maximum dimensions, the file size, and that the file name is lowercase. See Media files.
What happens when an art video ends?
It fades to its PNG. Art videos play once, without sound, and run 3 to 30 seconds. See Art videos.
Can I embed images or videos from other websites in my description?
No. Description media must come from .arcadible/gallery/. See Media.
Can I localize my store page?
No. A store page has one title, tagline, bio, and description, in one language. See Arcadible Markdown.
Are the files in .arcadible/ publicly accessible?
Yes. They're published with the build, at https://<site-id>.arcadible.io/.arcadible/. Don't put anything private there. See Media files.
Can I link to my own website, social accounts, or a Discord server?
Yes, from the description, with https:// links. See Links.
Pricing
Can I sell my game, or items in it?
No. Games on Arcadible are free to play, and Arcadible doesn't currently support paid games or in-game purchases.
Studio and accounts
What analytics does Arcadible Studio provide?
Only each game's plays and likes, on its Overview. Arcadible Studio doesn't currently provide other analytics. See Arcadible Studio.
Can several people manage the same game?
No. A game belongs to one account. Anyone who can push to its connected repository can release it with arc deploy git. See Ownership.
Can I transfer a game to another account?
No. Arcadible doesn't currently transfer games between accounts. See Ownership.
Where does the CLI store my credentials?
In ~/.config/arc/account.json, or %LOCALAPPDATA%\arc\account.json on Windows. Treat that file like a password. arc logout deletes it. See arc login.
How do I revoke a CLI session?
Run arc logout on that machine, which deletes its saved session. Arcadible doesn't currently revoke a session remotely. See arc logout.
Policies and support
What content is allowed on Arcadible?
Games of every kind, including games for mature audiences, within the Community Guidelines. Sexually explicit content, real-money gambling, malware, and content that harms real people aren't allowed. See the Community Guidelines.
Does marking a game mature change who can find or play it?
No. A mature game shows a notice on its store page, and is listed and playable like any other. See Choosing an audience.
Can I change my game's audience after it's published?
Yes. The audience is part of every release, so change it and deploy a release version. See Choosing an audience.
Who owns the rights to games published on Arcadible?
You do. Publishing gives Arcadible a license to host, show, and distribute your game on Arcadible while it's published. See the Developer Terms.
How do I report a game?
Choose ••• ▸ Report on its store page. To add details, email support@arcadible.com with the game's link and what's wrong. See Report a game or a player.
Where do I report a bug in Arcadible or get help?
Email support@arcadible.com, with the command you ran and its full output. Report a security problem to security@arcadible.com. See Contact Us.