# Install ludusavi with Homebrew, Nix, scoop, winget

Backup tool for PC game saves. Version 0.31.0 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with nix: nix profile install nixpkgs#ludusavi.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:ludusavi
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install ludusavi
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

### Linux

- Nix (92%):

```sh
nix profile install nixpkgs#ludusavi
```

  Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/lu/ludusavi/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

### Windows

- Scoop (92%):

```sh
scoop install extras/ludusavi
```

  Evidence: Scoop official bucket manifest trees: bucket/ludusavi.json from https://api.github.com/repos/ScoopInstaller/Extras/git/trees/master?recursive=1

- winget (92%):

```sh
winget install --id mtkennerly.ludusavi -e
```

  Evidence: Windows Package Manager source index: mtkennerly.ludusavi from https://cdn.winget.microsoft.com/cache/source.msix

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:ludusavi
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 0.31.0
- **Source summary:** Backup tool for PC game saves
- **Homepage:** <https://github.com/mtkennerly/ludusavi>
- **Repository:** <https://github.com/mtkennerly/ludusavi>
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00

## Executables

- ludusavi (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 0.31.0
## Project history and usage

Ludusavi is a cross-platform game-save backup and restore tool written in Rust, with both a GUI and a scriptable command-line interface.

### Project history

The project was created on GitHub in June 2020 to solve a practical PC-gaming problem: game save files are scattered across launcher folders, user profiles, Wine and Proton prefixes, and sometimes the Windows registry. Ludusavi's README describes support for backup and restore across Steam, GOG, Epic, Heroic, Lutris, and other game libraries, plus Steam screenshots and Steam Deck workflows.

Ludusavi separates the application from its game-location knowledge. The README states that it uses the Ludusavi Manifest for backup metadata and that the data is primarily sourced from PCGamingWiki, asking contributors to improve the wiki so those fixes flow back into Ludusavi's data.

### Adoption history

By 2026 the repository had thousands of GitHub stars and regular releases, and upstream documentation listed Windows, Linux, and macOS downloads plus Winget, Scoop, Flatpak, Cargo, and package-manager distribution. Homebrew, Nix, Scoop, and Winget packaging make it easy to install in both desktop and automation-oriented environments.

Its adoption is tied to Steam Deck and Proton growth: Ludusavi explicitly documents Proton saves, works on Steam Deck, and provides command-line behavior that fits backup scripts and game-launch wrappers.

### How it is used

Users can run Ludusavi interactively to preview, back up, and restore detected saves, or use the CLI for scheduled backups. Official docs cover backup automation, retention, validation, cloud backup, custom games, launch wrapping, root directories, and transferring saves between operating systems.

The documented application folder stores `config.yaml`, logs, and `manifest.yaml`; the docs warn that the manifest is managed by Ludusavi and should not be edited manually.

### Why package nerds care

Ludusavi is the kind of package that earns its place in multi-platform package indexes because it bridges desktop gaming and reproducible backup culture. Package maintainers care about it because it is a Rust desktop app with GUI and CLI surfaces, release assets for several operating systems, and data-driven behavior that depends on external manifest updates.

### Timeline

- 2020: Public GitHub repository created.
- 2020s: Rust GUI and CLI mature around a shared game-save manifest.
- 2025: v0.28 and v0.29 releases continue the regular release stream.
- 2026: v0.31.0 published, with upstream docs still listing broad package-manager availability.

### Related projects

- Ludusavi Manifest provides the game save metadata consumed by the application.
- PCGamingWiki is the primary source for the save-location data.
- A Playnite extension is linked from the README for users of that launcher.

### Sources

- <https://api.github.com/repos/mtkennerly/ludusavi>
- <https://api.github.com/repos/mtkennerly/ludusavi/releases>
- <https://github.com/mtkennerly/ludusavi>
- <https://github.com/mtkennerly/ludusavi/blob/master/docs/help/application-folder.md>
- <https://github.com/mtkennerly/ludusavi/blob/master/docs/help/configuration-file.md>
- <https://github.com/mtkennerly/ludusavi/tree/master/docs>


## Security Notes

broad file, network, media, or database tool signal.

- **Geiger risk:** blue / medium
- broad file, network, media, or database tool signal


## Configuration and credential file locations

These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval.


## Configuration files

- Linux: $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/ludusavi/config.yaml, ~/.config/ludusavi/config.yaml, ~/.var/app/com.github.mtkennerly.ludusavi/config/ludusavi/config.yaml
- macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/ludusavi/config.yaml
- Windows: %APPDATA%/ludusavi/config.yaml
## Other Package-Manager Records

- Nix - ludusavi: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/lu/ludusavi/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- Scoop - extras/ludusavi: normalized package name match | Scoop official bucket manifest trees: bucket/ludusavi.json from https://api.github.com/repos/ScoopInstaller/Extras/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- winget - mtkennerly.ludusavi: normalized package name match | Windows Package Manager source index: mtkennerly.ludusavi from https://cdn.winget.microsoft.com/cache/source.msix


## Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/ludusavi.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/ludusavi.yml)


## Sources

- pkg.so package database
- Geiger risk classifier
- curated configuration and credential file locations
- curated package history
- pkgdb category and tag curation
- external package-manager database matches
- cross-ecosystem install command graph
