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Prerequisites

You need the Rust toolchain installed before you can build the app. If you already have cargo available, skip to step 2.
1

Install Rust

Install Rust using rustup, the official toolchain installer.
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh
After installation, restart your terminal and verify the toolchain is available:
cargo --version
2

Clone the repository

Download the source code from GitHub:
git clone https://github.com/FRKFFR/prismic-avatar-search-app.git
cd prismic-avatar-search-app/prismic_avatar_search
If you prefer not to use git, download the ZIP archive from the repository page and extract it, then navigate into the prismic_avatar_search/ subdirectory.
3

Build and run

Compile and launch the app in release mode:
cargo run --release
Cargo automatically downloads all dependencies and compiles the project. The first build takes longer — subsequent builds are significantly faster thanks to Cargo’s incremental compilation.
The first launch also downloads the avatar databases, which can take a few minutes depending on your connection speed. The app displays progress during this step — you do not need to do anything.
4

Complete the first-launch setup

The app guides you through a three-step initialization flow automatically:
  1. Database Downloader — Detects that the avatar databases are missing and downloads them. Downloads all three platform databases (PC, Quest, iOS) and writes the processed output to cache/avatar_entries.ndjson. Progress is shown in the UI.
  2. Login — Once the databases are ready, the app transitions to the login screen. Enter your VRChat credentials. 2FA is supported.
  3. Avatar Browser — After a successful login, the app saves an auth cookie to config.json and opens the avatar browser. You will not need to log in again unless the cookie expires.

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What happens on first launch

When the app starts, UnifiedAvatarManager calls determine_initial_state() to check what setup steps remain:
  • If the database cache files are missing, the Database Downloader module starts automatically.
  • If the databases exist but config.json contains no auth_cookie, the Login module starts automatically.
  • If both conditions are satisfied, the app opens directly in the Avatar Browser.
During initialization, the top bar shows Initializing... and module-switching buttons are disabled. Each module transitions to the next one automatically when its task is complete — you do not need to click anything between steps.

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After setup: switching modules

Once initialization is complete, the top bar shows three buttons — Database Downloader, Login, and Avatar Browser — that let you switch between modules freely. Use this to re-download databases, re-authenticate, or return to the avatar browser at any time.

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Next steps

Installation

Full build instructions, dependency details, and platform-specific setup

Avatar Browser

Search, filter, and equip avatars

Authentication

2FA setup, cookie management, and re-authentication

Database Management

How avatar databases are downloaded and cached

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