Download and install Eden on Windows, Linux, or Android

Eden releases are hosted at git.eden-emu.dev/eden-emu/eden/releases. Builds are available for Windows, Linux (including Steam Deck), and Android. Choose the release type that matches your needs, then follow the install steps for your platform below.

Release types

Eden publishes four types of builds. Most users should start with Stable.

Release	Description
Stable	Versioned releases intended for everyday use. Low number of regressions and focused on reliability. This is what third-party package managers (e.g. Flatpak, AUR) will typically host.
Nightly	Built daily around 2 PM UTC when changes are available. More up to date than Stable and may include critical game fixes, but not recommended for average users.
Master	Unstable builds directly from the development branch. Use only if you intend to contribute or test specific fixes. May break compatibility with some games or systems.
PR builds	Experimental builds from open pull requests. For testers only — these may not build or run at all.

If a game doesn’t work on Stable, try a Nightly build — it may contain a fix that hasn’t yet made it into a Stable release.

Platform-specific installation

Windows
Linux / Steam Deck
Android

Requirements

Eden requires the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable to run. Install it before launching Eden.

Eden will not launch without the Visual C++ Redistributable. Download the latest supported version from Microsoft and install it first.

Windows 10 and Windows 11 are supported. Windows 8.x support is unknown, and Windows 7 is not supported.

Install steps

Download the Windows release

Go to git.eden-emu.dev/eden-emu/eden/releases and download the Windows Stable or Nightly build. The release will be a ZIP archive containing Eden.exe and supporting files.

Extract the archive

Extract the ZIP to the folder where you want Eden to live — for example, C:\Games\Eden. Do not run Eden directly from inside the ZIP.

Enable portable mode (optional)

By default, Eden stores configuration in %AppData%\Roaming. To keep everything self-contained in the installation folder, create an empty folder named user inside the extracted directory before launching. Eden will use that folder for all data instead of %AppData%.

Run Eden.exe

Double-click Eden.exe to launch the emulator.

Windows SmartScreen may show a “Windows protected your PC” warning because Eden is not a digitally signed application from a recognized publisher. This is expected behavior. Click More info, then Run anyway to dismiss the warning. Eden is safe to run.

Performance notes

AMD and Nvidia GPU drivers on Windows do not perform as well as Linux’s RADV (Mesa) drivers. Compatibility is broadly the same, but performance on some demanding games may be lower than on an equivalent Linux setup.
On AMD64 systems, the CPU is often the bottleneck rather than the GPU.

Supported distributions

All modern Linux distributions are supported, including:

Fedora 40+
Ubuntu 24.04+
Debian 12+
Arch Linux
Gentoo

Steam Deck (running SteamOS) is fully supported via the AppImage.

Install steps

Download the Linux AppImage

Go to git.eden-emu.dev/eden-emu/eden/releases and download the Stable or Nightly Linux AppImage. Save it somewhere accessible, such as your home folder or Desktop.On Steam Deck, switch to Desktop Mode first: press the Steam button → Power → Switch to Desktop.

Make the AppImage executable

Open a terminal and run:

chmod +x Eden-*.AppImage

Alternatively, right-click the file in your file manager → Properties → enable the executable permission.

Enable portable mode (optional)

To keep all Eden data (keys, firmware, saves, config) in the same directory as the AppImage, create a folder named user in the same directory before launching:

mkdir user

Launch Eden

Double-click the AppImage or run it from the terminal:

./Eden-*.AppImage

Wayland note

Wayland is not recommended due to worse performance and compatibility issues compared to X11. Force X11 mode by setting the following environment variable before launching Eden:

export QT_QPA_PLATFORM=xcb
./Eden-*.AppImage

Performance notes

AMD GPUs with RADV (Mesa) drivers provide the best and most stable experience on Linux.
Intel and Nvidia GPU support is more limited.
Linux consistently outperforms Windows on equivalent hardware for Eden, primarily due to better memory management.

Requirements

Android device with at least 8 GB of RAM
A Vulkan-capable GPU (Vulkan 1.1 minimum)
Android 16 is strongly recommended for the best Vulkan compatibility and performance

Eden is not currently available on the Google Play Store or F-Droid. Only install APKs from the official releases page.

GPU compatibility

GPU	Status
Adreno 6xx / 7xx (Snapdragon)	Best compatibility; Turnip drivers recommended
Mali-G715 (Tensor G4), Immortalis-G925	Good, especially on Android 16
Other Mali GPUs	Generally poor performance and compatibility
PowerVR (except DXT-48-1536)	Not supported
Xclipse (except Xclipse 950)	Not supported

Qualcomm Snapdragon SoCs are the most well-supported overall. Most budget phones with older MediaTek SoCs (pre-mid-2023) will not work.

Install steps

Download the Android APK

Go to git.eden-emu.dev/eden-emu/eden/releases and download the Android APK for your device architecture (typically arm64).

If you have an older Snapdragon SoC (such as the 865), look for a Legacy APK variant if available — it reduces performance but improves compatibility.

Allow installation from unknown sources

On Android, go to Settings → Apps → Special app access → Install unknown apps and enable it for your browser or file manager.

Install the APK

Open the downloaded APK file from your file manager or notification bar and follow the prompts to install it.

Launch Eden and add your files

Open Eden. Use the in-app menus to install your decryption keys, firmware, and game files as prompted.

Android performance tips

A phone cooler is strongly recommended — emulation generates significant heat, especially on Samsung-process SoCs.
NCE (Native Code Execution) is available on Android ARM64 and provides a large performance advantage over JIT. Enable it in settings when available.
“Stock” Adreno drivers generally offer better performance; Turnip drivers offer better compatibility. Try both to see what works best for your games.

Portable mode

On all platforms, Eden supports a portable mode that stores all configuration, keys, firmware, saves, and caches in a user folder next to the executable (or AppImage). This is useful for keeping Eden self-contained on a removable drive or in a specific directory. To enable portable mode, create an empty folder named user in the same directory as Eden.exe or the AppImage before launching Eden for the first time. Once detected, Eden will use that directory exclusively and ignore the system-wide configuration paths.

Default configuration paths

If you are not using portable mode, Eden stores its data in the following locations:

Platform	Path
Windows	`%AppData%\Roaming`
Linux, macOS, FreeBSD, Solaris, OpenBSD	`$XDG_DATA_HOME`, `$XDG_CACHE_HOME`, `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME`
Android	Stored internally
HaikuOS	`/boot/home/config/settings/eden`

Command line usage

Both frontends accept command line arguments for scripting or launcher integration.

eden (Qt GUI frontend)

Flag	Description
`<path>`	Launch the given game file directly (same as `-g`)
`-g <path>`	Specify the game file to load
`-f`	Start in fullscreen mode
`-u <number>`	Select the user index to load as
`-input-profile <name>`	Set the input profile for player 0 by name
`-qlaunch`	Launch the QLaunch system applet
`-setup`	Launch the setup applet

# Launch a game in fullscreen as user 0
eden -g "/path/to/game.nsp" -f -u 0

eden-cli (SDL2 CLI frontend)

Flag	Description
`--game/-g <path>`	Specify the game file to load
`--fullscreen/-f`	Start in fullscreen mode
`--debug/-d`	Enable debug mode and open GDB stub on port 1234
`--config/-c <path>`	Use an alternate configuration file
`--user/-u <number>`	Select the user index to load as
`--multiplayer/-m <opts>`	Set multiplayer options
`--program/-p <args>`	Pass arguments to the game program
`--input-profile/-i <name>`	Set the input profile for player 0 by name
`--version/-v`	Display version and exit
`--help/-h`	Display help and exit

# Launch a game via CLI in fullscreen
eden-cli --game "/path/to/game.nsp" --fullscreen

Getting Started

Configuration

Game Management

Multiplayer

Platforms & Troubleshooting

Download and install Eden on Windows, Linux, or Android

Release types

Platform-specific installation

Requirements

Install steps

Performance notes

Supported distributions

Install steps

Wayland note

Performance notes

Requirements

GPU compatibility

Install steps

Android performance tips

Portable mode

Default configuration paths

Command line usage

eden (Qt GUI frontend)

eden-cli (SDL2 CLI frontend)

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Getting Started

Configuration

Game Management

Multiplayer

Platforms & Troubleshooting

Documentation Index

​Release types

​Platform-specific installation

​Requirements

​Install steps

​Performance notes

​Supported distributions

​Install steps

​Wayland note

​Performance notes

​Requirements

​GPU compatibility

​Install steps

​Android performance tips

​Portable mode

​Default configuration paths

​Command line usage

​eden (Qt GUI frontend)

​eden-cli (SDL2 CLI frontend)

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Release types

Platform-specific installation

Requirements

Install steps

Performance notes

Supported distributions

Install steps

Wayland note

Performance notes

Requirements

GPU compatibility

Install steps

Android performance tips

Portable mode

Default configuration paths

Command line usage

eden (Qt GUI frontend)

eden-cli (SDL2 CLI frontend)