Zycord: a Windows launcher for Discord desktop-play quests

What it does

Discord quests of the desktop-play type ask you to play a game for a set time. Discord decides whether the game is running by matching running processes against its public detectable list. Zycord starts a process with the expected executable name in a plausible folder, so Discord treats the game as running while the game itself stays closed.

The launcher is one folder with no installer, no background service, no account and no server. It does not run the game, and it does not pretend to.

Features

Catalog

10,465 games and 11,171 executable entries, generated from Discord's public detectable list and shipped with the application. Search by name, alias or theme.

Sessions

Starts one process per game, tracked by process id, with a live timer and an optional auto stop.

Library and favourites

Saves the game and executable you chose, so the next session is one click, and marks games for quick access.

History and logs

Records each session with its start, stop, duration and end reason. One log file per day, with session ids and errors.

Safe stop

Stopping confirms the process still points at the file Zycord created before terminating it, so a real game with the same name is never touched.

Storage view

Shows how much the prepared game files use and clears them on demand.

How a session runs

Choose a game and an executable in the Games tab. Zycord refuses absolute paths, drive letters, .. and anything Windows does not start as a program.
Zycord copies a stub of about 36 KB to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Zycord\games\<app_id>\<relative exe path> and starts it.
Discord matches the process against its detectable list and treats the game as running.
A typical quest needs about 15 minutes. Leave the session running, then stop it.

What it does not do

The stub contains no game code and no network code, and it never contacts Discord. The launcher's interface makes one network request, for game icons from Discord's CDN, and the game catalog ships with the application so it never depends on a server. A custom game whose invented file name is not on Discord's list runs but never appears as activity, and the dialog says so before you add it.

Before you use it. This is not a use Discord has documented or endorsed. Quest progress gained this way can be removed, and accounts can be actioned. Zycord exists because the mechanism is simple and other tools in this space are unreliable. It does not make the practice safe.

Read the project terms before you start a session.

Install

Download Zycord-1.1.5.zip from the releases page.
Extract it to a folder you can write to.
Run Zycord.exe. If Windows shows a SmartScreen warning, choose More info and then Run anyway. The executable is not signed.

Zycord