Twilight Sync

Your Twilight Princess adventure, across your desktop and handheld.

Keep your Dusklight saves in sync between two Windows PCs over your home network. Play offline, pick up on the other PC when you reconnect, and compare your progress before resolving a save conflict. No cloud account, subscription, or administrator access required.

Download for Windows · Report an issue · Technical guide

Windows 10/11 x64 | Encrypted LAN sync | Offline play | MIT licensed

The native Windows app, shown with example save and device data. Light and dark themes are included. No game assets or real save files are bundled.

Built for picking up where you left off

• Desktop to handheld: pair two PCs once and sync over your home network.
• No connection required to play: keep playing offline, then sync or compare your progress when both PCs are back online.
• See what you are choosing: compare hearts, play time, items, collectibles, and recorded milestones before replacing a save.
• Keep a way back: preserved branches and compact snapshots let you restore an earlier version. Different progress never silently picks a winner.

Install with one PowerShell command

Open PowerShell as your normal Windows user, not as administrator, and run:

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/false00/twilight-sync/main/install.ps1 | iex

Requirements: Windows 10/11 x64 (Intel/AMD), PowerShell 5.1 or newer, and a working graphics driver for the native dashboard. No Rust, Visual Studio, account, or administrator access is required for the downloaded app.

Windows PowerShell 5.1 and PowerShell 7 are both supported, including 32-bit PowerShell on x64 Windows handhelds such as the Legion Go.

The app is currently unsigned. Windows may show an unfamiliar-publisher warning, and some managed devices block unsigned apps. Only run the installer if you trust this repository; read it first or use the manual download instructions below.

Installer details, manual download, and Windows security

The installer:

• Downloads the latest stable release from this repository.
• Checks the published SHA-256 checksums and Windows x64 executable headers.
• Installs to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\TwilightSync.
• Adds a Twilight Sync Start-menu shortcut and opens the app.
• Leaves your saves, pairing keys, texture library, and existing startup preferences alone.

Remote install commands execute code as your user. Only run this command if you trust this repository. You can read the installer first, or use the manual download below. Checksums detect changed downloads; they are not a substitute for trusting the publisher.

Prefer a manual download?

1. Open the latest release.

2. Download twilight-sync-windows-x86_64.exe and SHA256SUMS.txt.

3. Compare the executable's hash with the matching checksum:

   Get-FileHash .\twilight-sync-windows-x86_64.exe -Algorithm SHA256

4. Keep the executable somewhere stable and open it. No installer or extra runtime download is required. License texts are embedded in the executable and available with --licenses; they are also readable in THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.txt.

The app is currently unsigned, so Windows may display an unfamiliar-publisher warning. Verify the source and checksum before deciding to run it. Twilight Sync does not disable SmartScreen, antivirus, or PowerShell security settings.

Application Control: some Windows policies block unsigned applications entirely, including with error 4551. A valid checksum does not satisfy a code-signing policy. Such devices need a build signed by a publisher trusted by their policy; do not replace a working installation with an unsigned build that your device cannot run. Twilight Sync does not bypass or change these controls.

Set up your first sync

Do these steps on both PCs:

1. Join the same home LAN and set its Windows network profile to Private.
2. Open Devices, check the displayed router information, and approve that network.
3. Open pairing on both PCs. On one PC only, choose the other device's Compare codes button. Compare the full code on both screens. Both devices must approve the matching code.
4. In Dusklight, locate dusklight.exe or use Install / update Dusklight. Configure the game with your own legally obtained disc dump.
5. Save setup is automatic. Sync finds Dusklight's standard save in its active profile and prepares a receiving PC when needed. There are no save-file or save-folder pickers.
6. If progress differs, compare the save branches. Choose a complete save to keep, or choose Keep both; play this PC and reconcile later. Replacing the partner's save still requires their approval.
7. Use Play Dusklight, including when the other PC is offline. Local progress is retained and synced or compared when you reconnect. Matching online saves still use the coordinated play lock.

Installing or updating Dusklight through the app also creates or refreshes Dusklight (Twilight Sync) on your Windows desktop. It opens the manager's Play controls, reusing the running manager if necessary; it never launches the game directly or bypasses local save, process, and profile checks. Unrelated or independently modified shortcuts are not overwritten.

If Windows Firewall asks, allow the app on Private networks only. Guest Wi-Fi isolation, routed VLANs, and blocked local VPN traffic may prevent discovery. The app does not open router ports or create public firewall rules.

Closing the window keeps the app in the system tray. Double-click its moon icon to reopen it. Use the tray's Quit action after stopping the game.

Startup is enabled by default on the first normal launch. Turn it off in Settings or the tray menu if you prefer. The installer does not override a startup preference you already changed.

Windows appearance

The dashboard follows your Windows light/dark setting by default. Choose Settings > Appearance to use Windows, Light, or Dark; the choice is saved locally without changing game or pairing settings. Window chrome follows the chosen theme too.

The interface uses installed Windows Segoe UI fonts and system icons, with compact navigation for smaller windows and high-DPI handheld displays. Windows font files are loaded from the operating system, not bundled or redistributed.

Compare progress, not just file dates

Played on both PCs since the last sync? See both branches side by side, with their actual quest progress. Choose a complete save explicitly, or keep both and play the local branch. Replacing your partner's save requires their consent.

No default winner, no last-writer-wins, and no splicing quest flags into a hybrid save. All three quest slots travel together. Both PCs need v0.9.0 or newer for the preview and reconciliation workflow.

Also included

Tool	What it does
Encrypted LAN sync	Noise encryption, router approval, and pinned device identities; no save-cloud account.
Texture library	Import authorized Henriko or TP Definitive Edition+ archives and switch installed packs.
Dusklight installer	Verified, side-by-side official game-program updates that preserve your profile and saves.
App updates	Optional version checks; downloading and installing always require confirmation.
ISO / RVZ transfer	Separately approved transfers of verified disc images you own; RVZ stays compressed.

Texture packs and disc-image transfer

Textures

Open Texture packs, choose the project, confirm permission to use its assets, and select Install ZIP. Use the complete archive; no manual extraction, variant-folder selection, or config.json picker is needed. Installation also activates the pack in Dusklight's automatically detected profile.

Stop Dusklight on both devices before applying packs. Direct downloads are paused until accessible creator sources are available; archives you already have can be installed directly.

Creator accounts and access controls stay with the creator; the app does not scrape logins, bypass access controls, or rehost texture assets. Nintendo-derived HD assets require your own authorization and are not bundled with this app.

Texture installation, switching, and recovery details

Your disc image

Open Dusklight and choose your own .iso or .rvz file. Enable disc-image transfers on both devices, then Offer verified disc image. Your partner approves the transfer and chooses a new destination; existing images are never overwritten.

Both managers need v0.5.0 or later to transfer RVZ. Lossless RVZ images are checked against the same original-disc catalog as ISOs, without writing an expanded ISO. Scrubbed or modified images that cannot reproduce an approved original disc are rejected.

Follow your save history

Open Save history to browse and restore earlier valid saves. Unchanged blocks are reused rather than copied for every revision. Oldest commits are pruned when the managed store reaches 64 MiB; filesystem allocation overhead, textures, and game installations are separate.

The timeline connects local and preserved partner branches. Each snapshot shows decoded progress and gains/losses since its parent. The comparison prompt shows both versions, changes since the retained common save when available, and an explicit branch selection with no default winner. All three quest slots travel together; inventory and story flags are never spliced into an unsafe hybrid save. Save clocks are informational, not proof that one branch is preferable. Both PCs need this build for the read-only preview and reconciliation workflow.

In one 100-revision synthetic test, history used 571,527 bytes rather than 3,283,200 bytes: 82.6% less managed storage. This is a fixture-specific result, not a guaranteed compression ratio.

Snapshot format, retention, migration, and restore details

Update Twilight Sync

Twilight Sync checks this repository's stable GitHub releases shortly after startup and every six hours by default. Turn Automatically check app updates off in the tray or Settings to opt out. Manual checks remain available.

When a newer version exists, the tray shows Update Twilight Sync to v...:

1. Stop both games and finish any save/disc-image/texture work.
2. Choose the update action and confirm the version/download size.
3. The app checks the published SHA-256 digest and checksum list, stages a verified native helper, and waits for its readiness acknowledgement.
4. Twilight Sync shuts down cleanly. The helper waits for that exact process to exit, replaces the executable, preserves the installer receipt when present, and restarts the app in the tray.

Version checks do not download or install updates. Installation always requires your approval. Update-check errors are shown separately and do not disable LAN save syncing. Game state, pairing, snapshots, textures, and startup preferences remain under %USERPROFILE%\.twilight-sync unchanged.

There is no forced process termination or elevation. If a file changes, is in use, or fails validation, the update is refused. Native handoff tests cover waiting for a running app, rollback, and receipt preservation. Failed updates retain their private logs/backups under .twilight-sync\updates for review. Portable builds update their existing executable path; the PowerShell installer continues to manage its normal per-user location.

Manual updates, installation options, and recovery

For versions that predate tray updates, stop Dusklight, quit Twilight Sync from its tray menu, then rerun the one-line command.

The installer will not forcibly stop an app or overwrite an unrelated or modified executable. Reinstalling an unchanged release does not open a duplicate instance. If an upgrade is interrupted, preserve any .install-* recovery folder until you have checked its previous files.

For a specific release, or to install without opening the app, download and review install.ps1, then run:

.\install.ps1 -Version v0.9.0 -NoLaunch

Optional parameters:

Parameter	Purpose
-Version v0.9.0	Install a specific published stable release
-InstallDirectory 'D:\Apps\TwilightSync'	Choose a local per-user installation folder
-NoLaunch	Do not open the app after installation
-NoShortcut	Do not create or update a Start-menu shortcut

Important limits

This is an early release, not an independently audited security product. Start with copies of your saves.

• Windows x64 is the initial downloadable platform; macOS/Linux desktop builds and native Windows ARM64 releases are not currently published.
• One trusted partner per device; no multi-device mesh or Internet save relay.
• GCI folders and raw memory cards are supported. Only the validated Twilight Princess save is transferred; other card contents stay local. Mod scripts, save archives, and whole-directory transfers are not supported.
• Router fingerprints are spoofable policy checks, not proof of physical proximity. Pairing and pinned keys are separate security layers.
• File validation cannot prove the absence of every game-engine exploit.
• Exclusive play protects launches through this manager. Direct or renamed game executables and compromised hosts can bypass cooperative enforcement.
• Online coordination is optional; offline or independent branch play cannot guarantee exclusivity across PCs. Offline recovery requires local confirmation that the game is stopped; divergent saves still require reconciliation later.

Protocol, threat model, file checks, and diagnostics

Privacy and uninstalling

There is no save-cloud account or telemetry. Automatic app-update checks use the Internet for public GitHub release metadata only and can be disabled. Binary downloads, game-program updates, and creator pages still require your action; save traffic stays within the app's approved-LAN policy.

Local logs and snapshot metadata include usernames, file paths, hashes, and security decisions. Treat %USERPROFILE%\.twilight-sync as private and redact logs before posting them in issues. Save snapshots are not encrypted at rest.

To uninstall:

1. Stop the game, resolve any outstanding play lock, and disable Start with Windows.
2. Quit Twilight Sync from the tray.
3. Remove its Start-menu shortcut and %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\TwilightSync folder (or the custom folder you chose).
4. Keep %USERPROFILE%\.twilight-sync if you want your history and settings; remove it deliberately only after preserving anything you need.

Build or contribute

Source builds require Rust 1.95+ with the MSVC toolchain and the Visual Studio C++ Build Tools/Windows SDK.

git clone https://github.com/false00/twilight-sync.git
Set-Location twilight-sync
cargo test --all-targets --locked
cargo clippy --all-targets --locked -- -D warnings
cargo build --release --locked

The Windows x64 release statically links the C runtime. The repository includes installer tests, Windows CI, and a tag-triggered release workflow.

Development and release notes · MIT license · Third-party notices

Twilight Sync is an independent companion, not affiliated with or endorsed by Nintendo or TwilitRealm. No copyrighted game assets, disc images, saves, or third-party texture packs are included.