Exporting your game

Play runs your game from the editor. Exporting makes the game on its own: a program (or a web page) you can give to players, upload to itch.io, or put on a USB stick. They don’t need the editor, or anything else, to run it.

• Exporting, step by step
• The targets
• Each target’s settings
• What each target makes
• Which computer can export what
• Web exports
• Where exports go
• Exporting from the command line
• Project archives are something else
• Questions

Exporting, step by step

1. File > Project Settings…, then the Export tab.
2. On the left, tick the targets you want (Linux x86_64, Web…). Click a target’s name to see its settings on the right.
3. Change any settings (the defaults are fine to start with).
4. Press Export beside the target’s name to export that one, or Apply, then File > Export… (Ctrl+Shift+E) to export every ticked target.

What happens:

• The project is saved first (scripts too), so the export is what you see.
• Each target is built in turn. The Output tab shows every step and what the tools print; the Console says “Exported … to …” for each one that worked, or why it failed. A failed target doesn’t stop the others.
• You can keep working, and even Play, while it exports. Cancel Export (beside Export, while one runs) stops it.

File > Export with no target ticked opens the Export tab to choose some.

The targets

The Export tab lists every target, grouped:

Group	Targets	Can export now?
Desktop	Linux x86_64, Linux ARM64, Windows x86_64, Windows ARM64, macOS x86_64, macOS ARM64	Yes (see which computer)
Web	Web (WebAssembly)	Yes, from any computer
Store	Steam	Not yet
Console	PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch	Not yet (they need the console makers’ licensed tools)

A target this computer can’t export shows “(not implemented)” after its name, and its settings say why. x86_64 is most PCs and older Macs; ARM64 is Apple Silicon Macs (M1 and later), and some Windows and Linux laptops.

Under the target’s name, a line says whether it’s ready (“Ready to export from this machine.”) or what it needs.

Each target’s settings

Setting	Targets	What it does
Output folder	All	Where the export goes: a folder inside the project (like export/linux) or anywhere else (a full path). Empty: export/<target> in the project, like export/linux_x64
Executable	Desktop	The game program’s name. Empty: the project’s name
Page title	Web	The browser tab’s title. Empty: the project’s name
Optimize	Desktop, Web	Builds a faster game; the build takes longer. On by default: leave it on for games you give out
Bundle libraries	Desktop	Puts the SDL3 libraries beside the game, so players don’t need them installed. Only needed when the engine’s SDL isn’t built into games (Settings > Toolchain, “Static SDL”)
Single file	Linux, Windows	Puts the project’s scenes and assets inside the game program: the game is one file. Off: they go in a data/ folder beside it. On by default
Hide console	Windows	No black console window beside the game
Bundle ID	macOS	The app’s identifier, like com.example.mygame. Empty: io.crossfire.<name>
Archive	All	Also packs the export into one file beside its folder, ready to upload: .tar.gz (Linux, macOS) or .zip (Windows, Web)

The settings are saved with the project, in export.ini beside project.xml (only once you change something). Changing them is a step you can undo.

What each target makes

Target	What’s in the output folder
Linux	The game program (named after Executable). With Single file off, a data/ folder beside it; without the static SDL, a lib/ folder with SDL’s libraries
Windows	<name>.exe. With Single file off, data/ beside it; without the static SDL, SDL’s DLLs beside it
macOS	<name>.app, an app players double-click. The project’s files are inside it (Contents/Resources/data), whatever Single file says
Web	index.html, index.js, index.wasm and index.data: the page, its code, the game and its files

Players run the game from the folder (or the single file). Development-only settings are off in exports: collision shapes (Project Settings > General > Show shapes) never show.

A Linux game runs on Linux systems as new as the one it was built on, or newer. Games made with the prebuilt players from a release (below) run on Linux from about 2020 on.

Which computer can export what

Desktop games are compiled: turned into a program by the Odin compiler. A compiler makes programs for the computer it runs on, so:

• A project with scripts (.odin files in scripts/) exports for desktop only on that system: a Windows game on Windows, a macOS game on a Mac, a Linux game on Linux. It needs the Odin compiler and a linker (see Settings and the toolchain).
• A project without scripts needs no compiling: the editor copies a ready-made game program, the prebuilt player, and puts the project in it. Released editors carry prebuilt players for Linux x86_64, Windows x86_64 and macOS ARM64, so they export those three from any of them, with nothing to install.
• Web exports work from every computer. They always compile, so they need Odin, scripts or not, and Emscripten (below).

macOS games are signed (an ad hoc signature, which Apple Silicon Macs require) when exported on a Mac. To give a macOS game to other people without warnings, it needs Apple’s signing and notarization, which the editor doesn’t do yet.

Web exports

A web export runs in a browser: put it on a website, or upload it to itch.io as an HTML game.

Emscripten turns the game into something browsers run. The first web export installs it (about 1 GB, once; it needs Python on your computer): the Console says “The web export needs Emscripten: installing it first (the export runs after)”, and the export runs when it’s done. You can also install it ahead of time with Edit > Settings > Toolchain > Install Emscripten.

Testing it: a web game can’t be opened by double-clicking index.html (browsers don’t let a page load its files from your disk). Serve the folder instead. With Python, in a terminal:

cd MyGame/export/web
python3 -m http.server

then open http://localhost:8000 in a browser. The game fills the window, keeping its shape.

For itch.io: tick Archive; upload the .zip beside the output folder as an HTML game.

Things to know:

• Sound starts after the player’s first click or key press. Browsers don’t let pages play sound before that. Start your game on a title screen that waits for a key.
• Images must be PNG or BMP on the web. Other formats (JPEG, WebP…) show in desktop games but not in browsers.
• The renderer is always WebGL, whatever Project Settings > General > Renderer says.

Where exports go

By default, into the project’s export/ folder: export/linux_x64, export/windows_x64, export/web… An archive goes beside its folder (export/web.zip).

The export/ folder isn’t part of the project: Save Project As, project archives and Git leave it out. You can delete it any time; exporting makes it again.

The Output folder can’t be the project folder itself, or inside its scenes/, assets/ or scripts/ folders: the export says so.

Exporting from the command line

The editor can export without opening its window, for scripts and automatic builds:

crossfire-editor path/to/MyGame --export Linux_x64

The target is one of Linux_x64, Linux_ARM64, Windows_x64, Windows_ARM64, macOS_x64, macOS_ARM64 or Web. It uses the project’s export settings (export.ini), prints each step and what the tools print, and exits with 0 when the export worked, 1 when it didn’t (with the reason). A web export installs Emscripten first when it’s missing.

Add --settings path/to/editor.ini to use particular editor settings (the Odin compiler’s path, for example).

Project archives are something else

An export is the game, for players. A project archive (File > Export Project Archive…, an .odinsdl file) is the project, for someone who’ll open it in the editor. See Projects.

Questions

It says “No Odin compiler to build the game with”. The project has scripts (or it’s a web export), so the game has to be compiled. Install Odin with Edit > Settings > Toolchain > Install Odin, or set the path to yours there.

A project with scripts won’t export for Windows from my Linux computer. Games with scripts are compiled on the system they’re for. Export that target on a Windows computer (copy the project there, or use a project archive).

The exported game says it can’t find SDL3, or a library. Tick Bundle libraries, or build the engine’s static SDL so the game carries SDL inside it (Settings > Toolchain shows “Static SDL”).

The web page is black, or says it can’t load. Serve the folder over HTTP (see Testing it); opening index.html from your disk doesn’t work.

The web game has no sound. Click in the page, or press a key: browsers start sound only then.

An image is missing in the web version. It’s not a PNG or BMP. Convert it to PNG and choose it again.

Windows warns about the game when players open it. Windows (SmartScreen) and macOS (Gatekeeper) warn about programs that aren’t signed with a paid certificate. Players can still run it (Windows: More info > Run anyway; macOS: right-click > Open).