Alternative Dalamud Launchers Guide

Why Use Alternative Launchers?

If you're using more than one account, you may be dealing with:

Having to manually change login credentials in the default launcher
Different plugin configurations for each account
Manually enabling/disabling plugins when switching accounts
Triggering plugin collections or managing conflicts

Solution

Create secondary launchers that use separate plugin directories for each alt account. This keeps your main and alt accounts completely isolated with their own plugin configurations.

Disclaimer

Each alt launcher needs its own plugin maintenance. When you update plugins on your main launcher, you'll need to repeat the update process for your alt launchers since they use separate directories.

Step-by-Step Setup Guide

Step 1: Check Current Launcher

Your current Dalamud launcher shortcut on your desktop -- Right click > Properties

Step 1 Results: Should give something along the lines of -- C:\Users\Administrator (might have your name instead of admin)

Step 2: Verify User Profile Directory

Hit your Windows button + R to open Run, or just open Run.exe -- Enter %USERPROFILE%

Step 2 Results: This brings you to a folder, click a folder inside this and confirm the directory. If you're in the above referenced user/admin/desktop for example, or your name (ie:C:\Users\Administrator\Desktop). If the same admin or name is showing from Step 1 results, great! If not and only if not, you will be copying the Drive:\User\XXXXX referenced in Step 1 results.. No one should be doing this if things are installed defaultly.

Step 3: Create AltData Folder

Inside "%USERPROFILE%" or your C:\Users\Administrator folder, create a new folder and name it "AltData" -- Your new folder directory should be -- C:\Users\Administrator\AltData (or whatever your name is)

C:\Users\{YourUsername}\AltData

Step 4: Create Account Folders

Inside your new AltData folder, create a new folder for each secondary account. If you have two accounts total, create one folder. If you have three accounts, create two folders, etc. Name them whatever you want.

                    Example of having 3 total accounts and using 2 alt launchers:

                    C:\Users\{YourUsername}\AltData\Alt1

                    C:\Users\{YourUsername}\AltData\Alt2

Step 5: Create Batch File

While still inside your AltData folder, on top of your folder browser, click View > [checkmark] File Name Extensions. Now create a new text document and rename "New Text Document.txt" to "Alt1.bat" and select okay to change the file type. The .bat name doesn't have to be the same name as the folder, just easy if you have multiple, but you must have .bat at the end of the file name.

Step 6: Edit Batch File

Right click and Edit the file and add the following text: (change AltData\Alt1 to your folder name from Step 4)

Updated Method (Current):

start "" /d "%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\XIVLauncher\current" "%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\XIVLauncher\current\XIVLauncher.exe" --roamingPath="%USERPROFILE%\AltData\Alt1"
                        

Original Method (From Text File) - OLD METHOD, MAY NEED UPDATED

start "" /d "%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\XIVLauncher" "%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\XIVLauncher\XIVLauncher.exe" --roamingPath="%USERPROFILE%\AltData\account"
                        

Key Change

Add \current to both the working directory and executable path. This reflects the updated XIVLauncher structure.

Step 7: Create Desktop Shortcut

Create a shortcut of the .bat file on your desktop for easy access.

* Repeat Steps 4-7 for additional accounts.

Step 8: Choose Setup Method

You can accept this as the end of setup and run Dalamud fresh, or continue to copy existing configurations:

Step 9: Copy Existing Configuration

Open Run and enter %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\XIVLauncher, then copy the following:

WARNING: File Duplication Risk

COPYING FILES WILL CAUSE CHARACTER DUPLICATIONS - COPY THE CORRECT FILES

Folders: installedPlugins, pluginConfigs
Files: accountsList, dalamudConfig, dalamudUI, launcherConfigV3
                    

Step 10: Paste Configuration

Open Run and enter %USERPROFILE%\AltData, then open the account folders you created in Step 4 and paste the copied contents.

Usage

Main Account:

Use the default Dalamud launcher on your desktop

Alt Account:

Use the .bat launcher you created on your desktop

Note: When you log into your alt launcher for the first time, it may have previous account info. Simply enter your alt account credentials and you won't need to do this again for that launcher.

Tips and Best Practices

Organization

• Use descriptive names for batch files
• Keep all alt launchers in one folder
• Document which launcher is for which account
• Use consistent naming conventions

Maintenance

• Update plugins on each launcher separately
• Keep a backup of each launcher directory
• Test each launcher after updates
• Sync plugin versions across accounts when needed

Security Note

Each launcher stores its own login credentials. Make sure to secure your batch files and launcher directories if sharing your computer.