Game Adapter SDK

What is a game adapter?

An adapter declares game-specific facts: installation identity, executable allowlists, settings, launch arguments, ports, firewall requirements, evidence sources, presentation and approved save-data rules. It is not an executable plugin.

Keldrin’s Service remains authoritative for process identity, permission checks, secrets, file transactions, recovery and client projections. The Keldrin app, Local Web, Remote Portal and Discord consume the resolved installed contract. A newer Gallery entry does not replace that runtime identity automatically.

What can JSON change?

Within existing supported mechanisms, adapters can describe settings mappings, ports and conditions, bounded probes, output capture, player-event sources, artwork and compatible save declarations. Schema and semantic constraints still apply to every combination.

Some save formats, first-run initializers, credential transformations and evidence providers remain reviewed, game-specific host code. Selecting their names in JSON does not make them generic or grant another game permission to use them.

Access and requirements

The 0.9.111 Developer Preview download includes the CLI, SDK/Core source, three versioned examples, fixtures and a six-command runner. Use the exact package and example versions together.

The developer-test tooling was checked on Windows x64 with .NET 10. A prebuilt framework-dependent CLI needs the .NET 10 runtime; building a trusted source checkout additionally needs the .NET 10 SDK. Those requirements do not imply that a public SDK package or cross-platform Keldrin host is available.

The frozen SDK 0.9.108 snapshot is historical. Host .110 introduced direct file output; .111 adds conservative player-event ambiguity handling. Those fields do not exist in .108. Always choose the intended host version explicitly when using a command that accepts --host-version. Rebuilding the SDK does not retarget a package.

Public Keldrin host at this review: 0.9.111. The example compatibility table states the exact targets; older hosts do not gain new vocabulary from a package. Offline authoring checks are separate from installing an adapter on a matching host.

Existing Terraria installations

Running the offline SDK checks does not require an app update. Updating Keldrin does not automatically migrate installed adapter identities: an older Terraria package whose host bounds have expired can become recovery-held.

Where required, install the approved compatibility adapter that preserves the game’s runtime contract while the old host is still compatible, then update the app, then explicitly update Terraria. Follow the matched release instructions; do not edit signed bounds or bypass recovery guards. A first Terraria installation on a matching .111 host follows the normal installation path.

Download and quickstart

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Extract the ZIP to a new folder. Follow its README and Run-Quickstart.ps1 using the .NET 10 runtime and PowerShell 7. Building included source also needs the .NET 10 SDK. The runner performs offline SDK checks; it does not install or launch a game. Use host 0.9.111 for the bundled version-specific examples.

pwsh -NoProfile -File ./Test-BundleManifest.ps1
pwsh -NoProfile -File ./Run-Quickstart.ps1 -OutputDirectory ../sdk111-reports

Run these from the extracted folder and choose a fresh report directory. Forty synthetic Setup cases are not forty game-operation acceptance tests.

SDK license and package contents

The MIT License covers Keldrin-authored SDK code, documentation and JSON examples, plus the Keldrin.Core source/library distributed with this SDK. It does not declare the entire Keldrin app MIT-licensed. The package includes its full LICENSE and LICENSING.md notices.

Vendor artwork, dedicated-server executables and the Microsoft .NET runtime are not bundled or relicensed. Some exact examples retain metadata for omitted artwork; lint and synthetic Setup replay do not prove those assets are available. Before submission, supply assets you can distribute, update their declarations and rebind the fixture/evidence hashes. The signed verification sample is a Keldrin-authored JSON-only archive.

MIT licensing does not supply production signing keys, make an adapter trusted or certify a running game. Terraria’s player-event ambiguity policy remains separate from SDK tooling checks.

Authoring to acceptance

1. Research the game’s actual distribution, settings, lifecycle, ports, logs and saved-world layout.
2. Select existing supported mechanisms and author separate JSON with accurate host compatibility bounds.
3. Check structure, semantic rules and exact-input Setup fixtures. Canonicalization changes the bytes and requires new digest bindings.
4. Submit the payload, declared assets and scoped evidence for maintainer review. No signing keys are supplied.
5. Verify the reviewed signed archive and compatible catalog, then complete the applicable game-operation evidence before an authorized release.

Continue with authoring and examples ↗

Found a documentation issue? Tell us through Feedback. Do not include credentials or private game data.