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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

General

What is Orbiit?

Orbiit is a modern game library manager for Wii, GameCube, Wii U, and retro console backups. It helps you organize, discover, and download game files with a beautiful, high-performance interface.

Is Orbiit free?

Yes! Orbiit is completely free and open source under the MIT license.

Is Orbiit safe to use?

Absolutely. Orbiit is open source, contains no telemetry, and all operations are performed locally on your machine. We never collect any personal data.

Does Orbiit include ROMs/ISOs?

No. Orbiit is just a manager and downloader. You must provide your own legally obtained game backups. Orbiit helps you organize and download from legal sources like Myrient (preservation projects).

Installation

What are the system requirements?

  • OS: Windows 10/11 (64-bit)
  • RAM: 4GB minimum, 8GB recommended
  • Storage: 500MB for Orbiit + space for your game library
  • GPU: Any modern GPU with DirectX 11 support

Do I need Flutter installed?

No, if you're using the prebuilt release. Flutter is only needed if building from source.

Why won't Orbiit start?

Common fixes:

  1. Install Visual C++ Redistributable
  2. Update Windows to the latest version
  3. Check antivirus isn't blocking it
  4. Run as administrator

Can I run Orbiit on macOS or Linux?

Not yet, but it's on the roadmap! Currently Windows-only.

Features

What game formats are supported?

  • Wii: .wbfs, .iso, .rvz, .wia
  • GameCube: .iso, .rvz, .gcm
  • Wii U: .wux, .wud
  • Retro: Various formats via Libretro cores

Can Orbiit play games?

No. Orbiit is a library manager. To play games, use:

  • Dolphin: For Wii/GameCube emulation
  • Cemu: For Wii U emulation
  • USB Loader GX: For real Wii hardware

Where does Orbiit download games from?

  • Myrient: Redump-verified dumps (highest quality)
  • Archive.org: Large preservation library
  • Vimm's Lair: Curated popular titles

All sources provide legal game preservation archives.

Can I use my own game files?

Yes! Orbiit scans any folder you point it to. It works great with existing libraries.

Does Orbiit modify my game files?

Not unless you explicitly use conversion tools. Scanning and library management only reads metadata—it never modifies your files.

Usage

How do I add games to my library?

  1. Click "Add Folder" or go to Settings > Drive Setup
  2. Select the folder containing your games
  3. Orbiit will scan and detect all supported games
  4. Games appear in your library automatically

Why aren't all my games detected?

Possible reasons:

  • Unsupported file format
  • Corrupted file headers
  • Files in nested archives (.zip, .7z)
  • Wrong file extension

Try extracting archives first, then rescan.

How do I get cover art?

Orbiit fetches covers automatically from GameTDB, IGDB, and other sources. If a cover is missing:

  1. Right-click the game
  2. Select "Refresh Metadata"
  3. Or manually download and place in the covers folder

Can I organize games into collections?

Yes! Use folders to organize, or create custom views with filters. Full collection management is coming in v1.1.

How do I download a game?

  1. Go to the Store tab
  2. Search for your game
  3. Click Download
  4. Choose format and destination
  5. Monitor progress in the downloads panel

Technical

What's the forge_core library?

forge_core is Orbiit's native C++ engine that handles:

  • Fast file scanning
  • Format conversion
  • Checksum verification
  • Download management

It's what makes Orbiit faster than pure Dart alternatives.

Why is scanning slow on my external drive?

  • USB 2.0: Upgrade to USB 3.0+ for 10x speed
  • Too many files: Large libraries take time
  • Virus scanner: Temporarily disable real-time scanning
  • HDD: SSDs are much faster for scanning

How much memory does Orbiit use?

  • Idle: ~100-200MB
  • Scanning: ~300-500MB
  • Downloading: ~200-400MB

Large libraries (1000+ games) may use more for caching.

Can I run multiple instances?

Not recommended. Multiple instances may conflict when accessing the database. Use one instance with multiple windows instead.

Does Orbiit work offline?

Yes! Library management, scanning, and local operations work offline. Only online features (downloads, metadata fetching) require internet.

Troubleshooting

Downloads are slow or fail

  1. Check your internet connection
  2. Try a different source (Myrient vs Archive.org)
  3. Restart the download
  4. Check available disk space
  5. Temporarily disable VPN

Orbiit crashed

  1. Check the logs in %APPDATA%/Orbiit/logs
  2. Report the crash on GitHub Issues
  3. Include error logs and steps to reproduce

Cover art won't load

  1. Check internet connection
  2. Clear cache: Settings > Advanced > Clear Cache
  3. Try "Refresh Metadata" on the game
  4. Some obscure games may not have covers available

Library scan finds nothing

  1. Verify files are in supported formats
  2. Check file permissions (Orbiit needs read access)
  3. Try scanning a single file to test
  4. Enable debug logging in Settings

Legal

Is downloading ROMs legal?

Gray area. Laws vary by country. General guidelines:

  • Legal: Backups of games you own
  • Legal: Abandoned/preservation projects (varies)
  • Illegal: Downloading games you don't own

We're not lawyers. Research your local laws.

Can I distribute Orbiit?

Yes! It's MIT licensed. You can:

  • Share the program freely
  • Modify and redistribute
  • Use in commercial projects (with attribution)
  • Create your own forks

Can I use Orbiit for commercial purposes?

Yes, under MIT license. Attribution required.

Contributing

How can I help?

  • Report bugs
  • Suggest features
  • Contribute code
  • Improve documentation
  • Translate to other languages
  • Share with friends!

See CONTRIBUTING.md for details.

I'm not a programmer. Can I still help?

Yes! We need:

  • Documentation writers
  • UI/UX designers
  • Translators
  • Testers
  • Community moderators

How do I report a bug?

  1. Check if it's already reported on GitHub Issues
  2. If not, create a new issue with:
    • Clear description
    • Steps to reproduce
    • Screenshots/logs
    • System info

Use the bug report template.

Updates

How do I update Orbiit?

Currently manual:

  1. Download latest release
  2. Extract to same location (overwrite)
  3. Restart Orbiit

Auto-update coming in v1.1!

How often are updates released?

  • Bug fixes: As needed
  • Minor versions: Monthly
  • Major versions: Quarterly

Will my data be safe after updates?

Yes. We maintain backward compatibility. Your library data, settings, and cache are preserved.

Still have questions?

Last Updated: February 2026