LANCommander – Self-Hosted Game Distribution for LAN Parties

TL;DR

TL;DR: LANCommander is an open-source, self-hosted game distribution platform that lets you host a private game library on your local network — no internet connection required.

What Is LANCommander?

LANCommander is an open-source digital game distribution platform built for LAN parties and closed networks. The project’s own README describes it as:

“Self-hosted game distribution - no internet required.”

It has two main components:

• Server — a web-based administration dashboard (ASP.NET Blazor) that manages games, users, and file distribution over HTTP
• Launcher — a polished desktop client (Windows, Linux, macOS) where players browse the library, download games, and launch them

Games are packaged into archives and uploaded to the server. The launcher handles auto-discovery of servers on the network via UDP beacon, metadata lookup from IGDB and SteamGridDB, download queuing, and cloud save management.

Setup Workflow

Step 1: Deploy the Server via Docker

The fastest path is the official Docker image on Docker Hub:

services:
  lancommander:
    image: lancommander/lancommander:latest
    container_name: lancommander
    environment:
      - PUID=1000
      - PGID=1000
      - TZ=Etc/UTC
      # Optional: enable SteamCMD for Steam game packaging
      # - STEAMCMD=1
      # Optional: enable WINE for Windows game support on Linux
      # - WINE=1
    volumes:
      - /path/to/app/data:/app/Data
    ports:
      - 1337:1337/tcp   # Web interface
      - 35891:35891/udp # UDP beacon for auto-discovery
      - 213:213/udp     # IPX relay
    restart: unless-stopped

All config and uploaded game archives are stored under /app/Data inside the container.

Step 2: Download the Launcher

Download the latest release for your OS from the Releases page:

| Component | Windows | Linux | macOS | |-----------|---------|-------|-------| | Server | x64, arm64 | x64, arm64 | x64, arm64 | | Launcher | x64, arm64 | x64, arm64 | x64, arm64 | | Packager | x86 | — | — |

The server is a self-contained binary with no external dependencies beyond a supported OS.

Step 3: Package Your First Game

The Packager tool (Windows only) provides a step-by-step wizard for creating game packages:

1. Run the Packager and point it at a game’s install directory
2. The wizard captures registry entries and monitors the installer
3. Auto-lookup metadata from IGDB
4. Upload the resulting archive directly to your LANCommander server

For Linux/macOS servers, games can be uploaded via the web dashboard or the .NET SDK (published on NuGet as LANCommander.SDK).

Step 4: Connect Clients

Launch the desktop client on any machine on the same network. The client auto-discovers servers via UDP broadcast — no manual IP entry required. Players browse the depot, download games, and launch from the launcher. All downloads are served over standard HTTP routes (/api/Games/{id}/Download), making the setup compatible with reverse proxies and LAN caching solutions for large parties.

Platform Support

The launcher is primarily tested on Windows. Linux and macOS builds are provided but may have limited functionality. The Docker image runs the Linux server build, so server management features may be limited in containerized deployments.

FAQ

Q: Where do I get games? LANCommander is a management and distribution platform — it does not bundle any games. The best candidates are portable, DRM-free, freeware, shareware, or abandonware titles. The community Discord shares pre-packaged freeware games.

Q: Does it work over the internet, not just LAN? Yes, technically — the server runs over HTTP and can be exposed via a reverse proxy. However, it was designed for local networks. Remote play support (peer-to-peer, built-in VPN) is on the roadmap.

Q: What is the license? MIT, as verified in the LICENSE file on GitHub.

Q: Can I contribute or extend it? Yes. The project has a published .NET SDK on NuGet for building custom clients and tools. See CONTRIBUTING.md for build instructions.

Source and Accuracy Notes

• Project page: lancommander.app
• Source repository: github.com/LANCommander/LANCommander
• License: MIT (verified via GitHub API license.spdx_id)
• Latest release: v2.1.10 (verified via GitHub Releases API, 2026-08-12)
• Stars: 448 (GitHub API, 2026-08-21)
• HN launch: not confirmed — unable to locate a dedicated HN launch thread for this project
• Source last checked: 2026-08-21 (commit a3f7d1e)