Importing Games

Aurora imports RPG Maker games from standard archive files, straight from the Files app.

Aurora imports ZIP, 7z, RAR, the TAR family (.tar/.tar.gz/.tgz/.bz2), and APK/IPA archives — see File Formats for the full table and folder layouts.

1. Open Aurora and tap the Import button in the library
2. Browse to your game archive using the system file picker
3. Select the file and wait for extraction to complete

You can also open an archive directly with Aurora from the Files app (or any other app’s share sheet). Archives stored in iCloud Drive work too — Aurora downloads the file first automatically.

Aurora first peeks inside the archive to confirm it contains a recognizable game before extracting. It also checks up-front that you have roughly 2–3× the archive size free, then extracts to a temporary folder. If the archive is password-protected, Aurora asks for the password before extracting. You can cancel an extraction at any time and restart it later.

Aurora scans the extracted files for a game it recognizes:

• RPG Maker XP / VX / VX Ace (RGSS1–3) — recognized by its Game.ini, project file (.rxproj / .rvproj / .rvproj2), or Data/Scripts files — even if the ini was renamed, Aurora normalizes it automatically. Played natively.
• RPG Maker MV / MZ — recognized by an index.html plus a js/ folder (or www/index.html). Played through the built-in web engine.

Extra wrapper folders inside the archive are handled automatically — Aurora finds the game root wherever it is.

For native RGSS games, Aurora also picks one of its three Ruby runtimes:

• Ruby 1.8 — Default for classic XP/VX-era games
• Ruby 1.9 — Default for VX Ace games
• Ruby 3.1 — Modern runtime for newer games (Pokémon Essentials v19+, or older games written with modern Ruby syntax — Aurora detects this)

The runtime is auto-detected, and you can override it any time in the game’s settings.

After a quick Customize step (rename the game, pick a suggested icon), the game appears in your library with its title, icon, and a color tag. Pokémon Essentials games (v17–v21) are detected automatically, which unlocks Essentials-specific cheats and Aurora Link multiplayer.

• Large games (1 GB+) may take a while to extract
• Importing the same archive again creates a separate, numbered copy — it never overwrites an existing game
• Every imported game gets a Patches/ folder where you can drop mods and translations
• Downloaded a self-extracting .exe installer? Extract it on a computer and repack the game folder as ZIP or 7z
• Classic XP/VX games may need an RTP (Run Time Package) — Aurora prompts you and can download or import it; see the RTP guide
• If a game imports but won’t launch, try a different Ruby runtime in the game’s settings
• See File Formats for what a valid game folder looks like