A Playnite plugin that lets you launch games without UAC elevation prompts by registering them as Windows Scheduled Tasks — giving your setup a console-like feel where games just open, no interruptions.
When you enable GameTask for a game, it:
- Creates a small
.vbslauncher file for the game - Sets that launcher as the Play Without UAC action in Playnite
- Registers a Windows Scheduled Task that runs the game's
.exewith elevated rights (RunLevel Highest) - When you click Play, Playnite calls the launcher → the launcher triggers the scheduled task → the game starts elevated with no UAC popup
- FocusGuard (
GameTask.FocusGuard.exe) runs simultaneously and brings the game window to the foreground automatically — even over Playnite fullscreen and splash screens
- Windows 10 or 11
- Playnite 9 or later
- .NET Framework 4.8 (included in Windows 10/11)
- Download the latest
.pextfile from the Releases page - Double-click the
.pextfile — Playnite will install it automatically - Restart Playnite
- Download and extract the release
.zip - Copy the folder to
%AppData%\Playnite\Extensions\GameTask - Restart Playnite
- Right-click a game in Playnite → GameTask → Enable GameTask
- A notification will appear: "N game(s) need elevated tasks. Click here."
- Click the notification — a UAC prompt will appear once to register the task
- Done. The game will now launch without any further UAC prompts and will automatically come to the foreground
Some games use launchers or non-standard directory structures:
- A notification will appear for the affected game
- Right-click the game → GameTask → Fix Executable Path
- Select the game's main
.exe(shortcuts.lnkare rejected automatically) - Click the notification to register the task
Right-click the game → GameTask → Remove Custom Executable Path
| Menu item | What it does |
|---|---|
| Enable GameTask | Tags the game and sets up the launcher + scheduled task |
| Disable GameTask | Removes the launcher, action, and scheduled task |
| Create Pending Tasks | Runs the elevated helper to register queued tasks |
| Rebuild Selected | Fully removes and recreates everything for the game |
| Repair Selected | Re-applies launcher and action without deleting the task |
| Fix Executable Path | Opens a file browser to manually select the game's .exe |
| Remove Custom Executable Path | Clears a manually selected path |
| Open Data Folder | Opens the plugin's data folder in Explorer |
| Open Task Scheduler | Opens Windows Task Scheduler |
| Menu item | What it does |
|---|---|
| Repair All Tagged Games (N) | Runs Repair on every tagged game at once |
| Fix All Unknown Executables (N) | Opens file selection for each game with no detected exe |
| Clean Orphan Tasks | Removes scheduled tasks with no matching game in the library |
| Open Data Folder | Opens the plugin's data folder (logs, cache, config) |
| Diagnostics | Opens the Diagnostics window |
| Settings → ... | Quick-access toggles for all settings |
Accessible via Settings → Plugins → GameTask or via the Extensions → GameTask → Settings menu (useful in fullscreen mode).
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Bring Game to Foreground | ON | FocusGuard brings the game window to the front after launch. Works even over Playnite fullscreen and splash screen plugins. |
| Focus guard duration | 20s | How long FocusGuard keeps the game in the foreground. Increase for games with long loading screens. Range: 5s–120s. |
| Create Pending Tasks cooldown | 3s | Minimum time between two UAC prompts. Prevents accidental double-launch. Range: 1s–30s. |
| Low Performance Mode | OFF | Increases timeouts and push attempts for slow PCs or when many apps are open. Run Repair All after changing. |
| Detect Orphan Tasks on Startup | ON | Notifies if the Task Scheduler has tasks with no matching game in the library. |
| Detect Corrupted Tasks on Startup | ON | Notifies if a game's registered .exe no longer exists on disk. |
Accessible via Extensions → GameTask → Diagnostics.
Shows a table of all tagged games with:
- Task — whether the scheduled task exists in Windows Task Scheduler
- Executable — the detected
.exefor FocusGuard - FocusGuard — whether the window focus feature is active for this game
- Issue / Note — explains what is wrong and how to fix it
- Actions — per-row Repair, Fix Exe and Disable buttons
Games with issues are highlighted in red.
GameTask supports Steam games that use steam://run/APPID actions. Instead of a scheduled task, the launcher calls steam.exe -applaunch APPID directly. Steam is detected automatically via registry or common installation paths.
An orphan task is a Windows Scheduled Task under \GameTask\ that no longer has a matching game in your Playnite library — for example, after uninstalling a game without using "Disable GameTask" first.
GameTask detects these automatically on startup (if enabled) and shows a clickable notification. You can also trigger cleanup manually via Extensions → GameTask → Clean Orphan Tasks.
GameTask uses Playnite's built-in tracking system (process name detection). Playtime is recorded automatically as long as the game's main .exe is correctly configured.
The game still shows a UAC prompt
→ The scheduled task may not have been created. Click the pending notification or go to Extensions → GameTask → Repair All Tagged Games and then click the notification.
No notification appears after enabling
→ Go to Extensions → GameTask → Repair All Tagged Games, then click the notification that appears.
The task was created but the game doesn't launch
→ Right-click → GameTask → Fix Executable Path and select the correct .exe.
The game launches but opens behind other windows
→ Make sure "Bring Game to Foreground" is ON. If it still happens on a slow PC, enable Low Performance Mode in settings and run Repair All Tagged Games.
I have leftover tasks from removed games
→ Extensions → GameTask → Clean Orphan Tasks
The Diagnostics page shows issues for some games
→ Use the per-row buttons to Repair, Fix Exe or Disable each game individually.
Where are the logs?
→ Extensions → GameTask → Open Data Folder → Logs\GameTask.log and Logs\FocusGuard.log
Pull requests are welcome! Areas that would benefit from help:
- Advanced playtime tracking — see
TrackerManager.csfor ideas - Multi-user support — currently uses
$env:USERNAMEfor task principal - Support for emulated games — universal approach for elevation in emulator setups
MIT — see LICENSE.txt
If GameTask saved you some frustration, a coffee is always appreciated! ☕
