Frequently asked questions
Everything you need to fill a vault
Getting started
What is Dec's Game Vault?
A free, retro-styled tracker for game collections. You get your own vault for physical games (with box art, condition and values), digital libraries pulled from Steam / Xbox / PlayStation, demo discs, a wishlist, and progress stats β plus a public page at /u/your-handle to share it all.
It's built like an old-school website: one fast page, works offline once installed, no ads, no tracking, no charge.
How do I create an account?
Hit Create your vault, pick a handle (3β20 letters, numbers or hyphens), add an email and a password (8+ characters). That's it β you land in an empty vault ready to fill. We also email you a link to confirm your address (more on that below).
Where are my account settings, themes and sounds?
Tap your avatar in the top-right corner. That circle opens your account menu: profile & avatar, visibility, password, plus display options β theme, font, the retro CRT effect and sound toggles. The β― menu is now just vault tools (imports, connections, export and backups).
Forgot your password?
On the log-in sheet tap Forgot password? and enter your email or handle. We email a one-time reset link that works once and expires in an hour β open it, choose a new password, and you're straight back in.
If a link ever says it's expired, already used, or was replaced by a newer one, just request a fresh link from the same screen and use the newest email β only the latest one stays live.
Do I need to confirm my email?
When you sign up we send a confirmation email. Your vault works immediately β it isn't a gate β but confirming is worth doing: it proves the address is really yours so a password reset can always reach you, and it catches typos. Not confirmed yet? There's a gentle reminder plus a Resend link in the account menu (your avatar, top-right).
Adding your collection
How do I add games by hand?
On the Physical, Wishlist or Demos shelf, tap the big + button. Title and platform are enough to start; condition, region, year, value, rating and notes are all optional and editable later. Box art fetches itself for most titles β or tap "Find box art" on a game for a chooser.
Can I add a game by scanning or photographing it?
Yes β four ways. On the Add form tap Scan barcode / Snap a Photo to use your camera, or Upload a Photo to pick a picture already on your device. Aim at the box, cartridge, disc or even a shelf spine and it suggests the most likely game to prefill the form.
To add lots at once there are two bulk options right below: Bulk photos lets you pick a whole batch of pictures (one game each) and identifies them in turn, then shows one checklist to confirm and add them all together; Scan a shelf takes a single photo of a shelf, stack or row of spines and pulls out every game it can read in one go. Both drop you on the same review list β untick anything you don't want, fix any titles, then add the lot in one tap.
Two things worth knowing: a barcode scan is the most accurate route, so use it when there's a barcode; and the photo options are a smart guess β they can misread an unusual title or pick the wrong edition or platform, so glance over the suggestions before you save and tweak anything they got wrong. Brand-new consoles are the hardest β the newer the hardware, the less the recogniser has seen of it, so a Nintendo Switch 2 box can come back labelled Switch; check which shelf a scanned game lands on and switch it over if needed. (A shelf photo asks the most of the identifier, so it's the one most likely to need a fix here and there β a straight-on shot with the titles readable helps a lot.)
There is a fair-use limit of 25 photo scans a day per account β single snaps, uploads and shelf scans all count towards it, and it resets each day. (A barcode scan or typing a title never counts.) Getting a big collection in? Scan a shelf is by far the most efficient way to spend them: one photo reads a whole shelf of games for a single scan, so you can add dozens without running low.
The barcode scanner won't open on my iPhone / iPad
Live barcode scanning uses a browser feature (the Barcode Detection API) that browsers on iPhone and iPad don't currently support, so the scanner won't start there. It works today in Chrome on Android and most desktop Chromium browsers (Chrome, Edge).
On iOS, use Snap a Photo or Upload a Photo instead β both work fine β or just type the title. (An in-app scanner that works on iOS too is on the list.)
Can I upload an existing collection (spreadsheet / file)?
Yes β the β― menu has Import collection (JSON / CSV):
- Export a template first with Export as CSV to see the columns (title, platform, year, value, conditionβ¦).
- Fill your games into that spreadsheet (Excel, Numbers, Google Sheets all fine β save/export as CSV).
- Import it back. The importer auto-detects JSON or CSV.
Tip: the Download tracker as HTML file button makes a portable full backup β games, demo discs and your Setup β that restores everything just by opening the file.
How do I connect Steam?
- Get a free key at
steamcommunity.com/dev/apikey(any domain name works, e.g. "vault"). - Find your SteamID64 β it's in your profile URL, or
steamid.iolooks it up. - In your vault: β― menu β π Connections β Steam, paste both.
- Then β― β Import Steam library pulls your games with playtimes; Refresh Steam playtime updates the hours any time.
Your key is stored encrypted server-side and never shown to anyone (including you) again.
How do I connect Xbox?
- Go to
xbl.ioand sign in with your Microsoft account β you get a free OpenXBL API key. - β― menu β π Connections β Xbox, paste the key.
- β― β Import Xbox pulls your played titles β with playtime for most Xbox One and Series games. (360-era games rarely publish a playtime stat, so those stay blank; re-running the import refreshes the hours.)
How do I connect PlayStation (PSN)?
- Log into
playstation.comin your browser. - In the same browser open
ca.account.sony.com/api/v1/ssocookieβ you'll see a short JSON blob. - Copy the
npssovalue (just the token, not the quotes). - β― menu β π Connections β PlayStation, paste it, then β― β Import PlayStation.
The npsso token expires after roughly two months β if an import starts failing, repeat these steps to refresh it.
Why don't Netflix / Spotify / Disney+ show up in my imports?
By design! Imports filter out non-game apps automatically. Demos and betas get detected too and land on the Demos shelf instead of your main library. If an app sneaks through, open it and tap "Not a game" β the filter learns it forever, on every device.
Development software is skipped the same way β Steam sells plenty of it as if it were a game (RPG Maker, GameMaker, Unreal Engine, Wallpaper Engine, Aseprite, SDKs and dedicated servers), and it would otherwise pad your game count and drag down your completion percentage. The import report lists everything skipped, so you can always see what was left out. Want one on your shelves anyway? Add it by hand β anything you've added yourself, rated, finished or written your own note on is never removed.
Prices & values
How do I check what a game or console is worth?
Every game, console and peripheral has a Check price button. It opens quick links to the current going rate on the real marketplaces β eBay sold listings, PriceCharting and CeX β in a new tab. Have a look, then pop the figure into the item's value field (β Edit) if you want to record it.
We send you to the source rather than showing a number in-app on purpose: the price guides' terms don't allow their figures to be displayed inside another app, and their own pages are the most up-to-date anyway. Treat every price as an estimate β condition, region (PAL vs NTSC) and boxed-vs-loose all move it β and read your vault's total as a rough guide, not an exact worth.
Why doesn't the app show a price itself?
By design. The marketplaces and price guides we link to don't permit their prices being shown inside a third-party app, so rather than bend those rules we give you one-tap links to check the live figure at the source β and you decide what value to record.
When you're there: compare a couple of eBay sold listings against PriceCharting, make sure the platform and region match your copy, and trust your own eye over any single number. Then set the value in the game's details. It's always an estimate, never an exact worth.
Achievements & trophies
Where do my achievements and trophies show up?
Open any game that came in through a Steam, Xbox or PlayStation import β its card has a π section. Tap Load my achievements for the quick view (progress bar, plus Gamerscore on Xbox or the bronze/silver/gold/platinum tally on PlayStation), then View all βΊ for the full list: achievement art, unlock dates, and how rare each one is β under 10% of players gets a RARE tag, under 2% ULTRA RARE. PlayStation pins the platinum at the top.
Two things to know: it's always your own progress, fetched with the accounts you connected β and it's private by default (see "Can other people see my achievements?" below for the sharing switch). Games added by hand can't show progress (there's no store account to ask), but retro games can show RetroAchievements progress in the very same section β see below.
Can other people see my achievements?
Only if you want them to. Achievements are private by default. Your avatar β π Share achievements turns sharing on: your followers can then see the progress on games you've opened yourself. They're shown your latest loaded snapshot (with a little "as of" stamp), so nobody's browsing ever touches your connected accounts or spends your API limits. Flip the switch off any time and everything is hidden again instantly.
Steam says my game details are private
Steam only answers achievement lookups if your profile's Game details are set to Public. On Steam: your profile β Edit Profile β Privacy Settings β Game details β Public, then tap Try again on the game in your vault. This is a Steam-side switch β either way, your progress in the vault stays visible to you alone.
A game says it has no achievements β is that right?
Often, yes β plenty of games (and almost everything before the Xbox 360 / PS3 era) simply never had them. Two known quirks beyond that: Xbox 360-era titles come through Microsoft's legacy service, so their lists are plainer β earned achievements and Gamerscore come through, but rarity percentages and some art don't exist for that era; and PlayStation only has trophies for games your account has actually launched β an unplayed purchase has no trophy list yet.
If PlayStation lookups suddenly stop working across the board, your npsso token has probably expired (Sony ends them after ~2 months) β refresh it in β― β π Connections β PlayStation.
I just earned one β why isn't it showing yet?
Progress is cached for about 6 hours so browsing your shelves doesn't hammer the platforms' APIs. Pop back a little later and the new unlock will be there.
What does connecting RetroAchievements do?
RetroAchievements adds achievements to retro consoles (NES through to the PS2 era) for people who play through RA-enabled emulators. It's how a physical cart β which has no store account behind it β can show progress at all.
With an RA account connected, retro games get the same π section as your Steam, Xbox and PlayStation titles: your earned count, your points, the full list behind View all βΊ, and a link through to the game's page on RetroAchievements. It's your own progress, fetched with your own key, and private by default like every other platform.
To connect: β― menu β π Connections β RetroAchievements β your RA username plus the web API key from retroachievements.org β Settings β Keys. The key is stored encrypted like every other connection.
A retro game shows no RetroAchievements β why?
The card will say "No RetroAchievements set found for this title" when we've looked and come up empty, so you're never left wondering whether it's still loading. Two reasons it happens:
RA doesn't have a set for it. RetroAchievements is built by volunteers one game at a time, so plenty of the retro catalogue simply has no achievement set yet. The message includes a search link so you can check on their site.
Your copy is named differently. Loads of retro games were renamed between regions β a PAL Speed Freaks is the US Speed Punks, Probotector is Contra, Starwing is Star Fox. RetroAchievements files one entry per game, usually under the US name, so we look your title up under its other regional names too. If you hit one we don't know, renaming the game in your vault to the US title will find it β and do tell us, so we can add it.
Why is there no speedrun.com link on this game?
If we've looked and there's no leaderboard, the card says "No speedrun.com page for this one" rather than showing nothing. Most games genuinely don't have a board β speedrun.com is community-run, so a game only appears once someone sets it up.
If speedrun.com is busy when we ask (they rate-limit, and rightly so), we don't record that as "no board" β the next time you open the game, it tries again.
We only ever show a link to speedrun.com, never their run times or records: their data is licensed for non-commercial use, so the right thing is to send you to the source.
Sharing your vault
How do I share my collection?
Every vault has a public page at /u/your-handle β send that link to anyone. Visitors browse read-only: shelves, demo discs, setup, progress, everything. Individual games are shareable too (each has a Share button that copies a direct link).
Can I make my vault private?
Yes β open the account menu (your avatar, top-right) β Account β Visibility toggles Public/Private. Private means only you, signed in, can see it; visitors get a "this vault is private" screen.
Following & community
How do I follow another collector?
Open any public vault while signed in β /u/dec is a good first one β and tap Follow up by their name. From then on their new adds, beaten games and milestones appear in the Following feed on your Home. The same button unfollows.
Where do I find vaults to follow?
Your avatar (top-right) β Discover collections β a directory of the public vaults on the site. Your own follower and following lists live in the same account menu. Only vaults whose owners have flipped them public appear; private vaults are never listed anywhere.
How do likes work?
Likes are a follower perk: follow a collection, open any of its games and tap the β₯. The owner sees a count on the game's card ("5 likes from your followers") and gets a notification when a new one lands. Counts only, on purpose β who liked what is never shown to anyone.
What's the dot on my avatar?
A notification: someone followed you, or liked one of your games. Your avatar β π Notifications lists them and clears the dot. It's all in-app β the vault never emails you about activity.
Can I block someone?
Yes β on their profile tap Block. That removes any follows between you in both directions, stops them following or liking you again, and hides your vault from them (and theirs from you). Manage the list under your avatar β Blocked users, where unblocking is one tap.
Data, devices & offline
Does it work on my phone?
It's built phone-first. Open your vault, then use your browser's Add to Home Screen β it installs like an app, launches full-screen and works offline with everything you've already loaded.
Does my collection sync between devices?
Yes β log in on any device and your vault follows you. Edits save to the cloud a moment after you make them; the newest copy always wins, and a device with a stale copy pulls the latest rather than overwriting anything.
Is my data safe? Can I get it out?
Your vault is yours: export it any time as JSON or CSV, or grab the full HTML backup (β― β Backup & data). Passwords are stored only as strong hashes; import keys are encrypted at rest and never returned by any API.