Broken Arrow Deck Manager

Broken Arrow Deck Manager is a Windows desktop tool for backing up, organizing, and switching Broken Arrow deck sets.

Author: YauS
Made with Codex

What it does

• backs up the current active Broken Arrow deck folder into named saved sets
• restores a saved set back into the active game deck folder
• stores a note for each saved set
• stamps each saved set with the detected Steam branch and game version
• blocks switching when the saved set branch does not match the current game branch
• shows whether a saved set matches the current active decks exactly
• lets you change the saved-set folder and active deck folder from the app
• supports 10 UI languages loaded from external locale files
• opens the active deck folder and saved-set folder in File Explorer

Requirements

• Windows
• Python 3.14

Source dependencies

Runtime dependency for the source code:

• PySide6>=6.8

These modules are used from the Python standard library and do not need separate installation:

• argparse
• dataclasses
• datetime
• hashlib
• json
• logging
• pathlib
• re
• shutil
• subprocess
• sys
• winreg

Optional dependency sets:

• build: pyinstaller>=6.0
• dev: pylint>=3.3

Install the project dependencies:

python -m pip install -e .

Run from source

cd <project-root>
python .\src\broken_arrow_deck_manager.py

You can also launch the installed console entry point:

broken-arrow-deck-manager

Useful CLI options:

python .\src\broken_arrow_deck_manager.py --debug
python .\src\broken_arrow_deck_manager.py --cli-verify
broken-arrow-deck-manager --debug
broken-arrow-deck-manager --cli-verify

What they do:

• --debug: enables debug-level logging
• --cli-verify: prints deck-manager status in the terminal and exits without opening the GUI

Terminal-free launch:

• double-click src\broken_arrow_deck_manager.pyw

Packaged app

The packaged Windows app is built into:

dist\BrokenArrowDeckManager\BrokenArrowDeckManager.exe

The packaged app is portable as a folder-based build. Keep the whole BrokenArrowDeckManager folder together.

The repo does not track generated release bundles. Local packaged output should stay in ignored folders such as:

dist\
release_downloads\

Build the exe

Install the build dependency set if needed:

python -m pip install -e .[build]

Build:

cd <project-root>
python -m PyInstaller --noconfirm --clean .\packaging\BrokenArrowDeckManager.spec

After a rebuild, if you want the visible relative saved-set folder beside the exe to match the current source data:

Copy-Item -Recurse -Force .\deck_sets .\dist\BrokenArrowDeckManager\deck_sets

Main folders

Default active game deck folder:

%USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\SteelBalalaikaStudio\BrokenArrow\Decks

Default saved-set folder when running from source:

deck_tools\deck_sets

Default saved-set folder when running the packaged app:

dist\BrokenArrowDeckManager\deck_sets

Project metadata

The project now uses pyproject.toml and targets Python 3.14+.

Useful install variants:

python -m pip install -e .
python -m pip install -e .[dev]
python -m pip install -e .[build]

Quick dependency check:

python -c "import PySide6, broken_arrow_deck_manager, deck_manager_logic, deck_manager_i18n, deck_manager_ui; print('dependencies ok')"

Relative folder behavior

The tool now stores saved deck sets relative to the app location:

• source run: in the project root
• packaged run: next to BrokenArrowDeckManager.exe

For packaged builds, the app can seed the relative deck_sets folder from bundled data on first run.

The source code is split into separate modules for:

• entrypoint/bootstrap
• locale loading
• deck/storage/game logic
• Qt UI

Settings and persistence

The app stores user settings in:

deck_manager_settings.json

This file is created beside the app and saves:

• saved deck sets folder
• active game deck folder
• selected language

The app also writes logs beside the app as:

deck_manager.log

By default the app logs at INFO level. Use --debug for more detailed output.

Language support

Supported languages:

• English
• 繁體中文
• 简体中文
• 日本語
• 한국어
• Русский
• Deutsch
• Français
• Español
• Português (Brasil)

Change language from the menu:

Language -> choose any installed locale from locales\

Languages are loaded from:

locales\*.json

Each locale file uses this structure:

{
  "code": "en",
  "label": "English",
  "strings": {
    "app_title": "Broken Arrow Deck Manager"
  }
}

The app discovers these files automatically at startup.

To add another language, add a new JSON file in locales\ with a unique code, a menu label, and the translated strings.

How to use the app

Main screen

The table shows:

• Deck set: saved set name
• Branch: Steam branch recorded when the set was backed up
• Same branch: whether that branch matches the currently detected game branch
• Same as active: whether the saved set .dek files exactly match the active game deck folder

The top section shows:

• active deck folder
• active deck count
• saved set count
• detected game install path
• detected game version

Main actions

• Back Up Current Decks: saves the current active decks into a named set
• Use Selected Deck Set: switches the active game decks to the selected saved set
• Switch without making a safety backup: skips the automatic pre-switch backup
• Refresh: reloads the saved-set list and current game state
• Open Saved Deck Sets: opens the saved-set folder
• Open Active Decks: opens the active game deck folder
• Save Note: saves the note for the selected deck set

Options menu

Open:

File -> Options

You can change:

• saved deck sets folder
• active game deck folder
• language

These settings are saved automatically after pressing OK.

Help menu

Open:

Help -> About

Backup behavior

When backing up the current decks:

• the backup name is checked before any files are copied
• if a saved set with the same name already exists, the app asks whether to overwrite it
• choosing No cancels the backup and leaves the existing saved set unchanged
• choosing Yes replaces the existing saved set with the current active decks

Switching behavior

When switching to a saved set:

• the app checks that the saved set branch matches the current detected game branch
• by default, the current active deck folder is auto-backed up first
• automatic backups are stored under:

deck_sets\_auto\active_before_<timestamp>_to_<set-name>

If switching fails, the tool tries to restore the previous active decks.

Saved set metadata

Each saved set stores metadata in _backup.json, including:

• set name
• note/message
• creation time
• deck count
• backup path
• SHA-256 hash of .dek contents
• stamped game version

Steam and game detection

The tool detects:

• Steam install path
• Steam library folders
• Broken Arrow install directory
• current game branch/version from Steam appmanifest_1604270.acf

The current version and branch are read from Steam metadata, not from Player.log.

Project files

deck_tools/
├─ assets/
│  └─ icons/
│     ├─ broken_arrow_deck_manager_icon.ico
│     ├─ broken_arrow_deck_manager_icon.png
├─ deck_sets/
├─ locales/
│  ├─ en.json
│  ├─ de.json
│  ├─ es.json
│  ├─ fr.json
│  ├─ ja.json
│  ├─ ko.json
│  ├─ pt-BR.json
│  ├─ ru.json
│  ├─ zh-Hans.json
│  └─ zh-Hant.json
├─ packaging/
│  └─ BrokenArrowDeckManager.spec
├─ src/
│  ├─ broken_arrow_deck_manager.py
│  ├─ broken_arrow_deck_manager.pyw
│  ├─ deck_manager_i18n.py
│  ├─ deck_manager_logic.py
│  └─ deck_manager_ui.py
├─ .gitignore
├─ LICENSE
├─ pyproject.toml
└─ README.md

Key files:

• pyproject.toml: project metadata, dependencies, and Python version target
• CHANGELOG.md: release history
• src\broken_arrow_deck_manager.py: startup/bootstrap entrypoint
• src\broken_arrow_deck_manager.pyw: terminal-free source launcher
• src\deck_manager_i18n.py: locale loading and translation lookup
• src\deck_manager_logic.py: deck management, storage, settings, and game detection logic
• src\deck_manager_ui.py: PySide6 dialogs and main window
• locales\*.json: runtime language files
• packaging\BrokenArrowDeckManager.spec: PyInstaller build spec
• assets\icons\...: app icons
• deck_sets\...: local saved deck sets used by the tool when present

Git

This folder is initialized as a git repository.

Ignored files:

• build/
• dist/
• release_downloads/
• __pycache__/
• deck_sets/
• deck_manager_settings.json

License

This project is licensed under the MIT license. See LICENSE.

Notes

• Close Broken Arrow before backing up or switching.
• The backup includes everything inside the active deck folder, including nested folders and support files.
• The packaged app should be moved or copied as a whole folder, not as a standalone .exe.