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Change GOG GALAXY in three places: Settings → Game features for automatic updates, cloud saves, overlay and achievements; each supported game’s Features tab for its own cloud-save switch; and Settings → Integrations for accounts and imported data. A sensible default is automatic updates on for games you actively play, cloud saves on globally and per supported game, Experimental features off, and only the storefront integrations you actually use. Turn on a bandwidth limit on shared or metered internet. Galaxy is optional: GOG’s offline installers continue to work without it, while Galaxy adds conveniences such as syncing, achievements, overlay, notifications and rollback.
The labels below match the 2.1 branch observed in October 2026; 2.0 and Experimental builds can place “Cloud Saves” in a separate tab.
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At a glance
| Name | Best for | Key spec | Platforms | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auto-update games | Keeping active GOG.com games patched | Global switch; can be overridden per game; bandwidth limit is in Downloads | GOG GALAXY on Windows and macOS | Oct 2026 |
| Cloud saves | Continuing progress on another computer | Requires global and per-game switches; default allocation 200 MB per game | Supported GOG.com games on Windows and macOS | Oct 2026 |
| Integrations | Importing libraries and friends from other platforms | Optional; disconnecting removes imported data from GOG servers | Windows and macOS; official and community plugins | Oct 2026 |
| Overlay and notifications | In-game friends, screenshots and prompts | Overlay shortcut Shift+Tab; screenshots use F12 in supported GOG titles | GOG-native games launched through Galaxy | Oct 2026 |
| Experimental features and updates | Trying beta fixes before the public client | Settings → General; restart required and downgrade is available | Windows and macOS client | Oct 2026 |
No paid plan is required for these controls. Galaxy, cloud saves, updates and rollback are included with a GOG account.
How do I open the settings that control Galaxy?
Click the gear (cogwheel) at the top left of Galaxy and choose Settings. The same menu contains Check for updates, Report an issue and Share feedback. The settings window is where global behavior is changed; a game’s own page is where exceptions are configured.
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What should be changed first?
- Open Game features and decide on automatic updates, cloud saves, overlay and achievements.
- Open Downloads and set a bandwidth limit if Galaxy shares a connection with other people or devices.
- Open Integrations (also shown as Platforms → Integrations in some versions) and remove accounts you no longer use.
- Open General → Experimental features and updates only when you deliberately want beta software.
Should auto-update games be on or off?
Leave Settings → Game features → Auto-update games on for games you play regularly. Turn it off when you need control over patch timing, have a metered connection, or want to avoid a breaking update; Galaxy can still notify you when an update is available.
When is the global switch useful?
The global control applies to GOG.com games managed by Galaxy. It does not install, update or synchronize games owned by another storefront; those operations remain the responsibility of that platform’s client. A rarely played, very large game can be left on notification-only while frequently played titles remain current.
How can I limit update bandwidth?
Go to Settings → Downloads and set the download bandwidth cap. This prevents background patches from saturating a shared Wi-Fi connection. The cap affects Galaxy’s downloads, so remove or raise it temporarily when you want a fast manual update.
What if a patch breaks a game?
On the affected game’s page, open the settings icon and choose Manage installation. Use Galaxy’s Rollback option when it is offered to restore a previous version of a GOG.com game. If you want to avoid silent patching in the future, disable automatic updates for that title and keep notifications enabled.
How do I update Galaxy itself?
Open the gear menu and select Check for updates, then choose Update now if an update is found. Clients older than 2.0.26 require a fresh installer from gog.com/galaxy. The current macOS download observed on 29 October 2026 was package galaxy_client_2.1.10.56.pkg; it requires macOS Sonoma 14 or newer on Apple silicon.
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Galaxy 2.1 targets 64-bit Windows 10/11 and Apple-silicon Macs on Sonoma or newer. The 2.0 standalone line remains for Windows 7, 8, 8.1, 32-bit Windows 10, Intel Macs and Ventura-or-older, but it no longer receives further updates. There is no shipping native Linux Galaxy client; Linux users generally rely on compatibility clients such as Heroic or Lutris, with no announced Galaxy timetable.
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How do I enable beta client updates?
Choose Settings → General → Experimental features and updates, enable the option and restart Galaxy. Beta builds can contain earlier fixes for overlay, cloud-sync or notification problems, but they can also be unstable on a daily-use installation.
To return to the public branch, use GOG’s documented downgrade procedure for Experimental features and updates. A beta client is different from a game’s beta build: for a specific game, open its page, select the settings icon, choose Manage installation → Configure, and select the available build under the game’s configuration.
How do I set up cloud saves correctly?
Cloud saves require four conditions: the global switch, the game’s own Features checkbox, a launch through Galaxy, and time for synchronization after quitting. Missing any one of these can make a perfectly healthy local save appear to be absent online.
Enable the global and per-game switches
- Click the gear, open Settings → Game features, and check Cloud saves. In versions with a dedicated Cloud Saves page, use that equivalent control.
- Open the game’s page, select the settings icon, choose Manage installation → Configure, open Features, and check Cloud saves.
- Check the displayed Local folder path. It must be the directory where that game’s save files are actually written; a custom save location can otherwise leave Galaxy watching the wrong folder.
- Start the game from Galaxy, create or load a save, exit normally, and wait until the syncing indicator finishes before quitting Galaxy or shutting down the computer.
Cloud support is per game, not a guarantee for every GOG release. Check the game’s store-page Features list. Launching an offline installer or the raw executable bypasses Galaxy’s tracking hook, so that session will not upload a cloud copy even though the local save still exists.
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How much cloud storage is included?
GOG Support’s 2024 notice set the default allocation at 200 MB per game and warned that files above that limit would be deleted after 31 August 2024. “Saves stored locally on your computer(s) will not be affected,” so the cleanup did not erase the local originals. Treat 200 MB as the documented figure unless GOG publishes a newer quota.
Why are my saves not syncing?
- Cloud saves are disabled globally or in that game’s Features tab.
- The game was launched from a standalone executable or offline installer instead of Galaxy.
- The release does not implement GOG cloud saves.
- The cloud allocation is full.
- Galaxy found a local/cloud conflict. Compare timestamps and select the newer copy deliberately; accepting the wrong side can overwrite the other save.
- A custom executable is being used. A Galaxy changelog entry recorded and later fixed a bug in which custom-executable launches ignored cloud-save settings.
- The client is old. Changelog notes for 2.0.93 Beta (13 January 2026) include a fix for a crash during game tracking and cloud-save synchronization.
How do I back up, delete or disable cloud saves?
Use GOG’s Cloud Saves Management controls to download copies locally and remove old or unnecessary files. Keep a second copy on a USB drive or another disk before deleting anything online. To stop future uploads, disable Cloud saves globally and in each game’s Features tab; disabling it does not delete existing local saves.
Because GOG games are DRM-free, an additional fallback is to copy the game’s save directory (often under Documents\My Games or %APPDATA% on Windows, depending on the title) to removable storage. GameSave Manager can automate that copy, but a simple dated folder copy is sufficient. Uninstalling Galaxy does not remove local saves or already-uploaded cloud files; it only stops subsequent Galaxy synchronization.
What is the difference between Galaxy cloud saves and other platforms’ cloud saves?
Galaxy’s cloud feature applies to supported GOG.com releases. If a game is installed through another storefront, its installer, updates and cloud service still require that storefront’s own client. Galaxy may display library metadata from an integration, but it does not replace the source platform’s cloud system.
Which privacy settings should I change?
Privacy in Galaxy is mainly an integration decision. Connect only accounts you want visible in one library, disable optional in-game features you do not use, leave beta features off, and remove unused plugins.
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What data does an integration import?
GOG’s Galaxy privacy notice says connecting another account is optional and may import the account name and user ID, avatar, games list, playtime, achievements, friends (including usernames, IDs and avatars), status, chat and conversation history, depending on the integration. GOG says it does not collect or store the other account’s login credentials such as its email address or password.
The official FAQ states: “No. We’re not in the business of users’ data. GOG GALAXY is only importing information from connected platforms – you always know what is imported through official integrations.” It also says, “We don’t share any data with third parties.” These are GOG’s stated policies, not a promise that an integration has no access to the data needed to provide its requested feature.
How do I remove integration data?
- Open the gear and choose Settings → Integrations (or Platforms → Integrations).
- Select the platform you no longer want connected and choose Disconnect.
- Sign out of or revoke the connection at the source platform as an additional precaution, then restart Galaxy.
GOG’s FAQ says that after disconnecting a platform, it removes the imported data from its servers. Removing a connection does not delete the library or account at that other platform.
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Community integrations are open source, but they are still third-party code that can request access to account data. Install only from a plugin’s trusted GitHub Releases page, verify a published SHA-256 hash when one is provided, and keep the list short. On Windows, installed plugin folders are under %localappdata%GOG.comGalaxypluginsinstalled; on macOS they are under ~/Library/Application Support/GOG.com/Galaxy/plugins/installed/. Remove directories for plugins you no longer use and then delete the corresponding integration in Galaxy.
Should overlay, achievements and notifications be disabled?
These are optional pipelines in Settings → Game features. Turn off Overlay if you do not want in-game friends, chat or an FPS counter, or if another overlay already handles those functions. In supported GOG-native games launched through Galaxy, Shift+Tab opens the overlay and F12 saves screenshots to Documents\GOG Galaxy; the overlay does not cover games launched through community-plugin connections.
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Disable Achievements if you do not want Galaxy tracking them. Turn off Dreamlist or startup notifications in the notifications settings if launch-time prompts are distracting; changelog notes confirm that disabled Dreamlist notifications no longer appear at startup.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Is Galaxy required to play games bought from GOG?
No. DRM-free offline backup installers remain usable without Galaxy. Keep the client when you want automatic updates, cloud synchronization, achievements, overlay features or rollback; launch the game’s executable directly when you prefer a launcher-free session and maintain your own backups.
What is the safest default profile?
- Auto-update games: on for active titles; off or notification-only for large, rarely played games on metered links.
- Download bandwidth: capped on shared Wi-Fi.
- Cloud saves: on globally and per supported title, with Galaxy left open until synchronization completes.
- Overlay: off on low-end systems or when another overlay is preferred; on when Shift+Tab friends and F12 screenshots are useful.
- Experimental features: off unless beta fixes are worth the instability risk.
- Integrations: only platforms actively used through Galaxy; disconnect everything else.
- Community plugins: none unless third-party code and credential access are acceptable, with hash checks and regular cleanup.
For account-level deletion beyond imported integration data, GOG provides an account-deletion form at gog.com/account/settings/delete_account. Galaxy’s in-app Report an issue and Share feedback commands are available from the gear menu when a setting behaves unexpectedly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I keep cloud saves but stop Galaxy from updating a particular game?
Yes. Leave global Cloud saves enabled, then open that game’s page and disable Auto-update for the title while retaining its Cloud saves checkbox. The game will remain on its installed build until you choose to update it.
What happens to saves when I switch between two computers?
The newest completed upload can replace an older local copy during the next launch. Before switching machines, exit the game normally and wait for the sync indicator; if Galaxy reports a conflict, compare timestamps rather than accepting a choice automatically.
How can I check which Galaxy version I have?
Open the gear menu and choose Check for updates; the client will identify whether an update is available. The 2.1 branch is intended for 64-bit Windows 10/11 and Apple-silicon Macs on Sonoma or newer, while older operating systems remain on the 2.0 standalone line.
Does disconnecting an account delete my games on that other platform?
No. Disconnecting removes the imported library and social data held by Galaxy, not the account, purchases or saves stored by the other platform. Reconnecting later can import current data again.
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