Stellaris Auto-Start Automation
Automatically launch Stellaris, load your save, and unpause the game - perfect for mod testing with Claude Code.
What It Does
- Syncs mod files (optional) - copies your mod to Stellaris folder
- Launches Paradox Launcher with Chrome DevTools Protocol enabled
- Auto-clicks RESUME button via CDP (no image recognition needed!)
- Waits for game to load (monitors game.log for timestamps)
- Unpauses and sets fastest speed via AutoHotkey
Total time: ~45-50 seconds (first run), ~30-35 seconds (if launcher already open)
Requirements
Windows (via WSL2)
- WSL2 with Ubuntu
- AutoHotkey v2.0 - Download
- Python 3 with packages:
requests, websocket-client
- Stellaris with Paradox Launcher
Install Python packages
pip install requests websocket-client
Install AutoHotkey
Download and install AutoHotkey v2.0 from https://www.autohotkey.com/
Setup
1. Clone this repo
git clone https://gitlab.com/stellarisclaude206-group/stellarisClaude-project.git
cd stellarisClaude-project
2. Copy and edit config
cp config.template.sh config.sh
nano config.sh # Edit paths for your system
3. Make scripts executable
chmod +x *.sh scripts/*.py
4. Test it!
./stellaris-autostart.sh
Configuration
Edit config.sh with your paths:
# Path to your Stellaris logs (OneDrive or local)
STELLARIS_LOGS="/mnt/c/Users/YOURUSERNAME/OneDrive/Documents/Paradox Interactive/Stellaris/logs"
# Path to AutoHotkey v2
AHK_PATH="/mnt/c/Program Files/AutoHotkey/v2/AutoHotkey.exe"
# Path to Paradox Launcher
LAUNCHER_PATH="/mnt/c/Users/YOURUSERNAME/AppData/Local/Programs/Paradox Interactive/launcher/bootstrapper-v2.exe"
# Optional: Path to your mod workspace (for auto-sync)
MOD_WORKSPACE="" # Leave empty to skip sync
Usage
Basic usage
./stellaris-autostart.sh
Debug mode (more output)
./stellaris-autostart.sh debug
With Claude Code
Add to your project's CLAUDE.md:
## Quick Commands
- `./stellaris-autostart.sh` - Launch game and unpause
Then just tell Claude: "run the autostart script"
How It Works
The Paradox Launcher is an Electron app, which means it has a built-in Chrome debugging interface. By launching with --remote-debugging-port=9222, we can:
- Connect to the launcher's DOM
- Search for the "RESUME" button
- Click it programmatically
This is much more reliable than image recognition!
Stellaris uses SDL/DirectInput which filters synthetic keyboard input from normal Windows APIs. AutoHotkey provides hardware-level HID emulation that bypasses this filter - that's why we use it for unpause/speed commands.
Troubleshooting
- Make sure you have a save game to resume
- Check that the launcher opened correctly
- Try running with
debug mode for more info
"Game didn't load within timeout"
- Large save files take longer - increase
MAX_LOAD_TIME in config
- Check if Stellaris actually started in Task Manager
AutoHotkey errors
- Make sure AutoHotkey v2.0 is installed (not v1.x)
- Check the path in
config.sh
Files
stellaris-autostart/
├── README.md # This file
├── config.template.sh # Configuration template
├── stellaris-autostart.sh # Main automation script
└── scripts/
├── click_resume_cdp.py # CDP script to click RESUME
└── unpause.ahk # AutoHotkey unpause script
Credits
Created for use with Claude Code for Stellaris mod development.
License
MIT License - Use freely, modify as needed!