Import Problems

Symptom: When trying to import, your game file is grayed out or not visible.

Cause: Spark’s file extension filter only shows recognized formats by default.

Solution:

1. Go to Settings > Game Library
2. Turn off File Extension Filter
3. Try importing again

This is especially common with APK files.

Symptom: Import seems to complete, but no game appears in the library.

Possible Causes:

1. Invalid game structure — The archive doesn’t contain a valid Ren’Py game

   • Solution: Verify the archive contains a game/ folder with .rpy or .rpa files

2. Nested directories — The game is buried too deep in the archive

   • Solution: Extract the archive on a PC first, then transfer just the game folder

3. Corrupted archive — The file is damaged

   • Solution: Re-download the archive

Symptom: Import fails with the error “Unable to find the ‘game’ folder. Is this a Ren’Py title? It is possible that the game was packaged in an unknown way.”

Cause: Spark scans the extracted archive for a game/ folder, which is the standard structure for Ren’Py games. If none is found, the import cannot continue. This can happen when:

• The archive is not a Ren’Py game
• The game was packaged in a non-standard way (unofficial repack, custom folder structure)
• The archive is double-packaged and Spark’s automatic detection didn’t find the inner game

Solutions:

1. Verify that the archive is actually a Ren’Py game containing a game/ folder
2. Try using the official game archive from the original developer rather than a repackaged version
3. If the archive contains a valid Ren’Py game but Spark cannot detect it, report it to the support team on Discord or via email

Symptom: Import fails with the error “Legacy Method — Unable to find game folder.”

Cause: After the primary game folder detection fails, Spark attempts a fallback legacy scan that recursively searches the entire extracted archive for a game/ folder. This error means even the legacy detection could not locate a valid game.

Solutions:

• The archive structure is likely incompatible. Try a different version or platform archive of the game
• Extract the archive on a PC, verify the folder structure, and repackage it as a standard ZIP with the game/ folder at the expected level
• Report the issue to the support team with the game name

Symptom: The game won’t launch with the message “Unable to determine Ren’Py Version. Aborting Launch.” or a prompt asking you to specify the engine version.

Cause: Spark could not automatically detect which Ren’Py version the game requires.

Solution: Open Game Settings (long-press the game), tap Modify next to the Ren’Py version, and manually select the correct engine version. If you’re unsure, try the latest 7.x version for older games or the latest 8.x version for newer games.

Symptom: Launch fails with the error “The requested engine version was not found.”

Cause: The engine version selected for the game is not available on the device.

Solution: Open Game Settings and select a different available engine version.

Symptom: Import fails with an error showing the estimated uncompressed size and available space.

Cause: Your device does not have enough free storage to extract the archive. You generally need at least 2x the archive size (the archive itself plus the extracted files).

Solution: Free up storage on your device and try again. Use the Storage Manager to identify games or backups you can remove.

Symptom: Import fails with “Unable to determine the uncompressed archive size. Is the archive corrupt?”

Cause: Spark could not read the archive’s metadata to calculate the uncompressed size. The file may be corrupted or in an unsupported variant of the format.

Solution: Re-download the archive and try again. If the problem persists, the archive may use a non-standard format — report it to the support team.

Symptom: Import fails with “Unable to obtain file permission from the operating system.”

Cause: iOS did not grant Spark permission to access the selected file. This can occur with files from certain cloud storage providers or external locations.

Solution: Try copying the archive to the On My iPhone/iPad section in the Files app first, then import from there.

Symptom: Progress indicator freezes or an unlisted error appears during import.

Solutions:

• Ensure you have enough free storage (at least 2x the archive size)
• For very large archives (2 GB+), import may take several minutes — be patient
• Some archive formats such as 7z can be extremely slow with thousands of loose files
• If the error persists, report it to the support team with the error message and game name

Symptom: After importing an APK, the game has an incorrect or generic name.

Cause: The game name couldn’t be determined from the APK metadata.

Solution: Long-press the game in the library and rename it manually.