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Game Log Harvesting Framework

GLHF is an open-source, self-hosted data donation platform for gameplay behavior research. You deploy it on your own infrastructure — there is no hosted service. It provides a complete solution for researchers to collect consented play data from participants via Steam and Discord integrations, manage study participation workflows, and integrate with survey platforms like Qualtrics and Prolific.

Key Capabilities​

  • Informed consent — No data collection begins until participants review and accept informed consent; participants can withdraw and request data deletion at any time
  • Steam integration — Participants voluntarily link their Steam accounts; GLHF collects recently played games, owned games, and profile data via the public Steam API (requires participants to set game activity to public on their Steam profile)
  • Discord integration — Participants link their Discord accounts and are automatically added to the study server; a Discord bot tracks gameplay activity via Rich Presence (what games participants are playing and when)
  • Configurable requirements — Both Steam and Discord can be independently configured as required or optional for study activation
  • Survey integration — Trigger Qualtrics surveys after configurable study periods, with automatic email import, distribution, and reminders. Prolific integration for recruitment workflows
  • Passwordless authentication — Email magic links, Google OAuth, and Discord OAuth sign-in (separate from Discord account linking)
  • Configurable study timelines — Define days before survey, survey expiration, reminder timing, and study completion
  • Researcher notifications — Slack webhooks for study events
  • Self-hosted deployment — Deploy to your own server with Docker Compose; your data stays on your infrastructure. SQLite for local development, PostgreSQL for production

How It Works​

After deploying GLHF to their own server, researchers configure their study — name, consent text, timeline, and survey settings — through the Strapi admin panel. Participants interact with a branded Next.js website where they sign up, give informed consent, and link their Steam and/or Discord accounts. Once linked, automated cron jobs handle gameplay data collection from both platforms, survey distribution via Qualtrics, and study completion tracking without further researcher intervention.

Two Interfaces, Two Roles​

The researcher and participant each have their own interface. Researchers manage content through the Strapi admin panel — from study name and consent text to study timelines and survey settings. Participants see a website tailored to the study. For a deeper look at how these components connect, see the Architecture overview.

Participant · Study Website

Participant profile dashboard

Researcher · Strapi Admin

Strapi admin content manager

Alpha Status

GLHF is in early alpha. The platform is functional and has been used in research studies, but APIs and configuration may change. We welcome feedback and contributions — see the Contributing page.

Next Steps​