How to Use the Save Decoder and Save Editor Tools on About Patsy

Updated

About Patsy (coderpatsy.bitbucket.io) hosts a small set of fan-made utilities for incremental games, and the save decoder is the entry point for anyone who wants to inspect or modify a save file. The decoder is built for saves that compress JSON with LZString and then encode the result as base64 — the format used by Kittens Game and similar browser games. If your save is plain JSON, or compressed with a different library, this tool is not the right fit. The page also links to save editor utilities through a public Bitbucket repository, so editing beyond a simple decode means working with that code rather than a polished web form.

What the decoder actually does

The decoder is described on the site as "a simple interface for decoding/encoding incremental game saves (the ones that use LZString to compress JSON to base64 anyway)." That sentence tells you the whole pipeline:

  1. Input: a save string copied from the game — base64 text that, once decoded, yields LZString-compressed data.
  2. Action: the tool base64-decodes the string, then decompresses the LZString payload to recover readable JSON.
  3. Expected result: a JSON object you can read, search, and — after editing — re-encode back into a string the game will accept.

The "encoding" half matters as much as decoding. A decoded save is only useful if you can put it back together in the exact format the game expects, which is why the tool handles both directions.

Step-by-step: decoding a save

  1. Export the save from the game. In Kittens Game and similar titles, this is usually a text box or button that produces a long string of characters. Copy the entire string — truncating it will break the base64 padding and the decode will fail.
  2. Paste it into the decoder on About Patsy. The site presents a simple interface: one field for the encoded save, and output for the decoded result.
  3. Read the JSON output. You should see a structured object with game state — resources, buildings, upgrades, and so on. If you get garbled text or an error, the save probably isn't in the LZString-to-base64 format the tool expects.
  4. Keep a backup of the original string before you change anything. This is the single most important step; there is no undo once you overwrite a save in the game.

Step-by-step: editing and re-encoding

The site does not present a full graphical save editor — the editing utilities live in the public repository linked from the page ("Save Editor - Public repo" under the Kittens Game section). That means the practical workflow is:

  1. Decode the save as above and copy the JSON.
  2. Edit the JSON in a text editor. Change only values you understand, and keep the structure intact — removing a key the game expects can corrupt the save.
  3. Paste the edited JSON back into the encoder side of the tool to get a new base64 string.
  4. Import that string into the game and verify the change took effect.

If you want a guided editor rather than hand-editing JSON, check the repository first: it is where the maintainer publishes the editor code, and it may include a usable interface or instructions for running it locally.

Check the tool matches your game before editing

The page groups utilities by game, and that grouping is the main compatibility signal:

Game Tools listed on the page
Kittens Game Save decoder, save editor utilities (public repo), Catnip / Unicorns / Energy / Max Science calculators
Cookie Clicker Cookies calculator, Cookies save editor, Cookies buildings price calculator

Two cautions follow from this. First, the decoder is described generically for incremental games using the LZString-plus-base64 format, but the save editor utilities are listed specifically under Kittens Game — do not assume a Kittens Game editor will accept a Cookie Clicker save, even if both decode with the same tool. Second, Cookie Clicker has its own save editor listed separately, so use that one for Cookie Clicker saves.

Common snags

  • Decode fails or returns nonsense: the save is likely not LZString-compressed base64. Some games use different compression or plain JSON; the tool will not help there.
  • Game rejects the re-encoded save: usually a sign the JSON was altered in a way that broke its structure, or the string was cut off during copy-paste.
  • You can't find a graphical editor: the page points to a repository rather than a hosted editor form, so expect to work with code or follow the repo's own instructions.
  • Licensing: the page states that unless otherwise noted, all code is released under an MIT license, with a license.txt link — relevant if you plan to reuse or modify the tools.

The site also lists a contact address (animperfectpatsy at gmail dot com) and credits the author as a contributor to Kittens Game, which is consistent with the Kittens Game focus of most of the utilities.