Desktop Explorer chapter guide

Desktop Explorer Cave walkthrough: Puzzles 0–10

Reviewed 25 July 2026Full Cave spoilersFull-release route

Quick route: guppy → fortuna → inanna → elephas → salve → portonus → mmtt → kassandra → rubicon. The final security answers are alligator or crocodile, 14, fire and Walter.

The Cave teaches the main language of Desktop Explorer: scroll beyond the visible page, change file extensions, inspect Properties and Source Code, reveal hidden files, and combine separate application windows. This route explains the action that reveals each answer instead of only listing the passwords.

Install Desktop Explorer

Log in to the Halibut profile.
Open openMe with the password guppy.
Run DE_Installer.exe.
Open Desktop Explorer and read the Prologue story file.
Open Puzzle 1 with fortuna.

Puzzles 1–4

Puzzle 1: Go In

Open long_scroll.npg and drag the scrollbar all the way to the bottom. The name there is Inanna, which opens Puzzle 2.

Puzzle 2: Ancient Ruins

Open the wide papyrus in NotePage, enable Word Wrap, then resize the window until the text forms an elephant. Use elephas for Puzzle 3.

Puzzle 3: Narrow Tunnel

Open detective_memories.stp in StoryTeller+'s Source Code view. The hidden comment gives salve.

Puzzle 4: Crossroads

Rename key.err to key.img, then open it. The word on the repaired image is portonus.

Puzzles 5–8

Puzzle 5: Big Door

Open Properties for etched_walls.img and check the author. Use mmtt to continue.

Puzzle 6: Lights Out

In File Explorer, enable View → Hidden Files. Read the newly visible warning and use kassandra. Keep flat_stone_S.img; it is needed at the altar.

Puzzle 7: Dark Sanctum

Open the stalagmite image, then return to Puzzle 1 and open the torch image. Place the lit torch window over the stalagmite window to reveal RUBICON.

Puzzle 8: Following the Dark

This route is intentionally a dead end. Read the story, then use File Explorer's Up button until Puzzle 9 appears near the beginning of the Cave. Keep flat_stone_M.img.

Puzzle 9: The altar

Open Puzzle 9 with rubicon. You need these three images:

flat_stone_S.img from Puzzle 6
flat_stone_M.img from Puzzle 8
flat_stone_L.img from Puzzle 9

Open all three and stack the windows with the large stone at the bottom, medium in the middle and small on top. Align them closely enough that each stone covers most of the one beneath it. The game merges them and provides ColorLens.exe. Install ColorLens before continuing; the Temple expects it.

Puzzle 10: Security answers

Question	Accepted answer
What animal is bathing in the tears of grief?	`alligator` or `crocodile`
How many eyes are witnessing the bliss of acceptance?	`14`
How did wrath manifest around the person on the boat?	`fire`
Who is the dead man on the boat?	`Walter`

For the missable This Is Not Your Computer achievement, enter father at the last question before submitting Walter.

When the Cave does not advance

Let each StoryTeller+ file finish before trying the next folder.
Confirm that file extensions are visible when renaming .err files.
For the altar, use three separate open image windows and overlap them tightly.
If a password folder stops responding, restart the game. Recent patches include fixes for password and installation softlocks.

What to do next

Continue with the Temple walkthrough. For a one-line answer rather than a full route, use the password and puzzle reference.

Sources and review notes

This page was rewritten around the player's sequence of actions and checked against current full-release references. It is not a transcript or a line-by-line translation of another guide.