RiftLoader or Rocket League closes during or after injection
Step 1 — Close RiftLoader Completely
Make sure RiftLoader.exe is fully closed. Check your taskbar and system tray. If needed, open Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc) and end any active RiftLoader process.
Step 2 — Disable Your Antivirus
Temporarily disable any antivirus software, including Windows Defender, Avast, Norton, Kaspersky, or similar. If you have Vanguard (Valorant's anti-cheat) installed, disable that as well.
💡 To disable Windows Defender: Open Windows Security → Virus & threat protection → Manage settings → Turn off Real-time protection
Step 3 — Delete the Rift Folder
Press Win + R, type %localappdata%, and press Enter. Find and delete the Rift folder entirely. This forces a fresh download of all files.
C:\Users\<your_name>\AppData\Local\Rift
Step 4 — Update Your NVIDIA GPU Driver
An outdated driver can cause the loader to crash or fail to inject. Visit the NVIDIA Driver Download Page, select your GPU model, choose Game Ready Driver (GRD), and install the latest version.
💡 Not sure which GPU you have? Press Win + R, type dxdiag, press Enter, then click the Display tab — your GPU name is listed there.
Step 5 — Restart Your PC
Restart your computer to clear any cached processes or locked files.
Step 6 — Run RiftLoader as Administrator
Start Rocket League first and wait until you are fully in the lobby. Then right-click RiftLoader.exe and select Run as administrator. It will re-download all dependencies automatically.
💡 If it still crashes, try downloading and running a completely fresh copy of RiftLoader.exe.
Step 7 — Run clean.cmd
If the issue persists, download and run the clean.cmd script as Administrator. It clears temporary files and caches, and adds Windows Defender exclusions automatically.
⚠️ Close both RiftLoader and Rocket League before running clean.cmd.
Step 8 — Disable BakkesMod (In-Game Crashes Only)
If the loader injects successfully but Rocket League crashes during a match, BakkesMod or one of its plugins is likely the cause. Close BakkesMod completely — including from the system tray — and try running RiftLoader without it.
⚠️ If you need BakkesMod, go to BakkesMod Settings → Plugins and disable all plugins. Re-enable them one by one to identify which plugin is causing the conflict.