diff --git a/core/itch_client.gd b/core/itch_client.gd
index 60c8c02..b508ab6 100644
--- a/core/itch_client.gd
+++ b/core/itch_client.gd
@@ -16,7 +16,10 @@ extends NodeThread
 ## butler update that changes a field, diff against that spec.
 
 const broth_base := "https://broth.itch.zone/butler"
-const butler_dir := "user://plugins/itch/assets/butler"
+## Persistent storage for the downloaded butler binary + butler.db. Kept OUT
+## of user://plugins/<id>/ because OGPU wipes that directory (and everything
+## inside it) whenever the plugin is updated or re-extracted.
+const butler_dir := "user://butler"
 const CACHE_DIR := "itch"
 
 enum STATE {
@@ -69,7 +72,9 @@ func _ready() -> void:
 
 ## Bootstraps the butler binary if it isn't present, then spawns butlerd.
 func bootstrap() -> void:
-	var butler_bin := "/".join([ProjectSettings.globalize_path(butler_dir), "butler"])
+	var butler_dir_global := ProjectSettings.globalize_path(butler_dir)
+	_migrate_butler(butler_dir_global)
+	var butler_bin := "/".join([butler_dir_global, "butler"])
 	if not FileAccess.file_exists(butler_bin):
 		logger.info("The butler binary wasn't found. Trying to install it.")
 		var success := await _install_butler()
@@ -79,7 +84,7 @@ func bootstrap() -> void:
 			return
 		logger.info("Successfully installed butler")
 
-	var dbpath := "/".join([ProjectSettings.globalize_path("user://plugins/itch/assets"), "butler.db"])
+	var dbpath := "/".join([butler_dir_global, "butler.db"])
 	var args := [
 		"daemon",
 		"--json",
@@ -100,6 +105,27 @@ func bootstrap() -> void:
 	bootstrap_finished.emit()
 
 
+## Moves a butler install left over in the plugin directory (OGPU wipes
+## plugins/<id>/ on every plugin update, which is why older builds kept
+## losing butler) to the persistent user://butler location.
+func _migrate_butler(dest_dir: String) -> void:
+	var old_dir := ProjectSettings.globalize_path("user://plugins/itch/assets/butler")
+	if old_dir == dest_dir:
+		return
+	if not DirAccess.dir_exists_absolute(old_dir):
+		return
+	if not FileAccess.file_exists("/".join([old_dir, "butler"])):
+		return
+	if FileAccess.file_exists("/".join([dest_dir, "butler"])):
+		return
+	DirAccess.make_dir_recursive_absolute(dest_dir)
+	for file in ["butler", "7z.so", "libc7zip.so"]:
+		var src := "/".join([old_dir, file])
+		if FileAccess.file_exists(src):
+			DirAccess.copy_absolute(src, "/".join([dest_dir, file]))
+	logger.info("Migrated butler from " + old_dir + " to " + dest_dir)
+
+
 ## Downloads a butler binary for this platform from itch's broth distribution
 ## channel (the same one the official itch.io app uses to self-update).
 func _install_butler() -> bool:
diff --git a/plugin.json b/plugin.json
index 60b5275..63d028e 100644
--- a/plugin.json
+++ b/plugin.json
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "plugin.id": "itch",
   "plugin.name": "itch.io",
-  "plugin.version": "0.1.0",
+  "plugin.version": "0.1.1",
   "plugin.min-api-version": "1.1.0",
   "plugin.link": "https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/OpenGamepadUI-itch",
   "plugin.source": "https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/OpenGamepadUI-itch",