PortProton Documentation

Depending on your distribution, you must install specific dependencies to ensure compatibility, especially for 32-bit games.

NVIDIA Users

If using proprietary NVIDIA drivers, ensure lib32-nvidia-utils is installed to support 32-bit games.

Ubuntu / Linux Mint / Pop!_OS

sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386
sudo add-apt-repository multiverse
sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade
sudo apt install curl file libc6 libnss3 policykit-1 xz-utils bubblewrap curl icoutils tar libvulkan1 libvulkan1:i386 zstd cabextract xdg-utils openssl libgl libgl1:i386

Arch Linux / Manjaro

1. Ensure the [multilib] repository is enabled in /etc/pacman.conf:

[multilib]
Include = /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist

2. Install dependencies:

sudo pacman -Syu bash bubblewrap zstd cabextract tar openssl desktop-file-utils curl dbus freetype2 gdk-pixbuf2 ttf-font gzip nss xorg-xrandr vulkan-driver vulkan-icd-loader lsof lib32-freetype2 lib32-libgl lib32-gcc-libs lib32-libx11 lib32-libxss lib32-libalsa-plugins lib32-libgpg-error lib32-nss lib32-vulkan-driver lib32-vulkan-icd-loader lib32-openssl

3. For NVIDIA:

sudo pacman -Syu lib32-nvidia-utils

Fedora

sudo dnf update
sudo dnf upgrade --refresh
sudo dnf install curl bubblewrap zstd cabextract tar openssl mesa-dri-drivers.i686 mesa-vulkan-drivers mesa-vulkan-drivers.i686 vulkan-loader vulkan-loader.i686 nss.i686 alsa-lib.i686 mesa-libGL.i686 mesa-libEGL.i686 wmctrl ImageMagick

openSUSE

sudo zypper install curl bubblewrap zstd cabextract tar steam

Void Linux

sudo xbps-install -Su void-repo-multilib
sudo xbps-install -S bash wget icoutils yad bubblewrap zstd cabextract gzip tar xz openssl desktop-file-utils curl dbus freetype xdg-utils gdk-pixbuf noto-fonts-ttf nss xrandr lsof mesa-demos ImageMagick Vulkan-Tools libgcc alsa-plugins-32bit libX11-32bit freetype-32bit libglvnd-32bit libgpg-error-32bit nss-32bit openssl-32bit vulkan-loader vulkan-loader-32bit

PortProton requires specific system dependencies to function correctly. Ensure you install the set corresponding to your distribution.

Important for NVIDIA Users: If you use proprietary NVIDIA drivers, you must ensure lib32-nvidia-utils (Arch) or equivalent 32-bit drivers are installed, otherwise 32-bit games will not work.

Ubuntu / Linux Mint / Pop!_OS / Debian

sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386
sudo add-apt-repository multiverse
sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade
sudo apt install curl file libc6 libnss3 policykit-1 xz-utils bubblewrap curl icoutils tar libvulkan1 libvulkan1:i386 zstd cabextract xdg-utils openssl libgl1 libgl1:i386

Arch Linux / Manjaro

First, ensure the [multilib] repository is enabled in /etc/pacman.conf:

[multilib]
Include = /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist

Then install dependencies:

sudo pacman -Syu bash bubblewrap zstd cabextract tar openssl desktop-file-utils curl dbus freetype2 gdk-pixbuf2 ttf-font gzip nss xorg-xrandr vulkan-driver vulkan-icd-loader lsof lib32-freetype2 lib32-libgl lib32-gcc-libs lib32-libx11 lib32-libxss lib32-libalsa-plugins lib32-libgpg-error lib32-nss lib32-vulkan-driver lib32-vulkan-icd-loader

# For NVIDIA users:
sudo pacman -Syu lib32-nvidia-utils

Fedora

sudo dnf update
sudo dnf upgrade --refresh
sudo dnf install curl bubblewrap zstd cabextract tar openssl mesa-dri-drivers.i686 mesa-vulkan-drivers mesa-vulkan-drivers.i686 vulkan-loader vulkan-loader.i686 nss.i686 alsa-lib.i686 mesa-libGL.i686 mesa-libEGL.i686 wmctrl ImageMagick

Void Linux

sudo xbps-install -Su void-repo-multilib
sudo xbps-install -S bash wget icoutils yad bubblewrap zstd cabextract gzip tar xz openssl desktop-file-utils curl dbus freetype xdg-utils gdk-pixbuf noto-fonts-ttf nss xrandx lsof mesa-demos ImageMagick Vulkan-Tools libgcc alsa-plugins-32bit libX11-32bit freetype-32bit libglvnd-32bit libgpg-error-32bit nss-32bit openssl-32bit vulkan-loader vulkan-loader-32bit

PortProton can be installed using package managers depending on your distribution. Follow the specific command for your OS:

Alt Linux

Using apt-get:

su -
apt-get update && apt-get dist-upgrade
apt-get install portproton
exit

Using eepm:

su -
epm full-upgrade
epm play portproton
exit

Ubuntu, Debian, Linux Mint, Deepin

Download and install the .deb package: portproton_amd64.deb

Arch Linux (and derivatives like Manjaro, Garuda)

Use the AUR: AUR: portproton

Fedora 39+ and Nobara

sudo dnf copr enable boria138/portproton
sudo dnf install portproton

ROSA Linux

sudo urpmi portproton

Flatpak (Universal)

flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
flatpak install flathub ru.linux_gaming.PortProton

The PortWINE entrypoint dispatches various commands based on user interaction in the GUI. Below are the primary actions supported by the dispatcher:

Wine & Prefix Management

• WINECFG: Runs winecfg to edit prefix settings.
• WINEFILE: Runs the Wine file manager.
• WINECMD: Runs the Wine command line.
• WINEREG: Runs regedit.
• WINETRICKS: Opens the prefix manager/Winetricks.
• gui_clear_pfx: Clears the current prefix to fix problems.
• pw_create_prefix_backup: Creates a backup of the current prefix.
• wine_uninstaller: Runs the built-in Wine uninstaller.

PortProton & System Management

• gui_pw_update: Updates PortProton.
• gui_rm_portproton: Removes PortProton.
• gui_pw_reinstall_pp: Reinstalls PortProton.
• gui_proton_downloader: Opens the menu to download other WINE or PROTON versions.
• change_loc: Changes the application language.
• open_changelog: Opens the changelog.
• gui_credits: Shows credits.
• pw_start_cont_xterm: Starts a terminal (Xterm) for PortProton.

Advanced & Debugging

• portwine_start_debug: Starts PortWINE in debug mode.
• portwine_launch: Launches the application.
• gui_vkbasalt, gui_mangohud, gui_dgvoodoo2, gui_gamescope: Specialized tool GUIs.
• *.desktop: Handles clicking on a generated .desktop file via button_click --desktop.

When using the cli mode, the following commands are available. Note that many commands require a path to an .exe file or a specific prefix name as an argument.

--help                                            Show usage information
--reinstall                                        Reinstalls PortProton and resets all settings to default
--generate-pot                                     Creates files with translations .pot and .po
--debug                                            Debug scripts (saves log in $PORT_WINE_PATH/scripts-debug.log)
--update                                            Check update scripts for PortProton
--launch                                            Launches the application immediately (requires path to .exe)
--edit-db                                          Edit variables for a specific .exe file
--get-user-conf                                     Get a value from user.conf file (requires variable name)
--set-user-conf                                    Set a value in user.conf file (requires variable name and value)
--del-user-conf                                    Delete a value from user.conf file (requires variable name)
--list-db                                          List all available database variables
--show-ppdb                                        Show the content of .ppdb file for specified .exe file
--backup-prefix                                    Backup specified prefix to a file
--restore-prefix                                   Restore prefix from backup file
--winefile                                         Open wine file explorer (requires WINE version and prefix name)
--winecfg                                          Open wine configuration (requires WINE version and prefix name)
--winecmd                                          Open wine command prompt (requires WINE version and prefix name)
--winereg                                          Open wine registry editor (requires WINE version and prefix name)
--wine_uninstaller                                 Open wine uninstaller (requires WINE version and prefix name)
--clear_pfx                                        Clear specified prefix (requires WINE version and prefix name)
--mangohud-preview                                 Starts MangoHud preview in vkcube
--initial                                          Initial setup command
--autoinstall                                      Run autoinstall scripts

PortWINE provides a CLI mode by passing the cli argument as the first parameter. This mode is designed for automation, headless environments, or direct control over specific game executables and configurations without the GUI.

Common CLI tasks include launching specific executables, managing user configurations, backing up/restoring prefixes, and running Wine utilities (like winecfg) directly.

# Launch a specific game executable
portproton cli --launch /path/to/game.exe

# Edit database variables for a specific game
portproton cli --edit-db /path/to/game.exe PW_MANGOHUD=1 PW_VKBASALT=0

# Manage user configuration values
portproton cli --set-user-conf PW_MANGOHUD 1
portproton cli --get-user-conf PW_MANGOHUD
portproton cli --del-user-conf PW_MANGOHUD

# Backup and Restore prefixes
portproton cli --backup-prefix DEFAULT /path/to/backup/directory
portproton cli --restore-prefix /path/to/backup/file.ppack

# Run Wine utilities for a specific prefix
portproton cli --winecfg WINE_LG DEFAULT
portproton cli --winecmd WINE_LG DEFAULT