How to install Proton compatibility tools on Linux the easy way with ProtonUp
There are some excellent community-made Proton compatibility tools for the Linux version of Steam. The trouble is, installing these tools isn’t easy for new users. Thankfully, ProtonUp exists, making it effortless to set up Proton compatibility tools. Here’s how to set it up.
Installing ProtonUp on Linux
ProtonUp must be installed before you can use it to install Proton compatibility tools on Steam. The app is supported on many Linux operating systems via Flatpak and AppImage.
To get the ProtonUp application up and running on your Linux computer, you’ll need to open up a terminal window on the desktop. You can launch a terminal window on the Linux desktop by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T on the keyboard. Alternatively, search for “Terminal” in the app menu and launch it that way.
The installation can begin with the terminal window open and ready to use. Please follow the installation instructions for either Flatpak or AppImage to get the app working on your computer.
Flatpak
Flatpak is perhaps the easiest way to get the ProtonUp application up and running on Linux. You will need to install the Flatpak runtime on your computer to start the installation process.
Setting up the Flatpak runtime on your computer is easy. To do it, set up the “flatpak” package on your computer using your package manager. If you’re having issues setting up the Flatpak runtime, please follow our guide on the subject.
With the Flatpak runtime configured and set up on your system, you’ll need to enable the Flathub app store. To enable this app store on your computer, use the following flatpak remote-add command below.
flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
With the Flathub app store configured, you’ll be able to install the ProtonUp app on your computer using the flatpak install command down below.
flatpak install flatpak install flathub net.davidotek.pupgui2
AppImage
If you don’t want to use Flatpak, you can also get the ProtonUp application working via AppImage. You’ll have to set up the AppImageLauncher runtime on your computer to start the installation. Setting up this runtime isn’t required. However, it makes setting up ProtonUp via AppImage way easier.
To get the AppImageLauncher runtime working on your computer, follow our guide on the subject. The tutorial will explain how to install and configure AppImageLauncher on your system.
With the AppImageLauncher tool installed, head over to the official ProtonUp download page, grab the ProtonUp AppImage and launch it with AppImageLauncher to install it on your Linux system.
Using ProtonUp to install Proton Glorious Eggroll
The community widely considers glorious Eggroll (Proton GE) to be the best version of Proton for gaming. It contains tons of fixes that aren’t included in the official Proton releases. It is often necessary to get certain games working.
To get ProtonGE working with ProtonUp, follow the step-by-step instructions below.
Step 1: Launch the ProtonUp application on your computer by searching for it in the app menu. Once the app is open, look for the “Install for” menu and select the Steam compatibility folder.
If you do not have a Steam compatibility folder configured already, open up a terminal window and enter the commands below.
Note: it is also possible to create the Linux file manager’s compatibility folder. Navigate to ~/.steam/root/ or ~/.var/app/com.valvesoftware.Steam/data/Steam/ and create the compatibilitytools.d folder.
Steam native
mkdir -p ~/.steam/root/compatibilitytools.d
Steam flatpak
mkdir -p ~/.var/app/com.valvesoftware.Steam/data/Steam/compatibilitytools.d/
Step 2: After creating the new folder, find the “Add version” button inside of the ProtonUp app. When you select this button, a pop-up window will appear. In this pop-up window, find the “Compatibility tool” and browse for “Proton-GE,” and click on the “Install” button to download and install Proton Glorious Eggroll.
Step 3: Open up the Steam application, click on the “Steam” menu, and follow the settings. From there, find “Steam Play” and set Steam to use the latest version of Proton-GE.
Installing other Proton compatibility tools with ProtonUp
Proton Glorious Eggroll should be all anyone needs to improve Proton compatibility in Steam. However, ProtonUp supports other community Proton tools. Here’s how to install them.
First, open up the ProtonUp application by searching for “ProtonUp” in the app menu. Once it is open, find the “Add version” button and click on it with the mouse. After selecting this button, a pop-up menu will appear.
Find the “Compatibility tool” drop-down menu inside the pop-up menu and select it. Then, look through the compatibility menu for various tools. Currently, you can install Boxtron, Luxtorpeda, and Roberta Proton compatibility tools.
To install any of these three compatibility tools, select the “Install” button. When installed, select it as the compatibility tool of choice inside of the “Steam Play” section of the Steam settings area.
