Repository files navigation

Proton is a tool for use with the Steam client which allows games which areexclusive to Windows to run on the Linux operating system. It uses Wine tofacilitate this.

Most users should use Proton provided by the Steam Client itself. Seethis Steam Community post for more details.

The source code is provided to enable advanced users the ability to alterProton. For example, some users may wish to use a different version of Winewith a particular title.

The changelog is available onour wiki.

Acquire Proton's source by cloninghttps://github.com/ValveSoftware/Protonand checking out the branch you desire.

You can clone the latest Proton to your system with this command:

git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/ValveSoftware/Proton.git proton

Be sure to update submodules when switching between branches:

git checkout experimental_6.3git submodule update --init --recursive

If you want to change any subcomponent, now is the time to do so. Forexample, if you wish to make changes to Wine, you would apply them to thewine/ directory.

Most of Proton builds inside the Proton SDK container with very fewdependencies on the host side. For convenience we also provideVagrant scripts that will create a VM with all the dependenciesand a working container runtime and build Proton inside it.

The direct container build is recommended for people building Proton on aregular basis as it is faster and less resource hungry.

The Vagrant VM is easier to set up but comes with higher overhead, whichmakes it more suitable for an occassional Proton build.

You need either a Docker or a Podman setup. We highly recommendthe rootlessPodman setup. Please refer to your distribution'sdocummentation for setup instructions (e.g. ArchPodman /Docker, DebianPodman /Docker).

mkdir ../build&&cd ../build../proton/configure.sh --container-engine=podman --enable-ccache --build-name=my_build

Runningconfigure.sh will create aMakefile allowing you to build Proton.The scripts checks if containers are functional and prompt you if anyhost-side dependencies are missing. You should run the command from adirectory created specifically for your build.

The build by default uses Docker, but you can switch to another, compatibleengine with--container-engine=<executable_name>.

You can enable ccache with--enable-cache flag. This will mount your$CCACHE_DIR or$HOME/.ccache inside the container.

--proton-sdk-image=registry.gitlab.steamos.cloud/proton/soldier/sdk:<version>can be used to build with a custom version of the Proton SDK images.

Check--help for other configuration options.

NOTE: IfSELinux is in use, the Proton build container may fail to accessyour user's files. This is caused bySELinux's filesystemlabels. You may pass the--relabel-volumes switch toconfigure to cause thecontainer engine to relabel itsbind-mounts and allow access to those files from within thecontainer. This can be dangerous when used with system directories. Proceedwith caution and refer your container engine's manual.

make

Important make targets:

make install - install Proton into your user's Steam directory, see theinstall Protonlocally section for details.

make redist - create a redistribute build (redist/) that can be copied to~/.steam/root/compatibilitytools.d/.

make deploy - create a deployment build (deploy/). This is what we use todeploy Proton to Steam users via Steamworks.

make module=<module> module - build both 32- and 64-bit versions of thespecified wine module. This allows rapid iteration on one module. This targetis only useful after building Proton.

make dxvk /make vkd3d-proton - rebuild DXVK / vkd3d-proton.

This section describes how to use a virtual machine to build proton.

The VM is managed withVagrant, which you will need to install andconfigure before invoking these commands. Proton's build system is most welltested with Vagrant's VirtualBox and libvirt/qemu backends. It also requiresthe vagrant-sshfs plugin. You may run into problems with the shared folder(vagrant_share) and/or CPU and memory usage with other backends.

We provide a top-level Makefile which will execute most of the build commandsfor you.

After checking out the repository and updating its submodules, assuming thatyou have working Vagrant setup, you can build and install Proton with asimple:

make install

You may need to restart the Steam client to see the new Proton tool. Thetool's name in the Steam client will be based on the currently checked outbranch of Proton. You can override this name using thebuild_name variable.

Seemake help for other build targets and options.

If your build VM gets cluttered, or falls out of date, you can usevagrant destroy to wipe the VM clean, then invoke one of the below commands to startover.

Proton provides a Vagrantfile, which will automatically set up the Debian VMfor you. After installing Vagrant, initialize the VM by running from withinthe Proton directory:

vagrant up

It will take a long time to download the base image and install all the builddependencies. Eventually it will complete. You can SSH into the virtualmachine with:

vagrant ssh

You are now inside a virtual machine with a working Docker setup. At thispoint you will need to configure and make the build, seebuilding withpodman or docker section for details.

mkdir build/cd build../proton/configure.sh --build-name=my_buildmake

The Vagrantfile is set up to rsync theproton directory into the VM onboot. On the host machine, you can usevagrant rsync-auto to have Vagrantautomatically sync changes on your host machine into the build machine. It isrecommended that you make changes on your host machine, and then perform thebuild in the VM. Any changes you make in theproton directory on the VM maybe overwritten by later rsync updates from the host machine.

The Vagrantfile also creates a directory calledvagrant_share/ in theproton/ directory of your host machine, which is mounted at/vagrantwithin the VM. You can use this shared folder to move your Proton build outof the VM, or as one way to copy files into the VM.

When you are done with the VM, you can shut it down from the host machine:

vagrant halt

Please read the Vagrant documentation for more information about how to useVagrant VMs.

Steam ships with several versions of Proton, which games will use by default orthat you can select in Steam Settings's Steam Play page. Steam also supportsrunning games with local builds of Proton, which you can install on yourmachine.

To install a local build of Proton into Steam, make a new directory in~/.steam/root/compatibilitytools.d/ with a tool name of your choosing andplace the directory containing your redistributable build under that path.

Themake install target will perform this task for you, installing theProton build into the Steam folder for the current user. You will have torestart the Steam client for it to pick up on a new tool.

A correct local tool installation should look like this:

compatibilitytools.d/my_proton/├── compatibilitytool.vdf├── filelock.py├── LICENSE├── proton├── proton_dist.tar├── toolmanifest.vdf├── user_settings.sample.py└── version

To enable your local build in Steam, go to the Steam Play section of theSettings window. If the build was correctly installed, you should see"proton-localbuild" in the drop-down list of compatibility tools.

Each component of this software is used under the terms of their licenses.See theLICENSE files here, as well as theLICENSE,COPYING, etc filesin each submodule and directory for details. If you distribute a builtversion of Proton to other users, you must adhere to the terms of theselicenses.

Proton can be tuned at runtime to help certain games run. The Steam client setssome options for known games using theSTEAM_COMPAT_CONFIG variable.You can override these options using the environment variables described below.

The best way to set these environment overrides for all games is by renaminguser_settings.sample.py touser_settings.py and modifying it appropriately.This file is located in the Proton installation directory in your Steam library(often~/.steam/steam/steamapps/common/Proton #.#).

If you want to change the runtime configuration for a specific game, you canuse theSet Launch Options setting in the game'sProperties dialog in theSteam client. Set the variable, followed by%command%. For example, input"PROTON_USE_WINED3D=1 %command%" to use the OpenGL-based wined3d rendererinstead of the Vulkan-based DXVK renderer.

To enable an option, set the variable to a non-0 value. To disable anoption, set the variable to0. To use Steam's default configuration, donot specify the variable at all.

All of the below are runtime options. They do not effect permanent changes tothe Wine prefix. Removing the option will revert to the previous behavior.