The Ultimate Guide to vkBasalt on Ubuntu 24.04 (Noble Numbat)

1. Introduction: Why vkBasalt Matters

If you're gaming on Linux, you’ve probably noticed that some games come with razor-sharp image quality—and others… don’t. Maybe a game looks too blurry when upscaling, maybe the edges shimmer too much without anti-aliasing, or maybe you just want your game to pop a bit more visually.

This is where vkBasalt comes in.

vkBasalt is a Vulkan post-processing layer that injects high-quality image enhancements into any Vulkan game. It can add:

• CAS sharpening (Contrast Adaptive Sharpening)
• SMAA (Subpixel Morphological Anti-Aliasing)
• FXAA (Fast Approximate Anti-Aliasing)
• Color correction, LUT filters, tonal adjustments
• Debanding
• Other shader-based effects

The best part?
You can use it globally, per-application, or fine-tune every effect manually. And with GOverlay, it becomes even easier.

This guide will walk you step-by-step through:

✔ Installing vkBasalt
✔ Setting it up through GOverlay
✔ Enabling it in Steam, Lutris, and command-line games
✔ Customizing the config
✔ Understanding each effect
✔ Troubleshooting common issues

(Insert a screenshot of vkBasalt in GOverlay here)

2. Installing vkBasalt on Ubuntu 24.04

Good news: Ubuntu 24.04 “Noble Numbat” includes vkBasalt right in the official repositories. That means installation is simple.

Step 1 — Open Your Terminal

Press:

Ctrl + Alt + T

Step 2 — Update Packages and Install vkBasalt + GOverlay

sudo apt update
sudo apt install vkbasalt goverlay

• vkbasalt — the actual post-processing layer
• goverlay — a powerful GUI that controls vkBasalt and MangoHud

(Insert screenshot of Terminal installation output)

3. GOverlay: The Easiest Way to Control vkBasalt

Once everything is installed, launch GOverlay from your app menu:

Applications → GOverlay

In GOverlay, look for the vkBasalt section.

(Insert screenshot of GOverlay interface)

Why use GOverlay?

Because it gives you:

✔ Switches for enabling/disabling vkBasalt globally
✔ Controls for CAS sharpness
✔ Toggles for SMAA, FXAA
✔ Previews of certain effects
✔ Easy config file editing
✔ Multiple profile management

This makes vkBasalt beginner-friendly and helps you experiment quickly.

Global vs per-game activation in GOverlay

• Global mode applies vkBasalt to every Vulkan game
• Per-app mode lets you create profiles for:
  • Steam games
  • Lutris games
  • Bottles
  • Heroic
  • Native Linux games launched through .desktop files

Global mode is easy. Per-game mode is cleaner.

4. Enabling vkBasalt for Games

You have two main ways to activate vkBasalt:

• Using GOverlay (recommended)
• Manually via environment variables

Let’s start with the recommended way.

Method 1 — Enabling vkBasalt Using GOverlay (Recommended)

Inside GOverlay → vkBasalt, you will see:

• “Enable vkBasalt”
• “Use Global Configuration”
• “Use Per-App Overrides”

Switch on the toggle.

(Insert screenshot of vkBasalt toggle inside GOverlay)

Then configure:

• SMAA → reduce jagged edges
• CAS → fix blurry upscaled images
• FXAA → soften the whole image
• Debanding → remove color banding in dark scenes
• LUT / color correction → optional custom effects

Method 2 — Manually via Environment Variables

vkBasalt is enabled by setting:

ENABLE_VKBASALT=1

Let’s go over how to use it with:

• Steam
• Lutris
• CLI games

4.1 Enabling vkBasalt in Steam

1. Right-click a game → Properties
2. Under Launch Options, add:

ENABLE_VKBASALT=1 %command%

(Insert screenshot of Steam Launch Options)

Close the window and launch your game.
If vkBasalt is working, pressing Home should toggle effects.

4.2 Enabling vkBasalt in Lutris

1. Right-click a game → Configure
2. Go to System Options
3. Scroll to Environment Variables
4. Click Add

Set:

• Key: ENABLE_VKBASALT
• Value: 1

(Insert screenshot of environment variable panel)

Click Save.

4.3 Enabling vkBasalt from the Command Line

Run any Vulkan game like this:

ENABLE_VKBASALT=1 ./yourgame

This method is perfect for native games and test builds.

5. Configuring vkBasalt (vkBasalt.conf)

vkBasalt looks for its configuration file here:

~/.config/vkBasalt/vkBasalt.conf

If the file or directory doesn’t exist, create them:

mkdir -p ~/.config/vkBasalt

Then you can grab the default config from GitHub:

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DadSchoorse/vkBasalt/refs/heads/master/config/vkBasalt.conf -O ~/.config/vkBasalt/vkBasalt.conf

6. Understanding Image Enhancement Options

Let’s go deeper and explain what each tweak actually does.

6.1. CAS – Contrast Adaptive Sharpening

Perfect for:

• Upscaled images
• FSR, DLSS-like upscaling
• Blurry textures at low render resolutions

CAS adds clarity without making the image too noisy.
You can adjust intensity from 0.0 to 1.0.

6.2. SMAA – High-quality anti-aliasing

SMAA is more subtle and accurate than FXAA.
Great if your game has shimmering edges.

Recommended settings:

smaa: {
    smaaQuality = ultra;
}

6.3. FXAA – Soft, easy anti-aliasing

FXAA blurs edges quickly and cheaply.
Good when you want:

• Lower GPU load
• Quick AA fix
• A “smooth” look

6.4. Debanding

Fixes:

• Color steps in dark areas
• Sky gradients
• Fog and shadows that look “striped”

Debanding makes visuals more cinematic and modern.

6.5. LUT / Color Correction

You can load your own LUT to apply:

• Cinematic color grading
• Warm or cool filters
• HDR-like pseudo effects

Example:

effects = lut;
lutFile = ~/.config/vkBasalt/myLut.png;

7. Toggling vkBasalt In-Game

By default:

Press the Home key

to toggle vkBasalt on/off while playing.

This is perfect for:

• Before/after comparisons
• Checking performance impact
• Testing sharpening and AA levels

If the key doesn’t work, check your config:

toggleKey = home

8. Troubleshooting vkBasalt

The game doesn’t launch

Try setting this:

ENABLE_VKBASALT=1 VK_INSTANCE_LAYERS=vkBasalt

Steam Proton game ignoring vkBasalt

Add this to launch options:

ENABLE_VKBASALT=1 VK_LAYER_PATH=$HOME/.local/share/vulkan/implicit_layer.d %command%

No effect when pressing Home

You might be using the numpad Home.
Use the one on the main keyboard section.

Performance drops too much

Try disabling SMAA first.
CAS is almost free and gives the biggest improvement.

9. Final Thoughts

vkBasalt is one of the most powerful visual tools for Linux gaming. When used correctly:

• Upscaled games look crisp
• Old games look cleaner
• Dark scenes look smoother
• Edges look less jagged
• Colors become richer
• The overall image quality jumps far beyond default settings

Combined with GOverlay, vkBasalt becomes incredibly easy to configure—even for beginners.

Whether you use Steam, Lutris, Bottles, or native Vulkan games, vkBasalt adds a level of polish that can transform your experience.