Ultimate Guide to Installing Proton‑GE (Custom Proton) on Linux

Everything you need to know – from the very first download to daily updates, multiple launchers, and troubleshooting.

1. What Is Proton‑GE?

Proton‑GE is a drop‑in replacement for the official Proton. All you have to do is place the extracted folder in Steam’s ~/.steam/steam/compatibilitytools.d directory (or the system‑wide equivalent) and select it per‑game.

2. Prerequisites – “What You Need Before You Start”

Note for Arch/Manjaro – Replace apt with pacman -S (e.g., sudo pacman -S steam vulkan-icd-loader lib32-vulkan-icd-loader).
Note for Fedora – Use dnf (sudo dnf install steam vulkan vulkan-tools).

Verify Vulkan Is Working

vulkaninfo | head -n 20   # should show “Vulkan Instance Version” etc.

If you get “cannot find vulkaninfo” or errors about drivers, fix your GPU driver first.

3. Where Does Proton‑GE Live? (Directory Layout)

Why it matters: Most guides default to the user‑only location because you don’t need sudo and it works for all launchers (Steam, Heroic, Lutris).

4. Installing Proton‑GE – The Most Common Ways

4.1. Quick‑Start: ProtonUp‑Qt (GUI)

The recommended method for newcomers. It handles download, extraction, updates, and even installs the extra DXVK/VKD3D layers automatically.

4.1.1. Install ProtonUp‑Qt

4.1.2. Run ProtonUp‑Qt

protonup-qt   # launches the GUI

1. Select “Proton‑GE” from the dropdown list.
2. Choose the latest version (or a specific older one if you need it).
3. Click “Install/Update”.
4. ProtonUp‑Qt will download the tarball from the official GitHub releases, extract it to the correct compatibilitytools.d folder, and (optionally) install the latest DXVK and VKD3D‑Proton binaries.

Tip: In the Settings tab you can enable “Automatically check for updates every X days” – this keeps Proton‑GE fresh without you lifting a finger.

4.1.3. Verify Installation

Open Steam → Settings → Steam Play. Under “Proton compatibility tools”, you should now see a list entry like:

Proton‑GE 9.23‑GE‑2 (or whatever version you installed)

Select it as default (or per‑game later).

4.2. Manual Download & Extraction

When you prefer total control, want to install a specific commit, or you’re on a distro that doesn’t have ProtonUp‑Qt.

4.2.1. Grab the Latest Release

1. Go to the GitHub releases page:
   https://github.com/GloriousEggroll/proton-ge-custom/releases
2. Find the latest .tar.gz asset (e.g., Proton-9.23-GE-2.tar.gz).
3. Download – either via a browser or using wget/curl:

# Example – replace with the latest URL
wget -O ProtonGE.tar.gz "https://github.com/GloriousEggroll/proton-ge-custom/releases/download/GE-Proton9-23/Proton-9.23-GE-2.tar.gz"

4.2.2. Choose Destination

• User‑only (recommended):

mkdir -p ~/.steam/root/compatibilitytools.d/
DEST=~/.steam/root/compatibilitytools.d/

• System‑wide (requires sudo):

sudo mkdir -p /usr/lib/steam/compatibilitytools.d/
DEST=/usr/lib/steam/compatibilitytools.d/

4.2.3. Extract

tar -xzf ProtonGE.tar.gz -C "$DEST"

The folder will be named something like Proton-9.23-GE-2.

4.2.4. (Optional) Install Stand‑Alone DXVK & VKD3D

Proton‑GE bundles its own DXVK/VKD3D, but you can replace them with the latest builds for extra performance.

# Install the latest DXVK (requires glxinfo/vulkaninfo)
# Choose a directory for the binaries, e.g., ~/.local/share/dxvk
mkdir -p ~/.local/share/dxvk
cd ~/.local/share/dxvk

# Grab latest release from GitHub
wget -O dxvk.tar.gz "https://github.com/doitsujin/dxvk/releases/download/v2.2/dxvk-2.2.tar.gz"
tar -xzf dxvk.tar.gz

# Install into Proton‑GE
DXVK_DIR=~/.steam/root/compatibilitytools.d/Proton-9.23-GE-2
"$DXVK_DIR"/dist/install_dxvk.sh install "$DXVK_DIR"

(The script is inside the DXVK tarball; it copies the needed DLLs into Proton‑GE.)

4.2.5. Verify in Steam

Same as in 4.1.3 – open Steam → Settings → Steam Play → “Proton compatibility tools”. Your manual install should appear.

4.3. Installing via Lutris

Lutris is a game manager that can launch Windows games with its own Wine builds, but it also supports Proton‑GE for Steam titles or non‑Steam games via the “Run with Steam” option.

1. Install Lutris

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:lutris-team/lutris
sudo apt update
sudo apt install lutris

# Arch
sudo pacman -S lutris

1. Add Proton‑GE to Lutris
   • Open Lutris → Preferences → Runners → Wine.
   • Click “Download latest version” or the “Add custom version” button.
   • In the custom version dialog, set:
     • Name: Proton‑GE
     • Path: ~/.steam/root/compatibilitytools.d/Proton-9.23-GE-2 (or wherever you installed).
   • Lutris will treat this as a Wine runner.
2. Create a new “Steam” game entry
   • Click + → Add a new game → Steam → Enable “Run with Steam”.
   • In the Runner options, select the Proton‑GE runner you just added.
   • Save and launch – Lutris will call Steam with PROTON_USE_WINED3D=0 etc., using your custom Proton.

Why use Lutris?Centralizes non‑Steam games (e.g., Epic, GOG) that you still want to run under Proton‑GE.Gives you per‑game Wine/Proton version control without touching Steam’s UI.

4.4. Installing via Heroic Games Launcher (Epic/GoG)

Heroic can run Windows games through Proton (or Wine).

1. Install Heroic

# Flatpak (most universal)
flatpak install flathub com.heroicgameslauncher.hgl

1. Configure Proton‑GE in Heroic
   • Open Heroic → Settings → Compatibility → Proton.
   • Click “Add custom Proton”.
   • Browse to the Proton‑GE folder (~/.steam/root/compatibilitytools.d/Proton-9.23-GE-2).
   • Give it a friendly name (e.g., “Proton‑GE‑9.23”).
2. Assign to a game
   • In your library, click the three‑dot menu → Manage Compatibility → select the newly added Proton‑GE version.

Tip: Heroic automatically adds the environment variable PROTON_NO_ESYNC=1 for some titles that misbehave with esync. You can toggle it per‑game in Advanced Options.

4.5. Installing for Steam Deck (Desktop Mode)

Even though the Deck ships with a built‑in Proton, you can still add Proton‑GE for experimental titles.

1. Switch to Desktop Mode → open a terminal.
2. Install ProtonUp‑Qt via the Discover Software Center or:

flatpak install flathub net.authorquantum.protonup

1. Run protonup-qt and install the desired Proton‑GE version.
2. In Steam → Settings → Steam Play, enable “Proton‑GE” as a compatibility tool.

The Deck automatically creates a per‑user compatibilitytools.d folder under $HOME/.local/share/Steam/, so the same steps as a regular PC apply.

5. Selecting Proton‑GE Per‑Game (Steam)

1. Right‑click the game → Properties → Compatibility.
2. Check “Force the use of a specific Steam Play compatibility tool”.
3. Choose Proton‑GE X.Y‑GE‑Z from the dropdown.

Why per‑game?
Some titles work better on the official Proton (e.g., certain anti‑cheat enabled games), while others need the bleeding‑edge fixes in Proton‑GE.

6. Keeping Proton‑GE Fresh – Updates & Maintenance

6.1. Example Cron Script (Linux)

Create ~/bin/update-proton-ge.sh:

#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail

# 1. Determine latest version via GitHub API
LATEST=$(curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/GloriousEggroll/proton-ge-custom/releases/latest | grep '"tag_name":' | cut -d '"' -f4)
URL="https://github.com/GloriousEggroll/proton-ge-custom/releases/download/${LATEST}/Proton-${LATEST}.tar.gz"

# 2. Destination
DEST="${HOME}/.steam/root/compatibilitytools.d"

# 3. Download if newer
if [[ ! -d "${DEST}/Proton-${LATEST}" ]]; then
    echo "Downloading Proton‑GE ${LATEST}..."
    wget -q -O "/tmp/ProtonGE.tar.gz" "$URL"
    echo "Extracting..."
    tar -xzf "/tmp/ProtonGE.tar.gz" -C "$DEST"
    echo "Installed Proton‑GE ${LATEST}"
else
    echo "Proton‑GE ${LATEST} already installed."
fi

# 4. (Optional) Clean old versions – keep only latest 3
cd "$DEST"
ls -1d Proton-* | sort -V | head -n -3 | xargs -r rm -rf

Make it executable:

chmod +x ~/bin/update-proton-ge.sh

Add to cron (run daily at 02:00):

crontab -e
# Add line:
0 2 * * * $HOME/bin/update-proton-ge.sh >> $HOME/proton-ge-update.log 2>&1

7. Advanced Performance Tweaks (Optional but Powerful)

Tip: You can combine many of these in a single launch line, e.g.:

PROTON_USE_ESYNC=1 DXVK_ASYNC=1 gamemoderun %command%

8. Common Problems & Fixes

8.1. Diagnosing with PROTON_LOG

Set PROTON_LOG=1 before launching a game:

PROTON_LOG=1 %command%

A file steam-<appid>.log appears in your home folder. Look for lines containing error, failed, or missing.

8.2. Using PROTON_DEBUG=fixme

If a game reports many FIXME messages (e.g., “FIXME: wine:src/…: not implemented”), you can enable verbose logging:

PROTON_DEBUG=fixme %command%

Search the log for the specific fixme that’s causing trouble; often the community has already added a patch in a newer Proton‑GE commit.

9. Back‑Up & Restore Your Proton‑GE Install

Because Proton‑GE lives in a single folder, backing it up is trivial.

# Backup the whole user folder
tar -czvf proton-ge-backup.tar.gz -C ~/.steam/root/compatibilitytools.d/ Proton-9.23-GE-2

Restore on a new machine:

tar -xzf proton-ge-backup.tar.gz -C ~/.steam/root/compatibilitytools.d/

If you use ProtonUp‑Qt, you can also export the list of installed tools via File → Export and import later.

9. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

9. Summary Cheat‑Sheet (One‑Liner Commands)

10. Final Thoughts

• Proton‑GE is a fantastic way to stay ahead of the curve for the most demanding Windows titles.
• ProtonUp‑Qt abstracts the messy parts, but understanding the manual method gives you the confidence to troubleshoot, script, or even build your own custom Proton from source.
• Keep your Vulkan drivers up‑to‑date; they are the single biggest factor for stability.
• Use per‑game selection wisely – you can mix official Proton and Proton‑GE on the same library without conflict.

Happy gaming! May your frames be high and your crashes be none.

11. Further Reading & Community Resources

• Official Proton‑GE GitHub – https://github.com/GloriousEggroll/proton-ge-custom
• ProtonUp‑Qt GitHub – https://github.com/Davidoff/ProtonUp-Qt
• DXVK Wiki – https://github.com/doitsujin/dxvk/wiki
• VKD3D‑Proton Wiki – https://github.com/HansKristian-Work/vkd3d-proton/wiki
• ProtonDB – Community compatibility database: https://www.protondb.com/ (filter by “Proton‑GE”).

📌 Quick‑Start Recap (One‑Line Command)

# 1️⃣ Install ProtonUp‑Qt (Ubuntu example)
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:tkashkin/ppa -y && sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y protonup-qt

# 2️⃣ Launch GUI & install latest Proton‑GE (click button)

# 3️⃣ In Steam → Settings → Steam Play, select “Proton‑GE” as default.

# 4️⃣ (Optional) Add launch options for extra performance:
#    Example for a game: PROTON_USE_ESYNC=1 DXVK_ASYNC=1 gamemoderun %command%

You’re done – any game you launch now will use the bleeding‑edge Proton‑GE!

Prepared by a longtime Linux gamer and open‑source contributor. Feel free to open issues on the GitHub repos if you encounter edge‑case bugs.