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Compatibility tool

ProtonUp-Qt

While Valve is still preparing its Steam Deck Linux distribution for general release, there's a lot of Valve's gaming technology that can be used without waiting. Top of this list is Proton, the specially patched version of Wine that brings incredible Windows games performance to the native Linux desktop. Proton's performance has been central to Steam Deck's success, and you've been able to use it on your standard Linux desktop for a while. The problem is that there are lots of versions of Proton, and they all have their own quirks and performance impact on different games. This is the problem that ProtonUp solves, helping you download and manage multiple versions of Proton, especially Proton-GE – a community-built, bleeding-edge version of Proton – alongside lots of other compatibility tools. It helps you get the best possible performance from your games, regardless of whether you're using a Steam Deck or a desktop Linux PC. It's a little like Luxtorpeda, which we've looked at previously, only you need to configure the Proton versions manually for the games you have installed. But Luxtorpeda can even be installed through ProtonUp itself.

ProtonUp-Qt is a graphical equivalent to the ProtonUp command, making it easier to use and more accessible to Linux desktop users. Being built with Qt, it's ideal on Steam Deck in desktop mode, but it's equally useful on any Linux desktop. It works like a package manager, and you simply choose what you'd like to install from the available packages. Alongside Proton and Luxtorpeda, you can also install versions of Wine-GE and Boxtron, all of which enhance game compatibility and performance in Steam. You can then select whichever compatibility tool you want (or ask Luxtorpeda to do this for you) from the Properties page for your selected games in Steam, just as you do for default Proton builds. It'll even work with Lutris and Heroic Games Launcher, and it's a great way to squeeze the most out of your Linux gaming system.

Project Website

https://davidotek.github.io/protonup-qt/