DCS World on Linux Mint

[foreign life]

Hello fellow aviators!
I have been wanting to switch my OS to Linux Mint as the times are shifting and Linux is becoming more and more supported by game developers.
Does anyone already run DCS on Linux? I know there is a thread somewhere from 2024 but I think that is outdated since there is no longer ST or MT versions.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thank you,
Flavi | foreign life

[BitMaster]

Hey Flavi,

 

yes, I have a DCS install also on Mint Linux via Steam for a long time, just out of curiosity and because I like to tinker a lot.

The only drawback are peripherals beyond Hotas, like TiR and likely most VR solutions.

My TM gear and rudders work out of the box but TiR is a No-Go as far as I could research it on google so far.

You need to enable Proton in DCS/Steam btw.

There are other ways but Steam is pretty straightforward and has the highest rate of success, ymmv!

[Flummi]

Hello guys,

that topic is very hot for gaming DCS in Linux in general. Has anyone got managed DCS to work in Linux without Steam/Proton?If yes, please explain how you got it working.

Greetings,

Flummi

[BitMaster]

Afaik, there is no way you can get your Quest 3 to work in Linux. A quick cross reading in google/reddit only says "no, no way" etc..

 

[scommander2]

Hosting DCS server, perhaps?

[Hempstead]

2 hours ago, BitMaster said:

Afaik, there is no way you can get your Quest 3 to work in Linux. A quick cross reading in google/reddit only says "no, no way" etc..

 

Irony of irony. Quest 3 runs a version of Android OS.... i.e. a Linux.

[An Actual Dragon]

I know I'm late to the party, but...

DCS works well enough with a good bit of tinkering; be advised of Linux's 80-button input limit as per the kernel - I'm not sure if Lutris (the recommended method for installing) fixes that. Otherwise, suggest following guides like https://github.com/budderpard/DCS_Standalone_on_linux/blob/master/README.md

[scommander2]

I will say if it is possible to compile the source codes on Linux natively for the dedicate server and it will be wonderful  

For the client with GUI, ED may need more time to work on Vulkan for Linux directly.

Edited October 7 by scommander2

[QuiGon]

I'm also looking into fully replacing Windows with Linux, but that's not an option as long as there is no TrackIR support for Linux.
Apparently they're looking into it though, so fingers crossed: https://forums.naturalpoint.com/viewtopic.php?p=91309#p91309 

Edited October 7 by QuiGon

[MAXsenna]

I'm also looking into fully replacing Windows with Linux, but that's not an option as long as there is no TrackIR support for Linux.
Apparently they're looking into it though, so fingers crossed: https://forums.naturalpoint.com/viewtopic.php?p=91309#p91309 

Same, but it's the gadgets and peripherals that stops me.
Full server support for Linux would be cool though!

Sent from my SM-A536B using Tapatalk

[Actium]

27 minutes ago, MAXsenna said:

Full server support for Linux would be cool though!

The dedicated server actually runs hassle-free on vanilla Wine. Unfortunately, the performance is worse than Windows on bare metal.

Coincidentally, Wine 10.16 with upstreamed NTSYNC support came out last week. I'm expecting/hoping/praying for that to make a significant performance impact, but I haven't had the time to run new benchmarks.

[scommander2]

6 minutes ago, Actium said:

The dedicated server actually runs hassle-free on vanilla Wine. Unfortunately, the performance is worse than Windows on bare metal.

Well, it always has the certain penalty that runs the mediator to do the execution translation between Linux kernel and app. 

Edited October 7 by scommander2

[scommander2]

44 minutes ago, MAXsenna said:

Full server support for Linux would be cool though!

Ya... without porting TrackIR/VR and lots addons for the UI client, and just the server side may be doable to implement first. 

[MAXsenna]

The dedicated server actually runs hassle-free on vanilla Wine. Unfortunately, the performance is worse than Windows on bare metal.
Coincidentally, Wine 10.16 with upstreamed NTSYNC support came out last week. I'm expecting/hoping/praying for that to make a significant performance impact, but I haven't had the time to run new benchmarks.

Yeah, I'm following your posts in this! Like your dedication!

Sent from my SM-A536B using Tapatalk

[SimHog]

With regards to getting DCS and peripherals like TrackIR and VR to run under Linux etc has anyone tried WinBoat? Unfortunately I don't know enough about Docker which WinBoat uses, and so far I haven't been able to get it to work.

https://www.winboat.app/

Yes, I know it kind of defeats the purpose, as WinBoat creates a virtual instance of windows, but I'd be interested to see if anyone uses this or gets to work so we can ditch Windows completely which includes no longer needing a dual boot setup.

Edited October 14 by SimHog

[Actium]

I've run a bunch of benchmarks that point to the dedicated server performing very poorly under KVM, which I presume winboat relies upon. Since the client and dedicated server presumably share the same code base, I'd be weary that trying to run the DCS client in a VM may affect the performance significantly. If you give it a try, make sure to benchmark it against native performance and do share you results.

[SimHog]

Turns out WinBoat wasn't needed at all.

I'm currently using Bazzite v42 and DCS World runs fine on Lutris and it recognises my WinWing HOTAS and Skywalker pedals without any issues. There is mention online that Linux is limited to 80 buttons however that limit only applies to older kernel versions ** apprently **. I'm still looking into this.

If it helps anyone, Bazzite is a fork of Fedora, you can install the fedora joystick-support package using the rpm-ostree package system via command terminal: 

rpm-ostree install joystick-support

Also I'm getting better FPS than I was on Win11

Edited yesterday at 09:24 AM by SimHog

[QuiGon]

11 minutes ago, SimHog said:

Turns out WinBoat wasn't needed at all.

I'm currently using Bazzite v42 and DCS World runs fine on Lutris and it recognises my WinWing HOTAS and Skywalker pedals without any issues. There is mention online that Linux is limited to 80 buttons however that limit only applies to older kernel versions ** apprently **. I'm still looking into this.

If it helps anyone, Bazzite is a fork of Fedora, you can install the fedora joystick-support package using the rpm-ostree package: 

rpm-ostree install joystick-support

Also I'm getting better FPS than I was on Win11

Are you using any kind of head tracking or VR? If so, how does that work under Linux?

Edited yesterday at 09:24 AM by QuiGon

[MAXsenna]

@SimHog Damn, that's interesting!  

Sent from my SM-A536B using Tapatalk
 

On 10/7/2025 at 5:03 PM, MAXsenna said:

Same, but it's the gadgets and peripherals that stops me. 

Seems we're getting closer.

What about VoiceAttack/VAICOM with WhisperAttack. That's a game breaker for me! 

Edited yesterday at 09:31 AM by MAXsenna

[SimHog]

Just now, QuiGon said:

Are you using any kind of head tracking or VR? If so, how does that work under Linux?

That's the next hurdle I'm looking into.

Head tracking in Linux exists via OpenTrack: https://github.com/opentrack/opentrack

As for VR, this guy appears to have got VR working in DCS and Linux but I suspect this will be specific to VR make and model:

 

[QuiGon]

4 minutes ago, SimHog said:

That's the next hurdle I'm looking into.

Head tracking in Linux exists via OpenTrack: https://github.com/opentrack/opentrack

As for VR, this guy appears to have got VR working in DCS and Linux but I suspect this will be specific to VR make and model:

 

It's the only hurdle that has kept me from switching to Linux on my main PC so far. I've looked into opentrack a while ago, but it doesn't seem to support TrackIR hardware, which I'm currently using for head tracking and would love to continue to use, so I'm curious if there is anyone out there who managed to use TrackIR under Linux.

Edited yesterday at 09:37 AM by QuiGon

[SimHog]

7 minutes ago, QuiGon said:

It's the only hurdle that has kept me from switching to Linux on my main PC so far. I've looked into opentrack a while ago, but it doesn't seem to support TrackIR hardware, which I'm currently using for head tracking and would love to continue to use, so I'm curious if there is anyone out there who managed to use TrackIR under Linux.

Linux Track supports TrackIR v2 to v5

https://github.com/uglyDwarf/linuxtrack/wiki

https://github.com/uglyDwarf/linuxtrack/wiki/Input-Devices

Edited yesterday at 09:44 AM by SimHog

[SimHog]

17 minutes ago, MAXsenna said:

@SimHog Damn, that's interesting!  

Sent from my SM-A536B using Tapatalk
 

Seems we're getting closer.

What about VoiceAttack/VAICOM with WhisperAttack. That's a game breaker for me! 

I don't know what I did but I somehow deleted the reply I had for you ...  

Anyway ... VoiceAttack for Linux: https://gist.github.com/vsTerminus/bf4f0247d75b7c0b747ab04bb34a0999

[MAXsenna]

I don't know what I did but I somehow deleted the reply I had for you ...  

Anyway ... VoiceAttack for Linux: https://gist.github.com/vsTerminus/bf4f0247d75b7c0b747ab04bb34a0999

Haha! Thanks!

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[QuiGon]

32 minutes ago, SimHog said:

Linux Track supports TrackIR v2 to v5

https://github.com/uglyDwarf/linuxtrack/wiki

https://github.com/uglyDwarf/linuxtrack/wiki/Input-Devices

Thanks, I also came across this one a while ago and noticed that it seems pretty much dead, looking at the commit history and activity on the github, which is why I'm curious if there is anyone who tried to use it recently and can share his experience.