TinkerGame

Warning! This project is still in alpha! Expect bugs and major changes.

TinkerGame is a Linux game-launch wrapper for Steam. It gives each game a small graphical control panel for Proton, Wine, Gamescope, MangoHud, mod managers, launch commands, environment variables, and troubleshooting tools.

It supports Proton games, native Linux games, non-Steam games launched through Steam, X11, Wayland, and Steam Deck game mode.

TinkerGame is independent software. It is not affiliated with Valve or Steam. Use third-party tools and game modifications at your own risk.

Documentation

The TinkerGame wiki covers every feature category with detailed pages, including the Install guide, use as a Steam Compatibility Tool, and per-feature options. Every TinkerGame window can also open the matching wiki page with the F1 key.

What It Provides

• Per-game environment variables, launch commands, executables, and scripts.
• Proton and Wine selection, downloads, and prefix tools.
• Gamescope, MangoHud, GameMode, DXVK, VKD3D, FSR, and related options.
• Mod Organizer 2, Vortex, ReShade, Special K, Hedge Mod Manager, and other integrations.
• Native Linux game support through a Steam launch option.
• A YAD-based interface that works from the desktop and Steam Deck game mode.
• Command-line tools for installation, diagnostics, compatibility tools, and configuration.

Install

Use your distribution package manager when a TinkerGame package is available. ProtonUp-Qt and ProtonPlus support depends on their current release and package metadata.

The quickest way from a source checkout is the one-command installer:

git clone https://github.com/360900/tinkergame.git
cd tinkergame
./install.sh

./install.sh asks whether to install for the current user only (recommended, no root rights) or system-wide. It can also run non-interactively:

./install.sh --user     # install to ~/.local, no sudo
./install.sh --system   # install to /usr, uses sudo

The same with plain make:

sudo make install       # system-wide (/usr)
make install-user       # current user (~/.local)

The install requires Bash, Make, YAD, Git, Wget, Tar, Unzip, jq (custom Proton and shader repository data), xxd, and the X11 tools xprop, xrandr, and xwininfo. Optional integrations add their own dependencies.

Debian/Ubuntu:

sudo apt-get install bash yad git wget tar unzip jq xdotool xxd x11-xserver-utils x11-utils

Arch:

sudo pacman -S bash git jq tar unzip wget xdotool xxd xorg-xprop xorg-xrandr xorg-xwininfo yad

(xdotool is only needed for a few optional legacy features.)

When installed for the current user, make sure ~/.local/bin is in PATH.

For distribution packaging, DESTDIR stages files without changing the runtime prefix embedded in the installed scripts:

make PREFIX=/usr DESTDIR="$PWD/pkg" install

An Arch Linux package recipe is provided at packaging/arch/PKGBUILD.

To uninstall, run the uninstaller - it scans the usual install locations (user and system), removes every TinkerGame installation it finds, and also removes the Steam compatibility-tool registration:

tinkergame-uninstall
# or, for a system installation:
sudo tinkergame-uninstall

The default keeps your settings, cache, downloaded tools, and game data. Add --purge to remove those as well, and --yes to skip the confirmation prompt. If the uninstaller lives outside your PATH, run it from the repository instead:

bash uninstall.sh --purge

Use With Steam

Proton games

Installing TinkerGame registers it as a Steam compatibility tool automatically. If the registration was removed, or you installed without running the registration step, re-register it:

tinkergame compat add

Select TinkerGame in the game's compatibility settings, or set it as the default compatibility tool in Steam's Steam Play settings.

Native Linux games

Set this as the game's launch option:

tinkergame %command%

Use only one integration method per game. Do not select TinkerGame as a compatibility tool and add it as a launch option at the same time.

Command line

Run tinkergame help for the complete command list. Useful commands include:

tinkergame settings
tinkergame config dir
tinkergame version
tinkergame help

Configuration

User configuration is stored under:

${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.config}/tinkergame

Logs are stored in the configuration directory and temporary startup logs are stored under /dev/shm/tinkergame.

This is a full breaking rename. Existing users should read MIGRATION.md before installing.

Troubleshooting

Start with the latest log from the configured logs directory and the startup log under /dev/shm/tinkergame. Verify a source checkout with:

make build   # syntax-check the entry point and all lib/ modules
make check   # smoke checks

When reporting a problem, include the TinkerGame version, distribution, desktop or game mode, display server, YAD version, game AppID, and relevant log sections. Remove personal paths and tokens first.

Credits

TinkerGame is a rename and continuation of SteamTinkerLaunch, the project this repo was forked from, and builds on the work of its many contributors. TinkerGame's parent project was created by frostworx and long maintained by sonic2kk, with help from the broader SteamTinkerLaunch community over the years.

The complete history of the code remains available through this repository's git log. This project is licensed under the GPLv3, as was its upstream SteamTinkerLaunch; see LICENSE.

Development

TinkerGame is primarily Bash. The main script remains intentionally portable, but new code should use arrays for external command arguments, quote paths, and handle optional dependencies explicitly.

Run the local checks with:

make build          # syntax-check the entry point and all modules
make check          # smoke checks
./tests/run.sh unit # full unit test suite

See CONTRIBUTING.md for development notes.

License

TinkerGame is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0. See LICENSE.