# Games

> Native Steam with Proton, and Windows programs outside Steam on Wine.

Source: https://wolos.org/reference/games

## What it is

Steam is already part of WolOS. Windows games run through Steam's own compatibility tool (Proton), which Steam installs and updates itself; it translates what a Windows game asks for into what WolOS understands, the way a travel adapter fits a plug to a socket. A Windows program you download yourself opens with a double-click through the Windows program runner (Wine), or umu-launcher when Wine is not installed. This page is the reference; the task guides are [Steam and your game library](/manual/steam), [Playing full screen](/manual/full-screen-games) and [When a game will not start](/manual/game-fixes).

## Why

Proton is where game compatibility work happens, so WolOS does not ship its own layer on top. What WolOS adds is a check of everything Steam needs (32-bit graphics libraries, the Vulkan driver, NVIDIA's matching userspace) so a missing piece is a sentence with a fix, not a silent crash.

## How

1. **Open Steam.** Press Super+Space, type `steam` and press Return, or find it in the Store under **Play**.
   You see Steam download the rest of itself the first time; it opens when it is ready.

   ![The Store's Play page: a SuperTuxKart banner, then Steam (Thousands of games, one library), VLC, mpv, Strawberry, SuperTuxKart, 0 A.D., Battle for Wesnoth and OpenTTD, each with Get.](/img/manual/store-play-wide.png)
2. **Sign in and play.** Windows games run through the compatibility tool, which Steam installs and updates itself.
3. **Play full screen.** Banners wait until you leave the game, frames go to the screen at once, and Force Quit (Alt+Super+Esc) still opens over it. See [Playing full screen](/manual/full-screen-games).
4. **For a Windows program outside Steam,** double-click the `.exe`. It opens through Wine, or umu-launcher when Wine is not installed; the Gaming module adds Wine.
5. **If a game will not start,** run `wol games doctor`.
   You see every check; each failed one prints the command that fixes it. See [When a game will not start](/manual/game-fixes).

## If something goes wrong

| What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
| A game or Steam will not start | Run `wol games doctor`: every failed check prints the command that fixes it, and it exits with 1 when one fails. |
| `multilib` fails | The 32-bit repository is off in `/etc/pacman.conf`. Enable it and run `pacman -Sy`. |
| `lib32-gl` or Vulkan checks fail | The client is 32-bit and needs a 32-bit Vulkan loader and driver (`lib32-vulkan-icd-loader`, `lib32-mesa`, or your vendor's lib32 driver). |
| `nvidia` fails | `lib32-nvidia-utils` is missing or not the running driver's version: `pacman -S lib32-nvidia-utils`. |
| `drm` fails | There is no `/dev/dri`; run `wol hw status`. |
| Proton falls back to esync or fsync | The kernel lacks `futex-waitv` or `ntsync`. This is only a warning; WolKernel has them. |
| A Windows program does not start | Wine is needed for programs outside Steam; the doctor lists it as info. |
| Steam looks half size on a HiDPI screen | `wol games steam` tells Steam the largest monitor scale. Start Steam that way (the Dock and Search entry does). |

## Related

[Steam and your game library](/manual/steam) · [Playing full screen](/manual/full-screen-games) · [When a game will not start](/manual/game-fixes) · [Optional modules (Gaming)](/reference/modules) · [Hardware and drivers](/reference/hardware) · [WolKernel](/reference/kernel)

## Reference

Steam is the native Arch package from `[multilib]` ([ADR 0016](/reference/adr-0016)). Windows games run on Proton, which Steam installs and updates itself. There is no custom compatibility tool and no Linux ABI shim. For Windows programs outside Steam, `wol-run --exe` uses the native `wine` package (`/usr/bin/wine`, WoW64) and falls back to umu-launcher (`/usr/bin/umu-run`, multilib) when wine is not installed.

### Pieces

| Piece | Code | Does |
|---|---|---|
| `wol games steam [url]` | `crates/controller/src/games.rs` | checks what the client needs; first start: a notification; then `/usr/bin/steam [url]` |
| `wol games doctor [--json]` | `crates/core/src/games/doctor.rs` | every check with the exact fix; exits 1 when one fails; JSON when not a TTY |
| `/usr/bin/wol-run --exe <file> ...` | `crates/proxy/src/exe.rs` | opens a `.exe` (`.msi` through `msiexec /i`) with one prefix per program; wine gets DXVK/vkd3d-proton copied from a Proton in the Steam library, umu brings its own |
| `steam.desktop` | `desktop/overlay/.../applications` | Apps, Search, App Store "Open", `steam://` links: `wol games steam %u` |
| Notifications | `crates/core/src/games/notice.rs` | what a Dock or Apps start says; bodies pass `shell::copy::lint` |

### Doctor checks

| Check | Fails when | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| `base` (info) | never: names the WolOS base (os-release) and whether the kernel is linux-wolos | another kernel is reported and kept |
| `multilib` | `[multilib]` off in `/etc/pacman.conf` | enable it, `pacman -Sy` |
| `steam` | no `/usr/bin/steam` | `pacman -S steam` |
| `drm` | no `/dev/dri` | `wol hw status` |
| `lib32-gl` | no 32-bit Vulkan loader or OpenGL (the client is 32-bit) | `lib32-vulkan-icd-loader`, `lib32-mesa`, vendor lib32 driver |
| `vulkan-icd`, `vulkan` | no ICD in `/usr/share/vulkan/icd.d`, or only llvmpipe | vendor Vulkan packages |
| `nvidia` | `lib32-nvidia-utils` missing or not the running driver's version | `pacman -S lib32-nvidia-utils` |
| `futex-waitv`, `ntsync` (warn/info) | kernel lacks them: Proton falls back to esync/fsync | none |
| `wine` (info) | not installed | only for programs outside Steam |

The client starts only when `multilib`, `steam`, `drm`, `lib32-gl` and `nvidia` pass (`doctor::STEAM_CLIENT`).

### Display and presentation (audit X1)

Steam, Wine and most native games are X11 clients and run through Xwayland. Xwayland renders them 1:1 (`xwayland:force_zero_scaling` in `hypr/wolos-perf.conf`). On a HiDPI screen they would be half size, so they are told the scale instead. `wol games steam` adds `STEAM_FORCE_DESKTOPUI_SCALING=<largest monitor scale>` when it is not 1 (`wol_core::games::steam::ui_scale`). `wol-x11-env` also exports it, with `GDK_SCALE`, to the systemd user environment, and Dock and Apps launches pass both on (`shell::kit::scale_env`).

Fullscreen games present immediately (tearing allowed: `general:allow_tearing`), not at the next vblank. Three window rules in `wolos-perf.conf` do this:

| Rule | Matches |
|---|---|
| `wol-game-immediate` | Steam and Proton games (`steam_app_<id>`) |
| `wol-wine-immediate` | Windows programs started with wine outside Steam (class ends in `.exe`) |
| `wol-xwayland-fullscreen-immediate` | any other fullscreen X11 window (native, GOG, itch). A fullscreen X11 video player tears too. |

`misc:vrr = 2` turns VRR on for fullscreen windows only. `xwayland:use_nearest_neighbor` scales a game's lower fullscreen mode sharp, not blurred.

The image ships `gamescope` for Steam's `gamescope %command%` launch option and for games that need a fixed resolution. Memory Saver treats it as a game process.