Installing EVE on Linux: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 08:57, 3 October 2025

General

For the Steam and Lutris setup shown on this page we assume Linux Mint 22.2, but every (?) distro will work. Everything might be a bit different in your specific setup, but the steps are always very similiar. In our experience the easiest is to play EVE Online on Steam. Lutris is a bit more work but doable. Multiboxing (running multiple clients) also works great.

Steam

Install Steam through the software manager
- any distro can use this guide https://www.linuxnest.com/install-steam-on-any-linux-distro-the-complete-2025-guide/
Open the steam app and Install EVE Online on Steam
Right click EVE Online in steam and chose "Properties":
- in General copy the following launcher options: PROTON_NO_ESYNC=1 PROTON_NO_FSYNC=1 LD_PRELOAD= %command%
- in Compatibility check "Force the use of a specific Steam Play compability tool" and chose "Proton Experimental"
Launch EVE Online in steam which then starts the EVE launcher
Open the settings of the launcher (gear icon top right):
- in EVE Launcher disable hardware acceleration
- in EVE Online we suggest you chose "Download the full EVE game client" By default not all game files are downloaded and the client can download when it does not have the file/part. The launcher can download all files and cache them, update when needed and removes parts when no longer needed. This behaviour can be changed in the launcher and we recommend to do so in order to prevent any lag due to loading.
- in EVE Online select DirectX version "DirectX 11"

And you are all set. Easy, right?

By standard your settings will be in /home/$USER/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatadata/8500/pfx/drive_c/users/steamuser/AppData/Local/CCP/EVE/c_ccp_eve_tq_tranquility/ and can manipulated the same as in windows if the ingame options are not enough or you want to copy settings.

Credit to cloroken who also made a very recent video guide

In case you are encountering any problems, first thing to try is switching your used proton build. You can try any version that comes with steam by selecting a different version in "Force the use of a specific Steam Play compability tool" in the properties, or you can switch eg. to the popular Proton-GE (Glorious Eggroll). In order to do so you can eg. install ProtonPlus via the software manager which lists many Proton projects in multiple versions. Downloading and installing them in ProtonPlus makes them available in Steam after a Steam restart.

Lutris

Lutris is a gaming platform for Linux. A setup with Lutris a bit more complex compared to steam but doable. It offers Wine builds that are pre-configured for specific games, and allows for a graphical installation of various games and applications. Those that are unable to roll their own wine prefix, or are weary on the process, may find this solution more viable.

Download eve-online-1.9.4+Setup.exe - stable EVE online excutable

Download eve-online-1.9.4-full.nupkg - EVE Online NUPKG

One should always be careful with executables, make sure these links are (still) pointing to ccp games directly. Install Lutris via your package manager, and then ProtonPlus. Start Lutris briefly so ProtonPlus knows about it and then start ProtonPlus and chose Lutris in the top left corner. Chose Proton-GE-latest as version and download it. Now back to Lutris:

Add a new game with the + sign:

add locally installed game
General Info
- name the game EVE Online
- chose runner "Wine (Runs Windows games)
Game options
- Game executeable: link the EVE Online executable we downloaded
- Wine prefix: /home/$USER/Games/eve-online (where $USER is your user)
Runner options
- Wine version: Proton-GE-latest
- uncheck Enable Esync
- uncheck Enable Fsync
System options
- add enviroment variable with KEY: LD_PRELOAD, no value
SAVE

Now start the newly created item in Lutris and it will start the launcher asking you where to install. CLOSE THAT INSTALLATION PROCESS. DO NOT PROCEED.

Instead, after closing right click the EVE item in Lutris and chose configure.

Set a new path for the executable in game options: /home/$USER/Games/eve-online/drive_c/users/$USER/AppData/local/eve-online/eve-online.exe (where $USER is your user)

Unpack the NUPKG into a folder. Create the folder /home/$USER/Documents/EveLauncher/ and copy the content of nupkg/lib/net45 to it.

Create the following bash script as /home/$USER/Documents/eve-prelaunch.sh

#!/bin/bash
SOURCE="$HOME/Documents/EveLauncher"
TARGET="$HOME/Games/eve-online/drive_c/users/$USER/AppData/Local/eve-online"
GOODVER="app-1.9.4"
ls -d  $TARGET/app-* | xargs rm -rf
cp -R "$SOURCE" "$TARGET/$GOODVER"
cp "$SOURCE/eve-online_ExecutionStub.exe" "$TARGET/eve-online.exe"

This can be done by copying the above into any text editor and save as the filename given above. Make sure the target line in here actually points to your prefix location.

Right click the .sh file and in the properties chose

permissions
- check run as executable

Back to Lutris. Right click and configure the EVE item. In system options turn on advaned mode. Scroll down to the prelaunch script and enter the /home/$USER/Documents/eve-prelaunch.sh we created. Enable wait for pre-launch script completion. Save.

Pheewww. Done!

You now be able to start the EVE launcher with the Lutris item created.

Open the settings of the launcher (gear icon top right):

in EVE Launcher disable hardware acceleration
in EVE Online I suggest you chose "Download the full EVE game client"
in EVE Online select DirectX version "DirectX 11"

Credit to cloroken who also made a very recent video guide

Discord Server: EVE on Linux

Join the growing community that plays on Linux. You can get eg. ditro-specific help there easily.

https://discord.com/invite/eKMEVeC7SQ

EVE on Linux Resources

Manage GE Proton Version: https://davidotek.github.io/protonup-qt/
Fix audio crackling/stuttering: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3214697797
EVE Online Linux Forum: https://forums.eveonline.com/c/technology-research/linux/
OBS Vk Capture Plugin: https://github.com/nowrep/obs-vkcapture
pyfa works with .appimage: https://github.com/pyfa-org/Pyfa/releases
Hotkey Daemon (for client switching purposes): https://github.com/baskerville/sxhkd

Client slowing down / high CPU usage

Behavior like lagging is reported, a solution for this behavior is to disable Esync & Fsync. In the installation steps given above we already took care of that.

Lutris: In the runner options disable Esync & Fsync
Steam: Start the launcher with the launch options

PROTON_NO_ESYNC=1 PROTON_NO_FSYNC=1 LD_PRELOAD= %command%

Try switching the Proton build you are currently using
As of now (09/2025) our recommendation is that you are using DirectX11. Its being emulated and this is just very stable by now, DirectX12 not so much. But both can work and results might differ, feel free to experiment.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-:''Much of this guide is adapted from the official forum post by CCP Snorlax, which can be found [https://forums.eveonline.com/t/eve-launcher-for-linux/7286 here]. Questions about the information found in this article are best asked on the [https://forums.eveonline.com/c/technology-research/linux official EVE forums]''.<br>
+=== General ===
-While Linux is not ''officially'' supported by CCP, a side project by '''CCP Snorlax''' has yielded a native Linux application that downloads a prebundled version of [https://www.winehq.org/ Wine] (also built by CCP Snorlax) which allows Linux to run the EVE launcher more easily. The launcher requires a <span style="color:yellow">'''64-bit'''</span> installation of Linux, but should work with most distributions.
+<!-- Is there a name for this new launcher? -->
+For the Steam and Lutris setup shown on this page we assume Linux Mint 22.2, but every (?) distro will work. Everything might be a bit different in your specific setup, but the steps are always very similiar. In our experience the easiest is to play EVE Online on Steam. Lutris is a bit more work but doable. Multiboxing (running multiple clients) also works great.<br>
-==Basic Setup==
+=== Steam ===
-[[Image:Tux-linux-mascot.png|260px|right|Tux, the mascot]]
-'''''(Terminal commands are displayed in code blocks)'''''
-#Download the launcher binaries either manually (found [https://binaries.eveonline.com/evelauncher-1514997.tar.gz here]) or via terminal command:
+* Install Steam through the software manager
-#:'''Note:''' These can be put wherever the user prefers, but the home directory <code>~/</code> is recommended.
+** any distro can use this guide https://www.linuxnest.com/install-steam-on-any-linux-distro-the-complete-2025-guide/
-#:{{code|wget <nowiki>https://binaries.eveonline.com/evelauncher-1514997.tar.gz</nowiki>}}
+* Open the steam app and Install EVE Online on Steam
-#:If this file no longer exists or is outdated, check for an updated link in [https://forums.eveonline.com/c/technology-research/linux CCP Snorlax's forum post which should be stickied here].
+* Right click EVE Online in steam and chose "Properties":
-#Extract the compressed files (<code>.tar.gz</code>)
+** in General copy the following launcher options: PROTON_NO_ESYNC=1 PROTON_NO_FSYNC=1 LD_PRELOAD= %command%
-#:{{code|tar -xvf evelauncher-1514997.tar.gz}}
+** in Compatibility check "''Force the use of a specific Steam Play compability tool''" and chose "''Proton Experimental''"
-#Move to the newly-extracted folder
+* Launch EVE Online in steam which then starts the EVE launcher
-#:{{code|cd evelauncher}}
+* Open the settings of the launcher (gear icon top right):
-#Set the script as being executable
+** in EVE Launcher disable hardware acceleration
-#:{{code|chmod u+x evelauncher.sh}}
+** in EVE Online we suggest you chose "''Download the full EVE game client''" <small>By default not all game files are downloaded and the client can download when it does not have the file/part.  The launcher can download all files and cache them, update when needed and removes parts when no longer needed. This behaviour can be changed in the launcher and we recommend to do so in order to prevent any lag due to loading.</small>
-#The launcher can now be run via terminal command.
+** in EVE Online select DirectX version "DirectX 11"
-#:{{code|./evelauncher.sh}}
-#:This is a good point to check if the launcher works and whether any errors are output to the terminal before continuing to any more advanced steps.
-==Custom Launcher Shortcut==
+And you are all set. Easy, right?
-'''''(The following additional steps are not strictly necessary, but can make running the launcher more convenient through the use of a custom launcher shortcut.)'''''
+By standard your settings will be in /home/$USER/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatadata/8500/pfx/drive_c/users/steamuser/AppData/Local/CCP/EVE/c_ccp_eve_tq_tranquility/ and can manipulated the same as in windows if the ingame options are not enough or you want to copy settings.
-[[Image:Evelauncher.png|thumb|right|Launcher icon]]
-#Create a symbolic link (symlink) to the script in the user binaries folder
-#:{{code|sudo ln -s {{Color|green|/Path/To/}}evelauncher.sh /usr/bin/evelauncher}}
-#And make it executable
-#:{{code|sudo chmod u+x /usr/bin/evelauncher}}
-#Download the icon file
-#:{{code|wget <nowiki>https://wiki.eveuniversity.org/images/a/af/Evelauncher.png</nowiki>}}
-#Move the icon file to the correct directory
-#:{{code|sudo mv Evelauncher.png /usr/share/pixmaps/}}
-#Create the launcher file with your preferred editor
-#:{{code|sudo edit /usr/share/applications/eve.desktop}}
-#Insert the following text and then save it:
-#:{{code|<nowiki>[Desktop Entry]</nowiki><br><nowiki>Name=EVE Online</nowiki><br><nowiki>Comment=EVE Online by CCP Games</nowiki><br><nowiki>Exec=evelauncher</nowiki><br><nowiki>Icon=Evelauncher</nowiki><br><nowiki>Terminal=false</nowiki><br><nowiki>Type=Application</nowiki><br><nowiki>Categories=Game;</nowiki>}}
-#Run the game through the newly-created launcher shortcut!
-==Using a Custom Wine Version==
+Credit to cloroken who also made a very recent [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFVWKN2h2-Y&t=91s video guide]
-The copy of wine bundled with the launcher is quite outdated, but thankfully you can use your distribution's own wine runtime instead which gives access to things like DirectX11 support.
-:'''''Note:''' Make sure to untick 'Run clients with DX9' if you want to use DX11.'''''
-#Open the launcher settings with the small "E" symbol in the top right, tick "Use custom Wine", and in the box below it enter the path of your wine executable, eg.
+In case you are encountering any problems, first thing to try is switching your used proton build. You can try any version that comes with steam by selecting a different version in "''Force the use of a specific Steam Play compability tool''" in the properties, or you can switch eg. to the popular Proton-GE (Glorious Eggroll). In order to do so you can eg. install ProtonPlus via the software manager which lists many Proton projects in multiple versions. Downloading and installing them in ProtonPlus makes them available in Steam after a Steam restart.
-#:{{code|/usr/bin/wine}}
-#Remove EVE's existing wine and wineenv folder
-#:{{code|rm -Rd ~/.eve/wineenv ~/.eve/wine}}
-#Reopen the launcher and start the game as normal.
-#EVE's wine prefix should rebuild itself with the custom version.
+=== Lutris ===
+[https://lutris.net/ Lutris] is a gaming platform for Linux. A setup with Lutris a bit more complex compared to steam but doable. It offers Wine builds that are pre-configured for specific games, and allows for a graphical installation of various games and applications. Those that are unable to roll their own wine prefix, or are weary on the process, may find this solution more viable.
+Download [https://launcher.ccpgames.com/eve-online/release/win32/x64/eve-online-1.9.4+Setup.exe eve-online-1.9.4+Setup.exe]  - stable EVE online excutable
-==Troubleshooting==
+Download [https://launcher.ccpgames.com/eve-online/release/win32/x64/eve-online-1.9.4-full.nupkg eve-online-1.9.4-full.nupkg] - EVE Online NUPKG
-===Incompatible OpenSSL library===
+One should always be careful with executables, make sure these links are (still) pointing to ccp games directly. Install Lutris via your package manager, and then ProtonPlus. Start Lutris briefly so ProtonPlus knows about it and then start ProtonPlus and chose Lutris in the top left corner. Chose Proton-GE-latest as version and download it. Now back to Lutris:
-The EVE launcher requires the 1.0.x version of the openssl library in order to function, however, some newer versions of Linux distributions and those that use rolling releases include the 1.1.x version by default (this will be evident by the launcher simply not appearing at all when the script is run), so some extra steps to install the older compatibility library may be necesssary.
-:'''Note:''' The following example is for Ubuntu - paths and package names will likely be different on other distributions.
-#Download the older library from your distribution's repos
-#:{{code|sudo apt-get install libssl1.0.0}}
-#Add symbolic links to the libraries in the launcher's folder
-#:{{code|sudo ln -s /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libssl.so.1.0.0 {{Color|green|/Path/To/evelauncher/}}libssl.so}}
-#:{{code|sudo ln -s /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libcrypto.so.1.0.0 {{Color|green|/Path/To/evelauncher/}}libcrypto.so}}
-<br>
+Add a new game with the + sign:
-This should correct the issue temporarily, but the symlinks will be removed when the launcher is updated. A solution to this is to make your own script which checks for the existence of the symlinks, remakes them if they are missing and then triggers the launcher's script.
+* add locally installed game
+* General Info
+** name the game EVE Online
+** chose runner "Wine (Runs Windows games)
+* Game options
+** Game executeable: link the EVE Online executable we downloaded
+** Wine prefix: /home/$USER/Games/eve-online (where $USER is your user)
+* Runner options
+** Wine version: Proton-GE-latest
+** uncheck Enable Esync
+** uncheck Enable Fsync
+* System options
+** add enviroment variable with KEY: LD_PRELOAD, no value
+* SAVE
-#Create the wrapper script in your preferred editor
+Now start the newly created item in Lutris and it will start the launcher asking you where to install. CLOSE THAT INSTALLATION PROCESS. DO NOT PROCEED.
-:'''Note:''' The wrapper script cannot be located in the launcher's own folder, or it will be deleted when the launcher updates.
-#:{{code|$EDITOR {{Color|green|/Path/To/Wrapper/}}evewrapper.sh}}
-#Insert the following text and then save it:
-#:{{code|dirname<nowiki>=</nowiki>{{Color|green|/Path/To/evelauncher/}}<br><br>if [ ! -e $dirname/libssl.so.1.0.0 ]; then<br>    ln -s /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libssl.so.1.0.0 $dirname/libssl.so<br>fi<br>if [ ! -e $dirname/libcrypto.so.1.0.0 ]; then<br>    ln -s /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libcrypto.so.1.0.0 $dirname/libcrypto.so<br>fi<br>exec $dirname/evelauncher.sh}}
-#If you made a custom launcher file as above, you will need to change the path of the symlink in step 1
-#:{{code|sudo ln -s {{Color|green|/Path/To/Wrapper/}}evewrapper.sh /usr/bin/evelauncher}}
-<br>
+Instead, after closing right click the EVE item in Lutris and chose configure.
-===QT Dependencies===
+Set a new path for the executable in game options: /home/$USER/Games/eve-online/drive_c/users/$USER/AppData/local/eve-online/eve-online.exe  (where $USER is your user)
-In some rare instances on Ubuntu, you may be lacking the required QT dependences for the launcher, This will manifest as some QT files not be located and the launcher window opening but not displaying anything. <br/>
-Instructions for this install are taken from here: https://wiki.qt.io/Install_Qt_5_on_Ubuntu
-#Download the installer
+Unpack the NUPKG into a folder. Create the folder /home/$USER/Documents/EveLauncher/ and copy the content of nupkg/lib/net45 to it.
-#:'''Note:''' These can be put wherever the user prefers, but the home directory <code>~/</code> is recommended.
-#:{{code|wget http://download.qt.io/official_releases/qt/5.7/5.7.0/qt-opensource-linux-x64-5.7.0.run}}
-#Adjust permissions
-#:{{code|chmod +x qt-opensource-linux-x64-5.7.0.run}}
-#Install QT
-#:{{code|./qt-opensource-linux-x64-5.7.0.run}}
-#Install g++
-#:{{code|sudo apt-get install build-essential}}
-#Install generic fonts
-#:{{code|sudo apt-get install libfontconfig1}}
-== Lutris ==
+Create the following bash script as /home/$USER/Documents/eve-prelaunch.sh <syntaxhighlight lang="bash">
-Lutris is a gaming client for Linux.  It uses optimized wine builds and allows for a graphical installation of games.  For those that are unable to use the method above, or are weary on the process may find this solution more viable.
+#!/bin/bash
+SOURCE="$HOME/Documents/EveLauncher"
+TARGET="$HOME/Games/eve-online/drive_c/users/$USER/AppData/Local/eve-online"
+GOODVER="app-1.9.4"
+ls -d  $TARGET/app-* | xargs rm -rf
+cp -R "$SOURCE" "$TARGET/$GOODVER"
+cp "$SOURCE/eve-online_ExecutionStub.exe" "$TARGET/eve-online.exe"
+</syntaxhighlight>This can be done by copying the above into any text editor and save as the filename given above. Make sure the target line in here actually points to your prefix location.
-The first thing you need to do is to head over to the [https://lutris.net website].  Setting up an account is free, and allows you to manage your client from multiple Linux machines if you plan on using more than one.   Head over to the '''GAMES''' section and use the filter to EVE Online.  Clicking on the game info will provide three options; STEAM (WINDOWS), WINE and LINUX which is the CCP wrapper version.  It is important to note that you do not need to install the Steam version if you are using your steam account, as the EVE Launcher now has steam integration built in.  For example, you can have Steam installed on Ubuntu 18.x and download the WINE version, and still be able to use your steam account to play the game.
+Right click the .sh file and in the properties chose
-Pressing install will have the EVE module show up in your Lutris client UI.  From this point click on "EVE Online" and press the play button.  You may configure options for the game, runner or system.  at of February 2019, Wine Version staging-3.9-x86_64 (default) is sufficient for 64bit Ubuntu Systems on the latest release. Make sure '''Run Client with Logging''' is enabled, and enjoy EVE Online on your Linux system.
+* permissions
+** check run as executable
+Back to Lutris. Right click and configure the EVE item. In system options turn on advaned mode. Scroll down to the prelaunch script and enter the /home/$USER/Documents/eve-prelaunch.sh we created. Enable wait for pre-launch script completion. Save.
+Pheewww. Done!
+You now be able to start the EVE launcher with the Lutris item created.
+Open the settings of the launcher (gear icon top right):
+* in EVE Launcher disable hardware acceleration
+* in EVE Online I suggest you chose "Download the full EVE game client"
+* in EVE Online select DirectX version "DirectX 11"
+Credit to cloroken who also made a very recent [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFVWKN2h2-Y&t=212s video guide]
+=== Discord Server: EVE on Linux ===
+Join the growing community that plays on Linux. You can get eg. ditro-specific help there easily.
+https://discord.com/invite/eKMEVeC7SQ
+=== EVE on Linux Resources ===
+* Manage GE Proton Version: <nowiki>https://davidotek.github.io/protonup-qt/</nowiki>
+* Fix audio crackling/stuttering: <nowiki>https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3214697797</nowiki>
+* EVE Online Linux Forum: <nowiki>https://forums.eveonline.com/c/technology-research/linux/</nowiki>
+* OBS Vk Capture Plugin: <nowiki>https://github.com/nowrep/obs-vkcapture</nowiki>
+* pyfa works with .appimage: <nowiki>https://github.com/pyfa-org/Pyfa/releases</nowiki>
+* Hotkey Daemon (for client switching purposes): <nowiki>https://github.com/baskerville/sxhkd</nowiki>
+=== Client slowing down / high CPU usage ===
+Behavior like lagging is reported, a solution for this behavior is to disable '''Esync''' & '''Fsync'''. In the installation steps given above we already took care of that.
+* Lutris: In the runner options disable '''Esync''' & '''Fsync'''
+* Steam: Start the launcher with the launch options
+<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">
+PROTON_NO_ESYNC=1 PROTON_NO_FSYNC=1 LD_PRELOAD= %command%
+</syntaxhighlight>
+* Try switching the Proton build you are currently using
+* As of now (09/2025) our recommendation is that you are using DirectX11. Its being emulated and this is just very stable by now, DirectX12 not so much. But both can work and results might differ, feel free to experiment.
+:
 [[Category:Guides]]
+[[Category:Applications]]