umu-launcher
A unified launcher that runs Windows games on Linux with Proton outside of Steam.
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About umu-launcher
umu is a unified launcher for Windows games on Linux. It is essentially a copy of the Steam Runtime Tools and Steam Linux Runtime that Valve uses with Proton, made usable outside the Steam client, so games from other stores or installers can run in the same containerised environment.
It is a command-line tool aimed at players and at game launcher developers who want Proton behaviour consistent with Steam.
Strengths
- Runs Proton outside Steam
- Uses the same runtime environment as Steam's Proton
- Usable directly or as a backend for other launchers
Limitations
- Command-line only, no graphical interface
- Linux only
Details
- Pricing
- FreeFree and open source.
- License
- GPL-3.0
- Developer
- Open Wine Components
- Platforms
- Linux, Command line
- How it runs
- Downloadable app
- Account
- Not required
- Best suited for
- Running non-Steam Windows games on Linux with Proton
- Categories
- Gaming tools, CLI tools
- Last verified
- Added
- Provenance
- Facts checked against the developer's own pages and store listings, 1 sources on file.
Alternatives to umu-launcher
Compare allSoftware that can replace umu-launcher for an important use case, and what changes if you switch.
Faugus Launcher
A lightweight Linux launcher for running Windows games and applications through UMU-Launcher.
Faugus Launcher adds a simple graphical interface on top of UMU-Launcher for running Windows games on Linux, though it is not open source.
Lutris
A Linux gaming platform that installs the right emulator, Wine build or engine for each game and launches them from one place.
Lutris is a graphical Linux game platform with community installer scripts that manages Wine builds and emulators and shows Steam, Epic, GOG and Humble libraries together.
Heroic Games Launcher
An open-source launcher for Epic, GOG and Amazon Prime games, on Linux, Windows, macOS and the Steam Deck.
Heroic Games Launcher gives a graphical launcher for Epic, GOG and Amazon Prime games, with a Wine Manager for Proton-GE, and also runs on Windows and macOS.
Bottles
A friendly manager for Wine prefixes on Linux, so running a Windows program means picking an environment rather than editing config files.
Bottles manages Wine prefixes on Linux through a graphical interface with runner and DXVK versions, backups and dependency installs, instead of running Proton from the command line.
Wine
An open-source compatibility layer that runs Windows applications and games on Linux, macOS and BSD.
Wine is the base compatibility layer itself, running Windows programs on Linux, macOS and BSD without Steam's Proton runtime, and configuration can be fiddly.
Similar software
Related functionality, not necessarily a direct replacement.
Proton
Valve's Wine-based compatibility tool that lets Steam run Windows games on Linux.
GE-Proton
A community build of Valve's Proton compatibility tool for running Windows games through Steam Play on Linux.
ProtonUp-Qt
A Linux desktop app that installs and manages GE-Proton, Wine-GE and other compatibility tools.
Protontricks
A wrapper that runs Winetricks commands against the prefixes of Steam Proton games.
DXVK
Vulkan-based translation layer that runs Direct3D 8, 9, 10 and 11 games on Linux.
vkd3d-proton
A translation layer that runs Direct3D 12 games on Vulkan, used as Proton's D3D12 implementation.
