Linux Viewer
in progress
Signal Linden
LL stopped publishing an official Linux compatible viewer build in 2015. Despite this, TPVs have managed to support linux builds in the years since, performing necessary 3p upgrade work and fixing breaks in compatibility introduced from upstream.
Aside from a handful of library updates (SDL to SDL2, etc.) there isn't too much to do to restore linux build support. This would benefit TPVs, as they can reduce their delta from upstream, and benefit users who use linux as a main OS or want to run SL natively on Steamdeck, etc.
Further thoughts:
- Rather than shipping a distro-specific package (deb, rpm, etc.) just drop a compressed archive. This will allow distros to re-package as necessary, and allow the most broad compatibility
- Many linux64compatible 3p packages have already been rebuilt on Github as part of CI/CD modernization efforts (Examples: expat, zlib-ng) 🙂
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Fullperm Alpha
I would also suggest making it available in many Linux repositories through package management and not only via downloads and install scripts. Somebody would have to manage this.
Flatpak might be the best solution for now to solve this issue. It allows for easy installation and reaches a wide range of Linux distributions, avoiding the hassle of dealing with different package managers.
Therefore i enjoy doing yay -s firestorm-bin alchemy-viewer as long as this issue is not solved. But i am really willing to use the official viewer when this issue is finally solved.
Woolfyy Resident
Fullperm Alpha For Archlinux there is already a maintainer doing a Firestorm build as far as i saw from the time when i was under Manjaro before moving to Pop!OS. Anyway, after months under Pop!OS i find it better stabilized for a daily use and optimized with the latest stable graphic cards drivers.
My main question for Linux is to know when SL will also optimize its viewer for Wayland as it is now stable and more efficient than OpenGL.
Fullperm Alpha
Woolfyy Resident + for wayland support and lets stick to talk about linux in general in favor of personal linux distributions.
Secret Foxtail
I would love to see the return of official GNU/Linux support. Since 2015 GNU/Linux has only gained in popularity on the desktop, especially as Microsoft continues to make increasingly silly business and design decisions. :P
Fullperm Alpha
Secret Foxtail Linux now holds a 4% global market share among desktop operating systems. Just 2-3 years ago, it was hovering around 2%.
This represents a 100% increase, making it the best-performing rising operating system worldwide.
Any company that continues to ignore Linux support for an extended period is making a significant mistake.
Signal Linden
in progress
Coffee Pancake
Signal Linden
![](https://canny.io/images/b5ad9579ffe40698c743f0fb689f5db3.png)
TrakRailySurely Resident
I'm trying to compile the main branch on linux.
You can configure by changing the 3p library, but an error will occur when building.
It is necessary to modify the source code itself.
Spidey Linden
Merged in a post:
For LL to provide support for Linux in its viewer.
Paige Addams
Rather than narrow the scope of this request I would like to request LL provide support for Linux in their viewer. There are many ways the distribution and such could be handled which at this point I feel would be best left to LL. Depending on how long this takes it is possible a more efficient form of distribution might be adopted by the Linux development community that would work better than what is now being used.
Woolfyy Resident
I would say to go by steps, and in step 1 make the standard LL viewer work under the latest Ubuntu LTS distro so that we know that it works as is ... It would be a good way to see all what plants real problems.
Fullperm Alpha
Woolfyy Resident, I am using Arch Linux like the upvoters Heather Laughton and Chaser Zaks as Alchemy Viewer developer, and HappyBits Onyx.
I believe also an other upvoter enjoy using his or her favorite Linux distribution, so there is no point in prioritizing a Linux viewer getting it running first under "xyz" Linux.
Woolfyy Resident
Fullperm Alpha The reality is that any dev is only efficient at making support on the release that he/she is using.
So better focus on having something standard from LL and then up to Linux SL compatible viewers to do their own "sauce" and manage their own users, as anyway LL will have no money to support "exotic" versions.
It is already a good thing to have LL cleaning its code to make it easier for compatible viewers under Linux.
Jenna Huntsman
+1 to this.
RE: Flatpak - The Alchemy dev team has this as a goal but pending LL to update the CDN to use HTTP/2 so a custom curl package isn't needed.
Nicky Dasmijn
> Many linux64 compatible 3p packages have already been rebuilt on Github as part of CI/CD modernization efforts
I had been haunting Nat to get a lot of the missing binaries build.
The big one missing is CEF and that is always a pest. There is also a few new repositories that will need to be created (flkt, maybe glib).
The biggest piece missing is SDL2 landing either in main or some other branch that can be merged against. It makes no sense at all to go on with SDL1.
There's a bit of cleanup needed in the code, but I did a lot of that already with the new binaries. I used a system SDL2 and fltk for that, but that's no bueno
Once that is all done, the next issue is that all LL build binaries are build on Ubuntu 22.04. That could be a bit too new for some LTS distros
Woolfyy Resident
Nicky Dasmijn Personaly i think that Ubuntu 22.04 LTS and up is the right choice as users can't on one side ask for modern SL features and go on with oldies. Linux has the advantage to be light enough to be easy to upgrade without changing the system.
Moreover, Ubuntu is already conservative compared to Arch and talking about maintaining oldies is in the same style as going on with Windows XP ...
If i had one more point to add, it would also be to have a full use of all cores on the whole SL viewer code, which has not been the case till now ... with some parts that could be largely better optimized.
Anyway, as i mentioned earlier, let's go step by step and have in step one Ubuntu LTS 22.04 working fine ..., knowing that it is already 2 y/o and many are already on their upgrade naturally to to 24.04. On my side i forecast to move to Pop!OS next LTS release that should be released on Q3 or Q4 2024, because it brings many features that are much better compared to 22.04, knowing that if you want at the same time stability, modernity on graphics and up-to-date LTS Pop!OS is certainly the best Linux choice at this date, based on Ubuntu.
Nicky Dasmijn
Woolfyy Resident Ubuntu 20.04 has an EOL 2025-04. It's hardly like Windows XP which went out of support 10 years ago.
I could care less about that itself, as I self compile and use a rolling distribution.
But one of the practical limitation is Github Codespaces being run on 20.04 and they are a convenient environment for simple 3P development or testing things "close" to the GHA runners.
Except one cannot, as the binaries fail to link there (GLIBC too old)
Woolfyy Resident
Nicky Dasmijn anyway as quoted before, LL has a problem of old parts too that need to be rewritten ... and there is a time when they will need to really look at it ...
maybe one day i ll have a look at the SL viewer source but frankly looking at oldies that i didn't write has always made me sick. I suppose it is the same reason why Henri did it's own ...
Moreover though my companies have been in the 80s a close partner to Microsoft, i share the same view as some old friends from Redmond .. there are MS choices that it is better not trying to understand LOL also a reason why i moved to Linux ...
Nicky Dasmijn
Woolfyy Resident
maybe one day i ll have a look at the SL viewer source but frankly looking at oldies that i didn't write has always made me sick.
So basically you tell me you got not experience with the viewers code. While I do. We can conclude this here
Woolfyy Resident
Nicky Dasmijn I should have said "deeper look" .... just what i looked at made me get sick at compiling so i did it for fun and to know how it works, but for sure i am not going to lose daily my time on things badly done due to historical choices needing to rewrite parts to get rid of dependencies that are out of date
UPDATE Knowing that it is a challenge (and a cost) for LL to upgrade it, knowing that dev teams get older, move, and some old parts often get orphan of their authors etc. but there are times when things need to go on.
It is also why i said that the best way to go ahead toward modernity is to have a SL viewer really working as a rolling release on a modern LTS Ubuntu basis first and then see for other environments, knowing too that Linux is just 3% of Firestorm users as mentioned by Beq a few weeks ago ... which is quite deceptive and (to my point of view) would certainly get better if LL was really supporting Linux too.
Fullperm Alpha
Woolfyy Resident With all respect - we talk about a Linux viewer and not an Ubuntu Viewer :)
Woolfyy Resident
Fullperm Alpha FYI most devs use Ubuntu for stability and Arch Linux is far from being stable enough to be a serious development platform as any professional developer can confirm. Except if you have free time to spend supporting users for questions not related to your products or turning the mass of basical users into Linux experts.
Keep in mind that Linux (at best) is around 3% of the total number of users on SL for now and to make more users move to Linux, as already explained many times by Linus Torvalds, better make things easy for the mass.
Even Mac users are "anecdotical"l on SL and pushing Metal, Apple will do nothing to help LL ... which is also going to be a problem.
Fullperm Alpha
Woolfyy Resident I would suggest to stay on topic "Linux Viewer" as we would need another thread "Ubuntu Viewer" for that.
Woolfyy Resident
Fullperm Alpha It's not Ubuntu viewer .. it is market realities ... a niche of a niche goes nowhere .. Cf Linus Torvalds conferences is you need some more explanation.
Fullperm Alpha
Woolfyy Resident Here are some market realities:
EndeavourOS is based on Archlinux and its uprising.
Personally i prefer using Archlinux Vanilla.
Would also love to see the official LL linux viewer to see in the official archlinux repositories if possible and not in AUR anymore.
Installable via: sudo pacman -s viewer.
For debian based systems this would be:
sudo apt-get install viewer
While not installing it via custom repositories ...
Woolfyy Resident
Fullperm Alpha If you have time to lose, here is a bunch of official ones saying all and their contrary : https://itsfoss.com/linux-market-share/ ...
FYI it has been a long time that page hit has no meaning in RL as there are tons of ways to make false stats. Moreover we are talking mass market, not niche of niche.
Anyway, at the end the best source is certainly the ones that LL see on their stats of connections or the ones that Beq Janus recently gave about Firestorm ... that she considered as quite "deceptive".
To stick to SL viewer, strategy and realities : Oberwolf explained in a recent interview that his motto is x3 i-e 1 USD needs a minimum ROI of 3 ... so, for sure, he is not going to allow an extra cost supporting systems that need extra support due to their instability but stable versions of Linux.
Up to geeks then to do their own sauce from the main build and support their own customers without any cost for LL.
Spidey Linden
tracked
Issue accepted. We have no estimate when it may be implemented. Please see future release notes for this fix.
Fullperm Alpha
Spidey Linden This year or next year ?
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