Game with Linux anywhere, no installation required!

winesapOS makes it easy to setup Linux and play games off an internal or portable external drive.

Why use winesapOS?

• Portable. Useful for gaming or recovery purposes while traveling.
• Hardware support for Macs with Intel processors, Framework computers, and Microsoft Surface laptops.
• Upgrades are fully automated and supported for minor and major versions.
• All of the features of winesapOS are listed here.

Release images can be downloaded here.

Project goals:

• Readability. Anyone can learn how to install and maintain Arch Linux.
• Upstream. Stay as vanilla and upstream as possible.
• Portability. Be the most portable x86 operating system.

Want to help support our work? Consider helping out with open feature and bug GitHub issues. Our CONTRIBUTING.md guide provides all of the information you need to get started as a winesapOS contributor.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• winesapOS
  • macOS Limitations
  • Features
    • General
    • Apple Intel Mac Support
    • Framework Computer Support
    • Community Collaboration
    • winesapOS Repository
    • Comparison with SteamOS
  • Usage
    • Requirements
    • Setup
      • Release Builds
      • Custom Builds
      • Differences Between Performance, Secure, and Minimal Images
        • Secure Image
      • Passwords
      • Mac Boot
      • Ventoy
    • Upgrades
      • Minor Upgrades
      • Major Upgrades
    • Uninstall
    • Convert to winesapOS
  • Tips
    • Getting Started
    • Steam Deck Game Mode
    • No Sound (Muted Audio)
    • Btrfs Backups
    • VPN (ZeroTier)
  • Troubleshooting
    • Release Image Zip Files
    • winesapOS Not Booting
    • Root File System Resizing
    • Read-Only File System
    • Wi-Fi or Bluetooth Not Working
    • Available Storage Space is Incorrect
    • First-Time Setup Log Files
    • Two or More Set Ups of winesapOS Cause an Unbootable System
    • Snapshot Recovery
    • Reinstalling winesapOS
    • Bad Performance on Battery
  • Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
  • Contributors
  • User Surveys
  • History
  • License

These are reasons why macOS is inferior compared to Linux when it comes to gaming.

• No 32-bit support. The latest version of macOS is now 64-bit only meaning legacy native games will not run.
• Steam Play's Proton is only supported on Linux (not macOS).
• Old and incomplete implementations of OpenGL 4.1 and OpenCL 1.2.
  • On Apple Silicon, OpenGL is only provided by the slow Metal for WebGL translation layer.
• No native Vulkan support.
  • MoltenVK is incomplete due to missing functionality in Apple's Metal API.
• Linux has kernel-level optimizations for Wine.
• CrossOver Mac, a commercial Wine product, is one of the few ways to run games on macOS. It costs money and requires a new license yearly (or a very expensive lifetime license).
  • The community fork of Wine from CrossOver lacks support for some game launchers, codecs, and translation layers.

• Any computer with an AMD or Intel processor can run winesapOS.
• Portability.
  • A drive is bootable on both BIOS and UEFI systems.
  • Lots of boot optimizations are made to make winesapOS more portable than most live Linux distributions.
  • Applications are installed using Flatpaks, a universal package manager for Linux, where possible.
• Persistent storage. Unlike traditional Linux live media, all storage is persistent and kept upon reboots.
  • Upon the first boot, the root partition is expanded to utilize all available space.
• Supportability. Linux is easy to troubleshoot remotely.
  • Access:
    • SSH can be accessed via clients on the same ZeroTier VPN network.
    • tmate makes sharing SSH sessions without VPN connections easy.
  • Tools:
    • ClamAV, and the GUI front-end Clamtk, is an open source anti-virus scanner.
    • QDirStat provides a graphical user interface to view storage space usage.
• Usability. Software for typical day-to-day use is provided.
  • AppImagePool for a GUI AppImage package manager.
  • BalenaEtcher for an image flashing utility.
  • bauh for a GUI AUR and Snap package manager.
  • Blueman for a Bluetooth pairing client.
  • Bottles for installing any Windows program.
  • Calibre for managing ebooks.
  • Cheese for a webcam software.
  • Discord for a gaming chat client.
  • Discover for a GUI Pacman and Flatpak package manager.
  • Distrobox for managing containers.
  • Dolphin (KDE Plasma), Nemo (Cinnamon), or Nautilus (GNOME) for a file manager.
  • FileZilla for a FTP client.
  • Firefox ESR for a stable web browser.
  • Firewall (secure image) provides a GUI for managing firewalld.
  • Flatseal for managing Flatpaks.
  • Google Chrome for a newer web browser.
  • GParted for managing storage partitions.
  • Gwenview (KDE Plasma), Pix (Cinnamon), or Eye of GNOME for an image gallery application.
  • KeePassXC for a cross-platform password manager.
  • LibreOffice provides an office suite.
  • Modem Manager GUI for using cellular modems.
  • Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) Studio for a recording and streaming utility.
  • PeaZip for an archive/compression utility.
  • qBittorrent for a torrent client.
  • Spectacle for a screenshot utility.
  • usbmuxd with backported patches to properly support iPhone file transfers and Internet tethering on T2 Macs.
  • VeraCrypt for a cross-platform encryption utility.
  • VLC for a media player.
  • ZeroTier GUI for a VPN utility for online LAN gaming.
• Gaming support out-of-the-box.
  • DOSBox for running 16-bit DOS and Windows (via Wine) applications.
  • Game launchers:
    • Steam.
    • Heroic Games Launcher for Epic Games Store games.
    • Lutris for all other games.
    • Open Gamepad UI for an open source video game console experience.
    • Prism Launcher for vanilla and modded Minecraft: Java Edition.
    • Bottles for all Windows programs.
    • EmuDeck for video game console emulators.
  • Wine:
    • Wine Staging for running Windows applications and games without a game launcher.
    • Proton GE is installed along with the ProtonUp-Qt package manager for it. This provides better Windows games compatibility in Steam.
  • GameMode is available to be used to speed up games.
  • Gamescope for helping play older games with frame rate or resolution issues.
  • MangoHUD for benchmarking OpenGL and Vulkan games.
  • GOverlay is a GUI for managing Vulkan overlays including MangoHUD, ReplaySorcery, and vkBasalt.
  • Ludusavi is a game save files manager.
  • ProtonUp-Qt for managing Steam Play compatibility tools.
  • ZeroTier VPN can be used to play LAN-only games online with friends.
  • Open source OpenGL and Vulkan drivers are installed for AMD, Intel, VirtualBox, and VMware graphics.
• Controller support for most controllers.
  • All official PlayStation and Xbox controllers are supported.
  • All generic DirectInput and XInput controllers are supported.
  • AntiMicroX is provided for configuring controller input for non-Steam games.
  • game-devices-udev is provided for more controller support.
  • OpenRazer is provided for Razer accessories.
  • Oversteer is provided for managing racing wheels and related accessories.
• Steam Deck look and feel.
  • Gamescope Session is provided to replicate the "Game Mode" from the Steam Deck.
  • KDE Plasma desktop environment is used.
• Minimize writes to the drive to improve its longevity.
  • Root file system is mounted with the options noatime and nodiratime to not write the access times for files and directories.
  • Temporary directories with heavy writes (/tmp/, /var/log/, and /var/tmp/) are mounted as RAM-only file systems.
  • systemd-journald is configured to use volatile (RAM-only) storage for all system logs.
  • Swappiness level is set to 1% (down from the default of 30%) as recommended by CryoByte33's CryoUtilities.
• Full backups via Btrfs.
  • Snapper takes 10 hourly, 12 monthly, and 1 annual snapshots.
  • snap-pac takes a backup whenever the pacman package manager is used.
  • grub-btrfs automatically generates a GRUB menu entry for all of the Btrfs backups.
• No automatic operating system updates. Updates should always be intentional and planned.
• Most file systems supported. Access any storage device, anywhere.
  • APFS
  • Bcachefs
  • Btrfs
  • CephFS
  • CIFS/SMB
  • EROFS
  • ext2, ext3, and ext4
  • exFAT
  • F2FS
  • FAT12, FAT16, and FAT32
  • FATX16 and FATX32
  • GFS2
  • GlusterFS
  • HFS and HFS+
  • JFS
  • NFS
  • NTFS
  • ReiserFS
  • SSDFS
  • XFS
  • ZFS
• Battery optimizations.
  • The auto-cpufreq service provides automatic power management.
• Fully automated installation.

All Intel Macs are supported. Linux works on most Macs out-of-the-box these days. Drivers are pre-installed for newer hardware where native Linux support is missing.

Notes about Bluetooth and Wi-Fi support if it is not working out-of-the-box:

• Macs with the Apple T2 Security Chip (>= 2017)
  • Follow the t2linux wiki for instructions on how to copy firmware files from macOS to Linux.
• Macs without the Apple T2 Security Chip (< 2017)
  • During the winesapOS First-Time Setup, select "Yes" when asked "Do you want to install the Broadcom proprietary Wi-Fi driver?"

All Framework computers are fully supported.

For the Framework Laptop 16, audio support for Linux needs to be enabled in the BIOS.

• (Boot into the BIOS by pressing "F2" when turning the device on) > Setup Utility > Advanced > Linux Audio Compatibility: Linux > (Save and exit by pressing "F10")

We are actively working alongside these operating system projects to help provide wider Linux gaming support to the masses:

• Batocera
• ChimeraOS
• PlaytronOS

As of winesapOS 3.1.0, we now provide our own repository with some AUR packages pre-built. This repository works on Arch Linux and Manjaro. It is enabled on winesapOS by default. Depending on what distribution you are on, here is how it can be enabled:

• Arch Linux and Manjaro:

  sudo sed -i s'/\[core]/[winesapos]\nServer = https:\/\/winesapos.lukeshort.cloud\/repo\/$repo\/$arch\n\n[core]/'g /etc/pacman.conf
  sudo pacman -S -y -y
  

Enable the GPG key to be used by importing it and then locally signing the key to trust it.

sudo pacman-key --recv-keys 1805E886BECCCEA99EDF55F081CA29E4A4B01239
sudo pacman-key --init
sudo pacman-key --lsign-key 1805E886BECCCEA99EDF55F081CA29E4A4B01239

winesapOS 3 was the first Linux distribution to be based on SteamOS 3. Historically, here are the first forks of SteamOS 3:

Minimum:

• Processor = Single-core AMD or Intel processor.
• RAM = 2 GiB.
• Graphics = AMD, Intel, or NVIDIA, Parallels Desktop, VirtualBox, or VMware Fusion/Workstation virtual graphics device.
• Storage
  • Minimal image = 16 GB USB 3.2 Gen 1 (USB 3.0) flash drive.
  • Performance and secure image = 64 GB USB 3.2 Gen 1 (USB 3.0) flash drive.

Recommended:

• Processor = Quad-core AMD or Intel processor.
• RAM = 16 GiB.
• Graphics = AMD discrete graphics card.
• Storage
  • Internal = 512 GB NVMe SSD.
  • External = 512 GB USB 3.2 Gen 2 (USB 3.1) SSD.

Most flash drives and SD cards are too slow to run an operating system on and provide a good experience. For the best experience, use one of these recommended flash drives or any SSD.

0. Secure Boot is not supported.
   • If using Windows and BitLocker is enabled then disable it first.
   • Then disable Secure Boot in the BIOS.
1. Download the latest release from here.
   • Performance (recommended) = Requires 31 GiB of free space to download and extract.
   • Minimal (for users low on storage space or who want control over what is installed) = Requires 13 GiB of free space to download and extract.
   • Secure (for advanced users only) = Requires 32 GiB of free space to download and extract.
   • Internal drives (PC only, does not work on Macs) = If you want to setup winesapOS using winesapOS, use the minimal image and follow through the next steps (2 and 3) to extract and flash the image. Then boot into the storage device and download the image you want to setup. Follow steps 2 and 3 again to flash the image onto a different storage device.
     • Copying partitions using GParted from a storage device with winesapOS already installed is not recommended as it requires rebuilding the GRUB configuration. We will not provide support for that and instead recommend using balenaEtcher or dd to flash the entire image instead.
       • For balenaEtcher, when you "Select target" there is an option to "Show hidden" storage devices. It will let you flash an image to any drive except the one it is physically running on.
   • If you want even more control over the how the image is built, consider doing a custom build instead.
2. Extract the winesapos-<VERSION>-<TYPE>.img.zip archive.
3. Use the image...
   1. on a PC or Mac.
      • Flash the image to an internal or external storage device. WARNING: This will delete any existing data on that storage device.
        • On Linux, macOS, and Windows, use either balenaEtcher or USBImager to flash the image.
        • On Linux and macOS, the dd CLI utility can be used to flash the image.
   2. with Parallels Desktop on macOS (Intel only).
      • Convert the raw image to the VDI format. Then convert the VDI image to HDD.
        • Using the qemu-img and prl_convert CLI:

          qemu-img convert -f raw -O vdi winesapos-<VERSION>-<TYPE>.img winesapos-<VERSION>-<TYPE>.vdi
          prl_convert winesapos-<VERSION>-<TYPE>.vdi --allow-no-os --stand-alone-disk --dst=winesapos-<VERSION>-<TYPE>.hdd
          

      • Parallels Desktop > Install Windows or another OS from a DVD or image file > Image File > select a file... > (select the winesapOS HDD file) > Continue > Please select your operating system: > More Linux > Other Linux > OK > Name: winesapOS > Create
   3. with VMware Fusion on macOS (Intel only).
      • Convert the raw image to the VMDK format.
        • Using the VirtualBox CLI:

          VBoxManage convertfromraw --format VMDK winesapos-<VERSION>-<TYPE>.img winesapos-<VERSION>-<TYPE>.vmdk
          

        • Using the qemu-img CLI:

          qemu-img convert -f raw -O vmdk winesapos-<VERSION>-<TYPE>.img winesapos-<VERSION>-<TYPE>.vmdk
          

        • Using StarWind V2V Converter on Windows.
      • VMware Fusion > Virtual Machine Library > + > New... > Create a custom virtual machine > Continue > Linux > Other Linux 5.x kernel 64-bit > Continue > Specify the boot firmware: UEFI > Continue > Use an existing virtual disk > Continue > Custom Settings > Hard Disk (SCSI) > Disk size: (increase to at least 64 GB) > Apply > Show All > Processors & Memory > Processors: 2 processor cores > Memory: 4096 MB > Show All > Display > Accelerate 3D Graphis: Yes > Shared graphics memory: (set this to the highest possible value)
   4. with VMware Workstation on Linux or Windows.
      • Convert the raw image to the VMDK format.
      • VMware Workstation > Create a New Virtual Machine > Custom (advanced) > Next > Hardware compatibility: (select the latest version) > Next > I will install the operating system later. > Next > Guest Operating System: 2. Linux > Version: Other Linux 5.x kernel 64-bit > Next > Name: winesapOS > Next > Number of processors: 2 > Next > Memory for this virtual machine: 4096 MB > Next > Use network address translation (NAT) > Next > SCSI controller: LSI Logic (Recommended) > Next > Virtual Disk Type: SCSI (Recommended) > Next > Use an existing virtual disk > Next > File name: (select the winesapOS VMDK file) > Keep Existing Format > Customize Hardware... > Hard Disk (SCSI) > Expand Disk... > Maximum disk size (GB): (increase to at least 64 GB) > Expand > OK > Display > Accelerate 3D graphics: Yes > Graphics Memory: (set this to the highest possible value) > Close > Finish > Close
   5. with VirtualBox.
      • Convert the raw image to the VDI format.
        • Using the VirtualBox CLI:

          VBoxManage convertfromraw --format VDI winesapos-<VERSION>-<TYPE>.img winesapos-<VERSION>-<TYPE>.vdi
          

        • Using the qemu-img CLI:

          qemu-img convert -f raw -O vdi winesapos-<VERSION>-<TYPE>.img winesapos-<VERSION>-<TYPE>.vdi
          

        • Using StarWind V2V Converter on Windows.
      • Virtual Box > New > Name: winesapOS, Type: Linux, Version: Arch Linux (64-bit) > Next > Base Memory: 4096 MB, Processors: 2, Enable EFI: Yes > Next > Use an Existing Virtual Hard Disk File > Add > Choose > Next > Finish > File > Tools > Virtual Media Manager > Size: (increase to at least 32 GB) > Apply > OK > winesapOS > Settings > General > Advanced > Shared Clipboard: Bidirectional, Drag'n'Drop: Bidirectional > OK > winesapOS > Settings > Display > Screen > Video Memory: 128 MB, Graphics Controller: VMSVGA, Extended Features: Enable 3D Acceleration
      • NOTICE: VirtualBox 3D acceleration for Linux guests does not fully work. This issue is not specific to winesapOS. Consider using VMware Fusion or VMware Workstation instead.

Default accounts have a password set that mirror the username:

Upon first login, the "winesapOS First-Time Setup" wizard will launch. It will help set up graphics drivers, the locale, time zone, and more. It is highly recommended to complete this on the first boot. Then reboot before using winesapOS to provide the best experience.

Instead of using a release build which is already made, advanced users may want to create a custom build. This only requires 1 GiB of free space to download the live Arch Linux environment. It also allows using environment variables to configure the build differently than the default release builds.

1. Download and setup the latest Arch Linux ISO onto a flash drive that has at least 1 GB of storage.

   1a. We also support building winesapOS with Manjaro even though we do not provide release images for it. Download either the Plasma, Cinnamon, or GNOME desktop edition of Manjaro.

2. Boot into the flash drive.

3. Update the known packages cache and install git.

   pacman -S -y
   pacman -S git
   

4. Clone the stable branch and go to the "scripts" directory.

   git clone --branch stable https://github.com/lukeshortcloud/winesapos.git
   cd ./winesapos/scripts/
   

5. Configure environment variables to customize the build. At the very least, allow the build to work on bare-metal and define what /dev/<DEVICE> block device to install to. BE CAREFUL AS THIS WILL DELETE ALL EXISTING DATA ON THAT DEVICE!

   export WINESAPOS_BUILD_IN_VM_ONLY=false
   lsblk
   export WINESAPOS_DEVICE=<DEVICE>
   

6. Run the build.

   sudo -E bash ./winesapos-install.sh
   

7. Check for any test failures (there should be no output from this command).

   grep -P 'FAIL$' /winesapos/etc/winesapos/winesapos-install.log
   

For more detailed information on the build process, we recommend reading the entire CONTRIBUTING.md guide.

These are the main differences between the performance, secure, and minimal images. The performance is focused on speed and ease-of-use. The secure image is recommended for advanced Linux users. The minimal image is focused on using a small amount of storage space with only the core operating system packages needed to run a basic GUI desktop.

If using the secure image, the default LUKS encryption key is password which should be changed after the first boot. Do not do this before the first boot as the default password is used to unlock the partition for it be resized to fill up the entire storage device. Change the LUKS encryption key for the fifth partition.

$ sudo cryptsetup luksChangeKey /dev/<DEVICE>5

The user account password for winesap and root are the same as the username. They are set to expire immediately. Upon first login, you will be prompted to enter a new password. Here is how to change it:

1. Enter the default password of winesap.
2. The prompt will say "Changing password for winesap." Enter the default password of winesap again.
3. The prompt will now say "New password". Enter a new password.
4. The prompt will finally say "Retype new password". Enter the new password again. The password has been updated and the KDE Plasma desktop will now load.

The root user account is locked until the password is changed. It is recommended to change this immediately to allow for recovery to work.

$ sudo passwd root

On the secure image, the LUKS encryption key is password. The password for LUKS and the root account should be changed immediately.

$ sudo cryptsetup luksChangeKey /dev/<DEVICE>5
$ sudo passwd root

Boot the Mac into an external drive by pressing and releasing the power button. Then hold down the OPTION key (or the ALT key on a Windows keyboard) to access the Mac bootloader. Select the "EFI Boot" device.

IMPORTANT Any Mac with an Apple T2 Security Chip, which are all Macs made in and after 2018, needs to allow booting from external storage:

1. Turn on the Mac and immediately hold both the COMMAND and r keys to enter recovery mode.
2. Utilities > Startup Security Utility
   • Secure Boot = No Security (Does not enforce any requirements on the bootable OS.)
   • External Boot = Allow booting from external media (Does not restrict the ability to boot from any devices.)

winesapOS release images are in a raw format which does not work out-of-the-box with Ventoy. These can be modified to work with Ventoy by using the Linux vDisk boot plugin.

1. Create a virtual machine for winesapOS. View the setup guide for instructions on how to use VirtualBox, VMware Fusion, or VMware Player/Workstation.
2. Download the latest vtoyboot ISO and attach it to the virtual machine.
3. Mount the ISO in the virtual machine and then run the vtoyboot.sh command. This will convert the operating system to be useable via Ventoy.
4. Shutdown the virtual machine and then rename the virtual machine image to winesapos.vtoy.

The image can now be used by Ventoy.

Upgrades are supported and recommended between all minor releases of winesapOS. For example, it is supported to go from 3.0.0 to 3.2.1.

Where it makes sense, features are backported from newer versions of winesapOS. Bug and security fixes are also included to fix problems either with winesapOS itself or with upstream changes in Arch Linux. Even if a user never upgrades winesapOS, users will continue to get regular system upgrades from Arch Linux.

Before upgrading, please read the full UPGRADE.md notes. This showcases what updates will happen automatically and what updates may need to be manually applied.

Development builds do not support upgrades. Here are the releases that we do support upgrades on:

Here is how to upgrade winesapOS:

• GUI = Launch the "winesapOS Upgrade" desktop shortcut.

• CLI = Launch the winesapOS upgrade script from the stable branch.

  curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/LukeShortCloud/winesapOS/stable/scripts/winesapos-upgrade.sh | sudo -E bash
  

• Open Terminator.
• Run a major upgrade of winesapOS.
  • Mac Linux Gaming Stick 2 to winesapOS 4:

    echo stick > /tmp/winesapos_user_name.txt
    export WINESAPOS_UPGRADE_FILES=false
    export WINESAPOS_UPGRADE_VERSION_CHECK=false
    curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/LukeShortCloud/winesapOS/stable/scripts/winesapos-upgrade.sh | sudo -E bash
    

  • winesapOS 3 to winesapOS 4:
    • GUI = Launch the "winesapOS Upgrade" desktop shortcut.
    • CLI:

      curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/LukeShortCloud/winesapOS/stable/scripts/winesapos-upgrade.sh | sudo -E bash
      

If desired, it is possible to remove winesapOS specific files and configuration and switch back to upstream Arch Linux using an uninstall script. It will not remove anything that is related to improved hardware compatibility.

curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/LukeShortCloud/winesapOS/stable/scripts/winesapos-uninstall.sh | sudo -E bash

It is possible to get an experience similar to winesapOS but on a different Linux distribution by installing applications that winesapOS provides.

flatpak install \
  io.github.antimicrox.antimicrox \
  com.usebottles.bottles \
  com.calibre_ebook.calibre \
  org.gnome.Cheese \
  com.gitlab.davem.ClamTk \
  com.discordapp.Discord \
  org.filezillaproject.Filezilla \
  com.github.tchx84.Flatseal \
  org.freedesktop.Platform.VulkanLayer.gamescope \
  com.google.Chrome \
  com.heroicgameslauncher.hgl \
  org.keepassxc.KeePassXC \
  org.libreoffice.LibreOffice \
  net.lutris.Lutris \
  org.freedesktop.Platform.VulkanLayer.MangoHud \
  com.obsproject.Studio \
  io.github.peazip.PeaZip \
  org.prismlauncher.PrismLauncher \
  com.github.Matoking.protontricks \
  net.davidotek.pupgui2 \
  org.qbittorrent.qBittorrent \
  com.valvesoftware.Steam \
  com.valvesoftware.Steam.Utility.steamtinkerlaunch \
  org.videolan.VLC

• Plug additional hardware into a USB hub. Connect the USB hub to the computer before booting.

• Do NOT move the USB hub after plugging it in and booting up Linux. It can easily disconnect leading to a corrupt file system.

• Consider buying an SSD instead of a flash drive for a longer life-span, more storage, and faster speeds.

• Delete old Btrfs backups when the drive is running low on storage space.

  $ sudo snapper list
  $ sudo snapper delete <SNAPSHOT_NUMBER>
  

• Enable Proton for all Windows games. This will allow them to run in Linux. For more information about Proton, read this starter guide. Check the compatibility rating for games on Steam by using ProtonDB.

  Settings > Steam Play > Enable Steam Play for Support Titles > Use this tool instead of game-specific selections from Steam > Compatibility tool: > (select the latest "Proton" version available) > OK
  

On the LightDM login screen for the "winesap" user, the wrench icon in the top-right can be used to change the session from "Plasma (Wayland)" to "Steam Big Picture". This provides the same experience as having a Steam Deck in "Game Mode" by launching Steam with Gamescope Session. Using this on devices that are not the Steam Deck will have varied results. For example, configuring TDP for other devices will not work as the Steam client is hardcoded to only work on the Steam Deck.

Known issues:

• A user must first log into the KDE Plasma desktop environment session and go through the winesapOS first-time setup. This will automatically download the Steam client bootstrap files required for the new Big Picutre mode. Otherwise, run the "Steam (Runtime)" desktop shortcut to download the required files.

Alternatively, Steam can be launched from KDE Plasma using the "Steam (Runtime)" desktop shortcut. Then it can be changed to be in the new Big Picture Mode.

There is also a session for Open Gamepad UI as an open source alternative front-end. Select the "OpenGamepadUI" session on the LightDM login screen. It has plugins for Steam, Lutris, and more.

When Mac hardware is detected, all sound is muted on boot because on, newer Macs, the experimental sound driver is extremely loud. This means that any volume changes will be reset on the next boot. Disable and stop the user (not system) mute service to allow the sound volume to be saved:

systemctl --user disable --now winesapos-mute.service

Both the root / and /home directory have automatic backups/snapshots configured by Snapper. A new backup will be taken hourly (up to 10), every month (up to 12), and every year (up to 1). The root directory will also have a backup taken whenever pacman is used to install or remove a package.

During boot, GRUB will have a "Arch Linux snapshots" section that will allow booting from a root directory snapshot. This will not appear on first boot because no backups have been taken yet. After a backup has been taken, the GRUB configuration file needs to be regenerated to scan for the new backups.

Manually rebuild the GRUB configuration file to load the latest snapshots:

$ sudo grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg

View the available backups:

$ sudo snapper -c root list
$ sudo snapper -c home list

Manually create a new backup:

$ sudo snapper -c <CONFIG> create

Manually delete a backup:

$ sudo snapper -c <CONFIG> delete <BACKUP_NUMBER>

A VPN is required for LAN gaming online. Use the free and open source ZeroTier VPN service for this.

Host

1. Only one person needs to create a ZeroTier account.
2. They must then create a ZeroTier network.
   1. Log into ZeroTier Central.
   2. Select "Networks".
   3. Select "Create A Network".
   4. Select the "Network ID" or "Name" of the new network to modify the settings.
      • Either (1) set the "Access Control" to "Public" or (2) use this settings page to manually authorize connected clients to be able to communicate on the network.
      • Take note of the "Network ID". Send this string to your friends who will connect to the VPN.

Clients

1. Start the ZeroTier VPN service.

   $ sudo systemctl enable --now zerotier-one
   

2. Connect to the ZeroTier network.

   $ sudo zerotier-cli join <NETWORK_ID>
   

Challenge: the release image fails to be extracted from the zip file.

Solutions:

1. Verify the integrity of the downloaded zip files.

   • Linux:

     sha512sum --check winesapos-<VERSION>-<TYPE>.sha512sum.txt
     

   • Windows (open Command Prompt as Administrator):

     C:\Windows\system32>CertUtil.exe -hashfile C:\Users\<USER>\Downloads\winesapos-<VERSION>-<TYPE>.sha512sum.txt SHA512
     

2. Not enough free space. Ensure you have 13 GiB (minimal image), 31 GiB (performance image), or 33 GiB (secure image) of free space before downloading the zip files.

3. If using PeaZip, it sometimes fails to extract to the current directory. Try extracting to a different directory.

There are many different reasons why winesapOS may not be booting.

• Secure Boot is not supported.
  • If using Windows and BitLocker is enabled then disable it first.
  • Then disable Secure Boot in the BIOS.
• Windows.
  • Disable fast startup as this causes issues with booting Linux.
    • Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Power Options > Change what the power buttons do > Change settings that are currently unavailable > (uncheck "Turn on fast startup (recommended)") > Save changes
  • Do not Hibernate in Windows.
• USB mode.
  • If using a USB Type-C cable, try flipping it upside down (180 degrees).
    • If using a USB Type-C to Type-A adapter, only one of the USB Type-C sides is full speed so orientation does matter.
  • If using an external drive, set the USB mode to xHCI instead of DRD in the BIOS.
  • The USB cable or port may be loose. Try a different cable and port.
• SATA mode.
  • If using an internal drive, set the SATA mode to AHCI instead of RAID in the BIOS.
    • Some NVMe drives use a SATA (not PCIe) connector and also need this setting change.
• Legacy BIOS boot.
  • Older motherboards that do not support GPT partition layouts will not be able to boot winesapOS.
  • Manually converting winesapOS from GPT to MBR and re-installing the GRUB boot loader does not fix this issue.

Challenge: the root file system does not resize itself to use all available space on the storage device.

Solution:

1. Re-enable the resize service, reboot, and then view the service log. Open up a GitHub Issue with the full log output.

   sudo systemctl enable winesapos-resize-root-file-system
   sudo reboot
   

   sudo journalctl --unit winesapos-resize-root-file-system
   

If using an external USB drive, it is possible to get errors about a Read-only file system. This is a hardware issue and indicates that the USB drive has been disconnected even if only for a fraction of a second. Short-term, reboot winesapOS to fix these errors. Long-term, try using a different USB port and/or drive and make sure that the drive does not move while in use. For the best experience, we recommend using an internal drive.

Challenge: If Wi-Fi or Bluetooth is not working and Windows is installed, it could be from fast startup being enabled and/or Windows Hibernating.

Solutions:

• Macs
  • Hints are provided in the Apple Intel Mac Support section.
• Windows
  • Disable fast startup as this causes issues with hardware support in Linux.
    • Long-term solution:
      • Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Power Options > Change what the power buttons do > Change settings that are currently unavailable > (uncheck "Turn on fast startup (recommended)") > Save changes
    • Short-term solution:
      • Fully shutdown Windows by holding the "SHIFT" key while selecting "Shut down", selecting to "Reboot", or by running the command shutdown /s /f /t 0.
  • Do not Hibernate in Windows.

Challenge: the amount of reported free space seems too small or large.

Solutions:

1. Btrfs is used as the root file system on winesapOS. The most reliable way to view the amount of storage in-use on Btrfs is with this command.

   sudo btrfs filesystem df /
   

2. Snapper is used to take Btrfs snapshots/backups (1) every time Pacman installs, upgrades, or removes a package and (2) every month. Refer to the Btrfs Backups section for more information on how to manage those snapshots.

If the first-time setup fails or needs debugging, the last log file can be found and copied to the desktop by running these two commands:

$ sudo cp "/etc/winesapos/$(sudo ls -1 /etc/winesapos/ | grep setup | tail -n 1)" /home/winesap/Desktop/
$ sudo chown winesap:winesap "/home/winesap/Desktop/$(ls -1 ~/Desktop/ | grep setup_)"

Challenge: winesapOS uses labels for file system mounts which confuses the system if more than one label is found.

Solution:

1. Change the file system label and UUID of at least the root file system on one of the winesapOS drives. It is recommended to change all of the labels on that same drive. This can cause an unbootable system. Manually review the contents of /etc/fstab to ensure it is correct.

   # Labels can be changed on mounted file systems.
   lsblk -o name,label
   export DEVICE=vda
   sudo -E exfatlabel /dev/${DEVICE}2 wos-drive0
   sudo -E fatlabel /dev/${DEVICE}3 WOS-EFI0
   sudo sed -i s'/LABEL=WOS-EFI/LABEL=WOS-EFI0/'g /etc/fstab
   sudo -E e2label /dev/${DEVICE}4 winesapos-boot0
   sudo sed -i s'/LABEL=winesapos-boot/LABEL=winesapos-boot0/'g /etc/fstab
   sudo btrfs filesystem label / winesapos-root0
   sudo btrfs filesystem show /
   sudo sed -i s'/LABEL=winesapos-root/LABEL=winesapos-root0/'g /etc/fstab
   lsblk -o name,label
   

   # UUIDs can only be changed on unmounted file systems.
   # It is recommended to do these steps from a different live Linux environment.
   lsblk -o name,uuid
   sudo exfatlabel -i /dev/${DEVICE}2 $(uuidgen | cut -d- -f2,3)
   sudo mlabel -N $(uuidgen | cut -d- -f2,3) /dev/${DEVICE}3
   sudo e2fsck -f /dev/${DEVICE}4
   sudo tune2fs -U $(uuidgen) /dev/${DEVICE}4
   sudo btrfstune -U $(uuidgen) /dev/${DEVICE}5
   lsblk -o name,uuid
   

   # GRUB needs to be updated with the new UUIDs.
   sudo chroot <MOUNTED_ROOT_AND_BOOT_DIRECTORY> grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg
   

Challenges:

1. winesapOS upgrade fails.
2. Old files need to be recovered.

Solution:

1. At the GRUB boot menu select "Arch Linux snapshots" and then the desired backup to load. The filesystem will be read-only by default. It can be set to enable writes with this command:

   $ sudo btrfs property set -ts /.snapshots/<BTRFS_SNAPSHOT_ID> ro false
   

For more advanced recovery using overlayfs on-top of a read-only filesystem, refer to this grub-btrfs GitHub issue.

Reinstalling winesapOS on-top of an existing winesapOS installation of the same exact version and image type can cause issues. This is because the partitions are perfectly aligned which leads to overlapping data. Even wiping the partition table is not enough. For the best results, it is recommended to completely wipe at least the first 25 GiB of the storage device. WARNING: This will delete any existing data on that storage device.

dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/<DEVICE> bs=1M count=25000

When using a portable device such as a laptop or gaming handheld, the operating system goes into a battery saver mode by default. This can be disabled to get maximum performance.

sudo systemctl disable --now auto-cpufreq

• Is this the Mac Linux Gaming Stick project?
  • Yes. Version 1 and 2 of the project were called Mac Linux Gaming Stick. In version 3, we rebranded to winesapOS.
• How do you pronounce winesapOS?
  • wine-sap-o-s.
• What is the relevance of the word "winesap" in winesapOS?
  • It is a type of apple which signifies how we develop on Macs and ship drivers for them. It also has the word "wine" in it which is the name of the project used to enable Windows gaming on Linux.
• What makes this different than adding persistent storage to a live CD with Universal USB Installer or YUMI?
  • Having persistent storage work via these hacky methods can be hit-or-miss depending on the distribution. winesapOS was built from the ground-up to have persistent storage. It also features automatic backups, various gaming tools, has support for Macs, and more.
• Are Arm Macs supported?
  • No. We recommend using Asahi Linux or Fedora Asahi Remix instead.
• Is winesapOS a Linux distribution?
  • Yes. We provide customized packages, a package repository, various optimizations, and our own upgrade process. winesapOS is based on Arch Linux with optional support for Manjaro.
• Do I have to install winesapOS?
  • No. No installation is required. Flash a release image to a drive and then boot from it. Everything is already installed and configured.
• What if winesapOS was abandoned?
  • We have no intentions on ever abandoning winesapOS. Even if that happened, since this is an opinionated installation of an Arch Linux distribution, it will continue to get normal operating system updates. The uninstall script can also be used to switch back to upstream Arch Linux.
• Can anyone build winesapOS?
  • Yes. Refer to the CONTRIBUTING.md documentation.
• Can winesapOS be built with a different Linux distribution?
  • Yes. We support Arch Linux and Manjaro as build targets. As of winesapOS 4, Arch Linux is the default target that is used for our releases.
• Is winesapOS affiliated with Valve?
  • No. We are an independent project.

Here are community contributors who have helped the winesapOS project.

Founder:

• LukeShortCloud

Code:

• ohaiibuzzle
• soredake
• Thijzer
• wallentx

Financial:

• Mark Dougherty
• Mike Artz

These are anonymous surveys done with Linux gaming community members. Most, but not all, are winesapOS users.

Favorite (non-Valve) handheld PC brand:

• AYANEO = 50%
• GPD = 33.3%
• ONEXPlayer = 0%
• Other = 16.7%

6 votes.

There were no comments about what the "Other" brand is so that is unknown.

https://twitter.com/LukeShortCloud/status/1649078025634598912

Favorite desktop environments:

• GNOME = 40%
• Plasma by KDE = 40%
• Xfce = 4%
• Other = 16%

25 votes.

"Other" included specific mentions from the community about Cinnamon (for its similarity to Windows) and Sway (for its tiling features).

https://twitter.com/LukeShortCloud/status/1659279345926516737

GPLv3