Running TouchDesigner on Linux (Update : Fully Automated Installer)

General TouchDesigner Discussion
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Hi everyone!

Like many of you, I’ve been wanting to use TouchDesigner on Linux for a long time. I previously shared a manual guide using Bottles, but to lower the barrier to entry, I’ve decided to automate the entire process.

I just pushed this update to my GitHub repository here.

:penguin: The Major Update: One-Command Installation

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I have developed a dedicated installation script that optimizes the Wine environment specifically for TouchDesigner. No more manual dependency hunting or complex configurations.

To try the automated install :

curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/iswad-lab/TouchDesigner-Linux/main/install.sh | bash

Key Improvements & Features :

  • Automated Installer: A single shell script handles environment checks, system dependencies, and Wine prefix configuration in one go.

  • Standalone Runner: It uses a curated Soda Wine runner, so you don’t even need to install Bottles or Flatseal like the previous version.

  • Native-like Experience: Improved desktop integration with automatic shortcut creation and .toe file associations (double-click to open projects).

  • UI Font Fix: The script automatically handles the invisible UI text issue by providing the necessary .tox fix (thanks to @c0deous).

Supported Distributions :

The script supports the major Linux families and popular distros:

  • Arch-based: Arch Linux, CachyOS, Manjaro, etc.

  • Debian/Ubuntu-based: Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Pop!_OS, etc.

  • Fedora-based: Fedora, RHEL, etc.

  • openSUSE-based: Tumbleweed, Leap, etc.

The script is idempotent, meaning you can safely run it multiple times to repair or update your setup without breaking anything.

I’m using this setup for my daily creative work. Performance is great, and it even runs cooler and more efficiently than on Windows in some of my tests!

I really need your feedback! Since I cannot test every hardware combination, please let me know how it works for you. Whether it’s a success or you encounter an issue, your reports will help me improve the solution for everyone.

Feel free to reach out here or contribute directly on GitHub!

Thanks,
Iswad

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What will it take to get derivative to make TD for linux?
What will it take to get derivative to make TD for linux?
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This is great! Thanks for the tag

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Really Cool.

It works for me on an old computer with 970 GPU and Brazzite.

Thx for the Text Fix too @c0deous

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Hey, thanks a lot, great job! I use arch + hyprland wm. All have installed and launched without any issues. Couple of question I have:

  1. In repo there is mention of font fix tox file, I have a missing mono font warning in the textport, what should I do with this .tox file to fix this?

  2. I have a small visual glitch in the transport panel, is it expected?

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Hi, thanks for the feedback !

The glitch in the transport panel is a font rendering issue. Just drag and drop the .tox from the repo into your session to fix the UI. In the next update (v1.1.0 release on GitHub), the script will auto-install this fix into your Palette (My Components)

Also, could you paste the exact warning from the textport? I’ll check if a specific font is missing.

Thanks for testing :slight_smile:

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will do once I’m back home!

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“Error Loading Default Mono Font. Failed to load font file. Failed to load . Substituted with Verdana.” Here’s the message

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Ok thanks for sharing the message.

This error is usually a non-blocking Wine fallback. If the UI looks correct after applying wine_ui_fixes.tox, it can be safely ignored.

I also just pushed v1.1.0, which improves the current font and UI fix workflow (including the font-fix desktop entry) to make this Linux/Wine issue more reliable.

You can re-run the install script without uninstalling your current TouchDesigner version, then:

  1. Open Palette > My Components

  2. Refresh Folder

  3. Drag wine_ui_fixes.tox into your network

  4. Click Enable / Fix Now, and voila !

You can either use the font-fix desktop entry, or use the default one and set your own default startup .toe project.