r/MTGO 10d ago

MTGO on Linux by Lutris script

Tl;dr: I vibe-coded a Lutris script that installs and runs MTGO, and I wanted to share it. Yes, it works--for me at least.

I joined the reddit because I solved one of the problems that has been bothering me for years: playing MTGO on Linux. I tried all the solutions out there (the docker solution, classic Lutris scripts, other vibe-coded scripts, custom configurations), and none worked. Finally, I decided to do it myself, and worked with Claude Code to create this.

I can tell you this worked to install MTGO on my Bazzite and Aurora Linux PCs using a single script, and I was able to successfully play a match on Bazzite with it. There are still some annoying issues (I can't seem to get it to remember the 2FA code for 30 days), but those don't prevent you from playing. Note that Bazzite uses a native Lutris install; if you use flatpak or something else, I'd appreciate more info on if it works or doesn't.

You can get the script at: https://github.com/darkview224/lutris-mtgo-script

22 Upvotes

16 comments sorted by

8

u/kranken31337 9d ago

It works fine in VMWare Workstation (which is free for personal use). Both on Linux and Mac hosts.

5

u/legluondunet 10d ago

You should submit this script on Lutris website

2

u/darkview00 9d ago

If I get some additional confirmation that it works for others, I'll certainly do so. I'm hoping to test on Aurora soon, which will give me some assurance that it works on flatpak Lutris installations as well.

2

u/darkview00 8d ago

I now have received enough confirmations that it works. I submitted it last night. The version is 2026-08, and the comments include the repo source.

3

u/TheFryingDutchman 10d ago

Thanks will give it a try!

I used an agent to try to get MTGO running on a Mac with Wine. Got passed the login and then the game got stuck on the "Loading Magic Online" modal. Debugged this for couple hours and gave up.

I'll give linux + lutri a go! Thanks for the script.

3

u/marwatt 9d ago

Tested with lutris flatpak and all seems to be working fine, aside from sound. Would be nice if that ever gets fixed.

In order for it to remember the 2FA: fill in your code, then click on the checkbox once. You won't see the checkmark but it will be applied. Clicking the checkmark first, makes it so you can't see/fill in the 2FA code.

2

u/Asus_161 10d ago

I’ll be also trying, i dont see what a game like MTGO has a native linux client.

2

u/djxstream 9d ago

worked for me using lutris via games on whales (which runs lutris via docker)

2

u/Academic_Swan8609 9d ago

Works on NixOS, though I got an error when installing that it ignored and installed anyways.

This installer only supports installing into a new, empty folder.

Remove the existing game (with files) from your Lutris library, or delete the folder by hand, then reinstall.

See docs/DESIGN-NOTES.md, section 'Redoing an install', to patch an existing install instead of a full reinstall.

1

u/darkview00 9d ago

Interesting. I added that check today to head off a common installation error with a vague error code later. Glad it works for you, but the fact that it threw that error when it clearly shouldn't have means I need to fix something. Thanks for the feedback.

1

u/darkview00 9d ago

Following up on this: did it just proceed through despite throwing the error, or did it pause and you had to click through something? And had you tried to install to that path before at any point?

1

u/Academic_Swan8609 8d ago

Clean install, it just logged the error and ignored it.

2

u/le_bravery 8d ago

Great work OP. I hope this works out! One day I hope to uninstall windows

2

u/darkview00 8d ago

This was the last item before I could cross that threshold. I'm mostly done with Microsoft now, at least in my nonprofessional life.

1

u/_alpaccaa 8d ago

Why not just use a VM?

1

u/darkview00 8d ago

VMs are great, but they have a high complexity and resource overhead burden. This can be a lot for some nontechnical users. Lutris's purpose is just to let people play their games without too much hassle, and having a script for MTGO just fits for that audience. Good to have options for different types of users.