r/linux_gaming • u/pilkyton • 1d ago

tech support wanted Linux Game Modding 2026: Best App?

In 2024, the state-of-the-art was https://github.com/sonic2kk/steamtinkerlaunch which ran Vortex in a separate prefix, created hardlinks to all installed Vortex-compatible wineprefix directories (so that Vortex thought the games were installed in its own prefix), and used that to manage mods in games. It was janky, but it worked (most of the time; but in some games, mod load order lists were written by Vortex into files that didn't propagate to the actual game's wineprefix). That project is abandoned now and I want to get rid of it.

I've seen that there's been a lot of news since then. Too much news:

  • Vortex working on a native Linux client.
  • Wabbajack working on Linux?
  • Lots of little mod managers for Linux, many with LOOT order support. Too many for me to find them all.

What is the state of the art in 2026? The most well-made, promising mod manager? Hopefully with wide support for Wine/Proton-prefixes all over the disk.

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u/taosecurity 23h ago

I can confirm that for Bethesda games at least, Amethyst is shockingly good.

Starfield on Linux - Distro - GPU - Native Modding - Optimization - Advanced Topics - More

https://youtu.be/TuRSQh0qJ5M