steamvr is very buggy on linux

foss vr solutions like envision are preferred

With the right hardware and the right version of Proton, the majority of Steam VR games will work with the Vive and Index out of the box. However, GPU driver issues will likely be a problem unless you’re selecting hardware that you know plays nice with Linux.

Unfortunately, SteamVR on Linux has a flickering bug that hasn’t been fixed in years, making games unplayable if the game is running at anything less than full FPS. It’s fine if you play less demanding games, though. (I use Valve Index and AMD RX 7900 XT)

If you use Envision instead of SteamVR, it works perfectly smooth. However, Envision isn’t fully compatible with all games. I got a particular issue where the wrist positions are slightly misplaced in VRChat, but there are already WIP changes to fix that.

So, all in all, not great, but it works. I hope SteamVR improves when Valve’s new headset comes out.

I don’t know about the current state of wired VR for Linux.

You are mostly stuck with ALVR for wireless and a few other options like that. Though if you like Linux, ALVR is basically the Linux of wireless VR anyway. You can get it working well if you really like spending time in settings menus instead of playing games, or copying someone else’s pre-configured settings for similar hardware/networking gear/setup.

But there is a chance SteamVR/Steam link will get a decent push for Linux around the time of the Steam Frame(deckard) launch.

I have the OG Vive that I can’t get working in Linux (never installed Windows on my new computer so I’m honestly not sure if it’s a hardware issue). It detects the controller and headset positions, but won’t send video to the headset, everything else works.

I want to buy an Index, but Valve has been out of stock for a long time now. I searched the web and found a rumor that Valve is releasing new VR hardware in Q4 2025 in time for the holidays. I hope this is true and I can get something even better than the index :)

Index should be fine (and just about any headset that uses base stations). Inside out tracking headsets still have a ways to go (monado seems to be the only solution for them but monados’s Kalman filter needs work).

Things mostly work fine in Proton, but this is more a software development and game engine issue than anything else. If developers wanted to make their games more compati5with Linux or Proton they could, it just costs money and effort.

This year old video gives a breakdown of hardware, runtime specs and software. (Incoming accent)

My experience with VR has been mixed. When I first fully switched to Linux I was using a Valve Index and the non-flatpak version of Steam and it just worked the same as it did under Windows (except for an issue where on boot the headset would be recognized as the primary display always, fixed by just not plugging in DP from the Index until after logon).

More recently I ordered a BigScreen Beyond 2, and while waiting for that to ship I switched to the flatpak version of Steam. Steam no longer sees that the headset is even connected. Neither the BSB2 or the index work. Fedora, however sees the device just fine.

Some cursory reading indicates there’s an issue with the Steam Flatpak’s handling of USB device permissions, but I haven’t had a chance to thoroughly dig into it.

All of this is on Fedora KDE. I plan on reinstalling everything when Fedora 43 releases, since I’ve got some issues with my drive partition layout that I find annoying, so I’ll try to get VR working again then.