TouchDesigner-Linux

This is an automated installer to run TouchDesigner on Linux.

Choose your installation method:

• ⚡ Automated Installation (Recommended) : Script one-liner, all-in-one setup.
• Manual Installation (via Bottles) : Step-by-step setup for advanced users.

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⚡ Automated Installation (Recommended)

Prerequisites

NVIDIA users: Please install your GPU driver before running the script. Reboot after.

Install

curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/isw3d/TouchDesigner-Linux/main/install.sh | bash

To run in debug mode (verbose logs for bug reports):

curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/isw3d/TouchDesigner-Linux/main/install.sh | DEBUG=true bash

The script is idempotent, it is safe to run multiple times. It skips already-installed components and can be used for updates or repairs.

What it does: detects your distro, installs system packages, downloads a Soda Wine runner, sets up a Wine prefix, installs Windows dependencies via Winetricks, lets you pick a TD version, and creates a launcher with optional desktop integration.

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Supported distros:

Family	Examples
Arch-based	Arch, CachyOS, Manjaro…
Debian/Ubuntu-based	Ubuntu, Mint, Pop!_OS…
Fedora-based	Fedora, RHEL…
openSUSE-based	Leap, Tumbleweed…

Expected duration: 40–60 min on first run.

⏳ The longest step is the TouchDesigner .exe installation. Expect ~30 min for that step alone.

First launch can take 1–2 min. This is all normal.

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Uninstall

Run the installer again and choose Uninstall. This removes the runner, prefix, launcher, and all desktop entries created by the script.

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Useful Paths

Path	Description
~/.local/bin/launch-touchdesigner.sh	Launcher script
~/.local/share/touchdesigner-linux/	Wine prefix + assets
~/.local/share/touchdesigner-linux/wine_ui_fixes.tox	Font fix file
~/.local/share/applications/touchdesigner.desktop	App menu entry

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Troubleshooting

Symptom	Fix
No display / GUI fails	Run from a graphical session with DISPLAY or WAYLAND_DISPLAY set
Version list fetch fails	Script falls back to a curated list automatically
Long dependency phase	The Windows deps step is slow and quiet, just wait
Ubuntu/Debian :i386 dependency errors (Breaks, version mismatch)	Usually caused by third-party repo skew between amd64 and i386 packages. The installer does not force downgrades. Align package versions in apt sources, then rerun the script.
TD installer fails on specific .dll files (for example ZED, Spinnaker, TensorRT/CUDA)	In the TouchDesigner installer, choose Custom/Minimal install and uncheck optional hardware SDK components you do not need.
Duplicate menu entry	Remove stale .desktop files in ~/.local/share/applications and run update-desktop-database

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Manual Installation (via Bottles)

TouchDesigner is not officially supported on Linux, but it can run very well through Bottles (Wayland).

This guide gives a complete, working setup.

Table of Contents

• 1. Install Bottles
• 2. Create the TouchDesigner Bottle
• 3. Install Dependencies
• 4. Install TouchDesigner
• 5. Launch TouchDesigner
• 6. Fix Missing Fonts
• 7. Optional: Flatpak Filesystem Access
• 8. Optional: Desktop Integration
• 9. Screenshots

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1. Install Bottles

Install Bottles using one of the methods below.

Flatpak (recommended on Fedora, Mint, and similar distros)

flatpak install flathub com.usebottles.bottles

If Bottles does not appear in your app menu, restart your session.

AUR (Arch-based distros, not recommended)

[!WARNING] The Bottles package on AUR is not an official distribution and currently shows many bugs in this setup. For stability, use the Flatpak version instead.

yay -S bottles

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2. Create the TouchDesigner Bottle

1. Open Bottles.
2. Create a new bottle.
3. Use these settings:

Setting	Value
Name	TouchDesigner
Environment	Gaming
Runner	soda
Directory	Default

4. Create the bottle and wait for setup to finish.

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3. Install Dependencies

Inside the bottle:

1. Go to Dependencies.
2. Install:
   • corefonts
   • d3dx11 (latest version)

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4. Install TouchDesigner

1. Download the Windows installer from Derivative.
2. In Bottles, click Run Executable.
3. Select the .exe file.
4. Install normally (same process as Windows).

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5. Launch TouchDesigner

1. Open Programs in Bottles.
2. Click Play on TouchDesigner.

TouchDesigner should now run.

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6. Fix Missing Fonts

Some UI elements may appear blank due to font rendering issues.

Solution

1. Add wine_ui_fixes.tox to your project.
   • Download wine_ui_fixes.tox directly
   • Original post: c0deous on Derivative
2. Click Fix Now.

Fonts will display correctly as long as the .tox file is present in the project.

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7. Optional: Flatpak Filesystem Access

If you installed Bottles via Flatpak, opening .toe files directly from your system may fail.

Install Flatseal:

flatpak install flathub com.github.tchx84.Flatseal

Then:

1. Open Flatseal.
2. Select Bottles.
3. Go to Filesystem.
4. Enable All system files.

[!WARNING] This disables sandboxing protections for Bottles.

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8. Optional: Desktop Integration

Desktop shortcut

Inside Bottles, click the ⋮ next to TouchDesigner and select Add Desktop Entry.

File association & icon

1. Associate .toe files with TouchDesigner.
2. Assign the TouchDesigner icon (.png) to the file type.

The icon is located at:

Flatpak:

$HOME/.var/app/com.usebottles.bottles/data/bottles/bottles/TouchDesigner/icons/TouchDesigner.png

AUR:

$HOME/.local/share/bottles/bottles/TouchDesigner/icons/TouchDesigner.png

.toe icon association example

If the association is correctly configured, .toe files will display with the TouchDesigner icon.

If double-clicking a .toe file fails to load the project (path error), you need to update your desktop entry.

[!IMPORTANT] Before running scripts or terminal commands, verify what they do first. Check them yourself or ask an AI assistant to explain them. Avoid running commands you do not understand or trust.

Run the commands below (copy/paste) to create the launcher script:

mkdir -p ~/.local/bin
cat > ~/.local/bin/touchdesigner-launcher.sh << 'EOF'
#!/bin/bash
# Handle Wine path translation for Bottles
INPUT_PATH="$1"

if [ -z "$INPUT_PATH" ]; then
    # Launch TD empty
    flatpak run --command=bottles-cli com.usebottles.bottles run -p TouchDesigner -b TouchDesigner
else
	# Some desktop environments pass local files as file:// URIs.
	if [[ "$INPUT_PATH" == file://* ]]; then
		INPUT_PATH="${INPUT_PATH#file://}"
		INPUT_PATH="${INPUT_PATH//%20/ }"
	fi

    # Launch TD with the file mapped to the Z: drive
	flatpak run --command=bottles-cli com.usebottles.bottles run -p TouchDesigner -b TouchDesigner --args "z:$INPUT_PATH"
fi
EOF
chmod +x ~/.local/bin/touchdesigner-launcher.sh

Then run this command to automatically update the TouchDesigner .desktop entry:

DESKTOP_DIR="$HOME/.local/share/applications"
DESKTOP_FILE="$DESKTOP_DIR/TouchDesigner.desktop"
[ -f "$DESKTOP_FILE" ] || DESKTOP_FILE="$(grep -lE '(^Name=.*TouchDesigner|bottles-cli.*TouchDesigner)' "$DESKTOP_DIR"/*.desktop 2>/dev/null | head -n1)"
[ -n "$DESKTOP_FILE" ] && sed -i "s|^Exec=.*|Exec=$HOME/.local/bin/touchdesigner-launcher.sh %f|" "$DESKTOP_FILE" && echo "Updated: $DESKTOP_FILE" || echo "TouchDesigner desktop file not found in $DESKTOP_DIR"
update-desktop-database "$HOME/.local/share/applications" 2>/dev/null || true

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9. Screenshots

1. Bottle setup

2. Dependencies

3. Launch TouchDesigner

4. Font missing

5. Font fix

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Compatibility Status

Area	Status	Notes
Launch and runtime	✅ Working	App launches normally and runs reliably
UI rendering	✅ Working	Correct with wine_ui_fixes.tox
Real-time visuals	✅ Working	Live updates and interaction are smooth
Inputs / outputs	✅ Working	External outputs and inputs are functional in tested scenarios
NDI	✅ Working	Confirmed working
TD - Bitwig	✅ Working	Confirmed working
Video Device In	⚠️ Partial	USB Webcams work on first init, but Wine "locks" the device. Replug or TD restart required to reset
NVIDIA TOP	❌ Not working	Background, Flow and Denoise fail to init CUDA/TensorRT in this environment
External installs / integrations	❓ Not fully tested	Third-party installs, Kinect, extra plugins, and advanced external production pipelines still need broader testing

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Notes

• NVIDIA GPUs are highly recommended.
• Wayland is strongly recommended (X11 may cause launch issues or black screen)
• Performance may vary depending on hardware and driver setup.
• Overall, my experience was smoother than on Windows, with better performance and a much cooler-running machine (gaming laptop) due to Linux optimizations.

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Built with care — Iswad