A Guide To Install GameHub On Linux: Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, CentOS, Arch Linux, Gentoo, Manjaro, OpenBSD, RHEL, etc.

GameHub is a game launcher and manager made for Linux that can manage multiple gaming libraries simultaneously. If you are a gamer who loves Linux, you will see how useful GameHub is when you are able to access libraries such as Steam, GOG, Humble Bundle, Trove, etc. from a single window. As a unified game launcher, the app keeps your desktop clean by providing a universal place for you to manage and access all your games. Thus, learning to install GameHub on Linux and its distribution is ideal. The following guide helps with this by offering several methods to do so.

What Is GameHub?

GameHub is a unified launcher and manager for all games on your Linux device. It supports multiple gaming libraries and thus allows you to unify all your game titles across multiple platforms under the same roof. The supported libraries consist of Steam, GOG, Humble Bundle, Trove, and even retro games via emulators. There are also features available that support automatic game detection, so you don’t have to add games to the app manually. Other features are library management, downloads, installation, and launching games through the app. Also, the app supports different compatibility layers such as Wine or Proton, so you don’t have to worry about launching games on different devices. 

You can also use the app to track your favorite games and manage save files. You can even customize the launch process for each and every game. The app helps you with your gameplay stats, including the amount of gameplay time. With powerful integration and a seamless design, GameHub appears to be well-suited for Linux. It offers an intuitive and clean UI and is well-suited for beginners as well as advanced users. With GameHub, you no longer have to switch between different Game libraries, as the app offers a centralized method for game management. 

Features

Now, let us look at the few features GameHub offers:

• Games accessible from a single location
• Supports multiple gaming libraries
• Game installation from multiple sources
• DLCs and bonus content are also supported
• Helps look at official artwork on SteamGridDB
• Automatically import emulated games and set up emulators with the app.
• Multiple overlays are stored separately for DLC management and game mods.
• Add environment variables and command line overrides to games automatically.
• Native Linux support for games.
• Multiple Compatibility layers for:
  • Proton
  • RetroArch
  • Wine
  • DOSBox
  • WineWrap
  • ScummVM

Dependencies

• meson
• valac
• libgtk-3-dev
• libglib2.0-dev
• libwebkit2gtk-4.0-dev
• libjson-glib-dev
• libgee-0.8-dev
• libsoup2.4-dev
• libsqlite3-dev
• libxml2-dev
• libpolkit-gobject-1-dev
• libunity-dev
• libmanette-0.2-dev, libx11-dev, libxtst-dev

Install GameHub On Linux Distributions

For installing GameHub on Linux, you need to choose an appropriate method for your distribution. There are several methods available such as third-party package managers, building the app from source, and official Linux repositories. We have listed these methods below. Pick a suitable method and follow the instructions provided. 

Method 1. Install GameHub On Linux via Flatpak

Flatpak is a universal package manager for Linux that supports the Flathub repository. You can find many apps in this repo. So, you can easily install GameHub on Linux using Flatpak. All you have to do is:

Step 1. Start by installing Flatpak:

For Debian/Ubuntu

sudo apt install flatpak

On Fedora

sudo dnf install flatpak

For Arch

sudo pacman -S flatpak

Step 2. Then, add the Flathub repository:

sudo flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

Step 3. Finally, install GameHub:

flatpak install flathub io.github.tkashkin.gamehub

Method 2. Installing GameHub Using AppImage

If you do not want to install GameHub system-wide, you can simply run an AppImage file. This won’t install GameHub on your device, but you will still be able to use it:

Step 1. First, download the GameHub AppImage file from GameHub’s GitHub releases page.

Step 2. Now, make the AppImage executable:

chmod +x GameHub-*.AppImage

Step 3. Finally, run GameHub:

./GameHub-*.AppImage

Method 3. Compile GameHub On Linux From Source

Compiling an app is always the best method to run it on a Linux device. However, this method requires advanced knowledge and is suitable for developers:

Step 1. First, install the dependencies required for the build:

Debian/Ubuntu

sudo apt install git meson ninja-build libglib2.0-dev libgdk-pixbuf2.0-dev libhandy-1-dev

Fedora

sudo dnf install git meson ninja-build glib2-devel gdk-pixbuf2-devel libhandy1-devel

Arch Linux

sudo pacman -S git meson ninja glib2 gdk-pixbuf2 libhandy

Step 2. Now, clone the official GameHub repository from GitHub:

git clone https://github.com/tkashkin/GameHub.git
cd GameHub

Step 3. Start the build:

meson build --prefix=/usr
ninja -C build

Step 4. Finally, install GameHub

sudo ninja -C build install

Or, you can build using “script”:

git clone https://github.com/tkashkin/GameHub.git
cd GameHub
scripts/build.sh build_deb
sudo apt install ../GameHub

Method 4. Install GameHub Using Official Package Managers

Lastly, you can use the native package managers on your Linux distributions to install the app. This is the recommended method as it is the easiest solution. However, there might be some distros that do not have GameHub. For those distributions, you can use the previous methods:

Debian/Ubuntu

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:tkashkin/gamehub
sudo apt update
sudo apt install com.github.tkashkin.gamehub

GUIX

guix install gamehub

Linux Mint

sudo apt update
sudo apt install com.github.tkashkin.gamehub

Fedora

sudo dnf install gamehub

Arch Linux

yay -S gamehub

OpenSUSE

sudo zypper install gamehub

Pop!_OS

sudo apt install com.github.tkashkin.gamehub