Linux & Steam Deck

TIGHC's primary target is Windows, but the engine also runs on Linux — including Steam Deck's Desktop Mode. This guide walks through the Linux-specific setup end to end. For everything else (profiles, the GUI, global settings, cover art), the main README applies exactly as written — this guide only covers what's different on Linux.

Not covered here: Steam Deck's Game Mode. Game Mode doesn't run arbitrary Python GUIs, so TIGHC has to run from Desktop Mode — alongside your game, not launched instead of it. If you're on a regular Linux desktop (not a Steam Deck) the rest of this guide still applies; just skip the Steam Deck-specific steps.

Why an X11 session is required

Two things TIGHC depends on — detecting which window currently has focus (so it knows which profile to switch to), and pynput's global keyboard/mouse capture (so it can react to input while a game has focus, not just while TIGHC's own window does) — both need X11, not Wayland.

This isn't a bug to work around later: Wayland's security model deliberately doesn't let one app see what window another app has focused, or listen to another app's input. That's normally a good thing (it's why a random Wayland app can't keylog everything you type), but it's exactly what a "vibrate based on what you're doing in-game" tool needs to do. As of SteamOS 3.8, Desktop Mode defaults to Wayland, so this needs switching before anything else here will work.

1. Switch to the X11 session (Steam Deck)

From Desktop Mode, open a terminal (Konsole) and run:

steamos-session-select plasma-x11-persistent

This logs you out and back into an X11 Plasma session — "persistent" means it stays your default until you change it again. Switch back to Wayland any time the same way:

steamos-session-select plasma-wayland-persistent

There's no real downside to leaving X11 as your Desktop Mode default if you mainly use Desktop Mode for TIGHC — Game Mode is unaffected either way, since it always uses its own gamescope session regardless of which Desktop Mode session you've picked.

On a regular Linux desktop (not Steam Deck), the equivalent is just picking an X11 session at your display manager's login screen instead of a Wayland one (exact steps depend on your distro/desktop environment).

2. Get Python, pip, and the repo

Steam Deck's SteamOS ships Python 3, but confirm pip and Tkinter (needed for gui.py) are both available:

python3 --version
python3 -m pip --version
python3 -c "import tkinter"

If pip is missing: python3 -m ensurepip --upgrade. If tkinter errors with ModuleNotFoundError, your distro likely splits it into a separate package (e.g. python3-tk on Debian/Ubuntu-based distros, tk on Arch); SteamOS's own Python normally has it built in.

Clone the repo:

git clone https://github.com/TIGHC/Engine.git
cd Engine

Then install dependencies:

python3 -m pip install --user -r requirements.txt

requirements.txt pulls in python-xlib automatically on Linux (it's marked Linux-only, so Windows installs never see it) — this is what implements the X11 focused-window lookup. --user avoids touching SteamOS's read-only system Python; a virtualenv (python3 -m venv .venv) works too if you prefer one.

3. Install Intiface Central

Intiface Central — the app that actually talks to your Bluetooth toy over the Buttplug protocol — ships a Linux AppImage (and a Flathub build). Download whichever you prefer, make the AppImage executable if needed (chmod +x Intiface_Central-*.AppImage), and run it. Steam Deck's built-in Bluetooth should work with it like any other Linux Bluetooth adapter — pair your toy from Intiface Central's device scan the same way you would on Windows.

4. Run TIGHC

Same command as everywhere else:

python3 gui.py       # interactive configurator (needs the X11 session from step 1)

It still shows the 18+ age-gate exactly as on Windows.

Troubleshooting

• Haptics never trigger, even mid-game. Almost always means the foreground-window lookup is returning nothing — either you're still on the Wayland session (go back to step 1), or python-xlib didn't install (check python3 -c "import Xlib" doesn't error).
• A specific game's profile never matches, but others do. Some games (particularly ones running through certain Proton/compatibility layers) don't set the modern _NET_WM_NAME window property, only the older WM_NAME one. TIGHC already falls back to WM_NAME automatically: if a profile still won't match, open a terminal and check what title the window actually reports (e.g. via xdotool getactivewindow getwindowname if you have xdotool installed, or xprop WM_NAME and click the window) and compare it against that profile's window_titles.
• gui.py opens with no visible window, or the terminal just hangs. Confirm you're actually in an X11 session (echo $XDG_SESSION_TYPE should print x11, not wayland) — a leftover Wayland session is the most common cause here too.
• Bluetooth pairing issues in Intiface Central. This is a Buttplug/Intiface-level concern, not a TIGHC one — check Intiface Central's own docs/Discord if your toy won't pair; TIGHC only talks to devices through Intiface Central's WebSocket connection, it never touches Bluetooth directly.

Still stuck?

Open an issue on GitHub with what you've tried and what happened.