How to Zwift on Debian 11

Here’s a guide on how to make Zwift run on Debian 11, together with all the settings.

Using:

Wine 7.18 (Staging)

sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386 

Add winehq repo and run:

sudo apt install wine-staging-amd64 wine-staging-i386 wine-staging winehq-staging

or

sudo apt install --install-recommends winehq-staging

Add Lutris repo and install latest: Lutris 0.5.11

Install Zwift and Wine dependencies using Lutris script, but do not launch Zwift: https://lutris.net/games/zwift/

Note: If you’re having issues installing, you could install Zwift on a windows PC and copy all the files into the wineprefix. (I did)

Settings:

• Runner options: Use system wintricks (20220411-next)

• Download the latest winetricks script (master="latest version") from Github:

  wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Winetricks/winetricks/master/src/winetricks

• Mark the winetricks script (we’ve just downloaded) as executable. See:
  https://www.tldp.org/LDP/GNU-Linux-Tools-Summary/html/x9543.htm

  chmod +x winetricks

• Move the winetricks script to a location which will be in the standard user PATH. See:
  https://www.tldp.org/LDP/abs/html/internalvariables.html

  sudo mv winetricks /usr/bin

• Runner options: Turn on Windowed (virtual desktop) and set resolution.

  • This will allow ALT + TAB to other windows while in game without it minimizing when used with Borderless gaming.
  • System options: Disable Lutris Runtime

• Run:

  WINEPREFIX=/home/tommy/Games/zwift winetricks -q -v d3dcompiler_47 dotnet20 dotnet40 dotnet48

  Includes d3dcompiler_47 (workaround crash issue)

  • Download WebView2 Evergreen Standalone installer: https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/webview2/
  • In Lutris, Run EXE inside Wine prefix and install the downloaded MicrosoftEdgeWebView2RuntimeInstallerX64.exe

Next up:

• Duplicate the Zwift game in Lutris and edit it
• Change the name to Zwift Launcher
• Edit the Executable to the path of ZwiftLauncher.exe (~/Games/zwift/drive_c/Program Files (x86)/Zwift/ZwiftLauncher.exe)
• Remove the arguments
• Save

Credits to this Reddit post

Added bonus: Borderless Gaming

• Download BorderlessGaming9.5.6_admin_setup.exe to wineprefix

• In Lutris, Run EXE inside Wine prefix and install the downloaded BorderlessGaming9.5.6_admin_setup.exe

• In Lutris, click on the + sign in top left corner and fill in:

  • Name: Borderless Gaming
  • Runner: Wine
  • Game options:
  • Executable: ~/Games/zwift/drive_c/Program Files (x86)/Borderless Gaming/BorderlessGaming.exe
  • Working Directory: ~/Games/zwift/drive_c/Program Files (x86)/Borderless Gaming
  • Wine prefix: ~/Games/zwift

Download this image and add it in the Game info tab.

Running Zwift

1. Open Lutris

2. Open Zwift Launcher

3. Open Zwift

4. Open Bordeless Gaming and add Zwift to favorites

5. Open Zwift Companion app for Bluetooth

   • (Only needed for heart rate monitor if you are running a Kickr V5 or V6 with Direct Connect)

6. Ride on

Tested (Oct 9, 2022) with a 100 km + ride without fault, and runs way better with less load than on Windows 10.

Enjoy! 😎

This guide is also posted over at forums.zwift.com/t/how-to-zwift-on-debian-linux

See anything wrong, or just want to contribute: Edit this post on GitHub:   Edit this page