Linux support

As of DF 50.10, both DF and DFHack can run natively on Linux. If you're subscribed to DF and DFHack on Steam, here's how to switch over:

• In the Steam client, open the properties for Dwarf Fortress
• Select the "Compatibility" section and deselect "Force the use of a specific Steam Play compatibility tool"
  • If you're on Steam Deck, instead of turning off the compatibility layer, choose "Steam Linux Runtime" as the compatibility layer instead.
• DF should update with the Linux native version

You can tell if you did it right if you no longer have Dwarf Fortress.exe in your DF directory and instead have dwarfort, which is the Linux binary.

Then, turn off/adjust the compatibility layer for DFHack as well. dfhooks.dll will disappear and you'll get libdfhooks.so and the dfhack script in its place.

Sometimes, Steam says you've got the Linux version, but when you look you see you still have Dwarf Fortress.exe instead of dwarfort. Try re-enabling the Proton compatibility layer and then turning off the compatibility layer again until it "sticks".

The DFHack terminal console works differently on Linux

You can run DF with DFHack from the Steam client without issues. However, if you want an external DFHack terminal console, you have to run from the commandline with the ./dfhack launcher script.

On Windows (or in Windows emulation), you could use the show command to pop up an external DFHack terminal console. You would use this for running DFHack commands from outside the game window, and the external terminal is the only way to run commandline-interactive DFHack commands like tiletypes and the interactive mode of the lua interpreter.

Linux has a different method of providing a terminal console. You can't spawn it dynamically like you can on Windows. You have to start DF from the commandline, and the terminal from which you ran ./dfhack becomes the terminal console. This should be a familiar process to many Linux users (most Linux commands work this way), but the change is jarring if you're not expecting it. We're also looking into providing a virtual console that doesn't depend on an existing system console so you can still get a console even if you run from Steam, but that work is far from being completed.

You can still launch from Steam if you want to. Many tools log information and errors to the console, though, so if you run into strange issues, it might be useful to try running from the commandline to see if there is diagnostic output there that can help you.

PSAs

As always, remember that, just like the vanilla DF game, DFHack tools can also have bugs. It is a good idea to save often and keep backups of the forts that you care about.

Many DFHack tools that worked in previous (pre-Steam) versions of DF have not been updated yet and are marked with the "unavailable" tag in their docs. If you try to run them, they will show a warning and exit immediately. You can run the command again to override the warning (though of course the tools may not work). We make no guarantees of reliability for the tools that are marked as "unavailable".

The in-game interface for running DFHack commands (gui/launcher) will not show "unavailable" tools by default. You can still run them if you know their names, or you can turn on dev mode by hitting Ctrl-D while in gui/launcher and they will be added to the autocomplete list. Some tools do not compile yet and are not available at all, even when in dev mode.

If you see a tool complaining about the lack of a cursor, know that it's referring to the keyboard cursor (which used to be the only real option in Dwarf Fortress). You can enable the keyboard cursor by entering mining mode or selecting the dump/forbid tool and hitting Alt-K (the DFHack keybinding for toggle-kbd-cursor. We're working on making DFHack tools more mouse-aware and accessible so this step isn't necessary in the future.

Fixes

• 'fix/general-strike: fix issue where too many seeds were getting planted in farm plots
• Linux launcher: allow Steam Overlay and game streaming to function
• autobutcher: don't ignore semi-wild units when marking units for slaughter