How to Install Lutris on Ubuntu 26.04 – Complete Guide

Configure the Lutris gaming manager on your computer. Learn how to purge the defunct PPA, install via sandboxed container or native package managers, and setup Vulkan libraries for Windows compatibility.

Lutris Installation Methods Compared

Evaluate update frequencies, dependency isolation levels, and storage access options across the available installation methods.

Figure 1: Visual representation of how Lutris links client launchers (Steam, GOG, Epic) to localized runners (Wine, Proton) and system graphics hardware drivers.

Open your terminal and execute the following commands to safely remove the PPA repository references and reload package lists:

sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:lutris-team/lutris -y
sudo apt update

Note: If the `add-apt-repository` command fails or hangs, you can manually delete the target file by running `sudo rm -f /etc/apt/sources.list.d/lutris-team-ubuntu-lutris-*.list` followed by `sudo apt update`.

If you have not set up Flatpak on your desktop, run this command to install the manager components:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install flatpak -y

Register the Flathub server to enable package search and installation downloads:

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

Execute the installer package request to download and build the Lutris sandbox runtime container:

flatpak install flathub net.lutris.Lutris -y

Note: You must log out of your desktop session and log back in to refresh your applications list so the launcher icon shows up in your menu. Alternatively, you can run Lutris immediately from the terminal using: `flatpak run net.lutris.Lutris`.

By default, the sandboxed container cannot read folders outside your standard home folder paths. If you store game files on a second SSD or custom mount partition, grant Lutris write access to it by running this command (replacing `/mnt/games` with your actual mount path):

flatpak override --user --filesystem=/mnt/games net.lutris.Lutris

Ensure both the Universe (community-maintained open-source) and Multiverse (restricted packages) repositories are active on your system:

sudo add-apt-repository universe -y
sudo add-apt-repository multiverse -y

Update your APT repository indexes to fetch the newly enabled package details:

sudo apt update

Install Lutris and its core gaming libraries:

sudo apt install lutris -y

Note: The package frozen inside the stable repositories might be slightly older (e.g. v0.5.14) due to Ubuntu repository freeze policies. If you require features introduced in the latest v0.5.22 release, use the Flatpak method or the manual DEB installation path below.

Visit the official Lutris GitHub Releases portal, or use `wget` to pull the latest v0.5.22 installer directly to your system’s download folder:

cd ~/Downloads
wget https://github.com/lutris/lutris/releases/download/v0.5.22/lutris_0.5.22_all.deb

Note: Check the GitHub releases page to verify if a newer build version is active before running the script commands.

Rather than using dpkg (which can cause missing library errors), install the downloaded `.deb` package using `apt`. This automatically fetches any required dependencies:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install ./lutris_0.5.22_all.deb -y

Because many Windows game launchers and older game files are 32-bit, you must enable 32-bit package downloads on your Ubuntu system:

sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386
sudo apt update

If your computer uses AMD Radeon or Intel graphics, install the open-source Mesa Vulkan library stacks (including both 64-bit and 32-bit versions):

sudo apt install mesa-vulkan-drivers mesa-vulkan-drivers:i386 libvulkan1 libvulkan1:i386 -y

If you use an NVIDIA GPU, ensure your proprietary graphics drivers and relevant Vulkan libraries are correctly installed by running:

sudo apt install libglx-mesa0:i386 mesa-vulkan-drivers:i386 libgl1-mesa-dri:i386 -y

Note: The default NVIDIA drivers are best installed using the graphics GUI via **Software & Updates** > **Additional Drivers** tab, selecting the “tested proprietary” NVIDIA driver listing.

Lutris has a built-in manager to download specific Wine versions, but it requires standard system-wide Wine components to establish primary translation libraries. If you choose the APT or DEB methods, refer to our comprehensive Wine installation guide to configure WineHQ correctly on your machine before running game files.

Remove the Lutris application packages from your desktop environment:

For Flatpak installations:

flatpak uninstall net.lutris.Lutris -y
flatpak uninstall --unused -y

For APT/DEB installations:

sudo apt remove lutris -y
sudo apt autoremove --purge -y

Uninstalling the client does not automatically delete your local cache databases or runners configurations to prevent accidental library deletions. If you wish to remove these files entirely, execute the following directory deletion commands:

# Clean native APT/DEB user caches
rm -rf ~/.config/lutris ~/.local/share/lutris ~/.cache/lutris

# Clean Flatpak application sandbox files
rm -rf ~/.var/app/net.lutris.Lutris

Use the links below to access official documentation portals and community forums for troubleshooting specific games: