+1 Linux support already pls
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Hi guys, just wanted to let you linux folks now that there’s a pet project of mine to get zwift running on linux.
It’s not for everyone, but maybe this is exactly what you have been looking for.
I’m apparently not allowed to post links here in the topic, but you can find the project over at github.
https://github.com/netbrain/dockerfiles/tree/master/zwift
It runs zwift within a docker container with the nvidia-container-toolkit, uses companion app to link to bluetooth devices (trainer, hr etc). Does however require a nivida card at the moment. The beauty of it though is that you can run several instances of zwift at the same time. So now me and my wife can zwift together on the big screen!
Cheers!
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@Kim_Eik Great project - thank you so much for it!
Just FYI: I don’t actually need to run Zwift in a container, but I had an issue with it crashing after the 1.21 update and was able to fix it by simply taking a look at the entrypoint.sh file and running some of the commands listed there.
For those who might be looking to fix the same issue, here’s what you need to do:
Look at the entrypoint.sh file, find the following line:
echo “workaround crash issue 1.21”
Look for a couple of commands after it - those basically install the required dependencies to prevent the app from crashing. You can run those manually with the correct WINEPREFIX env variable set (i.e. pointing to your Zwift installation folder). Or, alternatively, use Lutris to install the same deps via the “Winetricks” (to install d3dcompiler_47) and the “Run EXE inside wine prefix” (to run the downloaded MicrosoftEdgeWebview2Setup.exe) options.
That’s what fixed the issue for me.
Thank you @Kion_K , good to hear you solved your issue. The nice thing about containerizing zwift this way would be that we could rid ourselves of these issues that keeps creeping up when new updates arrives, atleast for the general consumer.
Simply have a community that could maintain the container spec as to always keep it up to date with the latest zwift release and as it all comes pre-packaged and pre-installed, no setup is required. simply run the container (docker/podman run ... netbrain/zwift) and voilâ. This in my opinion would be the best user experience for zwift on linux.
And even if new zwift updates come along that don’t work in wine, we can stil just fallback to a older version of the container (given that the zwift communication procotl hasn’t changed).
I’m currently looking into supporting ati, nvidia (nouveau) and intel acceleration in order to make this more available to the general public.
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@Kim_Eik Absolutely! I agree with everything you said and been considering to containerize Zwift myself. Just didn’t really have time to get to it just yet (but I definitely will, hopefully some time soon!). That’s why it’s great to see that someone (YOU!) started the initiative (and, really, accomplished a great job thus far!). Let’s hope the community picks it up and we have something we all can contribute to and benefit from.
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Hello.
sorry for my english.
I try your solution Kim Eik ,but it never work for me.
I try an other method and for me this one is ok (tks to Marco Gulino)
(https://github.com/GuLinux/zwift-wine-runner)
so if KIm Eik’s solution don’t succeed, why not try this one…
Now, find a solution for bluetooth…
Have a good day
Hello everyone,
this day, after zwift update to 1.23.2 my instal on lutris crash…
when i enter my password of zwift, after the windows is black… grrrrrr
i have an laptop with intel UHD 605 graphics.
If any on help me, thanks
If they were to do this, people could port Zwift and make a free version. Many would still pay for a subscription, but seeing how many people pay for Red Hat, and other open source projects with a fee, it would be likely to cut into their profit margins. So I doubt they’d want to do that. I’m sure there are employees who wished they could, but it will be a hard hill to stand on. I’m all for FOSS programs, but I don’t think this company will. If there was a huge increase in demand from the Linux community or they switched their payment model to data mining, then maybe it could work.
Thanks for that docker image 
again, I’m sooo sooo grateful. Don’t want to dual boot just for Zwift and Lutris wine somehow stopped working in ubuntu 22.04 so … 
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+1 Linux support
After 9 months of running Zwift on Linux/Wine/Lutris, I’ve given up and installed a Windows VM with GPU passthrough specifically for Zwift.
The reason is not Lutris/Wine/Zwift: this has been working with minimal fuss throughout 2022 for me.
The reason is that Companion+BLE is simply unreliable.
- someone walks into the room with a smartphone and wifi enabled? instant BLE disconnection
- random loss of ERG during workouts. This ruins intervals big time.
- random loss of HR monitor data
- random loss of cadence sensor
I also tried the very helpful official interference troubleshooting advice including “Turn off BLE on your device and then turn it back on again.” and “Restart Zwift and try pairing again.”.
Not only this only works for a short while, but restarting Zwift in the middle of a workout (or race, etc) ruins the experience.
I should stress out that none of that happens using BLE in my “real” road rides (with the same HR and cadence sensors, but obviously without the smart trainer).
I borrowed another smart trainer (different brand) and the symptoms are the same.
The only reliable way I found is switching to ANT+. However:
- the Companion does not implement ANT+ ( there has been an RFE for that for years )
- USB/ANT+ keys cannot be used by Wine
so I installed Zwift on Windows just to be able to use an USB/ANT+ key. And the experience with USB/ANT+ has been flawless so far. It’s like night and day.
That makes one less Linux user and if Zwift collects stats, one less reason to focus on that RFE. It’s the first time in a decade that I have to install Windows to do something. Meh.
i hear this. i have a computer running Windows exclusively for zwift. it’s the only Windows install i own, and i hate it – but the lack of support for connecting my trainer is the thing keeping me on Windows. we really just need Bluetooth driver support in wine – that would suffice, doesn’t even have to be a full on Linux port!
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Unless BLE disconnections are solved, what you mention will unfortunately not help. The ball is in Zwift’s court: implementing ANT+ in the companion would go a long way towards solving the above.
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+1 for Linux support.
With the explosion of steam deck users a Linux native app would enable more powerful portability.
+1 for Linux support. Shouldn’t be too far out there given Apple and Android support, I’m sure they could gather a small team from this forum alone. Will try the Lutris/Wine route on the new Mint or fall back on Android.
Since swapping to Linux (at long last) this is the first incompatibility I’ve bumped into (I know there are others, but so much else ‘just works’ these days). Would be willing to contribute to the effort.
i’m curious if the new kickr v6 with wireless connectivity changes anything about connecting the trainer in linux.
it seems like having a wireless device to connect to (as opposed to a BLE or ANT+ device) might be simpler to make happen with WINE? if that worked, i think it would make zwift on linux viable as a replacement for windows…
With the ports to Mac (BSD) & Android *nix, is it that the linix platforms are just to small as a potential user base to port too?
Given that the distro’s may have just enough variance to be a headache/ too much of an overhead to maintain correctly?
Zwift are looking to reduce OS variants we can use so as to be able to add features we collectivly demand.
I absolutely would love to have Zwift on linux as it would give me an excuse to build a machine 
Still pine for the days as a *nix based dev (sorry for the case sensitive perl clutching )
I believe yes to both questions. They already struggle to test adequately on the various platforms they support, and I can’t imagine their support organization is prepared to help linux users who will probably experience more diverse problems. It sounds like a recipe for headaches with very little return.
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To me updates look passably well: I run the ZwiftLanucher.exe, then right click on in in the systray and pick “Check for updates”. The launcher window display is buggy, but sometimes you can see the progress bar there, and anyway in a couple of minutes Zwift is updated.