Linux Unix Guide - Revision history

Naviguesser: [Installing and running the Sinden Driver] Fixed formatting for consistency.

2025-08-27T00:13:33Z

[Installing and running the Sinden Driver] Fixed formatting for consistency.

Naviguesser: /* KDE */ Improved troubleshooting note.

2025-08-27T00:08:26Z

KDE: Improved troubleshooting note.

Naviguesser: /* KDE */ Added usage note for distributions without kqml.

2025-08-26T22:41:11Z

KDE: Added usage note for distributions without kqml.

Naviguesser: Updated Debian/Ubuntu mono-runtime package names, clarified description of KDE plugin with fullscreen games, other minor wording improvements.

2025-05-19T14:45:02Z

Updated Debian/Ubuntu mono-runtime package names, clarified description of KDE plugin with fullscreen games, other minor wording improvements.

Naviguesser: Inserted missing library names

2025-05-18T03:31:22Z

Inserted missing library names

Naviguesser: Major changes: cleaned up and reorganized the instructions, added links to emulator-specific bezel instructions and KDE and Vulkan overlay modules.

2025-05-18T03:26:01Z

Major changes: cleaned up and reorganized the instructions, added links to emulator-specific bezel instructions and KDE and Vulkan overlay modules.

Show changes

imported>Phoenixfox at 21:44, 4 December 2022

2022-12-04T21:44:12Z

imported>Phoenixfox at 21:43, 4 December 2022

2022-12-04T21:43:27Z

imported>Phoenixfox: Created page with " == Introduction == Operating systems that are Linux based, Unix based or Linux like will be referred to simply as '''Nix''' systems for this article. This is a general setup guide, and can be used with or without front ends as its general purpose is to get the software libraries installed to allow the Sinden Lightguns to function properly. It is general because not all Nix systems are the same, but follow some of the same principles for software installation. Almost..."

2022-12-04T21:42:09Z

Created page with " == Introduction == Operating systems that are Linux based, Unix based or Linux like will be referred to simply as '''Nix''' systems for this article. This is a general setup guide, and can be used with or without front ends as its general purpose is to get the software libraries installed to allow the Sinden Lightguns to function properly. It is general because not all Nix systems are the same, but follow some of the same principles for software installation. Almost..."

New page

== Introduction ==
Operating systems that are Linux based, Unix based or Linux like will be referred to simply as '''Nix''' systems for this article.

This is a general setup guide, and can be used with or without front ends as its general purpose is to get the software libraries installed to allow the Sinden Lightguns to function properly.

It is general because not all Nix systems are the same, but follow some of the same principles for software installation.

Almost all software on Nix systems require 2 things: required libraries loaded and the PATH updated so that the OS user can use them.

=== Supported Operating Systems ===
While the Sinden Software should run on most Nix systems, check the latest [[FAQ#Q: Does the Sinden Lightgun work with my OS?|Supported OS List]].

=== Sinden Drivers Setup ===
First, download the the latest Sinden software.
Inside will be a folder for x86 Linux; look over the 2 scripts, <code>setup-retropie.sh</code> and <code>setup-lightgun.sh</code>

==== The setup_retropie.sh ====
Gives someone using RetroPie access to run scripts that start and stop the lightgun processes via retropie frontend.

Obviously, you'll need to modify that to put those scripts somewhere else that your front end can access, or just from CLI if you wish.

==== The setup_lightgun.sh ====
Gives you a list of required software that's needed to run the Sinden software.

* Load required libraries listed in <code>setup-lightgun.sh</code>
* Move the scripts referenced in <code>setup-retropie.sh</code> (into whatever folder you wish based on your Nix environment)
* Execute them to start / stop the Sinden lightgun software.

After the required libraries are installed, the Sinden Software can be started and your gun will function. You now need to get an overlay border setup using Retroarch, or for standalone emulators, see the following section.

=== Border Overlay (for GNOME Shell) ===
Border Overlays might be required if you are not using RetroArch on Nix systems and are using standalone emulators. The border overlays allow the Sinden Lightguns to function properly for your standalone emulators when RetroArch is not available.

One method to create a border overlay is through Gnome which is a very popular desktop environment that is compatible on many Nix OSes.

Thanks to discord user <code>aaronbpaden</code> for his Gnome Shell Extension - White Border Overlay that he has created.

Go here to download: White Border Overlay

Hit him up for any questions or comments, enjoy!

@@ Line 43: / Line 43: @@
 Note that the driver will exit immediately if it does not detect any Sinden devices connected.  You can use <code>lsusb -v</code> to see all USB devices currently recognized by your system.
-You will need to keep the mono LightgunMono.exe process running in the background while playing your lightgun games; the moment you terminate it (e.g. with ^C in the shell window) your emulated mouse or joystick will go away.  You can launch the command in the background with <code>mono LightgunMono.exe &</code> and terminate it later with the <code>kill</code> command if desired.
+You will need to keep the <code>mono LightgunMono.exe</code> process running in the background while playing your lightgun games; the moment you terminate it (e.g. with ^C in the shell window) your emulated mouse or joystick will go away.  You can launch the command in the background with <code>mono LightgunMono.exe &</code> and terminate it later with the <code>kill</code> command if desired.
 === Calibration ===

@@ Line 64: / Line 64: @@
 An equivalent utility for KDE (or any other QML-compliant desktop manager) with user-customizable border thickness and color is available [https://github.com/spillner/kde-screen-borders '''here'''].  To set it up, first install the [https://github.com/KDE/layer-shell-qt QtLayerShell] library, then run <code>kqml screen-borders.qml</code> to activate the border.  The border will disappear as soon as the kqml process is killed.  Like the GNOME extension above, this KDE utility provides screen layout hints that should be respected by most applications in "fullscreen" mode, but some game engines using direct screen access may draw over the border, requiring a different solution such as the Vulkan module below.
-In Unix-like distributions that don't ship a `kqml` (such as Slackware Linux), you can run `qml screen-borders.qml` instead.  However, in distributions that ship both `kqml` and `qml` (such as Arch Linux, including the Steam Deck), you will almost always have better results with `kqml`.  (For example, on Arch Linux under Wayland, `qml` might provide a virtual drawing surface that does not reflect the true screen resolution and edges.)
+If you don't have the KDE development tools (package <code>plasma-sdk</code> on most distributions) installed, you can run <code>qml screen-borders.qml</code> instead.  Whether <code>kqml</code> or <code>qml</code> gives better results may depend on your distribution and whether you're running X11 or Wayland.  For example, on Arch Linux under Wayland, <code>kqml</code> is usually better as <code>qml</code> might provide a virtual drawing surface that does not reflect the true screen resolution and edges.  If the "border" rectangles appear in the center of your screen instead of at the edges, try switching between <code>qml</code> and <code>kqml</code>, or even between X11 and Wayland if feasible.
 === Vulkan games (and DirectX or OpenGL layered over Vulkan) ===

@@ Line 63: / Line 63: @@
 === KDE ===
 An equivalent utility for KDE (or any other QML-compliant desktop manager) with user-customizable border thickness and color is available [https://github.com/spillner/kde-screen-borders '''here'''].  To set it up, first install the [https://github.com/KDE/layer-shell-qt QtLayerShell] library, then run <code>kqml screen-borders.qml</code> to activate the border.  The border will disappear as soon as the kqml process is killed.  Like the GNOME extension above, this KDE utility provides screen layout hints that should be respected by most applications in "fullscreen" mode, but some game engines using direct screen access may draw over the border, requiring a different solution such as the Vulkan module below.
+In Unix-like distributions that don't ship a `kqml` (such as Slackware Linux), you can run `qml screen-borders.qml` instead.  However, in distributions that ship both `kqml` and `qml` (such as Arch Linux, including the Steam Deck), you will almost always have better results with `kqml`.  (For example, on Arch Linux under Wayland, `qml` might provide a virtual drawing surface that does not reflect the true screen resolution and edges.)
 === Vulkan games (and DirectX or OpenGL layered over Vulkan) ===

@@ Line 23: / Line 23: @@
 === .NET Runtime Environment ===
-In order to run <code>LightgunMono.exe</code>, you will need a .NET interpreter, which for non-Windows systems will almost always be the free and open-source [https://www.mono-project.com/ Mono]  You will also need a copy of Microsoft's .NET runtime, which is also freely available.  On most Linux distributions, these packages are available in the standard package repositories as <code>mono</code> and <code>dotnet-runtime</code> or very similar names.  For example, on Arch Linux (including SteamOS) you can install these prerequisites with the command <code>'''sudo pacman -S mono dotnet-runtime'''</code>; on Debian-based distributions (including Ubuntu and Raspberry Pi OS) you would use <code>'''sudo apt install mono dotnet-runtime'''</code>.  Directions for other Unix-like systems will vary.
+In order to run <code>LightgunMono.exe</code>, you will need a .NET interpreter, which for non-Windows systems will almost always be the free and open-source [https://www.mono-project.com/ Mono]  You will also need a copy of Microsoft's .NET runtime, which is also freely available.  On most Linux distributions, these packages are available in the standard package repositories as <code>mono</code> and <code>dotnet-runtime</code> or very similar names.  For example, on Arch Linux (including SteamOS) you can install these prerequisites with the command <code>'''sudo pacman -S mono dotnet-runtime'''</code>; on Debian-based distributions (including Ubuntu and Raspberry Pi OS) you would use <code>'''sudo apt install mono dotnet-runtime-9.0'''</code>.  Directions for other Unix-like systems will vary.
-Some older documentation states that the driver requires versions 6 and 8 of the .NET runtime to be installed, but newer versions of the runtime can usually run software compiled for older versions without significant problems.  On my systems, the Sinden driver runs just fine with only the newest version of the .NET runtime (9.0) installed.  If you are having problems with Mono or the .NET environment, you can try installing the <code>dotnet-runtime-8</code> and/or <code>dotnet-runtime-6</code> packages, but that is probably unnecessary for most users.
+Some older documentation states that the driver requires versions 6 and 8 of the .NET runtime to be installed, but newer versions of the runtime can usually run software compiled for older versions without significant problems.  On my systems, the Sinden driver runs just fine with only the newest version of the .NET runtime (9.0) installed.  If you are having problems with Mono or the .NET environment, you can try installing the <code>dotnet-runtime-8</code> and/or <code>dotnet-runtime-6</code> packages (on Debian/Ubuntu, <code>dotnet-runtime-6.0</code> and <code>dotnet-runtime-8.0</code>), but that is probably unnecessary for most users.
+Once you have any version of the .NET runtime or SDK installed, you can use <code>dotnet --list-runtimes</code> to see all installed runtimes on your system.
 === Other software libraries ===
@@ Line 33: / Line 35: @@
 === Installing and running the Sinden Driver ===
-The driver for Unix-like systems is included within the standard [[Sinden Software|Sinden software bundles]].  The directory layout changes significantly between driver releases, but the driver itself is always named <code>LightgunMono.exe</code>.  As of this writing, the latest release of the main Unix-like driver was from version 2.05 of the Sinden software bundle.  Versions 2.07b and 2.07 include an adjusted version of the driver with support for the [https://sindenlightgun.com/pedalguide/ Sinden Pedal].  The 2.07b bundle also includes a subfolder with this older 2.05 pedal-free driver, but the main 2.07 release does not.  If you don't have pedals and experience problems with the "Pedal" driver (especially with button events), try downloading the 2.05 or 2.07b zipfile and running the 2.05 driver.
+The driver for Unix-like systems is included within the standard [[Sinden Software|Sinden software bundles]].  The directory layout changes significantly between driver releases, but the driver itself is always named <code>LightgunMono.exe</code>.  As of this writing, the latest release of the main Unix-like driver was from version 2.05 of the Sinden software bundle.  Versions 2.07b and 2.07 include an adjusted version of the driver with support for the [https://sindenlightgun.com/pedalguide/ Sinden Pedal].  The 2.07b bundle also includes a subfolder with the older 2.05 pedal-free driver, but the main 2.07 release does not.  If you don't have pedals and experience problems with the "Pedal" driver (especially with button events), try downloading the 2.05 or 2.07b zipfile and running the 2.05 driver.
 To run the driver, open a terminal window, navigate to the directory containing <code>LightgunMono.exe</code>, and run the command <code>'''mono LightgunMono.exe'''</code>.  If you don't want to change directories, <code>mono /path/to/LightgunMono.exe</code> will also work just fine; the Mono engine will automatically find <code>libCameraInterface.so</code> and <code>libSdlInterface.so</code>as long as they're still in the same directory as <code>LightgunMono.exe</code>.
@@ Line 49: / Line 51: @@
 == Border Overlays ==
-The "UNIX philosophy" of separating functionality into different processes and layers and letting users mix-and-match their preferred software packages means that there are exponentionally many combinations of desktop environments on Unix-like systems.  As as result, there's no one-size-fits all solution to draw a border that's always on the screen, as there is in the Windows version of the Sinden driver.  The options below should be adequate for most users, and serve as a starting point for more exotic environments.  Of note, all of the options below should work equally well whether your desktop uses the older X11 or newer Wayland protocol.
+The "UNIX philosophy" of separating functionality into different processes and layers and letting users mix-and-match their preferred software packages means that there are many possible combinations of desktop environments on Unix-like systems.  As as result, there's no one-size-fits all solution to draw a border that's always on the screen, as there is in the Windows version of the Sinden driver.  The options below should be adequate for most users, and serve as a starting point for more exotic environments.  Of note, all of the options below should work equally well whether your desktop uses the older X11 or newer Wayland protocol.
 === Bezels within a retro game emulator ===
@@ Line 60: / Line 62: @@
 === KDE ===
-An equivalent utility for KDE (or any other QML-compliant desktop manager) is available [https://github.com/spillner/kde-screen-borders '''here'''].   Note that it will not support games in full-screen mode, but most games can be configured to run in a borderless window.  Border color and thickness are customizable by the user.
+An equivalent utility for KDE (or any other QML-compliant desktop manager) with user-customizable border thickness and color is available [https://github.com/spillner/kde-screen-borders '''here'''].  To set it up, first install the [https://github.com/KDE/layer-shell-qt QtLayerShell] library, then run <code>kqml screen-borders.qml</code> to activate the border.  The border will disappear as soon as the kqml process is killed.  Like the GNOME extension above, this KDE utility provides screen layout hints that should be respected by most applications in "fullscreen" mode, but some game engines using direct screen access may draw over the border, requiring a different solution such as the Vulkan module below.
 === Vulkan games (and DirectX or OpenGL layered over Vulkan) ===

@@ Line 35: / Line 35: @@
 The driver for Unix-like systems is included within the standard [[Sinden Software|Sinden software bundles]].  The directory layout changes significantly between driver releases, but the driver itself is always named <code>LightgunMono.exe</code>.  As of this writing, the latest release of the main Unix-like driver was from version 2.05 of the Sinden software bundle.  Versions 2.07b and 2.07 include an adjusted version of the driver with support for the [https://sindenlightgun.com/pedalguide/ Sinden Pedal].  The 2.07b bundle also includes a subfolder with this older 2.05 pedal-free driver, but the main 2.07 release does not.  If you don't have pedals and experience problems with the "Pedal" driver (especially with button events), try downloading the 2.05 or 2.07b zipfile and running the 2.05 driver.
-To run the driver, open a terminal window, navigate to the directory containing <code>LightgunMono.exe</code>, and run the command <code>'''mono LightgunMono.exe'''</code>.  If you don't want to change directories, <code>mono /path/to/LightgunMono.exe</code> will also work just fine; the Mono engine will automatically find as long as they're still in the same directory as <code>LightgunMono.exe</code>.
+To run the driver, open a terminal window, navigate to the directory containing <code>LightgunMono.exe</code>, and run the command <code>'''mono LightgunMono.exe'''</code>.  If you don't want to change directories, <code>mono /path/to/LightgunMono.exe</code> will also work just fine; the Mono engine will automatically find <code>libCameraInterface.so</code> and <code>libSdlInterface.so</code>as long as they're still in the same directory as <code>LightgunMono.exe</code>.
 On my system, I find that "mouse mode" (the default) is more stable than "joystick mode" for most games.  If you want or need to run in joystick mode, run <code>'''mono LightgunMono.exe joystick'''</code> to have the lightgun appear as a joystick instead of a mouse.

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:44, 4 December 2022
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	Hit him up for any questions or comments, enjoy!		Hit him up for any questions or comments, enjoy!
			[[Category:Setup Guides]]

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 Almost all software on Nix systems require 2 things: required libraries loaded and the PATH updated so that the OS user can use them.
 === Supported Operating Systems ===
 While the Sinden Software should run on most Nix systems, check the latest [[FAQ#Q: Does the Sinden Lightgun work with my OS?|Supported OS List]].
 === Sinden Drivers Setup ===
-First, download the the latest Sinden software.
+First, download the the [[Sinden Software|latest Sinden software]].
 Inside will be a folder for x86 Linux; look over the 2 scripts, <code>setup-retropie.sh</code> and <code>setup-lightgun.sh</code>
@@ Line 38: / Line 36: @@
 Thanks to discord user <code>aaronbpaden</code> for his Gnome Shell Extension - White Border Overlay that he has created.
-Go here to download: White Border Overlay
+Go here to download: [https://github.com/AaronBPaden/whiteborder-aaronbpaden.gmail.com White Border Overlay]
 Hit him up for any questions or comments, enjoy!