GNU/Linux software to give TAS tools to games. Code originates from SuperMeatBoyTaser. It requires a GNU/Linux system with a recent kernel (at least 3.17 for the memfd_create syscall). Supported archs are x86_64, x86 and aarch64. You will need Mesa's llvmpipe OpenGL driver to support savestates for games using OpenGL.
This is a fork which aims to add modernizations, fix longstanding bugs, and revive support for Windows games through Wine/Proton, among other things. See TODO.md and how to run Windows games through Wine/Proton.
Discord server, for this fork: https://discord.gg/amFSM2z3fa
Discord server, for the original libTAS: https://discord.gg/3MBVAzU
Website: https://clementgallet.github.io/libTAS/ (still in progress)
Additional documentation on tasvideos.org: https://tasvideos.org/EmulatorResources/LibTAS
Initial work was done to support games using the SDL library (which is the case of many indie games), but other engines are supported now.
By default, you should look for a drm-free version of the game. Games installed through Steam may or may not work. Some Steam games are in fact drm-free, they work without Steam running, or they just need some simple operations. For the other games, there is a "Virtual Steam client" setting in libTAS which implements a dummy Steam client, but it doesn't support every game. Of course, all of this only applies to games that don't have any active protection measure. For more details, check the Game Compatibility page.
There is also initial support for Windows games through wine. Details are given below.
If you don't have a Linux system beforehand, there are several options that you can choose:
- Run libTAS using WSL 2 (Windows Subsystem for Linux) (preferred option)
- Install Linux on a virtual machine. Grab a virtualization software (e.g. VirtualBox) and a Linux distribution (e.g. Ubuntu). If you have a 64-bit computer, install a 64-bit Linux distribution, which will allow you to run both 32-bit and 64-bit games. Note for Ubuntu users that you need a recent version (17.10 minimum).
You can download the latest stable version of the software in the Releases page. The current dependencies are:
libc6,libgcc1,libstdc++6libqt6core6,libqt6gui6,libqt6widgets6,qt6-qpa-pluginslibx11-6,libxcb1,libxcb-keysyms1,libxcb-xkb1liblua5.4-0ffmpeglibcapfilelibswresample2orlibswresample3orlibswresample4orlibswresample5orlibswresample6,libasound2libswscale6orlibswscale7orlibswscale8orlibswscale9
Installing with the debian package will install all the required packages as well.
There are also automated builds (deb packages and AppImages, x86_64 and aarch64) available for the last interim version.
A PKGBUILD is available for Arch Linux on the AUR.
You will need to download and install the following to build libTAS:
- Deb:
apt-get install build-essential cmake pkg-config libx11-dev libx11-xcb-dev qt6-base-dev libxcb1-dev libxcb-keysyms1-dev libxcb-xkb-dev libxcb-randr0-dev libxkbcommon-dev libxi-dev libgl-dev libegl-dev libudev-dev liblua5.4-dev libasound2-dev libavutil-dev libswresample-dev libswscale-dev ffmpeg libcap-dev(optional, to read the mouse outside of windows on Wayland:libwayland-dev wayland-protocols libglib2.0-dev libpipewire-0.3-dev) - Arch:
pacman -S base-devel cmake pkgconf qt6-base xcb-util-cursor alsa-lib lua ffmpeg libcap(optional, to read the mouse outside of windows on Wayland:wayland wayland-protocols glib2 pipewire)
git clone https://github.com/clementgallet/libTAS.git
cd libTAS
./build.sh
This configures the project with CMake into the build directory, and builds it. Use ./build.sh --appimage to also build an AppImage. Any extra argument is passed to CMake, and you can also use CMake directly:
cmake -S . -B build
cmake --build build
The following CMake options are available (the former configure flags are still accepted by build.sh):
-DLIBTAS_BUILD_I386=ON(--with-i386): also build the 32-bitlibtas32.solibrary (see Dual-arch)-DLIBTAS_I386_LIB_ONLY=ON(--enable-i386-lib): only build the 32-bit library-DLIBTAS_RELEASE_BUILD=ON(--enable-release-build): do not embed the git commit-DLIBTAS_BUILD_DATE=OFF(--disable-build-date): do not embed the git commit date-DLIBTAS_QT_VERSION=5: build the GUI with Qt5 (at least 5.6) instead of Qt6
Be careful that you must compile your code in the same arch as the game. If you have an amd64 system and you only have access to a i386 game, you can cross-compile the code to i386 (see below).
cd build
sudo make install
If you have an amd64 system and you want to run both i386 or amd64 games, you can install libTAS 32-bit library together with the amd64 build. To do that, you can build using ./build.sh --with-i386, which will produce an additional libtas32.so (32-bit) library together with amd64 builds of libTAS GUI and libtas.so library.
You will need the 32-bit version of libraries libX11, libX11-xcb, libasound, libavutil, libswresample, the 32-bit version of the headers for libavutil, libswresample and libswscale. You will also need your compiler to be able to cross-compile, by installing g++-multilib if using g++ compiler. When running a game, libTAS will choose automatically the right libtas.so library based on the game arch.
- Deb:
apt-get install libx11-6:i386 libx11-xcb1:i386 libasound2:i386 libavutil56:i386 libavutil-dev:i386 libswresample-dev:i386 libswresample3:i386 libswscale-dev:i386 libswscale8:i386
To run this program, you can use the program shortcut in your system menu, or open a terminal and enter:
libTAS [game_executable_path [game_cmdline_arguments]]
You can type libTAS -h to have a description of the program options.
The program prompts a graphical user interface where you can start the game or change several options. Details of the different options are available here
There are a few things to take care before being able to run a game. You might want to look at the software usage.
Here are the default controls when the game has started:
- frame advancing, using the
Vkey - pause/play, using the
pausekey - fast forward, using the
tabkey
Note: the game starts up paused.
Important
Wine/Proton support is experimental. Not all games will work yet. If possible, you should use a native Linux version of your game.
To launch Windows games through Wine, you first need to install Wine on your system (it must be located somewhere in $PATH).
Some Windows Steam games need Proton in order to run. To do this, install Proton through Steam, and under File --> Executable Options, enable Proton and add its path.
In the game executable field, you must set the Windows .exe executable (both 32-bit and 64-bit are supported, with 32-bit games using Wine's WoW64 mode). It will detect a Windows executable and launch Wine with the right options.
Games using Direct3D currently run under WineD3D. Support for other translation layers, such as DXVK and VKD3D, have not been added yet.
libTAS blocks the pulseaudio driver of Wine (winepulse.so), so that Wine outputs audio through alsa, which libTAS handles.
For more information, wine.md documents how Windows games run under libTAS: how it is hooked, what was tested, the design choices, and the known limitations in its Open problems section. Read it before reporting a Wine issue.
Made by brunovalads.
libTAS is distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License v3.
Copyright (C) 2016-2024 clementgallet
This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
(at your option) any later version.
This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
GNU General Public License for more details.
You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
along with this program. If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>
Dear ImGui is licensed under the MIT License
QHexView is licensed under the MIT License