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  • [Linux noob] Where do you place your Godot executable ?

Hello. I installed a dual boot on my PC because I'm stucked with Scons on Windows. Most Linux tutorials talks about package manager only and discourage to download executable files. Godot for Linux is available like a Windows executable. It runs like a .exe on my Linux LMDE.

So I want to know where do you unzip Godot in your Linux directory to maintain a manageable system ?

Hi

You just have to create your workspace into the /home/username directory

And no worries, It works perfectly, I use myself a Debian distro and Debian devs are more than paranoid about stability. Absolutely no problems until now :)

If the executable location is not a problem I think about creating a folder "Godot" in /usr/bin because it seems the softwares are here. And my projects will be in my /home/username directory.

I would suggest instead creating a "Godot" directory into your userspace.

/usr/bin should be accessible by admin (root) only. All Linux communities strongly discourage to use the root space as simple user.

EDIT: /usr/bin is used by packets managers during softwares install but in this case you have to be logged as root. Sometimes I do a little tweaks into the root space (mount point: /)but it is very rare

Ok I unzipped Godot into my home directory something like this /home/your_user_name/Dev/Godot/Godot_2.1.1

Now I'm looking for adding Godot into the Mate menu like the other softwares.

Another suggestion if you please:

If you are a former Windows user, try cinnamon as desktop, more user-friendly IMHO

If you want to make Godot available to all users, it's best to place the binary in /usr/local/bin and rename it to something like godot.

You can then create a .desktop file to make it available in the menu, containing this:

[Desktop Entry]
Version=1.0
Type=Application
Name=Godot
GenericName=Game engine
Comment=2D and 3D game engine
Exec=/usr/local/bin/godot
Terminal=false
Categories=Game;

Place that newly created file in /usr/local/share/applications, and you should be good to go.

I haven't looked into providing an icon to the .desktop file, but if you need an icon, here's one in PNG format.

Note that for placing files in /usr/local, you need administrative rights (you can use sudo mv <source> <destination> to move files using the command line).

I put the executables in ~/bin, which is in $PATH and I would recommend starting Godot from a terminal. It's way more comfortable to read the output of your game there than in the editor. It also sometimes gives you helpful error messages you don't get in the editor.

@Calinou said: If you want to make Godot available to all users, it's best to place the binary in /usr/local/bin and rename it to something like godot.

You can then create a .desktop file to make it available in the menu, containing this:

[Desktop Entry]
Version=1.0
Type=Application
Name=Godot
GenericName=Game engine
Comment=2D and 3D game engine
Exec=/usr/local/bin/godot
Terminal=false
Categories=Game;

Place that newly created file in /usr/local/share/applications, and you should be good to go.

I haven't looked into providing an icon to the .desktop file, but if you need an icon, here's one in PNG format.

Note that for placing files in /usr/local, you need administrative rights (you can use sudo mv <source> <destination> to move files using the command line).

Did you put the export templates in /usr/local/bin folder too ?

For dual booting, I have a shared NTFS partition for anything that I use in both Windows and Linux. For eg. my main HD is split into three partitions, one for Windows, one for Linux and one called 'Space'. Space is where I have my Desktop folder, Download folder and anything that I want shared across OSes like documents, save game files for emulators, wallpapers etc. I also have a folder here called 'bin' for any programs that I use in both Windows and Linux, be that natively or in Wine. In here I have a 'godot' folder containing both the Linux and Windows executable and my project files.

Using your Home folder would be fine but if you are dual booting I would highly suggest having an entire partition available for your personal needs so that your Linux user folder and Windows user folder can stay exclusive to each OS without having too much other stuff lying around. The biggest advantage to this is that you will be able to easily access your files in this shared partition no matter what OS you are running. If you are using Windows and want to quickly check something out in your project folder, you wont have to reboot into Linux just to do so. Then, as @Calinou says, simply create a Desktop file and place it in /usr/local/share/applications in order to have it easily available to launch from your programs menu.

Thanks to the .desktop file, and thanks to Calinou, Mint menu displays a nice Godot button. But this button doesn't work.

Here is my desktop file.

[Desktop Entry]
Version= 2.1.2
Type=Application
Name=Godot Engine
GenericName=Game engine
Comment=2D and 3D game engine
Exec=/usr/local/bin/Godot_2_1_2/godot
Terminal=false
Icon=/usr/local/bin/Godot/godot.png

I can launch godot trough the folders or trough a desktop shortcut too, but I found this a bit dirty. I'm trying to achieve a nice installation.

@Zero2122 I already have an "OS-agnostic" partition for Godot projects and for any personal file who can be opened on both OSes ;) But my executables and software folders are stored in their "OS-related" partition.

@keltwookie I tested Cinnamon with a live usb but I didn't found a way to set the task bar on the side. After some hours I discovered annoying issues on the Mate vertical task bar. I'm looking for solutions. I found vertical task panel more comfortable for web pages reading.

7 days later

I try to export a project for Linux platform but I don't know how to run the exported binary. The dialog box asks for the application type. The solution is probably obvious for a used Linux user.

@NeoD said: I try to export a project for Linux platform but I don't know how to run the exported binary. The dialog box asks for the application type. The solution is probably obvious for a used Linux user.

Open a terminal, place yourself in the folder containing the Linux binary (using the cd command), then type: chmod +x name_of_binary, replacing name_of_binary with the binary name. You can then run it by typing ./name_of_binary.

This will make the game binary executable (it's a Linux security restriction that newly created files are not executable by default). There is an issue on GitHub about Godot marking them as executable by default.

@Calinou said: This will make the game binary executable (it's a Linux security restriction that newly created files are not executable by default). There is an issue on GitHub about Godot marking them as executable by default.

It works, thanks ! I will read the Github issue. A ".deb" package to download Godot would be cool too !