trophy 155
Banned
Sep 2022 101 posts
This thread will contain troubleshooting steps for common issue experienced on Linux when using the s&box editor.

Problem: "You must install .NET Desktop Runtime" appears when launching the s&box editor

The below error message is appearing when launching the s&box editor:
This problem occurs when the WINE prefix that Proton uses for the s&box editor does not have .NET installed.

Solution: Run the .NET 10 SDK installer on the s&box editor WINE prefix

You can get the installer from Microsoft.com here.
IMPORTANT: Choose the Windows (not Linux) version of the SDK (not Runtime) installer.

We will be using winetricks to easily configure the WINE prefix of the s&box editor. 

If winetricks is not already installed, run the below terminal command: 
sudo apt install winetricks

To run winetricks using the WINE prefix of the s&box editor, run the below terminal command:
WINEPREFIX=~/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/2129370/pfx winetricks
NOTE: This command assumes that Steam is installed in your home directory, which may not necessarily be the case. Adjust the path if needed.

On the "choose a wineprefix" window, choose "Select the default wineprefix". This will use the WINEPREFIX variable we set earlier.

On the "current prefix is" window, confirm that the prefix listed in the window title is correct.

Choose "Run an arbitrary executable", then choose the .NET 10 SDK installer you had downloaded.

Proceed through the installation as normal, then close winetricks, and launch the s&box editor through Steam.

The "Welcome to the s&box editor" window should now appear.

TODO: Explain how to use winecfg to disable custom window decorations.
TODO: Determine the cause of the main viewport flashing, and devise a fix, if possible.
trophy 4243
Sep 2022 69 posts
DrakeFruit 7 Months Ago edited 7 Months Ago
After some fucking around and a little (a lot) of AI help because google sucks nowadays apparently, I've come up with this disgusting mega command, run this in your terminal after booting the editor once (click no when it asks to install wine) and it should:
- remove the window decorations
- install dotnet to the wine prefix
- fix font smoothing
- use a better file browser than the wine default

export  INSTALLER_PATH=$(find ~/.steam/steam/steamapps/common -name "dotnet-runtime-10.0.0-win-x64.exe" | head -n 1); protontricks -c "wine '$INSTALLER_PATH' /install /quiet /norestart && wine reg add 'HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Wine\X11 Driver' /v 'Decorated' /t REG_SZ /d 'N' /f && wine reg add 'HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop' /v 'FontSmoothing' /t REG_SZ /d '2' /f && wine reg add 'HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop' /v 'FontSmoothingType' /t REG_DWORD /d 2 /f && wine reg add 'HKCU\Software\Wine\DllOverrides' /v comdlg32 /d native /f" 2129370
trophy 4243
Sep 2022 69 posts
DrakeFruit 7 Months Ago edited 6 Months Ago

BUILDING THE EDITOR

follow the instructions in the readme:
https://github.com/vinceTheProgrammer/sbox-win-docker

PROPER IDE SUPPORT

 if you would like the "open solution" or open component.cs buttons to actually work in the editor, here's an extension I made that adds support for vscode. You can change the path at the top of the .cs file to any code editor you want, feel free to make a pr (link to github page in description)

https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/code-marketplace

trophy 4243
Sep 2022 69 posts
If s&box wont open, check if there's two steam folders in /home/{yourusernamename}/.local/share/

If there is, delete the lowercase one.
trophy 4243
Sep 2022 69 posts
DrakeFruit 6 Months Ago edited 4 Months Ago
Use proton 11 to fix the flickering
trophy 4243
Sep 2022 69 posts
open ~/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/appmanifest_2129370.acf and replace the file content with the following if you get this error
"AppState"
{
	"appid"		"2129370"
	"Universe"		"1"
	"name"		"s&box editor"
	"StateFlags"		"4"
	"installdir"		"sbox"
	"LastUpdated"		"1770149024"
	"LastPlayed"		"1775363539"
	"SizeOnDisk"		"0"
	"StagingSize"		"0"
	"buildid"		"19938873"
	"LastOwner"		"76561198164411694"
	"DownloadType"		"1"
	"UpdateResult"		"0"
	"BytesToDownload"		"0"
	"BytesDownloaded"		"0"
	"BytesToStage"		"0"
	"BytesStaged"		"0"
	"TargetBuildID"		"19938873"
	"AutoUpdateBehavior"		"0"
	"AllowOtherDownloadsWhileRunning"		"0"
	"ScheduledAutoUpdate"		"0"
	"InstalledDepots"
	{
		"2129371"
		{
			"manifest"		"5364835894764487842"
			"size"		"0"
		}
	}
	"SharedDepots"
	{
		"228989"		"228980"
	}
	"UserConfig"
	{
		"language"		"english"
	}
	"MountedConfig"
	{
		"language"		"english"
	}
}


trophy 310
Nov 2025 1 post
was able to get the editor to open on fedora by installing .net on my wine prefix, but the DPI scaling made the UI very small. I've been building my game in Godot engine and have been considering a switch to s&box once it releases and I can access it again - it's just the editor experience that's the major roadblock for me. Would be really nice to have a linux native editor or 3rd party IDE.
trophy 520
Mar 2026 10 posts
@Jibmo Slice:
I have a PR where I contributed Font Scaling that you can pull into your own branch and try for yourself if you want:
https://github.com/Facepunch/sbox-public/pull/10628
trophy 770
May 2025 8 posts
works fine but cloud assets do not spawn
trophy 1320
May 2021 13 posts
if anyone wants to use the s&box mcp server when using proton: https://sbox.game/ccr/proton-mcp-bridge/
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