Tuxborn Installation Linux Jackify Non‐Premium - Omni-guides/Tuxborn GitHub Wiki

This guide covers installing Tuxborn on Linux and Steam Deck without Nexus Premium. Unlike Nexus Premium, which allows Jackify to download everything automatically, Non-Premium users must manually click to download each mod archive. Jackify opens browser tabs to the correct Nexus page for each file - you click "Manual Download", and Jackify watches for completed downloads, validates them, and automatically opens the next set of tabs to download the next mods. Once all downloads are complete, Jackify continues the rest of the install automatically.

• Linux system or Steam Deck (SteamOS, Fedora, Arch, Ubuntu, etc.)
• Nexus Mods account (non-premium is fully supported)
• Skyrim Special Edition installed in Steam and launched at least once (to download all Creation Club content)
• ~344GB of free disk space (includes both installation and downloads - downloads can be deleted after installation)
• Downloads can be stored on a different drive/SDCard than Tuxborn is being installed to
• Jackify application installed (Download from Nexus Mods)
• Protontricks installed - see Installing Additional Tools
• Proton available in Steam (version can be selected in Jackify settings. GE Proton 10-14 recommended)(Installing-Additional-Tools#installing-ge-proton)
• Steam installed and configured

By default, the Steam Deck allocates a starting 1GB of VRAM to the GPU. Increasing this to 4GB improves performance and stability in graphically demanding modlists like Tuxborn. This setting is changed in the Steam Deck BIOS (UEFI) and takes about two minutes.

1. Power off your Steam Deck completely
2. Hold Volume Up (+) and press the Power button simultaneously - keep holding Volume Up until the UEFI loads
3. On the boot screen, click "Setup Utility"

Screenshot: Steam Deck UEFI boot screen showing Setup Utility option

4. Navigate to the "Advanced" tab
5. Scroll down to "UMA Frame buffer Size" and select it
6. Change the value to "4G"
7. Select "Exit" then "Save Changes and Reset"

Screenshot: BIOS Advanced tab with UMA Frame buffer Size set to 4G

Tuxborn requires all Creation Club content downloaded through the in-game Creations menu - not the Steam-distributed version. This step must be completed before running Jackify.

1. Launch Skyrim Special Edition from Steam
2. If prompted to download Creation Club content on first launch, allow it to proceed
3. If no prompt is shown, from the main menu select Creations, then "Download All" to download any remaining content, waiting for each item to show as Installed
4. Exit Skyrim

Screenshot: Skyrim Creations menu with Creation Club content installed

The Rare Curios version issue: Bethesda distributes Rare Curios through Steam (uppercase filenames: ccbgssse037-Curios.bsa) and through the in-game Creations menu (lowercase: ccbgssse037-curios.bsa). Pretty much all Wabbajack modlists that require Creations content need the lowercase version. If you have uppercase files in your Skyrim Data folder, delete them and re-download from the Creations menu before proceeding.

1. Visit the Jackify Nexus Mods page
2. Download the latest Jackify 7z archive from the Files tab

Screenshot: Nexus Mods page showing Jackify with download button highlighted

1. Extract the Jackify.AppImage from the 7z archive
2. Open a terminal/Konsole window and make it executable:

   chmod +x Jackify.AppImage

3. Run Jackify:

   ./Jackify.AppImage

Screenshot: Terminal showing extraction, chmod, and execution of Jackify.AppImage

If you encounter permission issues, ensure FUSE is installed on your system (most modern Linux distributions and SteamOS include it by default).

For more detailed installation instructions and troubleshooting, see the Jackify Installation Guide on GitHub.

1. From the Jackify main menu, click "Modlist Tasks"

Screenshot: Jackify main window

Screenshot: Jackify main menu with Modlist Tasks highlighted

2. Click "Install a Modlist"

Screenshot: Modlist Tasks menu showing Install a Modlist (Automated)

3. Select Skyrim as the game type

Screenshot: Game type selection with Skyrim highlighted

If you haven't already authorised Jackify with your Nexus Mods account:

1. Click the "Authorise" button in Jackify
2. This will open your browser to complete the OAuth authentication with Nexus Mods
3. Log in to your Nexus Mods account if prompted
4. Authorise Jackify to access your account
5. You will be redirected back to Jackify automatically

Screenshot: Jackify installation screen showing the Authorise button

Screenshot: Nexus Mods OAuth login page in browser

Note: If you've already authorised Jackify with Nexus Mods in a previous session, you won't need to do this again.

1. Click the "Select Modlist" button to open the Gallery
2. The modlist browser will load available Skyrim modlists
3. Search for "Tuxborn" in the search box, or scroll to find it
4. Click on Tuxborn in the list to select it
5. Click the "Install" button to confirm your selection

Screenshot: Jackify modlist gallery with Tuxborn visible

Screenshot: Tuxborn modlist card with Install button

Set your Installation and Download directories. Keep them separate so the Downloads directory can be deleted after installation to free up space. Avoid spaces in directory names.

SD Card Users: If installing to an SD card, first find your SD card's mount name by opening a terminal and running:

ls /run/media/deck/

This shows the name of any mounted SD cards (e.g., MySdCard). Your full path would then be /run/media/deck/MySdCard/Games/Skyrim/Tuxborn.

Recommended paths:

Installation: /home/deck/Games/Tuxborn
Downloads:    /home/deck/Games/Modlist_Downloads/Tuxborn

Screenshot: Jackify directory configuration with both paths filled in

Select 1280x800 for Steam Deck handheld play. If you plan to play docked at a higher resolution, select your monitor's native resolution here, or change it later via MO2 (see Additional Notes).

Screenshot: Resolution dropdown with 1280x800 selected

Review your settings, then click "Start Installation".

Screenshot: Installation screen with all fields filled and Start Installation ready

Because you do not have Nexus Premium, Jackify cannot download mod files automatically. If Jackify detects your Nexus account as Non-Premium, you will first see an information dialog explaining the process:

Screenshot: Non-Premium Manual Downloads information dialog

After acknowledging this, the Jackify Download Manager will open showing all files that need to be downloaded:

Screenshot: Jackify Download Manager showing the full queue of pending files

Click Start to begin. Jackify automatically opens browser tabs (two at a time by default) to the correct Nexus download page for each file. For each tab that opens:

1. Click the "Download" button on the Nexus page

Screenshot: Nexus Mods file page with Download button highlighted

2. When your browser prompts for a save location, save the file to your Tuxborn Downloads directory (e.g. /home/deck/Games/Modlist_Downloads/Tuxborn)
3. Let the download complete

Jackify watches your Downloads directory. As each file arrives and passes validation, its row in the dialog turns green and shows "Complete":

Screenshot: Manual Downloads dialog with some files completed and others still pending

Once all files in the current batch are validated, Jackify continues the installation automatically and opens the next batch of tabs. Repeat until all downloads are done.

Tips:

• If a file fails validation, its row shows "Error" - click the row to retry, which reopens the browser tab for that file.
• Do not close the Manual Downloads dialog while downloads are in progress.
• If you need to pause, use the Pause button in the dialog - Jackify will not open new tabs until you resume.

Once all mod archives are downloaded and validated, Jackify runs the installation and configuration automatically. You do not need to do anything during this phase.

Installation Phase:

• Extracts and organises all mod files
• Converts textures
• Builds BSAs

This phase is the main time cost on Steam Deck hardware. On a Steam Deck, expect this to take several hours depending on your storage setup - SD card installs take significantly longer than internal storage. On a more powerful desktop or laptop it will be considerably faster.

Configuration Phase (fully automatic):

• Creates the Tuxborn Steam shortcut
• Installs required Wine components (vcrun2022, dotnet, etc.)
• Applies Skyrim-specific registry fixes
• Configures Proton, launch options, SD card mount paths (if applicable), and display resolution
• Restarts Steam to apply changes

When Jackify shows the success screen, everything is ready to go.

Screenshot: Jackify installation complete screen

1. Open Steam
2. Find "Tuxborn" in your library
3. Click "Play" to launch Mod Organizer 2

Screenshot: Steam library with Tuxborn shortcut ready

Steam Deck users: DO NOT use the touch screen to interact with MO2 in Desktop Mode. Hold the STEAM button and use the trackpad to control the mouse pointer.

Tuxborn includes multiple profiles optimised for different hardware. Select your desired profile from the dropdown in the top-left of Mod Organizer 2.

Screenshot: Profile selection dropdown in Mod Organizer 2

• Tuxborn - Low-Deck: 40FPS experience on Steam Deck

• Tuxborn - Medium-Handheld: Additional visual quality, higher RAM/VRAM usage. Works on Deck but may have performance dips

• Tuxborn - High-Desktop: Expanded Community Shaders suite, higher INI settings for more powerful PCs

• Tuxborn MCO - Low-Deck: 40FPS experience on Steam Deck, includes MCO Combat Animation Framework

• Tuxborn MCO - Medium-Handheld: Additional visual quality, higher RAM/VRAM usage. Works on Deck but may have performance dips, includes MCO Combat Animation Framework

• Tuxborn MCO - High-Desktop: Expanded Community Shaders suite, higher INI settings, includes MCO Combat Animation Framework

With your profile selected, click the Run button in Mod Organizer 2.

Screenshot: Mod Organizer 2 Run button

The first few launches will behave differently from subsequent ones:

• Long load times: Via Proton, initial loading times can be longer than on Windows. On Steam Deck, launches can take 7-8 minutes. This is normal and sadly not just for the first launch. This is due to an efficiency issue with Proton.
• Shader compilation: The game compiles shaders on first launch. This is a one-off process that takes additional time.
• Possible crashes: You may experience 1-2 crashes during the first few launches. This is normal and should resolve after shader cache is built.
• Unusual main menu colours: The main menu background may show incorrect colours during initial shader building. This resolves once the game fully loads and stops happening after the first few launches.

Once loading completes and prompts are dismissed, the Tuxborn main menu will appear. If you see this, the installation was successful and you are ready to play.

Screenshot: Tuxborn main menu - a successful install

1. Start a new game and create your character
2. Before committing to your final look, test that you can type in the "Name Character" box
3. If you cannot type, restart the game once more and try again
4. If character naming appears to be working, you can continue with character creation
5. If typing still does not work after a restart, map the 'R' key to a back paddle temporarily

Note: This difficulty with character naming is due to Bethesda's attempt to achieve "Verified" status on Steam Deck, which affects keyboard input during character creation.

Once you have confirmed everything works in Desktop Mode, switch back to Game Mode and launch Tuxborn from the Steam library. Do not launch the vanilla Skyrim entry.

After confirming Tuxborn works correctly, you can delete the downloads directory to free up space:

rm -rf /home/deck/Games/Modlist_Downloads/Tuxborn

Only delete downloads after confirming everything works. You may need to re-download if you reinstall.

If you need to change resolution or the FPS cap after installation:

1. In Mod Organizer 2, find "Tuxborn - Settings" in the mod list and double-click it
2. Go to the INI Files tab and select SSEDisplayTweaks.ini
3. Find the Resolution line and ensure it does NOT have a # comment symbol at the start
4. Edit the Resolution and FramerateLimit values as needed
5. Save and close

Screenshot: Mod Organizer 2 INI editor showing SSEDisplayTweaks.ini with Resolution and FramerateLimit

Once you are 100% happy that everything is working as intended and you have no changes to make in MO2, you can use a Steam Launch Option to launch straight into the game, skipping having to first load MO2, and then clicking Play in MO2. This doesn't speed up the loading process any, just avoids having to click play yourself.

1. Right-click Tuxborn in Steam and open Properties
2. In Launch Options, add the following after %command% (leave anything before it untouched):

moshortcut://Tuxborn

Screenshot: Steam Launch Options with moshortcut entry added after %command%

Jackify won't start:

• (NOT on Steam Deck) Ensure FUSE is installed: sudo apt install fuse (or equivalent for your distro)
• Check file permissions: chmod +x Jackify.AppImage
• Try running from terminal to see error messages

Installation fails or stalls:

• If a specific mod keeps failing validation, close the Manual Downloads dialog, recheck that the file landed in your Downloads directory, and re-open Jackify to resume.
• Verify you have sufficient free disk space
• Re-authorise with Nexus Mods if your session has expired

Mod Organizer 2 won't open:

• Ensure Jackify completed the configuration phase (the success screen must have appeared)
• Check Proton is set in the Tuxborn Steam Properties
• Check the Tuxborn entry in Steam has the correct launch options

Game crashes repeatedly beyond the initial shader-build launches:

• Check Discord for known issues with the current Tuxborn version

• Tuxborn Discord: Join for support
• Tuxborn Wiki: Wiki Documentation
• Jackify Issues: GitHub Issues
• Jackify GitHub: Jackify Repository

On a Steam Deck, the extraction and BSA-building phase can take several hours depending on your storage setup - having the install directory on SD card takes significantly longer than internal storage. On a more powerful desktop or laptop it will be considerably faster. This does not include download time, which depends on your internet connection speed.

If this process felt like a lot of work, Nexus Premium removes all the manual clicking:

• Jackify downloads every file automatically, no intervention needed.
• Faster download speeds with no throttling
• The entire process runs unattended

See the Jackify Premium guide for the fully automated method.