Seems the main developer of the PlayStation 1 emulator DuckStation is not happy with Linux packaging, threatening to remove Linux support.
As quick a bit of background - the project was previously under the open source GPL license, but was changed in September last year to a more restrictive license. This was due to people violating the old license, which isn't exactly going to stop anyone violating a new license but anyway…
On the official GitHub a change was made by Connor "stenzek" McLaughlin to remove the PKGBUILD for Arch Linux. In the change description stenzek noted:
I originally provided this an alternative to the broken AUR packages.
However, it seems that Arch users would rather use broken packages and keep complaining to me instead of their packager. I specifically forbid packages for DuckStation (see README.md), and there's no way to request removal of these packages without handing my details over to a distribution I want nothing to do with.
So this is step one. Next step will be removing Linux support entirely, because I'm sick of the headaches and hacks for an operating system that only compromises 2% of the userbase, and I don't even use myself. But I'm hoping the Linux community will be reasonable, because as someone giving up my free time and not being compensated in any way, I shouldn't have to deal with this.
Just grep the source for "wayland" and you'll see what I mean.
Emphasis ours.
However, despite what clearly looked like a threat to just remove Linux support is not exactly true (not yet anyway). While it certainly reads like that was their plan (there's not really any other way to read into such a thing), in the official Discord they later said:
Since people seem to be spreading misinformation (yay), let's make some things clear:
- Linux support is not being removed from DuckStation, I have no immediate plans to do that.,
- I've created a deletion request for the AUR package that is causing headaches, if they can remove it, that solves everything and we can go back to business as usual.,
- If they don't, then we'll see. I don't really feel like playing a cat and mouse game of making changes that prevent it from building/running in that environment, it's easier to just walk away.
What a messy situation this emulator has been.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
About the author - Liam Dawe
I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly checked on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. You can also follow my personal adventures on Bluesky.
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@Cyril to be clear, we're thinking AUR packages should be fine, right? Since it doesn't distribute the source or binaries? Of course anyone who executes the PKGBUILD would be secretly violating the license as pointed out by that second DrMcCoy comment.
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tohur 2 days ago
Just package it for flatpak officially and be done.. let it be known anything outside flatpak is NOT supported.. and go a step further do what bottles does and make packagers put a disclaimer in the non flatpak packages!
Last edited by tohur on 2 Aug 2025 at 6:52 am UTC
Last edited by tohur on 2 Aug 2025 at 6:52 am UTC
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Cyril a day ago
@tohur As I said it's already there but... from their Github page:
https://github.com/stenzek/duckstation/pull/3454#issuecomment-2982578243
Due to various Flatpak limitations and Flathub randomly breaking regularly, the Flatpak package is not recommended. We recommend that you use the AppImage instead.And this comment tells a bit more on this situation:
https://github.com/stenzek/duckstation/pull/3454#issuecomment-2982578243
Thanks for the PR. I'd be hesitant about adding any permission since flathub displays scary warnings for filesystem access, making it sound like my application is malicious.
Additionally, their silly system requires manual approval of any changes, and the last time it changed, they approved the aarch64 variant but not x86. So I had to push a dummy commit and another release, spamming all users with a notification just because of this pointless process. Much larger app stores such as google play don't require such rubbish.
I'm considering dropping the flatpak for this reason and others, but a middle ground where the CI builds bundles but they're not published on flathub is an option. In which case the added permission is a non issue, and I can just request full filesystem r/o access which solves the portal paths constantly breaking problem too.
Generally speaking, I'm not a huge fan of workarounds for one specific piece of hardware that I don't own and can't debug myself. This sounds like something that should be covered in flatpak itself, not applications.
Alternatively, why can't users just manually add the permission themselves? Or, of course, use the appimage.
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14 a day ago
If the license allows free distribution, then I don't see chasing individual packages and requesting removal as an option because the request can simply be denied. Create some messaging and maybe a GitHub Issue bot to filter support requests you were never intending or willing to deal with.
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tohur a day ago
@Cyril pretty sure its a non issue as quite sure end users can add the permission for gamescope as I have had gamescope working in flatpak... Just ANOTHER case of this dev overblowing issues.. TBH someone just needs to fork Duckstation and leave this guy in the dust.. and the issue about app submission on flathub is a NON issue again because they have it setup that way to prevent malicious software from being submitted is one of the MANY reasons. Theres a reason there are so many malicious apps on google play
Last edited by tohur on 2 Aug 2025 at 3:36 pm UTC
Last edited by tohur on 2 Aug 2025 at 3:36 pm UTC
1 Likes
Stenzek is a very talented developer whose work I really, really appreciate. But he does have a penchant for drama, which has led him to some unpleasant places (see: the extremely bizarre licensing situation, which has only made things more complex for honest users and package maintainers).
The problem isn't Linux or package maintainers. It's users who don't care to figure out where to file their issues. In my experience, the vast amount of open source users are well behaved and understanding. Unfortunately, this is often *not* the case with gaming OSS projects unfortunately. My guess is that's because they can often attract an audience of very young people who are less familiar with software development. And a large influx of those people may be first time Linux users on the Deck.
Even though I've disagreed with Stenzek in the past and I think he's directing his anger towards the wrong people, I do understand his frustration on this issue. He's doing a thankless job, and getting swamped with spam from clueless users instead of users posting helpful reports or asking the right people is very difficult to deal with. That makes his tough job even harder, and I get that.
Perhaps someone can chip and think of some solution to help the man out a little.
The problem isn't Linux or package maintainers. It's users who don't care to figure out where to file their issues. In my experience, the vast amount of open source users are well behaved and understanding. Unfortunately, this is often *not* the case with gaming OSS projects unfortunately. My guess is that's because they can often attract an audience of very young people who are less familiar with software development. And a large influx of those people may be first time Linux users on the Deck.
Even though I've disagreed with Stenzek in the past and I think he's directing his anger towards the wrong people, I do understand his frustration on this issue. He's doing a thankless job, and getting swamped with spam from clueless users instead of users posting helpful reports or asking the right people is very difficult to deal with. That makes his tough job even harder, and I get that.
Perhaps someone can chip and think of some solution to help the man out a little.
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CyborgZeta a day ago
I can understand getting frustrated by constant bug reports from people using unofficial packages and filing their issues upstream.
That said, Stenzek is known for drama, and I quit using DuckStation years ago; despite it being the thing that really got me into emulation back in 2020. I much prefer using the Beetle PSX core in RetroArch. It works perfectly, and PS1 games look and run just like they did when I was a kid. I do not need, nor want, upscaling for PS1 games; PS1 games without the low resolution polygons and jaggies look wrong to me.
That said, Stenzek is known for drama, and I quit using DuckStation years ago; despite it being the thing that really got me into emulation back in 2020. I much prefer using the Beetle PSX core in RetroArch. It works perfectly, and PS1 games look and run just like they did when I was a kid. I do not need, nor want, upscaling for PS1 games; PS1 games without the low resolution polygons and jaggies look wrong to me.
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DrMcCoy a day ago
Duckstation dev continues to be a moron, news at 11.
EDIT: Yes, I know, this is a bit of a...confrontational take, but the more I hear and read about him, well, my eyes hurt a bit from all the eye-rolling.
Last edited by DrMcCoy on 2 Aug 2025 at 9:56 pm UTC
EDIT: Yes, I know, this is a bit of a...confrontational take, but the more I hear and read about him, well, my eyes hurt a bit from all the eye-rolling.
Last edited by DrMcCoy on 2 Aug 2025 at 9:56 pm UTC
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edo a day ago
Why is he not using flatpacks? that should solve the issue
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On one hand there's bound to be a lot of people coming into Linux who are confused with how Linux works overall with 3rd party packages that don't come with the distro out of the box, which is why I feel if Linux overall is going to try to keep gaining new users, there needs to be a good and easy to use 'appstore', which is what I was hoping Discover was going to be, but that thing... Needs more improvement.
But aside from a frustrated user base hounding the poor software developer with issues... Yah... I would just avoid dealing with that guy, if he doesn't like Linux users, fine, let him just develop for Windows only then, I mean what the hell, does the windows version of his emulator work under Wine? Long time Linux users will always prefer a Linux version of their favorite software, but hell between vanilla Wine and Proton, things are perfectly fine with running windows app through Wine and Proton now.
And besides as others have mentioned, there Are Other Playstation 1 emulators out there, so whatever. Someone creates drama where it's not needed? Ignore them and go somewhere else for what you need.
But aside from a frustrated user base hounding the poor software developer with issues... Yah... I would just avoid dealing with that guy, if he doesn't like Linux users, fine, let him just develop for Windows only then, I mean what the hell, does the windows version of his emulator work under Wine? Long time Linux users will always prefer a Linux version of their favorite software, but hell between vanilla Wine and Proton, things are perfectly fine with running windows app through Wine and Proton now.
And besides as others have mentioned, there Are Other Playstation 1 emulators out there, so whatever. Someone creates drama where it's not needed? Ignore them and go somewhere else for what you need.
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Caldathras 16 hours ago
@edo
https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2025/08/developer-of-playstation-1-emulator-duckstation-threatens-removing-linux-support-entirely-but-not-yet/?comment_id=281690
Why is he not using flatpacks? that should solve the issueApparently, the dev does not like flatpak for a number of reasons. Cyril provided a detailed explanation behind a click to view long quote toggle at the bottom of the comment, six comments above yours.
https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2025/08/developer-of-playstation-1-emulator-duckstation-threatens-removing-linux-support-entirely-but-not-yet/?comment_id=281690
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