Vortex 2.0 installation silently fails

[dkharlan]

System Information

• SteamTinkerLaunch version: steamtinkerlaunch-v14.0.20250602
• Distribution: Fedora 44
• Installation Method: ProtonUp-Qt (latest git version, based on master)

Issue Description

When I try to install Vortex (either via the GUI or via steamtinkerlaunch vortex install), the installation silently fails. The log indicates that it was installed successfully (?) but no files are put in the Vortex prefix:

$ ls -l ~/.config/steamtinkerlaunch/vortex/compatdata/pfx/drive_c/Program\ Files
total 0
drwxr-xr-x. 1 dkharlan dkharlan 44 May 12 12:10 'Common Files'
drwxr-xr-x. 1 dkharlan dkharlan 24 May 12 12:10 'Internet Explorer'
drwxr-xr-x. 1 dkharlan dkharlan 24 May 12 12:10 'Windows Media Player'
drwxr-xr-x. 1 dkharlan dkharlan 22 May 12 12:10 'Windows NT'

Logs

Tue May 12 12:41:08 PM EDT 2026 INFO - setflatpak - started SteamTinkerLaunch from /home/dkharlan/stl/prefix/steamtinkerlaunch
Tue May 12 12:41:08 PM EDT 2026 INFO - initAID - Set AID to PLACEHOLDERAID '31337'
Tue May 12 12:41:08 PM EDT 2026 INFO - main - Current SteamTinkerLaunch working directory is '/home/dkharlan'
Tue May 12 12:41:08 PM EDT 2026 INFO - loadLanguage - First load the default language 'english' to make sure all variables are filled
Tue May 12 12:41:08 PM EDT 2026 INFO - loadLangFile - Language from command line is 'english'
Tue May 12 12:41:08 PM EDT 2026 INFO - loadLangFile - SYSTEMSTLCFGDIR is '/usr/share/steamtinkerlaunch'
Tue May 12 12:41:08 PM EDT 2026 INFO - loadLangFile - Command line language 'english' is no file - trying to find its absolute path
Tue May 12 12:41:08 PM EDT 2026 INFO - loadLangFile - Loading language file from script directory '/home/dkharlan/stl/prefix/lang/english.txt'
Tue May 12 12:41:08 PM EDT 2026 INFO - loadLanguage - Loading STLLANG from '/home/dkharlan/.config/steamtinkerlaunch/global.conf'
Tue May 12 12:41:08 PM EDT 2026 INFO - loadLanguage - STLLANG from '/home/dkharlan/.config/steamtinkerlaunch/global.conf' is 'english'
Tue May 12 12:41:08 PM EDT 2026 INFO - steamdedeckt - Not on Steam Deck I guess
Tue May 12 12:41:08 PM EDT 2026 INFO - setLocalInstall - Looks like we have a non-root local install here - Updating paths...
Tue May 12 12:41:08 PM EDT 2026 INFO - updateConfigEntry - Option 'GLOBALCOLLECTIONDIR' is updated with the new value '/home/dkharlan/stl/prefix/collections' in config 'global.conf'
Tue May 12 12:41:08 PM EDT 2026 INFO - getCurrentCommandline - No Proton in command line arguments 'vortex install'
Tue May 12 12:41:08 PM EDT 2026 INFO - saveOrgVars - Storing some original variables to restore them later
Tue May 12 12:41:08 PM EDT 2026 INFO - emptyVars - Emptied some original variables as they slowdown several system calls when started from steam
Tue May 12 12:41:08 PM EDT 2026 INFO - emptyVars - Set $PATH to '/opt/devkitpro/tools/bin:/opt/devkitpro/tools/bin:/home/dkharlan/.cargo/bin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/sbin:/var/lib/snapd/snap/bin:/home/dkharlan/bin:/home/dkharlan/.local/bin:/usr/local/bin:/home/dkharlan/stl/prefix:'
Tue May 12 12:41:08 PM EDT 2026 START - ######### Initializing Game Launch 31337 using SteamTinkerLaunch v14.0.20250602 #########
Tue May 12 12:41:08 PM EDT 2026 INFO - main - Starting with a clean log
Tue May 12 12:41:08 PM EDT 2026 INFO - main - Start creating default configs
Tue May 12 12:41:08 PM EDT 2026 INFO - createDefaultCfgs - START
Tue May 12 12:41:08 PM EDT 2026 INFO - loadLanguage - First load the default language 'english' to make sure all variables are filled
Tue May 12 12:41:08 PM EDT 2026 INFO - loadLangFile - Language from command line is 'english'
Tue May 12 12:41:08 PM EDT 2026 INFO - loadLangFile - GLOBALSTLLANGDIR is '/home/dkharlan/stl/prefix/lang'
Tue May 12 12:41:08 PM EDT 2026 INFO - loadLangFile - Command line language 'english' is no file - trying to find its absolute path
Tue May 12 12:41:08 PM EDT 2026 INFO - loadLangFile - Loading language file from script directory '/home/dkharlan/stl/prefix/lang/english.txt'
Tue May 12 12:41:08 PM EDT 2026 INFO - loadLanguage - Loading STLLANG from '/home/dkharlan/.config/steamtinkerlaunch/global.conf'
Tue May 12 12:41:08 PM EDT 2026 INFO - loadLanguage - STLLANG from '/home/dkharlan/.config/steamtinkerlaunch/global.conf' is 'english'
Tue May 12 12:41:08 PM EDT 2026 INFO - createDefaultCfgs - setSteamPaths:
Tue May 12 12:41:08 PM EDT 2026 INFO - setSteamPaths - Reading Steam Path variables from '/dev/shm/steamtinkerlaunch/steampaths.txt'
Tue May 12 12:41:08 PM EDT 2026 INFO - getGameOS - Starting game OS detection
Tue May 12 12:41:08 PM EDT 2026 INFO - getGameOS - STEAM_COMPAT_DATA_PATH is not defined, so this is either a Linux Game or no game was started at all
Tue May 12 12:41:08 PM EDT 2026 INFO - listAllSettingsEntries - '/dev/shm/steamtinkerlaunch/setentries.txt' already exists - nothing to do
Tue May 12 12:41:08 PM EDT 2026 INFO - createDefaultCfgs - STOP
Tue May 12 12:41:08 PM EDT 2026 SKIP - listSteamLibraries - not recreating already available '/dev/shm/steamtinkerlaunch/SteamLibraries.txt'
Tue May 12 12:41:08 PM EDT 2026 INFO - setSteamLibraryPaths - STEAM_COMPAT_LIBRARY_PATHS set to '/home/dkharlan/.local/share/Steam/steamapps:/mnt/steam-library/SteamLibrary/steamapps'
Tue May 12 12:41:08 PM EDT 2026 INFO - setSteamLibraryPaths - STEAM_COMPAT_MOUNTS set to '/home/dkharlan/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/Steamworks Shared:/home/dkharlan/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/SteamLinuxRuntime_sniper:/mnt/steam-library/SteamLibrary/steamapps/common/SteamLinuxRuntime_4:/mnt/steam-library/SteamLibrary/steamapps/common/SteamLinuxRuntime_soldier'
Tue May 12 12:41:08 PM EDT 2026 INFO - setSteamLibraryPaths - STEAM_COMPAT_TOOL_PATHS set to '/home/dkharlan/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/Steamworks Shared:/home/dkharlan/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/SteamLinuxRuntime_sniper:/mnt/steam-library/SteamLibrary/steamapps/common/SteamLinuxRuntime_4:/mnt/steam-library/SteamLibrary/steamapps/common/SteamLinuxRuntime_soldier'
Tue May 12 12:41:08 PM EDT 2026 INFO - main - Checking internal dependencies:
Tue May 12 12:41:08 PM EDT 2026 INFO - setAwkBin - Found 'gawk' as an 'awk' variant. It should work without any issues, because 'gawk' was tested completely
Tue May 12 12:41:09 PM EDT 2026 INFO - checkIntDeps - Result of version check for yad binary '/usr/bin/yad' is '9.3'
Tue May 12 12:41:09 PM EDT 2026 INFO - checkIntDeps - Yad is set correctly in the Global Config, nothing to do.
Tue May 12 12:41:09 PM EDT 2026 INFO - main - Initializing first Proton:
Tue May 12 12:41:09 PM EDT 2026 INFO - initOldProtonArr - Creating an initial array with available Proton versions using the file '/dev/shm/steamtinkerlaunch/ProtonCSV.txt' which was created during a previous run
Tue May 12 12:41:09 PM EDT 2026 INFO - initFirstProton - Initializing Proton
Tue May 12 12:41:09 PM EDT 2026 INFO - initFirstProton - Initial Proton version 'FIRSTUSEPROTON' from '/home/dkharlan/.config/steamtinkerlaunch/default_template.conf' is 'proton-9.0-4f'
Tue May 12 12:41:09 PM EDT 2026 INFO - main - Initializing default window resolution
Tue May 12 12:41:09 PM EDT 2026 INFO - setInitWinXY - Using '1440x810' from config '/dev/shm/steamtinkerlaunch/defres.txt'
Tue May 12 12:41:09 PM EDT 2026 INFO - main - Welcome to SteamTinkerLaunch
Tue May 12 12:41:09 PM EDT 2026 INFO - removeEmptyFiles - Removing empty files from '/home/dkharlan/.config/steamtinkerlaunch/games/appinfo'
Tue May 12 12:41:09 PM EDT 2026 INFO - removeEmptyFiles - Removing empty files from '/home/dkharlan/.config/steamtinkerlaunch/games/header'
Tue May 12 12:41:09 PM EDT 2026 INFO - main - Checking command line: incoming arguments 'vortex install'
Tue May 12 12:41:09 PM EDT 2026 INFO - main - Checking command line: first argument 'vortex'
Tue May 12 12:41:09 PM EDT 2026 INFO - getRes - Detected screen resolution '1920x1080'
Tue May 12 12:41:09 PM EDT 2026 INFO - pollWinRes - Using GEOM '--geometry=1440x810+0+0' from '/home/dkharlan/.config/steamtinkerlaunch/guicfgs/1920x1080/31337/SteamTinkerLaunch-DownloadVortexStatus.conf'
Tue May 12 12:41:09 PM EDT 2026 INFO - StatusWindow - for 'Downloading 'Vortex''
Tue May 12 12:41:09 PM EDT 2026 INFO - updateWinRes - Starting resolution-poll for '/home/dkharlan/.config/steamtinkerlaunch/guicfgs/1920x1080/31337/SteamTinkerLaunch-DownloadVortexStatus.conf' with incoming '1440x810'
Tue May 12 12:41:09 PM EDT 2026 INFO - dlLatestVortex - VORTEXCUSTOMVER specified and is 'v1.16.9' - Will attempt to find and install this version
Tue May 12 12:41:09 PM EDT 2026 INFO - updateWinRes - Waiting for Window 'SteamTinkerLaunch-DownloadVortexStatus'
Tue May 12 12:41:09 PM EDT 2026 INFO - getVortVer - Successfully fetched Vortex - Downloaded executable will be 'vortex-setup-1.16.9.exe'
Tue May 12 12:41:09 PM EDT 2026 INFO - getRes - Detected screen resolution '1920x1080'
Tue May 12 12:41:09 PM EDT 2026 INFO - pollWinRes - Using GEOM '--geometry=1440x810+0+0' from '/home/dkharlan/.config/steamtinkerlaunch/guicfgs/1920x1080/31337/SteamTinkerLaunch-InstallVortexStatus.conf'
Tue May 12 12:41:09 PM EDT 2026 INFO - StatusWindow - for 'Installing 'Vortex''
Tue May 12 12:41:09 PM EDT 2026 INFO - updateWinRes - Starting resolution-poll for '/home/dkharlan/.config/steamtinkerlaunch/guicfgs/1920x1080/31337/SteamTinkerLaunch-InstallVortexStatus.conf' with incoming '1440x810'
Tue May 12 12:41:09 PM EDT 2026 INFO - setVortexVars - Using GE-Proton10-34 for vortex
Tue May 12 12:41:09 PM EDT 2026 INFO - updateWinRes - Waiting for Window 'SteamTinkerLaunch-InstallVortexStatus'
Tue May 12 12:41:09 PM EDT 2026 INFO - setModWine - DNPROTON is '/home/dkharlan/.local/share/Steam/compatibilitytools.d/GE-Proton10-34/proton'
Tue May 12 12:41:09 PM EDT 2026 INFO - setModWine - DNPROTON is a file -- it is '/home/dkharlan/.local/share/Steam/compatibilitytools.d/GE-Proton10-34/proton'
Tue May 12 12:41:09 PM EDT 2026 INFO - setVortexSLR - Vortex will run WITHOUT the Steam Linux Runtime
Tue May 12 12:41:09 PM EDT 2026 INFO - installVortex - Using '/home/dkharlan/.local/share/Steam/compatibilitytools.d/GE-Proton10-34/proton' for installation
Tue May 12 12:41:10 PM EDT 2026 INFO - updateWinRes - Waiting for Window 'SteamTinkerLaunch-DownloadVortexStatus'
Tue May 12 12:41:10 PM EDT 2026 INFO - updateWinRes - Waiting for Window 'SteamTinkerLaunch-InstallVortexStatus'
Tue May 12 12:41:11 PM EDT 2026 INFO - updateWinRes - Waiting for Window 'SteamTinkerLaunch-DownloadVortexStatus'
Tue May 12 12:41:11 PM EDT 2026 INFO - notiShow - Message 'Done' should go to StatusWindow
Tue May 12 12:41:11 PM EDT 2026 INFO - updateWinRes - Waiting for Window 'SteamTinkerLaunch-InstallVortexStatus'
Tue May 12 12:41:12 PM EDT 2026 SKIP - updateWinRes - Timeout waiting for Window 'SteamTinkerLaunch-DownloadVortexStatus'
Tue May 12 12:41:12 PM EDT 2026 SKIP - updateWinRes - Timeout waiting for Window 'SteamTinkerLaunch-InstallVortexStatus'
Tue May 12 12:41:14 PM EDT 2026 INFO - installVortex - Installing '/home/dkharlan/.config/steamtinkerlaunch/downloads/vortex/vortex-setup-2.0.1.exe' into '/home/dkharlan/.config/steamtinkerlaunch/vortex/compatdata/pfx'
Tue May 12 12:41:14 PM EDT 2026 INFO - notiShow - Message 'Installing 'vortex-setup-2.0.1.exe'' should go to StatusWindow
Tue May 12 12:41:14 PM EDT 2026 INFO - installVortex - 'WINEDEBUG="-all" WINEPREFIX="/home/dkharlan/.config/steamtinkerlaunch/vortex/compatdata/pfx" "/home/dkharlan/.local/share/Steam/compatibilitytools.d/GE-Proton10-34/files/bin/wine" "/home/dkharlan/.config/steamtinkerlaunch/downloads/vortex/vortex-setup-2.0.1.exe" "/S"'
Tue May 12 12:41:16 PM EDT 2026 INFO - notiShow - Message 'Finished installation of 'vortex-setup-2.0.1.exe'' should go to StatusWindow
Tue May 12 12:41:16 PM EDT 2026 INFO - installVortex - Base Vortex installation finished
Tue May 12 12:41:16 PM EDT 2026 INFO - setVortexDLMime - INFO: Linking Nexus Mods downloads to Vortex
Tue May 12 12:41:16 PM EDT 2026 INFO - setVortexDLMime - Desktopfile /home/dkharlan/.local/share/applications/vortex-steamtinkerlaunch-dl.desktop seems to be up2date
Tue May 12 12:41:16 PM EDT 2026 INFO - notiShow - Message 'Done' should go to StatusWindow

[bmartino1]

had to fight this out on nobara to get thsi working quite a bit to change udpate and fix...

SteamTinkerLaunch’s docs say manual installs need Steam plus dependencies like git, make, wget, unzip, xdotool, xprop, xrandr, xwininfo, xxd, and yad; Vortex install/start is officially steamtinkerlaunch vortex install / steamtinkerlaunch vortex start, with GE-Proton recommended for Vortex and hardlink staging needing to be on the same partition as the game.

I also used mc (midnight comander to help move and symlink other locations... as I foundthe steam tinker launch problematic...

Also used protone ge9-4

0. Nobara/Fedora dependencies

sudo dnf install -y \
  git make gawk psmisc unzip wget vim-common xdotool xprop xrandr xwininfo yad \
  wine winetricks xdg-utils desktop-file-utils kdialog mc jq curl

1. Install SteamTinkerLaunch from git

cd "$HOME/Downloads"
rm -rf steamtinkerlaunch
git clone https://github.com/sonic2kk/steamtinkerlaunch.git
cd steamtinkerlaunch
sudo make install

2. Add STL as Steam compatibility tool

steamtinkerlaunch compat add
echo "NOW FULLY EXIT AND RESTART STEAM."

Install GE-Proton9-4 in Steam first, or via ProtonUp-Qt. Then continue:

3. Create/start Vortex prefix

pkill -f Vortex.exe 2>/dev/null || true
wineserver -k 2>/dev/null || true
rm -rf /dev/shm/steamtinkerlaunch

/usr/bin/steamtinkerlaunch vortex install
/usr/bin/steamtinkerlaunch vortex start

4. Apply Wine/Vortex runtime fixes

export STL_VPFX="$HOME/.config/steamtinkerlaunch/vortex/compatdata/pfx"
export WINEPREFIX="$STL_VPFX"
export WINEARCH=win64

pkill -f Vortex.exe 2>/dev/null || true
wineserver -k 2>/dev/null || true

winetricks -q settings win10
winetricks -q corefonts vcrun2022 d3dcompiler_47 dxvk dotnet48

#by default steamtinker lauch sets winecfg to widnwos 7 vortex 1.8 and above no longer support windows 7 set it to windows 10!

Install the Windows Desktop Runtime 9 x64 before reinstalling/running newer Vortex:

mkdir -p "$HOME/Downloads/vortex-runtime"
cd "$HOME/Downloads/vortex-runtime"

curl -L -o windowsdesktop-runtime-9.0.4-win-x64.exe \
"https://builds.dotnet.microsoft.com/dotnet/WindowsDesktop/9.0.4/windowsdesktop-runtime-9.0.4-win-x64.exe"

wine windowsdesktop-runtime-9.0.4-win-x64.exe

#as we need to isntall teh actual windows netframework 9 to make vortex electron function!

#Manual install the vortex 2.0 exe after netframeework 9 runs. ....

5. Fix Program Files / Black Tree layout

export STL_VPFX="$HOME/.config/steamtinkerlaunch/vortex/compatdata/pfx"
PF="$STL_VPFX/drive_c/Program Files"

mkdir -p "$PF/Black Tree Gaming Ltd"

if [ -d "$PF/Vortex" ] && [ ! -e "$PF/Black Tree Gaming Ltd/Vortex" ]; then
  ln -s "$PF/Vortex" "$PF/Black Tree Gaming Ltd/Vortex"
fi

#new vortex installer path chagned older isntalls were a folder deeper... sym link it..
#symlink steam user and nobaru user my document downlads etc for steam access!!!

ls -lah "$PF"
ls -lah "$PF/Black Tree Gaming Ltd"
# 6. Link Linux Steam library into fake Windows Steam
export STL_VPFX="$HOME/.config/steamtinkerlaunch/vortex/compatdata/pfx"
export LINUX_STEAM="$HOME/.local/share/Steam"
export WINE_STEAM="$STL_VPFX/drive_c/Program Files (x86)/Steam"

pkill -f Vortex.exe 2>/dev/null || true
wineserver -k 2>/dev/null || true

mkdir -p "$WINE_STEAM/config"
mkdir -p "$WINE_STEAM/steamapps/common"

rm -f "$WINE_STEAM/config/libraryfolders.vdf"
ln -s "$LINUX_STEAM/config/libraryfolders.vdf" "$WINE_STEAM/config/libraryfolders.vdf"

ln -sf "$LINUX_STEAM/steamapps/appmanifest_489830.acf" "$WINE_STEAM/steamapps/appmanifest_489830.acf"
#ln -sf "$LINUX_STEAM/steamapps/appmanifest_413150.acf" "$WINE_STEAM/steamapps/appmanifest_413150.acf"
#ln -sf "$LINUX_STEAM/steamapps/appmanifest_1086940.acf" "$WINE_STEAM/steamapps/appmanifest_1086940.acf"

ln -sfn "$LINUX_STEAM/steamapps/common/Skyrim Special Edition" "$WINE_STEAM/steamapps/common/Skyrim Special Edition"
#ln -sfn "$LINUX_STEAM/steamapps/common/Stardew Valley" "$WINE_STEAM/steamapps/common/Stardew Valley"
#ln -sfn "$LINUX_STEAM/steamapps/common/Baldurs Gate 3" "$WINE_STEAM/steamapps/common/Baldurs Gate 3"

mkdir -p "$LINUX_STEAM/steamapps/common/Skyrim Special Edition/.vortex-staging/skyrimse/mods"
mkdir -p "$STL_VPFX/drive_c/VortexMods/Downloads/skyrimse"

/usr/bin/steamtinkerlaunch vortex symlinks

Example My target was Skyrim SE

#finaly...

7. Create the known-good direct Vortex launcher

mkdir -p "$HOME/.local/bin" "$HOME/.local/share/applications"

cat > "$HOME/.local/bin/stl-vortex-direct" <<'EOF'
#!/usr/bin/env bash
export WINEPREFIX="$HOME/.config/steamtinkerlaunch/vortex/compatdata/pfx"
export WINEARCH=win64

unset NODE_OPTIONS
unset ELECTRON_RUN_AS_NODE
unset ELECTRON_ENABLE_LOGGING
unset ELECTRON_NO_ATTACH_CONSOLE

VORTEX_DIR="$WINEPREFIX/drive_c/Program Files/Vortex"
cd "$VORTEX_DIR" || exit 1

exec wine ./Vortex.exe \
  --disable-gpu \
  --in-process-gpu \
  --disable-features=RendererCodeIntegrity \
  >> "$HOME/stl-vortex-direct.log" 2>&1
EOF

chmod +x "$HOME/.local/bin/stl-vortex-direct"

cat > "$HOME/.local/share/applications/stl-vortex-direct.desktop" <<EOF
[Desktop Entry]
Name=Vortex - STL Prefix
Comment=Launch Vortex from SteamTinkerLaunch prefix
Exec=$HOME/.local/bin/stl-vortex-direct
Path=$HOME/.config/steamtinkerlaunch/vortex/compatdata/pfx/drive_c/Program Files/Vortex
Type=Application
Terminal=false
StartupNotify=false
Icon=applications-games
Categories=Game;Utility;
EOF

chmod +x "$HOME/.local/share/applications/stl-vortex-direct.desktop"
update-desktop-database "$HOME/.local/share/applications"
kbuildsycoca6 --noincremental 2>/dev/null || true

8. Create Vortex NXM handler

cat > "$HOME/.local/bin/stl-vortex-nxm" <<'EOF'
#!/usr/bin/env bash
export WINEPREFIX="$HOME/.config/steamtinkerlaunch/vortex/compatdata/pfx"
export WINEARCH=win64

unset NODE_OPTIONS
unset ELECTRON_RUN_AS_NODE
unset ELECTRON_ENABLE_LOGGING
unset ELECTRON_NO_ATTACH_CONSOLE

VORTEX_DIR="$WINEPREFIX/drive_c/Program Files/Vortex"
cd "$VORTEX_DIR" || exit 1

URI="$1"

exec wine ./Vortex.exe \
  --disable-gpu \
  --in-process-gpu \
  --disable-features=RendererCodeIntegrity \
  -d "$URI" >> "$HOME/stl-vortex-nxm.log" 2>&1
EOF

chmod +x "$HOME/.local/bin/stl-vortex-nxm"

cat > "$HOME/.local/share/applications/stl-vortex-nxm.desktop" <<EOF
[Desktop Entry]
Name=Vortex NXM - STL Prefix
Comment=Open Nexus Mods links with Vortex STL prefix
Exec=$HOME/.local/bin/stl-vortex-nxm %u
Type=Application
Terminal=false
NoDisplay=true
StartupNotify=false
MimeType=x-scheme-handler/nxm;
EOF

chmod +x "$HOME/.local/share/applications/stl-vortex-nxm.desktop"

xdg-mime default stl-vortex-nxm.desktop x-scheme-handler/nxm
update-desktop-database "$HOME/.local/share/applications"
kbuildsycoca6 --noincremental 2>/dev/null || true

9. Optional: create desktop switcher between Vortex and Nexus Mods App

cat > "$HOME/.local/bin/nxm-handler-switch" <<'EOF'
#!/usr/bin/env bash

CHOICE="$(kdialog --title 'NXM Handler Switch' --radiolist \
'Choose default Nexus Mods link handler:' \
vortex 'Vortex Wine / STL Prefix' on \
nexus  'Nexus Mods App' off)"

case "$CHOICE" in
  vortex)
    xdg-mime default stl-vortex-nxm.desktop x-scheme-handler/nxm
    kdialog --title 'NXM Handler' --msgbox 'NXM links now open with Vortex Wine / STL Prefix.'
    ;;
  nexus)
    NEXUS_DESKTOP="$(grep -ril 'x-scheme-handler/nxm' "$HOME/.local/share/applications" /usr/share/applications 2>/dev/null | grep -Ei 'nexus|app' | head -1 | xargs -r basename)"
    if [ -z "$NEXUS_DESKTOP" ]; then
      kdialog --title 'NXM Handler' --error 'Could not auto-find Nexus Mods App desktop file.'
      exit 1
    fi
    xdg-mime default "$NEXUS_DESKTOP" x-scheme-handler/nxm
    kdialog --title 'NXM Handler' --msgbox "NXM links now open with: $NEXUS_DESKTOP"
    ;;
  *)
    exit 0
    ;;
esac

update-desktop-database "$HOME/.local/share/applications" >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
kbuildsycoca6 --noincremental >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
xdg-mime query default x-scheme-handler/nxm
EOF

chmod +x "$HOME/.local/bin/nxm-handler-switch"

cat > "$HOME/.local/share/applications/nxm-handler-switch.desktop" <<EOF
[Desktop Entry]
Name=Switch NXM Handler
Comment=Choose whether Nexus Mods links open in Vortex or Nexus Mods App
Exec=$HOME/.local/bin/nxm-handler-switch
Type=Application
Terminal=false
StartupNotify=false
Icon=preferences-desktop-default-applications
Categories=Game;Utility;
EOF

chmod +x "$HOME/.local/share/applications/nxm-handler-switch.desktop"
update-desktop-database "$HOME/.local/share/applications"
kbuildsycoca6 --noincremental 2>/dev/null || true

#While the nexus mod app works, it only mods cyber punk and stardewvalley.

Final tests:

gtk-launch stl-vortex-direct
xdg-mime query default x-scheme-handler/nxm

truncate -s 0 "$HOME/stl-vortex-nxm.log"
xdg-open 'nxm://skyrimspecialedition/mods/10836/files'
sleep 3
tail -80 "$HOME/stl-vortex-nxm.log"

Inside Vortex for Skyrim SE:

Game type: Other / manually managed if Steam detection is flaky
Game folder: G: or S: mapped Steam games folder
Staging folder: Skyrim Special Edition/.vortex-staging/skyrimse/mods
Deployment method: Hardlink Deployment
Downloads: C:\VortexMods\Downloads\skyrimse

Critical rule: staging must be on the same real Linux filesystem/partition as the Skyrim game folder, or hardlink deployment will fail.

As its a fight with the steam tinker launch to fix! and a problem with wine prefixs