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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsReport a reproducible Proton compatibility failure in the ValveSoftware/Proton issue tracker, not as a general Steam support request. First search for an existing report, then include the game’s Steam AppID, exact Proton version, Linux and hardware details, precise reproduction steps, and a privacy-checked log made with PROTON_LOG=1 %command%. A focused report gives developers evidence they can compare with other systems and test.
Decide whether Proton’s issue tracker is the right destination
Proton is Valve’s compatibility tool for running Windows-only games through the Steam client on Linux. Valve’s Proton documentation describes it this way: “Proton is a tool for use with the Steam client which allows games which are exclusive to Windows to run on the Linux operating system. It uses Wine to facilitate this.” A game that fails, crashes, hangs, renders incorrectly, loses audio, or becomes unusable specifically when launched through Proton is therefore an appropriate subject for the ValveSoftware/Proton tracker.
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Keep account, billing, purchase, refund, or general Steam-client problems in the relevant Steam support channel instead. The Proton tracker is for a compatibility symptom that can be associated with a particular game and Proton environment. If you are unsure, describe the boundary clearly: for example, “The game launches normally in another environment, but freezes after the second loading screen when run with Proton Experimental on Linux.”
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Search for an existing report before opening an issue
Duplicate reports divide useful logs and make it harder to see whether a fix works. Search the tracker with both the game’s exact title and its numeric Steam AppID. A title search alone can miss reports that use an abbreviated name, a subtitle, or only the AppID.
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- Find the game’s Steam AppID and write it down before searching.
- Search for the title, then repeat the search using the AppID.
- Open close matches and compare the actual symptom, selected Proton build, graphics hardware, driver, kernel, and timing of the failure.
- Read comments and updates, not just the issue title. An old report may already contain a workaround or may describe a different failure that happens at the same menu.
- If an existing issue matches your symptom and environment closely, add your evidence there rather than opening a near-duplicate. State what is different about your system and whether you can reproduce the same behavior.
Do not treat a report as a duplicate merely because the game name is the same. A launch failure, missing video playback, controller problem, and late-game crash can require different fixes. Compare the point of failure and the conditions that trigger it.
Collect a complete system record
Capture your setup before changing Proton versions or applying workarounds. The selected Proton build is part of the bug description: Proton Hotfix, Proton Experimental, and a numbered stable release are not interchangeable labels. If the problem began after an update, record which component changed if you know it.
| Information | What to record | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Game identity | Exact game title and Steam AppID | Lets developers associate the report with the correct compatibility profile and distinguish similarly named releases. |
| Distribution | Linux distribution and version | Packages, libraries, defaults, and update timing differ between distributions and releases. |
| Kernel | Kernel version | Kernel changes can affect graphics, input, filesystems, and process behavior. |
| Desktop and session | Desktop environment and session type when relevant, such as a display-server choice | Some failures occur only in a particular graphical session or compositor. |
| GPU | Graphics processor model | Rendering and shader failures can be vendor- or model-specific. |
| Graphics driver | Driver name and version | The same GPU can behave differently across driver releases. |
| Proton | Exact version selected in the game’s Steam compatibility settings | Testing a game with Proton Experimental is a different report from testing Proton Hotfix or a numbered release. |
| System information | A link to Steam’s system information report, when available and appropriate | It can provide additional hardware and software context without making the issue body an unreadable dump. |
| Timeline | When the issue started and any recent game, Proton, driver, or system update | A regression window helps narrow which change may have introduced the behavior. |
Do not guess at values. If you cannot establish a field, omit it or label it as unknown rather than supplying a plausible-looking version. A short, accurate report is more useful than a long report containing assumptions.
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Write a symptom that identifies the failure point
Start with an observable result rather than a theory about its cause. “The game freezes on the second loading screen” is actionable. “Wine is broken” is not. Include the screen, scene, menu, level, cutscene, or action where the behavior appears, and say whether the game exits, hangs, turns black, loses sound, displays corrupted graphics, or continues while ignoring input.
Give numbered reproduction steps
Begin from a known state and stop at the failure. Another person should be able to follow the sequence without guessing what you clicked or which save you used.
- Launch the game from the Steam library with the stated Proton version.
- Complete any first-run setup, sign-in, or configuration that is required.
- Choose the menu, mode, save, or scene that leads to the problem.
- Perform the exact action that triggers the failure and describe the resulting screen, sound, process state, or error.
Add whether it happens every time, only after a particular sequence, or intermittently. If it is intermittent, give an approximate frequency and explain how long you usually wait before deciding that the game is stuck. Record what you expected to happen and what actually happened; those are separate facts.
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Separate observations from hypotheses
You may suspect a driver regression, an audio middleware problem, a shader cache, or a missing redistributable. Label that as a hypothesis unless you have a reproducible comparison that supports it. For example, write “The failure disappears with Proton 9.0-4, so the selected Proton version may be relevant,” rather than asserting that a specific component is definitely responsible.
Record useful comparisons and workarounds
If another Proton version changes the symptom, state both versions and the exact result. Distinguish “does not launch,” “launches but has no audio,” and “reaches the menu but crashes later.” Mention launch options, compatibility settings, or workarounds you tried, including whether each one helped, had no effect, or introduced a new problem. Do not turn the issue into a list of unrelated experiments; keep the main report centered on one reproducible compatibility failure.
Enable and collect a Proton game log
Set the launch option
In Steam, open the game’s properties, find the launch-options field, and enter this exactly:
PROTON_LOG=1 %command%The %command% token must remain in the line so Steam starts the game normally while enabling Proton’s log output. This setting is applied to that game’s launch, so remove it later if you no longer want a log on every run.
Reproduce the problem once
Launch the game with the same Proton version and settings described in your report. Follow your numbered steps and wait for the failure. If the problem is intermittent, repeat enough times to establish whether it is genuinely intermittent, but avoid generating a confusing pile of logs from unrelated versions. Note the approximate time of the run and which attempt produced the attached log.
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Find the game-specific file
Valve’s Proton README documents the convenience variable as writing a log to $PROTON_LOG_DIR/steam-$APPID.log. When no alternate directory is configured, the output directory is your home directory. The filename contains the game’s AppID, so verify that it belongs to the game you tested before attaching it. Attach the file rather than pasting a huge, unformatted log into the issue body.
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Check privacy before sharing
Open the log in a text editor and inspect it before making it public. Look for your account name, home-directory paths, hostnames, tokens, mounted locations, or other personal information. Remove or redact anything you do not want to disclose while preserving the surrounding error and context. If redaction would make the relevant lines impossible to interpret, explain what was removed instead of publishing private data.
Use log messages as clues, not verdicts
The Proton bug checklist suggests looking for lines beginning with fixme:, err:, warn:, and error:. These prefixes can help you find material to mention, including startup failures, missing cinematics, or XAudio2-related audio messages. They do not prove that the first matching line caused the bug. Quote a short relevant excerpt, identify where it appears in the reproduction sequence, and attach the complete privacy-checked log so developers can examine the surrounding context.
Prepare the issue title and body
Use an identifying title
A useful title includes the game name, Steam AppID, and the main symptom. For example: “Example Game (AppID 123456) freezes on second loading screen with Proton Experimental.” Replace the example values with the exact title, ID, and failure you observed. Avoid titles such as “Please fix” or “Game broken,” which provide no searchable diagnostic information.
Put the essentials near the top
Readers should be able to identify the game, Proton version, hardware, and failure without opening an attachment. Follow that summary with reproduction steps, comparisons, and the log attachment. Keep one issue focused on one compatibility symptom; open a separate report for an unrelated failure only after checking that it is not already covered elsewhere.
Copyable report outline
Game name:
Steam AppID:
Linux distribution/version:
Kernel version:
Desktop/session (if relevant):
GPU:
Graphics driver/version:
Proton version:
System information link:
What happened:
What I expected:
How to reproduce:
1.
2.
3.
How often it happens:
When it started / recent changes:
Workaround or Proton-version comparison:
Proton log attached: yes/no
I checked for an existing report and relevant system updates: yes/noDelete fields that do not apply. Do not fill an unknown field with a guess. Include a system-information link only when one is available and you are comfortable sharing it.
Submit the report without losing useful context
- Open the ValveSoftware/Proton issue tracker after confirming that no existing issue covers the same symptom and conditions.
- Paste the identifying title and structured report body.
- Attach the privacy-checked
steam-<AppID>.loggenerated by the run you described. - Check that the Proton version in the text matches the version used to create the log.
- Read the final post as a stranger: can they identify the game, reproduce the failure, and distinguish your observations from your theories?
Filing a report does not promise a response time or a fix. Keep the issue useful by answering follow-up questions with new observations, updated logs, or a clear result from a requested test. If a later Proton, game, driver, or distribution update changes the behavior, report the exact version and whether the original reproduction still works.
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Keep Proton’s tracker separate from ProtonDB
ProtonDB is a community compatibility-report site, not Valve’s official Proton issue tracker. Valve’s Proton wiki points readers to per-game community pages using the form https://www.protondb.com/app/<appid>. Those reports can provide context about other users’ experiences and possible workarounds, but they do not replace a focused issue in ValveSoftware/Proton when you have a reproducible defect and diagnostic log.
You can consult community reports for comparison, then state clearly in your issue which results you personally reproduced. Do not present another user’s configuration or workaround as evidence from your own system.
Common reporting mistakes and how to correct them
Opening a duplicate
Problem: The issue repeats an existing report with the same game, failure point, and Proton build.
Correction: Add your distribution, kernel, GPU, driver, Proton version, reproduction details, and log to the existing issue. Explain any meaningful difference from earlier comments.
Leaving out the AppID or exact Proton build
Problem: The title is ambiguous or says only “latest Proton.”
Correction: Supply the numeric AppID and the exact label shown in Steam, including whether it is a stable numbered release, Hotfix, or Experimental build.
Describing a theory instead of a symptom
Problem: The report declares a cause without showing what happened.
Correction: State the visible or audible failure first, then label suspected causes as hypotheses and provide comparisons that support them.
Attaching a log from the wrong run
Problem: The log was generated before changing Proton, or it belongs to another game.
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Correction: Reproduce the issue with the stated settings, confirm the AppID in the filename, and align the attachment with the run described in the report.
Pasting private information
Problem: The unedited log exposes usernames, paths, hostnames, or tokens.
Correction: Inspect and redact sensitive values before attaching. Preserve enough surrounding context for the technical lines to remain meaningful.
Combining unrelated failures
Problem: A single issue mixes a launch crash, controller failure, and a separate audio defect.
Correction: Keep the report centered on one reproducible symptom. Search for separate existing reports before filing another focused issue.
A final pre-submission checklist
- The game title and Steam AppID are correct.
- You searched by both title and AppID and checked close matches.
- The Linux distribution, version, kernel, GPU, driver, and exact Proton build are recorded.
- The symptom says exactly where and how the failure occurs.
- Numbered steps begin from a known state and another person could follow them.
- Expected and actual results are separate.
- Frequency, recent changes, and meaningful Proton-version comparisons are included.
PROTON_LOG=1 %command%was used for the affected game.- The attached
steam-<AppID>.logcame from the described reproduction. - The log and any system report were checked for information you do not want to publish.
- Observed facts are separated from hypotheses.
- The issue is focused on one compatibility symptom.
A report that passes this checklist gives the Proton team a precise target: the same game, a known environment, a repeatable failure, and the diagnostic evidence needed to investigate it.
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