PLWL/README.md

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# PLWL — Portable Linux Wine Launcher
A portable launcher for Windows games and applications on Linux.
## Portable layout
Everything the launcher needs lives next to the executable:
```
./files/
wines/ imported Wine / Proton builds
wineprefixes/ wine prefixes
apps/ imported app folders (optional)
data/ launcher config (apps.json, settings.json)
translations/ translation files
```
## Running
```bash
npm install
npm start
```
## Building & installing
`./build.sh` produces `build/PLWL-<version>.tar.gz`: the Electron runtime renamed to `olcxja.plwl/` (binary `olcxja.plwl/olcxja.plwl`) with the whole app (code, renderer and bundled `files/`) packed into `olcxja.plwl/resources/app.asar`, plus the `olcxja.plwl.png` icon, `install.sh` and `createshortcut.sh`:
```bash
tar -xzf PLWL-<version>.tar.gz
cd PLWL
./install.sh # copies everything to ~/.local/bin/olcxja.plwl/,
# installs the icon (olcxja.plwl.png) + shortcut
# removes the extraction folder, launches
./createshortcut.sh # portable mode: only installs the icon + shortcut
# or run without any shortcuts:
./olcxja.plwl/olcxja.plwl
```
## Importing from a wine prefix
Besides copy/move/leave, an app can be imported **from a wine prefix**: pick the prefix, then the app folder inside its `drive_c`. Nothing is copied — paths are stored relative to the prefix, so wine sees the app as if it were normally installed on `C:\` (registry entries pointing to `C:\...` keep working). Both layouts work: plain wine prefixes (`drive_c` at the top) and Proton-managed ones (`drive_c` under `pfx/`). The app stays tied to that prefix; removing the launcher entry never deletes files from the prefix.
## "Open with PLWL" in the file manager
The desktop entry (`MimeType` + `Exec %f`) makes PLWL show up in Dolphin/Nautilus under **Open With** for Windows executables (`.exe`, `.msi`, `.bat`, `.cmd`, `.lnk`). Opening a file that way shows a small popup in the launcher where you pick the **Wine/Proton version** and the **prefix** for this run — both default to the launcher's defaults, nothing is imported into the library. A second launcher instance hands the path to the running one and exits (same single-instance mechanism the shortcuts use).
## Wine & Proton support
- **System Wine** — uses the `wine` binary from PATH.
- **Imported builds** — drop any wine or Proton build into `files/wines/`. The folder may contain the build directly, or one level of nesting (zip-extracted layouts are detected automatically).
- **Proton without Steam** — fully supported. Proton is invoked like Steam does it: `STEAM_COMPAT_CLIENT_INSTALL_PATH` points to a fake steam client folder, `STEAM_COMPAT_DATA_PATH` is a per-build compat folder, and the prefix lives at `<compat>/pfx` which PLWL links to its own prefix folder. No Steam installation required (GE builds work out of the box; for a few Valve builds that refuse to run without a client, PLWL fakes a minimal steam folder in `files/data/fake-steam`).
## Translations
All UI text comes from JSON files in `files/translations/`. The `data` object carries the language names; `texts` maps keys to strings, with `{0}`, `{1}` ... placeholders filled at runtime.