Sommelier is an installer program that downloads and installs packages/programs that run under an emulator. As the name implies, the main target emulator is wine, (mostly 32-bit wine) though sommelier can also install some dosbox applications, a few linux native applications since version 4.7, and since version 4.0 some doom wads, scummvm games and numerous gog.com games. Sommelier downloads an application and any dependancies (MFC, VB6) that it may have. Downloads are checked against an expected sha256 sum. Each application is installed in it's own directory-structure (AKA 'wine-bottle') under ~/.sommelier, unless '-S' or '-system' options are used. Sommelier creates a .desktop file for each application in ~/.local/share/applications. If needed, registry entries are changed within the wine-bottle (e.g. some applications may need to be run in virtual-desktop mode, or may need to disallow window managing by the system window-manager. The wine-bottle approach allows registry changes to be made independantly for each application). The .desktop file is used to run the application by the 'sommelier run' command.
When installing native linux applications, sommelier tries to detect whether the system is a 32bit linux, or a 64bit one. It does this by checking which platform it was compiled for. This means you can run sommelier on a 32bit linux running on a 64bit processor, or even on a system that has a 64bit kernel but 32bit applications, and so long as sommelier has been compiled 32bit, it will install 32bit versions of apps. If sommelier is compiled for 64bit, it will install linux apps for 64bit rather than 32bit.
Sommelier can install many gog.com games, that either run under wine, native linux, dosbox, scummvm, or a neogeo emulator. If a game is in the list it means I've had it install and run successfully. For some reason I find fewer native games work for me than emulated games under wine. Unfortuantely you currently have to download all the files for a gog game with your browser and then install them with './sommelier install -url '.
Many wine apps from gog are 32-bit applications, so you'll need to 'apt get wine32' to run those on most 64-bit distros.
As of version 5.0 sommelier has been seen to install apps that are automatically imported in the XFCE, MATE and Moksha desktop environments, with the apps appearing in the system menu (unfortuantely most apps currently lack an icon to go with the entry).
The '-S' and '-system' command-line options are intended for use with native linux apps, and these are installed system-wide in a subdirectory of '/opt' rather than under '.sommelier' in the user's home directory. This will require sommelier to have write access to '/opt', which normally means running it as root. Applications run in this fashion aren't expected to be run by sommelier using 'sommelier run ' but instead to be added to the users PATH and run as normal native apps.
Sommelier is released under the GPLv3 license.
Sommelier is written by Colum Paget. All patches/bugreports/requests should be sent to colums.projects@gmail.com, or handled through the project's github page.
The install consists of the main executable and a number of '.apps' files (wine.apps, msdos.apps, scummvm.apps, gog.com.apps) that configure installable applications.
The usual install process is:
./configure --enable-ssl
make
make install
This will place the sommelier executable in $(HOME)/bin and the '.apps' configuration files in $(HOME)/.sommelier. If $(HOME)/bin is not in your path then you may with to move the executable to somewhere that is. Note '--enable-ssl' is generally required so that sommelier can download https:// links
For a 'global' install that applies to all users do:
./configure --prefix=<prefix> --enable-ssl
make
make install_global
This will place the sommelier executable in <prefix>/bin and combine the '.apps' config files into <prefix>/etc/sommelier. This install method will also honor the $DESTDIR environment variable that is by package used creators to install under a specified 'root' directory so that everything under that directroy can be combined into a distributable package.
If you want to install the executable at one prefix, and the configuration at another, say putting the executable in /usr/local/bin but the config files in /etc/sommelier then you can do:
./configure --prefix=/ --exec-prefix=/usr/local --enable-ssl
make
make install_global
Normally you will just want to do:
sommelier list
to see a list of applications, and then:
sommelier install <application>
to install one. Then the program can be run with:
sommelier run <application>
if sommelier installed a version of the application for the wrong platform use:
sommelier install <application> -platform <platform>
for gog games, or any installer that's at a specific path/url you can use:
sommelier install <application> -url <url>
gog game installers will expect to find any files they need (e.g. '.bin' files) in the same directory as themselves
various settings for an installed application can be changed using:
sommelier set <setting> <application>
if something is changed in the '.app' file that defines an application, then an installed application can be reconfigured to use the latest setup using:
sommelier reconfigure <application>
finally an application can be uninstalled with
sommelier uninstall <application>
sommelier platforms print list of supported platforms
sommelier list [options] print list of apps available for install
sommelier install <name> [<name>] [options] install an application by name
sommelier uninstall <name> [<name>] uninstall an application by name
sommelier reconfig <name> [<name>] reconfigure an installed application (seek for executables, re-write desktop file)
sommelier reconfigure <name> [<name>] reconfigure an application by name
sommelier download <name> [<name>] download installers/packages to the current directory
sommelier run <name> [<options>] run an application by name
sommelier winecfg <name> [<options>] run winecfg for named wine application
sommelier set <setting string> <name> [<name>] change settings of installed applications listed by name
sommelier autostart load programs out of ~/.config/autostart
options are:
-d print debugging (there will be a lot!)
-debug print debugging (there will be a lot!)
-c <config file> specify a config (list of apps) file, rather than using the default
-url supply an alternative url for an install (this can be an http, https, or ssh url, or just a file path. File paths must be absolute, not relative)
-n <name> Name that program will be installed under and called/run under
-install-name <name> Name that program will be installed under and called/run under
-install-as <name> Name that program will be installed under and called/run under
-f force install even if expected sha256 doesn't match the download
-force force install even if expected sha256 doesn't match the download
-proxy <url> use a proxy for downloading installs
-platform <platform> platform to use when installing or displaying lists of apps
-category <category> category to use when displaying lists of apps
-installed display only installed app when displaying lists of apps
-k keep installer or .zip file instead of deleting it after install
-S install app system-wide under /opt, to be run as a normal native app
-system install app system-wide under /opt, to be run as a normal native app
-icache <dir> installer cache: download installer to directory'dir' and leave it there
-emu <emulator> specify a specific emulator to use when installing an app
-emulator <emulator> specify a specific emulator to use when installing an app
-hash hash downloads even if they have no expected hash value
-no-xrandr don't use xrandr to reset screen resolution after running and application
-user-agent <agent string> set user-agent to send when communicating over http
-ua <agent string> set user-agent to send when communicating over http
The 'set' command can change various settings of an installed application on a setting-by-setting bases (see 'SETTINGS' below). Settings are also used in the config files for installing apps. The 'reconfigure' command sets all the settings from the configuration file, and rebuilds the .desktop file that specifies how to run an application, allowing the whole setup of the installed application to be changed.
The 'run' command can take arguments that are passed to the program. For instance, to run Telegram desktop in 'start in systray' mode use:
sommelier run Telegram -startintray
Some emulators also have 'extra' arguments that can be used with the 'run' command. sommelier platforms should show those.
Platforms are defined in the platforms.conf file that's installed into the .sommelier directory. A platform is a configuration that defines a type of program and the runtime/emulator needed to run it. Each of these platforms can have multiple emulators added with the 'emu' variable.
The following platforms are defined by the default platforms.conf file. A platform value not only relates to the emulator that an app will be run under but also to some configuration that might be set for an emulator and also to how a program should be unpacked and installed. Platforms are defined in the platforms.conf file that is installed into the .sommelier config directory along with the '.apps' config files.
dos : msdos apps that run under dosbox msdos : msdos apps that run under dosbox win : windows apps that run under wine (equivalent to win32) windows : windows apps that run under wine (equivalent to win32) wine : windows apps that run under wine (equivalent to win32) win16 : 16-bit windows apps that run under wine win32 : 32-bit windows apps that run under wine win64 : 64-bit windows apps that run under wine linux32 : 32-bit native linux application linux64 : 64-bit native linux application doom : doom wad that can be run under a doom source port spectrum : spectrum app that can be run under the fuse emulator zx48 : spectrum app that can be run under the fuse emulator scummvm : adventure game that can run under the scummvm emulator gog:win : windows app from gog.com that runs under wine gog:windows : windows app from gog.com that runs under wine gog:lin : linux app from gog.com that runs natively gog:linux : linux app from gog.com that runs natively gog:lindos : msdos app from gog.com that's packaged for linux gog:windos : msdos app from gog.com that's packaged for windows gog:scummvm : scummvm adventure game from gog.com that's packaged for linux gog:neogeo : neogeno game from gog.com that's packaged for linux, run using mame, xmame or gngeo emulators megadrive : sega megadrive games run under the dgen or mednafen emulators segamaster : sega master system run under the mednafen emulator gba : game boy advanced games run under mgba or mednafen emulators nes : nintendo entertainment system games run under the dnes or mednafen emulators 3ds : 3ds games run under the citra emulator vectrex : vectrex games run using the 'vecx' emulator ps1 : playstation 1 games that run under the mednafen emulator turbografx : turbografx/pc-engine games that run under the mednafen emulator wonderswan : wonderswan games that run under the mednafen emulator atarilynx : atari lynx games that run under the mednafen emulator atarist : atari ST games that run under the hatari emulator mame: : apps that run under the mame emulator mono : apps that run under the mono C# runtime java : apps that run under the java runtime
The -proxy command accepts proxy urls of the form:
<protocol>:<user>:<password>@<host>:<protocol>.
'protocol' can be 'socks4', 'socks5' 'https' or 'sshtunnel'. For 'sshtunnel' the names defined in the ~/.ssh/config file can be used, so that most of the information can be ommited.
examples:
https:bill:secret@proxy.com
socks4:proxy.com:1080
socks5:bill:secret@proxy.com:1080
sshtunnel:bill:secret@ssh_host.com
sshtunnel:sshproxy
There are a number of settings that can be lastingly configured with the 'set' command or using the -set option when installing an application. Currently these settings only relate to programs run under wine, or doom wads run under chocolate-doom or crispy-doom.
vdesk=y/n/<geometry> run program within a window/virtual desktop
fullscreen=y/n run program at fullscreen, or else within a virtual desktop
winmanage=y/n Wine only: allow window manager to decorate and manage windows of this program
smoothfonts=y/n Wine only: use font anti-aliasing
os-version=<version> Wine only: set OS version to one of those supported by wine
sound=y/n/sfx DOOM only: sound on/off, or only effects (no music)
mouse=y/n DOOM only: use mouse in-game, or not
grab=y/n DOOM only: grab mouse, or not
For both DOOM and Wine you can set the size of the window using the vdesk setting, in the style vdesk=600x300.
Application config files for each platform are stored in .sommelier and named <platform>.apps. Each app is configured with a line that looks like:
Basilisk platform=windows url=http://eu.basilisk-browser.org/release/basilisk-latest.win32.installer.exe exec='basilisk.exe' type='webrowser' sha256='05240bb65daf43fdda01cc45b483a4a9326cd3f8e4f2123e8ec7d0b7ec958341'
These config lines can contain the following values:
platform platform that this app runs on. Required.
category program category for desktop files.
url download url if one exists.
sha256 sha256 sum/hash of the installer or package file.
installer if the downloaded package contains an installer or setup program, then sets its name.
requires if another package must be installed for this to run, then this is the name of that package.
referer if a website only allows downloads referred from a specific webpage. e.g. referer='http://www.singlecellsoftware.com/caustic'
exec the executable file (or emulator rom file) that should be run. If not supplied sommelier will try to auto-find one. Optional, but recommended.
exec64 the executable file (or emulator rom file) that should be run for 64bit systems. If not supplied sommelier will try to auto-find one. Optional, but recommended.
exec-args Command-line arguments to be supplied to app. e.g. Darkstone platform=gog:windows exec=Darkstone.exe exec-args="-nointro" warn="Intro video disabled as it blocks the game"
exec-dir Directory that contains the executable. If set in the config file it is used to distinguish between multiple executables with the same name. Otherwise it is automatically set when the executable is found.
no-exec-arg A boolean flag that indicates the path to the executable is not to be passed to the emulator. This is mostly used for dosbox emulation where a list of commands is passed instead. In that case, the 'exec' option is still used to find the directory that contains all the program files, but the program is run using dosboxe's '-c' option, and so does not need to be suplied on the command-line.
emulator-args Command-line arguments to be supplied to the emulator or vm that runs this app. e.g. Tyrian2000 platform=gog:windos exec="tyrian.exe" emulator-args="-conf dosboxT2K.conf"
installer-args Args to pass to the installer program.
working-dir Directory to run the program in if it needs to be run in a directory other than the one it was installed in. e.g. working-dir="$(install-dir)/data/noarch/game"
dlc this package is DownLoadable Content for another package. e.g. 'ColorOfMadness platform=gog:linux dlc parent=DarkestDungeon'
parent for DLC this is the parent app. e.g. 'ColorOfMadness platform=gog:linux dlc parent=DarkestDungeon'
os-version WINE only. Set the version of windows to emulate for this app.
winmanager WINE only. Allow system window manager to manage this app. 'y' or 'n'. Default 'y'.
vdesk WINE and DOOM, run within a virtual desktop, 'y', 'n' or '<geometry>'. Default 'n'.
installer-vdesk run the installer within a virtual desktop, 'y', 'n'. Default 'n'.
download-type filetype of downloaded file.
dlname name of downloaded file. Used when the url path does not include the correct filename.
warn warnings to be displayed when the program is installed.
warn-missingpath warning to be displayed if a path is missing on the system. e.g. exec=kitty warn-missingpath='/usr/share/X11/xkb:This program requires directory /usr/share/X11/xkb'
bundled If this app is bundled with another one, then this is the name of the other one.
delete After install delete these files. e.g. "delete='tmpfiles/*'"
movefiles-from After install move files to the install directory. e.g. `movefiles-from='gearhead-1/*'`
movefiles-to After install move files from install directory. e.g. `movefiles-to=*/msftedit.dll:$(drive_c)/windows/system32`
copyfiles-from After install copy files to the install directory. e.g. `copyfiles-from='gearhead-1/*'`
copyfiles-to After install copy files from install directory. e.g. `copyfiles-to=*/msftedit.dll:$(drive_c)/windows/system32`
link After install create a symlink from one path to another. *THIS REPLACES ANYTHING OCCUPYING THE SYMLINKS PATH*.
ld_preload libraries to preload before running exectuable. e.g. `ld_preload="$(sommelier_patches_dir)/anomaly_warzone_patch.so"`
type type of program.
comment comment.
Any value not recognized from the above list will simply be set as a variable that can be used in other values, so for instance some app configs contain variables like 'patch-dir' which are used in other values like 'copyfiles-to'.
Some emulators require a rom file. For these you'll have to make a script that runs the emulator with the correct args. E.g. for 'vecx' we'd need a script like:
#!/bin/sh
vecx --bios /usr/share/vecx/bios.bin "$@"
and change the 'emu' entry in platforms.conf to run the script instead of the emulator directly.
A new 'saves directory' system tries to redirect the 'saved games' folder of each game to '.game-saves' in the user's home directory. This is intended to reduce pollution of the users home and '~/Documents' directories with game-data, and more generally to ensure that game-state is separated from game-runtime so that the game can be completely removed/reinstalled without losing saved games. It is currently supported for windows games and a few gog dos games, including Albion, ArchimedianDynasty, DungeonKeeper, FantasyGeneral, HeroesOfMightAndMagic, HeroesOfMightAndMagic2, and TombRaider,
Sommelier looks for the variables SOMMELIER_CA_BUNDLE, CURL_CA_BUNDLE and SSL_VERIFY_FILE, in that order, to discover the path of the Certificate Bundle for certificate verification.
If SOMMELIER_INSTALLER_CACHE is set, sommelier will download installer and .zip files to the specified directory, and leave them there for future use with the -url option.
sommelier can emulate a desktop environment that autostarts programs using .desktop files in ~/.config/autostart. This is to assist window-managers that don't support this feature.
- Application Sandboxing
- Commands to add to application list
- Set default audio device with 'sommelier set'