Scrivener 3 for Linux — automated Flatpak installer and launcher
Scrivenix is a Flatpak application that automatically downloads, installs, and launches Scrivener 3 for Windows on any Linux machine that supports Flatpak and Wine. It handles the full setup process — Wine prefix initialization, dependency installation, font rendering configuration, and license activation support — through a guided graphical interface with no terminal interaction required after the initial build.
A valid Scrivener 3 for Windows license is required. Scrivenix is a wrapper and installer tool, not a distribution of Scrivener. Scrivener is proprietary software developed and sold by Literature & Latte.
Beta — Confirmed working on:
- Fedora (Wayland / GNOME)
- Linux Mint (X11 / Cinnamon)
- Debian (Wayland / GNOME)
Testing on additional distributions is ongoing. See Known Issues before installing.
- Initializes a Wine 64-bit prefix isolated to the Scrivenix Flatpak sandbox
- Installs Windows core fonts, SAPI, GDI+, and .NET 4.8 via winetricks
- Downloads the official Scrivener 3 installer directly from Literature & Latte
- Removes the
texttospeechfolder that causes Scrivener to hang on "Loading Fonts" - Configures ClearType font smoothing for readable text rendering
- Supports license activation via Scrivener's built-in Paddle licensing system
- Provides a guided display scaling tool (via winecfg) for adjusting UI size
- Maps your
~/Documentsfolder into the Wine prefix so your projects are accessible - Self-heals after Scrivener updates by re-checking compatibility fixes on every launch
- Linux with Flatpak support
flatpak-builderinstalled- ~3 GB free disk space (1.5 GB runtimes + Wine prefix + Scrivener)
- A valid Scrivener 3 for Windows license
- Internet connection during setup
Most distros include Flatpak but not flatpak-builder. Install both:
# Debian / Ubuntu / Linux Mint
sudo apt install flatpak flatpak-builder
# Fedora
sudo dnf install flatpak flatpak-builder
# Arch
sudo pacman -S flatpak flatpak-builderRun each command one at a time. Choose user when asked which installation to use.
flatpak remote-add --user --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
flatpak install --user flathub org.freedesktop.Platform//23.08
flatpak install --user flathub org.freedesktop.Sdk//23.08
flatpak install --user flathub org.winehq.Wine//stable-23.08
flatpak install --user flathub org.freedesktop.Platform.Compat.i386//23.08The end-of-life warnings you may see for the 23.08 runtime are harmless — ignore them. Total download is approximately 1.5 GB.
If you have Git installed:
git pull https://github.com/adgalloway/Scrivenix.gitOTHERWISE
Download this repository as a ZIP file (click the green Code button → Download ZIP), extract it, open a terminal in the extracted folder, and run:
flatpak-builder --force-clean --install --user build-dir com.local.Scrivenix.ymlLaunch Scrivenix from your application menu, or run:
flatpak run com.local.ScrivenixA setup wizard will guide you through the rest. See INSTALL.txt for a detailed walkthrough of each setup step.
Scrivener's UI elements (menus, toolbar, sidebar) may appear small on some screens. After setup completes, Scrivenix prompts you to adjust display scaling via Wine Configuration. You can also access this at any time by right-clicking the Scrivenix icon in your application menu and choosing Display & Font Settings.
In the Wine Configuration window, go to the Graphics tab and increase the DPI value. 144 DPI is a good starting point for most screens.
Cinnamon users: The right-click menu option may not appear in Cinnamon. If so, run:
flatpak run com.local.Scrivenix --winecfg
Scrivener projects stored in Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, or any other cloud sync folder are accessible from within Scrivener — your full home directory is available inside the Flatpak sandbox. Navigate to your sync folder using Scrivener's file browser as you normally would.
Cinnamon + Wayland: Shift, Ctrl, and Alt keys do not work correctly in Scrivener when running Linux Mint or any Cinnamon-based desktop under a Wayland session. This is a bug in Cinnamon's XWayland implementation and cannot be fixed at the application level. The solution is to log out and select a Cinnamon (X11) session from the login screen.
To check whether this affects you:
echo $XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP $WAYLAND_DISPLAYIf the output contains both Cinnamon and a display value, switch to an X11 session. If WAYLAND_DISPLAY is blank, you are already on X11 and this does not apply.
flatpak uninstall com.local.Scrivenix -y
rm -rf ~/.var/app/com.local.ScrivenixIf setup fails or you want a completely clean reinstall, run all of these commands from your Scrivenix project directory:
flatpak uninstall com.local.Scrivenix -y
rm -rf ~/.var/app/com.local.Scrivenix
rm -rf build-dir .flatpak-builder repo
flatpak-builder --force-clean --install --user build-dir com.local.Scrivenix.yml
flatpak run com.local.ScrivenixThe first two commands wipe the installed app and all Wine/Scrivener data. The third removes the build artifacts. The fourth rebuilds and reinstalls Scrivenix from scratch. The fifth launches it to begin the setup wizard again.
Scrivenix was inspired by the Lutris install script for Scrivener, which has been the standard method for running Scrivener on Linux. Scrivenix takes a different approach: it packages everything as a self-contained Flatpak rather than relying on a system Wine installation, which means it works consistently across distributions without requiring the user to manage Wine versions or dependencies manually.
Scrivenix (the wrapper scripts, manifest, and supporting files) is released under the Mozilla Public License 2.0. See LICENSE for details.
Scrivener 3 is proprietary software © Literature & Latte Ltd. A valid license is required. Scrivenix does not distribute or modify Scrivener in any way.
Bug reports and feedback are welcome via GitHub Issues. Please include your distro name and version, your session type (X11 or Wayland), and the full terminal output if reporting a setup failure.
