User Guide

Nolvus on Linux User Guide

This page takes you from nothing to playing Nolvus on Linux. It covers everything in one place: what you need, how to set up Skyrim, installing the mod list, your first launch, day-to-day use, and fixing problems.

Important

Nolvus is not officially supported on Linux. Do not ask the Nolvus developers or the official Nolvus Discord for help with the Linux version.

Warning

Never run the dashboard as root or with sudo. The same goes for Fluorine, Wine and Proton. Running them as root creates files your normal user cannot change, which breaks things in ways that are hard to undo.

Some basic Linux knowledge is assumed. You should know which package manager your distribution uses (pacman, dnf, apt, etc.), how to install packages with it, and how to run a command in a terminal.

Prerequisites

Accounts

Account	Needed?	Notes
Steam with Skyrim Special Edition and the Anniversary Edition upgrade (or Skyrim Anniversary Edition)	Yes	Only the Steam version works. GOG and other versions are not supported.
Nexus Mods	Yes	Premium is strongly recommended. Free accounts work, but you have to click a download button for every mod and your download speed is capped (about 3 MB/s).
Nolvus.net	Yes	A separate account from Nexus. A common mistake is entering Nexus credentials where Nolvus ones are asked for.
Mega.nz	Recommended	Some mods are hosted on Mega. Without an account these downloads often fail (for example with error 402). A free account is enough.

If you have just subscribed to Nexus Premium, it can take a few minutes for Nexus to recognise it. The dashboard shows your Premium status in its bottom-right corner.

Software

Install these with your distribution's package manager:

Software	Why you need it
.NET 9 Runtime	The dashboard is built on it. Without it, the dashboard will not start at all.
xrandr	Detects your screen resolution for the installer.
XWayland	Only needed on Wayland desktops, where xrandr depends on it. Most desktops already have it.
glxinfo and lspci	Detect your graphics card for the installer's performance screen.
ProtonPlus or ProtonUp-Qt	Installs the Proton version Fluorine uses to run the game. These two are fine to install as Flatpaks.

Example commands for common distributions:

# Arch, CachyOS, EndeavourOS, Manjaro
sudo pacman -S --needed dotnet-runtime-9.0 xorg-xrandr xorg-xwayland mesa-utils pciutils

# Fedora
sudo dnf install dotnet-runtime-9.0 xrandr xorg-x11-server-Xwayland glx-utils pciutils

# Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Pop!_OS
sudo apt install dotnet-runtime-9.0 x11-xserver-utils xwayland mesa-utils pciutils

If your distribution cannot find dotnet-runtime-9.0, follow Microsoft's .NET on Linux instructions. To check that it worked, run:

dotnet --list-runtimes

You should see a line starting with Microsoft.NETCore.App 9.

Caution

Immutable distributions such as Bazzite and SteamOS install software very differently. Nolvus may run on them, but they are not supported.

Hardware requirements

Caution

Do not install Nolvus on a hard drive (HDD). Use an SSD. On an HDD you will get endless loading times, textures that do not load properly, corrupted saves, broken animations and scripts that misbehave. You can put the archive folder (your downloaded mod files) on an HDD to save SSD space.

Nolvus is large and demanding. The installer's performance screen shows the requirements for the exact options you pick, and its View supported GPUs button lists which graphics cards meet them. The official tables are below for planning ahead. They list NVIDIA cards, but AMD cards with similar performance and the same amount of VRAM work too.

In every table, 1080p is 1920×1080, 1440p is 2560×1440 and 4K is 3840×2160. The download size is optional disk space: it is only kept if you leave archiving turned on (see Choose where to install). The installer also needs extra temporary space while it works.

Nolvus Awakening (v6) requirements

Awakening is the current version of Nolvus. All four variants share the same gameplay; they differ in graphics and performance cost. SR Exterior Cities is an optional mod that removes loading screens when entering major cities, at a large VRAM cost.

Ultimate variant

CPU: Intel Core i7 10000 series or AMD equivalent · Install size: 426 GB · Download size: 193 GB

Without SR Exterior Cities

Resolution	VRAM	Minimum GPU	Recommended GPU
1080p	14 GB	RTX 4060 Ti	RTX 4070 Ti Super
1440p	15 GB	RTX 4070 Ti Super	RTX 4070 Ti Super
4K	16 GB	RTX 4090	RTX 4090

With SR Exterior Cities

Resolution	VRAM	Minimum GPU	Recommended GPU
1080p	16 GB	RTX 4080	RTX 4080 Super
1440p	17 GB	RTX 3090	RTX 4090
4K	18 GB	RTX 4090	RTX 4090

Ultra variant

CPU: Intel Core i7 10000 series or AMD equivalent · Install size: 406 GB · Download size: 188 GB

Without SR Exterior Cities

LODs	Resolution	VRAM	Minimum GPU	Recommended GPU
Performance	1080p	10 GB	RTX 3080	RTX 3080 Ti
Performance	1440p	11 GB	RTX 3060 (12 GB)	RTX 3080 Ti
Performance	4K	12 GB	RTX 4070 Ti	RTX 4080
Ultra	1080p	11 GB	RTX 3080 Ti	RTX 4070
Ultra	1440p	12 GB	RTX 3080 Ti	RTX 4070
Ultra	4K	13 GB	RTX 4070 Ti Super	RTX 4080 Super
Ultra Performance	1080p	10 GB	RTX 2080 Ti	RTX 3080
Ultra Performance	1440p	11 GB	RTX 2080 Ti	RTX 3060 (8 GB)
Ultra Performance	4K	12 GB	RTX 4060 Ti	RTX 4070 Ti Super

With SR Exterior Cities

LODs	Resolution	VRAM	Minimum GPU	Recommended GPU
Performance	1080p	13 GB	RTX 4060 Ti	RTX 4070 Ti Super
Performance	1440p	14 GB	RTX 4060 Ti	RTX 4070 Ti Super
Performance	4K	15 GB	RTX 4070 Ti Super	RTX 4080
Ultra	1080p	14 GB	RTX 4060 Ti	RTX 4070 Ti Super
Ultra	1440p	15 GB	RTX 4070 Ti Super	RTX 4080
Ultra	4K	16 GB	RTX 4080	RTX 4080 Super
Ultra Performance	1080p	13 GB	RTX 4060 Ti	RTX 4070 Ti Super
Ultra Performance	1440p	14 GB	RTX 4060 Ti	RTX 4070 Ti Super
Ultra Performance	4K	15 GB	RTX 4070 Ti Super	RTX 4080

Redux variant

Install size: 372 GB · Download size: 170 GB

Without SR Exterior Cities (CPU: Intel Core i7 7000 series or AMD equivalent)

Resolution	VRAM	Minimum GPU	Recommended GPU
1080p	8 GB	GTX 1080	RTX 2070
1440p	10 GB	GTX 1080 Ti	GTX 1080 Ti
4K	11 GB	RTX 2080 Ti	RTX 2080 Ti

With SR Exterior Cities (CPU: Intel Core i7 10000 series or AMD equivalent)

Resolution	VRAM	Minimum GPU	Recommended GPU
1080p	10 GB	GTX 1080 Ti	RTX 3080
1440p	12 GB	RTX 4070	RTX 4070 Ti
4K	13 GB	RTX 4060 Ti	RTX 4070 Ti Super

Graphics Only variant

CPU: Intel Core i7 10000 series or AMD equivalent · Install size: 235 GB · Download size: 105 GB

Without SR Exterior Cities

Resolution	VRAM	Minimum GPU	Recommended GPU
1080p	11 GB	RTX 3080 Ti	RTX 4070
1440p	12 GB	RTX 3080 Ti	RTX 4070
4K	13 GB	RTX 4070 Ti Super	RTX 4080 Super

With SR Exterior Cities

Resolution	VRAM	Minimum GPU	Recommended GPU
1080p	14 GB	RTX 4060 Ti	RTX 4070 Ti Super
1440p	15 GB	RTX 4070 Ti Super	RTX 4080
4K	16 GB	RTX 4080	RTX 4080 Super

Nolvus Ascension (v5) requirements

CPU: Minimum Intel Core i7 7000 series, recommended Core i7 10000 series (or AMD equivalents) · RAM: 32 GB for every variant

Variant	LODs	GPU	VRAM	Storage
Ultra	Ultra (distant grass, 3D LODs)	RTX 3080 Ti	12 GB at 1440p	392 GB
Ultra	Performance (less distant grass, 2D LODs)	RTX 3080	10 GB at 1440p	369 GB
Ultra	Ultra Performance (no distant grass, 2D LODs)	RTX 2080 Ti	10 GB at 1440p	365 GB
Redux	n/a	Minimum GTX 1080, recommended RTX 2070	8 GB at 1080p	345 GB

Above 1440p (above 1080p for Redux) you need a stronger GPU with more VRAM. For native 4K on Ultra, an RTX 4090 is recommended.

Before you start

1. Install Skyrim and download the Anniversary content

Install Skyrim Special Edition (with the Anniversary upgrade) from Steam.
Start it once from Steam and wait at the main menu.
Skyrim now offers to download the Anniversary Edition content (the Creation Club items). Click Download, then stay on the main menu and do not alt-tab away until it has finished.
Quit the game.

Important

Do not continue until the Creation Club content is fully installed. Nolvus needs it, and the install will fail without it.

To check, count the Creation Club files in Skyrim's Data folder (adjust the path if your Steam library is elsewhere):

ls "$HOME/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/Skyrim Special Edition/Data" | grep -ic '^cc'

This should print a large number. If it prints 0, the content is missing.

The Download button never appeared

Close the game and delete Skyrim's two ini files (Skyrim.ini and SkyrimPrefs.ini) if they exist. On Linux they live inside Skyrim's Proton prefix, in your Steam library:

steamapps/compatdata/489830/pfx/drive_c/users/steamuser/Documents/My Games/Skyrim Special Edition/

Start the game from Steam again and the prompt should appear. If it still does not, open the Creation Club menu from the main menu and install every item manually.

Optional: start from a completely clean Skyrim

If you have modded Skyrim before, the safest starting point is a clean install. Uninstall Skyrim in Steam, delete anything left behind in its steamapps/common/Skyrim Special Edition folder, and delete its Proton prefix at steamapps/compatdata/489830. Then reinstall and follow the steps above.

Deleting the prefix also deletes any vanilla Skyrim saves and settings stored in it, so back those up first if you want them.

2. Download the dashboard

Go to the latest release. Always use the latest version unless someone helping you says otherwise.
Download the file named Binaries-<version>.tar.gz.
Extract it. Right-click it in your file manager and choose Extract, or run:
```
tar xvzf Binaries-*.tar.gz
```
You now have a folder called Nolvus. Move it to where you want it to live, for example ~/Games/Nolvus.

Tip

Choose that location carefully:

By default, your Nolvus install goes inside this folder (in Nolvus/Instances), so put it on an SSD with plenty of free space. You can pick a different install location later.
Keep the path short. Skyrim's tools are Windows programs, and Windows limits how long a file path can be. Nolvus Awakening (v6) will not boot from a long path. ~/Games/Nolvus is good; something like /run/media/you/9c4e1f2a-6b3d-4a17-8e52-0d7fc3b91a84/Stuff/Modding/Nolvus is asking for trouble. See Keeping paths short if you cannot avoid a long one.
Do not put it inside your Steam library or your Skyrim folder.

Caution

Never move the dashboard folder while an install is in progress. It will break the install. If you move an instance after it has finished installing, use Manage → Remap Instance to fix its paths.

First launch of the dashboard

Open the Nolvus folder and double-click NolvusDashboard, or start it from a terminal:

cd ~/Games/Nolvus
./NolvusDashboard

Note

If you start it from a terminal, you must cd into the Nolvus folder first, as shown above.

If nothing happens, the .NET 9 Runtime is missing. Go back to Software. Starting the dashboard from a terminal shows the error message, which helps if you need to ask for help.

The first time you open the dashboard, it walks you through a few setup screens.

Step 1: Select your Skyrim folder

Click Auto Detect. The dashboard finds Skyrim in your Steam library, including Flatpak Steam. If it cannot, click Browse… and select the folder that contains SkyrimSE.exe. This is usually:

# Normal Steam
~/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/Skyrim Special Edition

# Flatpak Steam
~/.var/app/com.valvesoftware.Steam/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/Skyrim Special Edition

If you have more than one Skyrim install, Auto Detect uses the first one it finds, so check the path it fills in. The folder you choose can be a copy rather than your Steam folder, but it must be the latest Steam version with the Anniversary content installed (version 1.6.1170 at the time of writing). When the path is right, click Next.

If you see Skyrim Anniversary Edition not found, check that Skyrim is installed in Steam, then use Browse… to select its folder yourself.

Step 2: Nexus authentication

Click Nexus SSO Authentication. A browser window opens on the Nexus Mods website.
Log in to Nexus.
Click Authorise to let Nolvus use your account. (The Nolvus Dashboard is a Nexus-approved application.)
Back in the dashboard, a green message appears and the Next button becomes clickable. Click Next.

Step 3: Nolvus credentials

Enter the username and password of your Nolvus.net account (not your Nexus account) and click Next. If you do not have one yet, register here.

Step 4: Mega account and other settings

You are now at the main dashboard. Before installing, add your Mega account. This is optional but strongly recommended, because Mega downloads often fail without it.

Click the settings cog next to your username at the top right.
Untick Anonymous Connection.
Enter the email address and password of your Mega account and click Save. The dashboard tells you whether it worked. Your credentials are stored only on your own computer.
Click Back.

The same screen has two other settings worth knowing about:

Setting	What it does
Number of simultaneous mods installation	How many mods are downloaded and installed at the same time. Your bandwidth is shared between them. Lower it if your computer struggles or you run low on disk space during the install.
Auto Click Slow Download	For free Nexus accounts. The dashboard clicks the Slow download button on each mod's page for you, so you do not have to do it hundreds of times.

Caution

Auto clicking the slow download is against Nexus TOS and may result in account termination. Use at your own risk!

Installing Nolvus

The installer asks a series of questions, then downloads and installs everything. Use Previous to go back and change an answer at any point before the install starts.

Important

Several choices below cannot be changed after installation without reinstalling. See What can I change later? before you start clicking.

1. Choose your Nolvus version

Pick the version to install: Awakening (v6, the current version) or Ascension (v5).

Choose the Language. It only translates the base game, not the mods, and it must match the language Skyrim is set to in Steam. Click Continue.

2. Choose where to install

Setting	What it means
Instance Directory	Where Nolvus itself is installed: Fluorine's profile, the installed mods and the STOCK GAME. By default it goes inside the dashboard folder, in `Instances`. Must be on an SSD.
Archive Directory	Where downloaded mod files are kept, so you can reinstall later without downloading everything again. This one can go on an HDD. Never put it inside the instance directory.
Enable Archiving	Keeps the downloaded files. Turning it off saves the "download size" worth of disk space, but a reinstall would have to download everything again.

If you already have a folder of Nolvus downloads from an earlier install, point Archive Directory at it. The installer checks each file and reuses the ones that match, so they are not downloaded again. Click Continue.

3. Performance

This screen decides how Nolvus looks and runs. The right-hand side shows the graphics card, CPU and memory the dashboard detected, and the requirements for what you have picked. View supported GPUs lists which cards meet those requirements.

If you are unsure about anything here, the defaults are a sensible starting point.

Performance options for Awakening (v6)

Variant. All three share the same gameplay mechanics.

Variant	Textures	Towns and cities	Trees and clutter
Ultimate	4K–2K	Heavily overhauled	The most
Ultra	2K	Moderately overhauled	Fewer than Ultimate
Redux	2K–1K	Lightly overhauled	No trees around or inside cities

SR Exterior Cities. Removes loading screens when entering major cities. It is heavy on performance and VRAM, which is why it is optional.

Anti-aliasing. TAA is the performance-friendly choice. DLAA is NVIDIA's newer anti-aliasing, which costs more performance.

[!WARNING] Only choose DLAA if you have an NVIDIA RTX card. On anything else the game crashes at start. DLAA installs extra mods, so it cannot be changed after installation, and it cannot be combined with downscaling.

Ini profile. Skyrim graphics settings presets based on BethINI's recommendations. You can change this after installation. Do not run BethINI yourself on Nolvus, as it can conflict with the installer's options.

LODs (Ultra only). The quality of distant objects and vegetation. Cannot be changed after installation.

Resolution. Normally your screen's resolution. It can be changed after installation. If this list is empty or wrong, xrandr or XWayland is missing; see Software.

Downscaling. Lets you play at a lower resolution than your monitor, for example 1080p on a 1440p screen, to gain performance. Not compatible with DLAA.

Monitor ratio (16:9 or 21:9). Some mods are only installed for one ratio, so pick the right one. Cannot be changed after installation.

Performance options for Ascension (v5)

Variant. Ultra is the maxed-out preset. Redux is lighter on cities and vegetation but keeps the same gameplay.

Anti-aliasing, Ini profile, LODs, Resolution, Downscaling and Monitor ratio work exactly as described for Awakening above, including the DLAA warning.

v5 also has these options, none of which can be changed after installation:

Option	What it does
SMP physics	Physics for hair, clothing and armour. Costs performance.
Fake raytracing	Extra lighting effect. Costs performance.
FPS Stabilizer	Reduces draw distance on the fly to protect your frame rate, at the cost of some actors, objects and trees popping in.

Click Continue.

4. Options and difficulty

These screens set gameplay options such as the user interface and combat. On Awakening there is also a difficulty screen: pick a preset, then turn individual features on or off. None of these can be changed after installation.

They are the same choices as on Windows. The Nolvus player guides explain every option: Awakening (v6) · Ascension (v5).

5. ENB

Choose your ENB preset, the lighting and colour style of the game.

Version	Available presets
Awakening (v6)	Cabbage ENB, Cabbaval ENB (a Cabbage edit), KAUZ ENB, PI-CHO ENB
Ascension (v5)	PI-CHO ENB, RUDY ENB, BJORN ENB, BJORN ENB - Dark Ages, BJORN ENB - The White Wolf Cut. Cabbage ENB is manual-only and must be installed after Nolvus; see the Cabbage ENB tutorial.

You can switch presets later with Manage → Enb Manager.

6. Swap size

The dashboard reminds you to configure swap, the Linux equivalent of the Windows page file. Nolvus uses a lot of memory, and too little swap can crash the game, especially with 16 GB of RAM. The link on this screen explains how to change it.

7. Download location (Nexus Premium only)

Premium users can pick the Nexus download server. Choose one near you. If downloads are slow or keep failing, come back and try a different one.

8. Summary and start

Check your choices. At the bottom, choose what should happen when a mod fails to install:

Choice	What happens	Best for
Stop installation and display the error message	Stops at the first problem.	Free Nexus accounts, since downloads are not automatic.
Stop the installation when 50 errors occurred	Keeps going through a few problems, but stops if there are many (for example, if your disk fills up).	Most people.
Don't stop installation and show all errors at end	Installs everything it can, then lists everything that failed.	Experienced users.

Click Start.

9. Let it run

How long the install takes depends on your Nexus account, internet speed, SSD speed and CPU. On a modern PC with Nexus Premium and fast internet it can be done in about an hour (much less when reusing archives). Several hours is common otherwise.

Free Nexus accounts: a browser window opens for each mod. Click Slow download each time, or turn on Auto Click Slow Download (see Step 4).
It is not frozen. Some steps, especially the ones that build distant landscapes (LODGen and DynDOLOD), can show no progress for a long time. Let them finish.
Closed it by accident, or had to restart your computer? Open the dashboard again. It offers to Resume the install from where it stopped.

If mods fail, the dashboard lists them with Fix (opens help for that error) and Retry buttons. Retry is often all it takes, especially for download problems.

When you see Installation Completed, click Manage Instances.

What can I change later?

Setting	Can it be changed after installation?
Resolution	Yes
Ini profile	Yes
ENB preset	Yes, with Manage → Enb Manager
Anti-aliasing (TAA / DLAA)	No
LODs	No
Monitor ratio	No
Gameplay options and difficulty	No
SMP physics, Fake raytracing, FPS Stabilizer (v5)	No

Playing for the first time

These steps are only needed once.

1. Check your instance

Click Manage → Instance on your new install and make sure nothing is shown in red. If something is, sort it out before going further (see Troubleshooting).

2. Install a Proton version

Open ProtonPlus (or ProtonUp-Qt) and install one of these known-working Proton versions:

GE-Proton 10.34
GE-Proton 10.15
GE-Proton 10.10
proton-cachyos-10.0-20260102-slr-x86_64_v3
proton-cachyos-11.0-20260602 (Steam Linux Runtime)

If you are unsure, pick GE-Proton 10.34.

3. Press Play

On the instance list, click Play on your Nolvus instance. Because Fluorine is not installed yet, the dashboard offers to install it. Accept. It is about 200 MB and is installed once for all of your instances.

Note

Use Play on the instance list for this. The Play button inside an instance's details does not offer to install Fluorine.

4. Set up Fluorine's Wine prefix

Fluorine opens on your Nolvus instance. Before the game can start, Fluorine needs a Wine prefix: a small Windows-like environment that Skyrim and the modding tools run in.

In Fluorine, open Settings → Wine/Proton.
Choose the Proton version you installed in step 2.
Click Initialize Wine Prefix.
Wait. The first run takes a few minutes.

You only do this once. Every Nolvus instance shares the same prefix.

5. Disable VFS Caching in Fluorine

Open the "Executables" option in Fluorine - If you are on an older version your UI will look different.

Go to "Compatibility" and expand the "Advanced" tab and "Disable VFS cache (diagnostic)"

Failure to do this will result in numerous amounts of bugs!

6. Read the player guide, then start the game

Important

Before your first launch, read the Quick Player Guide for your version: Awakening (v6) · Ascension (v5). Ascension players should also read the known issues. They cover things you need to do in-game that are easy to get wrong.

Start Nolvus from Fluorine. Skyrim opens with the whole mod list.

For more on Fluorine (updates, running other Windows tools, repairing it), see Migrating to Fluorine.

Everyday use

Playing

Open the dashboard and click Play. Close Fluorine before pressing Play again; the dashboard will not start a second copy.

Once Nolvus is installed, you only really need the dashboard to check for updates or change settings. To skip it, use Manage → Add Desktop Shortcut once. It puts a shortcut on your desktop that opens Fluorine directly on that instance.

The Manage menu

Each instance has a Manage button with these options:

Option	What it does
Instance	Shows the instance's mod list, profile, load order and settings.
Add Desktop Shortcut	Creates a desktop shortcut that opens Fluorine on this instance.
Report to PDF	Saves a report of your instance. Useful when asking for help.
Keybinds	Shows Nolvus's key bindings.
User Manual	Opens the Nolvus user manual.
Enb Manager	Changes your ENB preset without reinstalling.
Delete Instance	Deletes the instance folder and everything in it, and removes it from Fluorine. Your archive of downloaded files is kept.
Remap Instance	Use this after moving the instance to a different folder, to update the paths inside it.

Caution

Information about your installs is stored in Instances/InstancesData.xml inside the dashboard folder. Do not edit or delete this file, or the dashboard will lose track of your installs.

Updating

The dashboard checks for updates every time it starts. When there is a new version, it downloads it, restarts itself and carries on.
Nolvus itself: when a new version of the mod list is released, an Update button appears on your instance. Click it, read the change log and follow the steps. You do not need to reinstall the whole list.
Fluorine updates itself and tells you when an update is available.

Installing another instance

Click Add Instance on the instance list and follow Installing Nolvus again.

Reinstalling

Use Manage → Delete Instance, then install again. The archive folder is kept, so if you point the new install at the same Archive Directory, nothing has to be downloaded again.

Troubleshooting

Start with the Frequently Asked Questions. For Fluorine or game-launch problems, see the troubleshooting section of Migrating to Fluorine. For everything else, see Advanced Configuration and Troubleshooting.

Common problems

Problem	Likely cause	What to do
Double-clicking the dashboard does nothing	.NET 9 Runtime is missing	Install it (see Software). Run the dashboard from a terminal to see the error.
Skyrim Anniversary Edition not found	Auto Detect could not find Skyrim	Check Skyrim is installed in Steam, then use Browse… to select the folder containing `SkyrimSE.exe`.
Resolution list empty or wrong, or downscaling does not work	xrandr or XWayland missing	Install them (see Software).
Graphics card not detected on the performance screen	glxinfo or lspci missing	Install `mesa-utils`/`glx-utils` and `pciutils`.
Mega downloads fail, or error 402 on mods not hosted on Nexus	Anonymous Mega connection	Add your Mega account (Step 4).
Download stuck or failed	Temporary server problem	Click Retry. Premium users can also try a different download location.
ENB step fails	enbdev.com blocked the automatic download	Download ENB v0.347 manually into `Nolvus/Cache/Downloads` (see the tip in Installing Nolvus), then resume.
Install seems frozen at LODGen or DynDOLOD	It is not frozen	Wait. These steps can take a long time with no visible progress.
Dashboard closed or crashed during the install		Reopen it and click Resume.
Errors while extracting mods	Almost always a full disk (rarely, a failing drive)	See Running out of disk space during the install.
Game crashes immediately on start after choosing DLAA	DLAA needs an NVIDIA RTX card	Reinstall the instance with TAA.
Game crashes during play, especially with 16 GB of RAM	Not enough swap	Increase your swap size.
Vanilla Skyrim starts instead of Nolvus		See the FAQ.

Running out of disk space during the install

The dashboard downloads and extracts several mods at once, so while it works it needs more space than the finished install. If you get disk-full errors even though you have enough space for the whole list:

Close the dashboard.
Delete the Cache folder inside the dashboard folder.
Open the dashboard, click the settings cog, and set Number of simultaneous mods installation to 1.
Resume the install, choosing to stop at the first error.

The dashboard now installs one mod at a time and clears its temporary files before moving on to the next.

Advanced: dashboard ini settings

A few settings can only be changed in the dashboard's ini file, NolvusDashboard.ini, in the dashboard folder. Close the dashboard before editing it, and add any lines that are missing.

[Process]
Count = 4
Retry = 3
ErrorsThreshold = 50

[Misc]
ForceAA = True

Setting	Default	What it does
`Count`	Based on your CPU cores	How many mods are processed at once (the same as Number of simultaneous mods installation). Your bandwidth is shared between them. Do not set it too high: on a 4-core CPU, use 6 at most.
`Retry`	3	How many times a failed download is retried. It does not help with dead links or unreachable servers, so a high value just means waiting longer.
`ErrorsThreshold`	50 (max 100)	How many errors the install tolerates before stopping. `1` stops at the first error (recommended for free Nexus accounts). `0` disables the limit, which is not recommended.
`ForceAA`	not set	On some laptops the dashboard does not detect the NVIDIA GPU, so the anti-aliasing choice is hidden. `True` shows it anyway. Only use this if you really have an NVIDIA RTX card, since DLAA on anything else crashes the game.

Asking for help

Ask in the Nolvus Linux Discord or open a GitHub issue. Search first, since your question may already be answered. To get a useful answer quickly, include:

Your Linux distribution and whether you use Wayland or X11.
The dashboard version, which is part of the name of the file you downloaded.
What you were doing and what happened, including the exact error message or a screenshot.
The dashboard log, found in the Logs folder inside the dashboard folder and named after the date, for example Nolvus/Logs/2026-09-25.log.
For problems with an installed instance, a Report to PDF from the Manage menu.

Remember that Nolvus on Linux is maintained by one person in their spare time.

Uninstalling

Delete the instance with Manage → Delete Instance. This deletes the instance folder and removes it from Fluorine. It keeps the archive of downloaded files, so delete the archive folder too if you no longer need it.
Delete the Nolvus dashboard folder. If your instance and archive are inside it (the default), this removes them too.
Remove Fluorine if you no longer need it:
```
rm -rf ~/.local/share/fluorine
```
This removes Fluorine and its Wine prefix. Fluorine's settings, including its list of instances, are in ~/.config/Mod Organizer Team/Mod Organizer.conf, which you can delete as well.

Skyrim itself is untouched by all of this and stays installed in Steam.

Glossary

Term	Meaning
Instance	One installed copy of Nolvus, with its mods, settings and its own copy of the game. You can have more than one.
Archive	The downloaded mod files. Keeping them lets you reinstall without downloading everything again.
STOCK GAME	A clean copy of Skyrim inside your instance. Nolvus modifies this copy, never your Steam installation.
Fluorine Manager	The mod manager you play through; a native Linux version of Mod Organizer 2 (MO2).
Proton	Valve's compatibility layer that runs Windows games on Linux. GE-Proton is a community build of it.
Wine prefix	A folder containing a Windows-like environment for Windows programs to run in. Fluorine creates one for you.
ENB	A graphics add-on that changes Skyrim's lighting and colours.
LODs	Low-detail versions of distant objects, trees and terrain. Built during the install by LODGen and DynDOLOD.
Swap	Disk space Linux uses when memory runs out. The Linux version of the Windows page file.
Creation Club / Anniversary content	Extra official content that comes with the Anniversary Edition. Nolvus requires all of it.
Nexus Premium	A paid Nexus Mods membership. It makes downloads automatic and removes the speed limit.

User Guide

Nolvus on Linux User Guide

Prerequisites

Accounts

Software

Hardware requirements

Before you start

1. Install Skyrim and download the Anniversary content

2. Download the dashboard

First launch of the dashboard

Step 1: Select your Skyrim folder

Step 2: Nexus authentication

Step 3: Nolvus credentials

Step 4: Mega account and other settings

Installing Nolvus

1. Choose your Nolvus version

2. Choose where to install

3. Performance

4. Options and difficulty

5. ENB

6. Swap size

7. Download location (Nexus Premium only)

8. Summary and start

9. Let it run

What can I change later?

Playing for the first time

1. Check your instance

2. Install a Proton version

3. Press Play

4. Set up Fluorine's Wine prefix

5. Disable VFS Caching in Fluorine

6. Read the player guide, then start the game

Everyday use

Playing

The Manage menu

Updating

Installing another instance

Reinstalling

Troubleshooting

Common problems

Running out of disk space during the install

Asking for help

Uninstalling

Glossary

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