How To Find Games Folder Linux

Games on Linux don’t have one specific folder. Often, they reside in /usr/games, /opt, ~/.local/share/games, or within their installation directories like Steam’s library folder.

Finding where your games live on Linux can sometimes feel like a mini-quest. Many users often ask, “how to find games folder linux” because unlike Windows, Linux does not have a singular spot. Games are installed in various locations depending on the source or how you installed them.

This variability might seem a bit chaotic at first, but it actually offers greater flexibility. Knowing a few key areas will quickly help you navigate your games collection. This guide will get you quickly oriented.

How to Find Games Folder Linux

Finding where your games are stored on Linux might seem tricky at first, but it’s actually quite straightforward once you understand the basic structure. Unlike Windows, which often has a dedicated “Program Files” folder, Linux spreads things out a bit. This can be a good thing for organization, but it also means you might need to do a bit of digging. Let’s break down the common locations for games and explore ways to find them.

Understanding Game Installation on Linux

Before we start hunting for specific game folders, it’s helpful to know how games get installed on Linux. There are several ways, and each can place games in different spots. The main methods are through package managers, Steam, and other dedicated game platforms.

Package Managers (APT, DNF, Pacman, etc.)

Linux distributions use package managers to handle software installation. These tools help keep your system updated and manage dependencies. When you install a game using a package manager (like apt on Debian/Ubuntu, dnf on Fedora, or pacman on Arch), the files usually don’t end up in a single, easily located folder. Instead, they’re spread across different directories, including:

• /usr/bin and /usr/games: These directories often hold the game’s executable files or launchers.
• /usr/share/games: This is a common location for game data, resources, and other supplementary files.
• /usr/lib and /usr/lib64: These contain necessary libraries required by games to run.
• /opt: Sometimes, bigger games might install to this directory which is often reserved for larger application installations.

Package managers also manage configuration files, which are often stored in your home directory. Usually, these are within a hidden folder with a dot(.) at the beginning of the folder name, for instance: ~/.config or ~/.local/share. However, they’re not likely to contain large game assets, but rather preferences and save data.

Steam and Other Game Launchers

Many gamers on Linux use platforms like Steam, Lutris, GOG Galaxy, or itch.io to install and manage their games. Each platform handles game storage differently. Steam, being the most common, usually defaults to a specific location within your user directory. Here’s a look at some popular launchers and their typical install paths:

• Steam: Typically stores games inside your home folder like this ~/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/ or ~/SteamLibrary/steamapps/common/. You might have multiple Steam library locations on different hard drives. You can check those inside Steam’s settings in the ‘Storage’ tab.
• Lutris: By default, Lutris saves games to ~/Games/, though you can set a custom folder during install. You can check your install locations in Lutris’s settings.
• GOG Galaxy: Offers a customized installation path per-game, but the default directory could be in your ~/Games/ folder or a path set when downloading the GOG Galaxy client itself.
• Itch.io: Games installed through the itch.io app can usually be found under the ~/itch directory. It allows you to define the installation directory per-game, too, so you need to be careful to remember where you chose for each game you downloaded.

The ~ symbol represents your user’s home directory which is usually /home/yourusername/. So ~/Games is the same as /home/yourusername/Games/.

Manual Installation (Indie Games, etc.)

Sometimes, you might encounter games that don’t come through package managers or dedicated launchers. These are often indie games or titles that you download as compressed files. In these cases, where the games are stored depends entirely on where you decided to place them. You need to remember where you extracted these games to. They may be placed in the ~/Games folder, or perhaps inside your ~/Documents folder. The location is entirely up to your discretion.

Finding Game Folders Using the Terminal

The terminal is a powerful tool in Linux, and you can use it to pinpoint the location of your game folders. Here are some commands that will help you out:

Using the find Command

The find command is excellent for searching for files and directories based on different criteria. You can use it to locate specific folders or game files. Here are a few examples:

Finding Folders by Name

Let’s say you are looking for a folder called “MyAwesomeGame”. You can execute the following command:

find / -type d -name "MyAwesomeGame" 2>/dev/null

• find /: Starts the search at the root directory (/), which covers the entire file system.
• -type d: Specifies that you only want to search for directories (folders).
• -name "MyAwesomeGame": Looks for any directory whose name is precisely “MyAwesomeGame” .
• 2>/dev/null: Redirects error messages to the null device, so you don’t see the “permission denied” errors that find generates for directories you cannot access.

If a folder named “MyAwesomeGame” exists, the command will output the full path to that folder. If you want to make the search case-insensitive, you can replace -name with -iname.

Finding Folders Containing Game Files

If you know the name of a specific game file extension, you can find game directories that are likely to contain game files. For instance, let’s use .exe which is very common in Windows games and might be used on Linux through compatibility layers.

find / -type f -name ".exe" 2>/dev/null

• -type f: Specifies we want to search for files.
• -name ".exe": Specifies we want to search for files whose names end in “.exe”.

You can modify the file extension to search for files with other extensions, like .so (shared library files), .dat (data files), or .pak (pack files). This method is extremely useful if you have a common file type that can be associated with the specific game you are searching for.

Using the locate Command

The locate command offers a faster way to search for files and directories based on a previously indexed database. Because it uses the database, it might not be as up to date as the find command if the database has not been updated recently.

Updating the Database

Before using locate, it’s a good idea to update the database. You can do this with the following command, which usually requires superuser privileges, that’s why we use sudo at the beginning:

sudo updatedb

This command creates the database that locate uses for its search. You should usually execute it only once, if not, there is not a need to update it frequently, once a day should be fine enough. After updating the database, you can use locate to search for folders or files.

Finding Folders by Name

For instance, to find folders with the name “MyAwesomeGame”, you would run:

locate MyAwesomeGame

This command will list all files and directories that include “MyAwesomeGame” in their path. The locate command is very quick but it shows you directories that contains the name you search in their full path, so sometimes you might get some results that are not exactly what you are looking for.

Using ls to List Contents

You can also navigate to specific locations that might contain your game files or directories and check the folders using the ls command.

Navigating to a Directory Using cd

To go to a directory using terminal, use the cd command. For example, if you suspect that your game is installed under the ~/Games directory, you can type:

cd ~/Games

If you get an error saying the directory does not exist, it means that the directory doesn’t exist or you have misspelled the directory name. You need to use ls command to list the content of the current directory you are in to see its contents.

Listing Contents of a Directory Using ls

Now that you are in the right location, you can see the files or directories contained in this directory using this command:

ls -l

This command lists all contents in a long format (-l), giving you all details of the contents of the directory. If you have a game installation named “MyAwesomeGame”, you can find it easily.

Finding Game Folders Using a File Manager

If you are more comfortable with graphical interfaces, you can also use your file manager to search for game folders. Most file managers allow searching for files and folders directly.

Searching by Name

Most file managers (like Nautilus on GNOME, Dolphin on KDE, or Thunar on XFCE) have a built-in search feature.

• Open your file manager.
• Go to your home directory, which is typically where you store games.
• Type the name of the game (or a part of it) in the search bar provided by your file manager.
• The file manager will filter the view and list all files and directories that match the name you’ve typed.

Checking Common Locations

Even if you don’t know the specific game directory, you can always browse commonly used locations within the file manager:

• Navigate to your home directory (usually represented by a home icon or the ~ symbol in the file path).
• Look for folders like Games, SteamLibrary, .local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/, itch or .config.
• Look inside each of these folders to locate the game you’re looking for.

Show Hidden Folders

Many configuration files for games are located inside hidden folders. To make these folders visible in most file managers you need to enable the option to see hidden files and directories. Usually, this option is available under the View menu or by pressing a keyboard shortcut such as Ctrl+H.

Advanced Techniques

Sometimes, games might be buried in unconventional directories or have peculiar naming patterns. You may need to use some more advanced techniques for those special cases.

Using Wildcards with find

The asterisk () is a wildcard character that can be very useful for more flexible searches using the find command. For example, if you don’t know the full name of a game folder, but you remember it starts with “My”, you can use:

find / -type d -name "My" 2>/dev/null

This command finds all directories that have names starting with “My”.

Using grep with find

You can also combine find with grep to search inside a file for the name of the directory you want to locate. For instance, let’s say that you remember the directory contains the “game” word inside one of the subfolders names, but you can’t remember where. You can use the following command:

find / -type d -print0 | xargs -0 grep -l "game" 2>/dev/null

• find / -type d -print0: This finds all directories starting from the root folder, and prints each directory followed by a null character.
• xargs -0: This takes the list of directories and processes them.
• grep -l "game": This searches for the word “game” inside every directory found.

This will print the full path to each directory that contains the word “game” inside it, so it will help you find those special cases that are not easy to find.

Finding your games in Linux doesn’t have to be a frustrating task. By understanding the common installation methods, knowing where to look, and using the tools available (like the terminal commands and your file manager), you’ll easily navigate through your game folders. Remember to check common locations first, and use specific names or file extensions in your search. Using these tools and a little bit of patience will make it easy to find your games.

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Final Thoughts

Finding your games folder on Linux involves checking standard locations like ~/.local/share/games, /opt/, or /usr/share/games. Often, games install to a directory based on the specific platform or installation method. Package managers may install games into system-wide directories.

Use the find command in your terminal to search for files, specifying a name or pattern related to your game. You can also check the game’s desktop entry file for its installation directory. ‘how to find games folder linux’ may require some searching.

Remember, the exact location can vary depending on how you installed the game. Combining these approaches helps locate your game files effectively. Therefore, use the terminal commands and file explorer options to locate your games folder efficiently.