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What this is

A GUI version of DZTUI for Linux. Used to list official and community server details and quick connect to preferred servers by staging mods and concatenating launch options automatically.

Development on DZTUI (terminal client) has stopped at this time. Instead, DZGUI brings numerous functionality and security improvements and is intended to be a more user-friendly, turnkey solution for graphical desktop environments, and can also be used on the Steam Deck or similar devices.

Setup

Dependencies

If not already installed, the below can be found in your system’s package manager.

If any dependencies are missing when the application starts, it will warn you, so you need not take any preemptive measures here.

All dependencies are installed out of the box on Steam Deck.

  • curl

  • jq

  • zenity

  • steam

  • wmctrl or xdotool

  • PyGObject (python-gobject)

Preparation

Step 1: Download DZGUI and make it executable

Automatic method: generic OS

Invoke the command below from a terminal:

curl -s "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/aclist/dztui/dzgui/install.sh" | bash

Automatic method: nix-based systems (contributed by lelgenio)

Follow the instructions at https://github.com/lelgenio/dzgui-nix to ingest the package and dependencies into your system using flakes.

Manual method

git clone https://github.com/aclist/dztui.git
chmod +x dzgui.sh

Step 2: update the vm.max_map_count value

On most modern distributions, it will seldom be necessary to update this value anymore, since it is set to a sufficiently large number for performance-intensive applications.

Automatic method:

This is handled automatically by DZGUI if you just choose to run the application out of the box. You will be prompted for your sudo password in order to check whether the system map count is too small. This is a one-time check that will not be triggered again once the map count is updated.

Note
 If you are using a Steam Deck, this step is not necessary.

The process writes the count to the file /etc/sysctl.d/dayz.conf.

If the system map count was lower than the threshold, it is updated to 1048576. If the system map count was already higher, that value is interpolated into this file for redundancy purposes and to avoid sudo escalation on subsequent launches of the application.

Note
 If, for reasons unrelated to DayZ, you choose at a later time to raise your system map count higher than it originally was and you find that the count is not sticking, check for the presence of the dayz.conf file to see if it is taking precedence and delete it accordingly.

If you used the automatic method, you can skip to Step 3 below.

Manual method:

If you wish to update this value yourself without intervention from DZGUI, you have two options:

Invoke the command below for an ephemeral change. Note that if changing the map count on a one-time basis, it will revert to the old value after the system is rebooted.

sudo sysctl -w vm.max_map_count=1048576

Invoke the command below for a persistent change:

echo 'vm.max_map_count=1048576' | sudo tee /etc/sysctl.d/dayz.conf

Step 3: Prepare a Steam account with a DayZ license

Enable a Proton version ≥ 6.8 (or use Proton Experimental) in the Compatibility field of the game’s right-click options. As of this writing, any recent version of Proton should work, and it is encouraged to use the most recent one.

API key & server IDs

Steam API key (required)

  1. Register for a Steam API key (free) using your Steam account. You will be asked for a unique URL for your app when registering.

  2. Since this key is for a personal use application and does not actually call back anywhere, set a generic local identifier here like "127.0.0.1" or some other name that is meaningful to you.

  3. Once configured, you can insert this key in the app when launching it for the first time.

BattleMetrics API key (optional)

This key is optional. Using this key in conjunction with the above allows you to also connect to and query servers by numerical ID instead of by IP. See [Add server by ID].

  1. Register for an API key at BattleMetrics (free).

  2. From the Personal Access Tokens area, Select New Token.

  3. Give the token any name in the field at the top.

  4. Leave all options unchecked and scroll to the bottom, select Create Token.

  5. Once configured, you can insert this key in the app when launching it for the first time (optional), or later on when using the connect/query by ID methods in the app for the first time.

First-time launch

It is always advised to have Steam running in the background. DZGUI is meant to run "on top of" Steam, and will warn you if Steam appears to not be running.

DZGUI can be launched one of two ways.

From a terminal:

./dzgui.sh

Launching from a terminal may give more verbose information in the event of a crash, and can be a good way of troubleshooting problems.

From the shortcut shipped with the application:

If you are using a desktop environment (DE) based on the Freedesktop specification, shortcuts will be installed for you.

  • One shortcut is located under the "Games" category of your system’s applications list.

  • The other is accessed via the "DZGUI" desktop icon (Steam Deck only)

After launching the app, follow the menu prompts onscreen. You will be asked to provide the following:

  • Player name (a handle name that identifies your character; required by some servers)

  • Steam API key (required)

  • BM API key (optional)

Steam path discovery

DZGUI will now attempt to locate your default Steam installation and DayZ path. You must have DayZ installed in your Steam library in order to proceed. (It can be installed to any drive of your choosing.)

If DZGUI cannot find Steam or cannot find DayZ installed at the detected Steam path, it will prompt you to manually specify the path to your Steam installation.

Specify the root, top-level entry point to Steam, not DayZ. E.g.,

/media/mydrive/Steam, not /media/mydrive/Steam/steamapps/common/DayZ

If your Steam installation is in a hidden folder but the file picker dialog does not show hidden folders, ensure that your GTK settings are set to show hidden files.

For GTK 2, update the file $HOME/.config/gtk-2.0/gtkfilechooser.ini to contain this line:

ShowHidden=true

For GTK 3, invoke the command:

gsettings set org.gtk.Settings.FileChooser show-hidden true

Steam integration & artwork

Adding DZGUI as a third-party app

DZGUI can be added to Steam as a "non-Steam game" in order to facilitate integration with Steam Deck or desktop environments.

  1. Launch Steam in the "Large" (default) view.

Note
 Steam Deck: you must switch to "Desktop Mode" and launch Steam from the desktop. Steam Deck’s Game Mode view has limited support for configuration of custom games.

  1. Select Add a Game > Add a Non-Steam Game from the lower left-hand corner of the Steam client.

01

  1. Navigate to $HOME/.local/share/applications/ and select dzgui.desktop

  2. Select Add Selected Programs to add a shortcut to DZGUI.

Artwork

DZGUI also ships with Steam cover artwork. It is located under:

$HOME/.local/share/dzgui

The artwork consists of five parts:

Name Description

Hero

a large horizontal banner used on the app’s details page, and on landscape-orientation covers in the Recent Games section

Icon

a square icon used for the tree/list view of the Steam library

Grid

a vertical "box art" cover used on Steam library pages

Logo

a transparent icon used to remove Steam’s default app text

dzgui

used by freedesktop shortcut to generate a desktop icon; not intended for manual use by the user
Updating the artwork

  1. From the main library view, navigate to the app’s details page and right-click the blank image header at the top.

03

  1. Select Set Custom Background

  2. Select to display All Files from the File type dropdown

  3. Navigate to the artwork path described above and select hero.png.

  4. Next, right-click the image background and select Set Custom Logo.

04

  1. Navigate to the same path and select logo.png. Notice that this removes the redundant app name that occluded the image.

05

  1. Next, navigate to your Library index (looks like a bookshelf of cover art) and find the DZGUI app.

  1. Right-click its cover and select Manage > Set custom artwork.

06

  1. Navigate to the same path and select grid.png. The final result:

07

  1. Right-click the DZGUI entry and select Properties to open the properties dialog. Next to the Shortcut field, you will see a small square box which represents the game’s icon. Click this to open a file explorer and select icon.png from the path above. This will add a small icon to the list view.

08

  1. After you launch DZGUI for the first time, you should return to the library view and select the Recent Games dropdown on the right-hand side. Steam shows a collection of box art based on categories like "Play Next", "Recent Games", etc. Look for a downward-pointing caret icon and click it, then select the "Recent Games" category. If DZGUI was the last item played, it will be shown with a landscape, rather than portrait, orientation cover, which is initially blank. To customize this cover, right click it and select Manage > Set custom artwork, then select the hero.png image again for this area.

09

Controller layout

A controller layout for Steam Deck is available in the Steam community layouts section. Search for "DZGUI Official Config" to download it. This layout provides modal layers intended to facilitate interaction with the DZGUI interface, but does not attempt to customize in-game DayZ controls in a detailed fashion.

Long-press the View button and Select button (☰) to toggle D-pad navigation. This creates an additional layer that lets you navigate through menus using the D-pad and A/B to respectively confirm selections and go back. Remember to toggle this layer off again after launching your game to revert back to the master layer.

Updating the app

If DZGUI detects a new upstream version, it will prompt you to download it automatically. It backs up the original version before fetching the new one, then updates your config file with your existing values. Once finished, it will ask you to relaunch the app.

If you decline to upgrade to the new version, DZGUI will continue to the main menu with the current version.

Note
 New versions may include changes to bugs that could prevent you from playing on certain servers. Upgrading is always advised.

If you experience a problem or need to restore the prior version of DZGUI and/or your configs, it is enough to simply replace the new version with the old one and relaunch the app. The file can be found at:

<path to script>/<script name>.old

E.g., if DZGUI is named dzgui.sh, in the path $HOME/bin, the backup will be located at

$HOME/bin/dzgui.sh.old

If launching DZGUI via its system shortcut, the backup file will be located under the path:

$HOME/.local/share/dzgui

Similarly, a backup config file will be located at:

$HOME/.config/dztui/dztuirc.old

Basic usage

Select from among the Menu contexts and options below.

Connecting to a server consists of fetching metadata for the server you are searching for.

DZGUI will check the server’s modset against your local mods. If you are missing any, it will prompt you to download them through the Steam Workshop and open a window in the background in the system browser.

Note
 You must be logged into Steam for mod changes to take effect. It can take some time for the mods to download and update.

Once all of the mods are downloaded and staged, DZGUI will notify you that it is ready to connect. The app hands the launch parameters to Steam, after which point DZGUI is not involved in the operation of DayZ.

Menu contexts and options

The main view displays a series of contexts, visualized as buttons, on the right-hand side. You can click these to navigate between different areas.

A footer at the bottom of the application lists an explanatory tooltip for the currently focused option. In the case of server browsing contexts, this tooltip will be updated to show the distance in kilometers to the server and an estimated ping (round-trip latency).

The right-hand side of the footer displays the branch of DZGUI you are using (stable/testing), the mod install mode (normal/auto), and the version number. For example, if you are on the stable branch, using the default install mode, and using DZGUI v5.0.0, the footer will read:

STABLE | NORMAL | DZGUI 5.0.0

Main menu

The main menu context is the central entry point to server navigation, letting you browse the list of publicly available servers, check your list of favorited servers, connect to recent servers, et cetera.

Main menu > Server browser

The server browser retrieves and lists all publicly broadcasting servers (including official ones) in a table. These servers can be filtered by various parameters in order to display a more granular result.

After you select a server from the list and choose to connect, the application continues to the mod validation step.

For details on interacting with server browsing contexts, which are uniform across different menus, refer to Server table and filters.

Main menu > My saved servers

Prints metadata for the servers saved in your servers list. Servers can be added via the Manage context or via the Contextual options of server table views.

For details on interacting with server browsing contexts, which are uniform across different menus, refer to Server table and filters.

Main menu > Quick connect to favorite server

Bypasses the server list and quick-connects to a single favorite server specified in advance using the [Add (change) favorite server] option.

Main menu > Recent servers

This feature queries the history file for the last 10 servers connected to by any means (server browser, favorite servers, connect-by-IP, etc.), and presents them in a table.

For details on interacting with server browsing contexts, which are uniform across different menus, refer to Server table and filters.

Main menu > Connect by IP

Provide the IP and query port in <IP>:<PORT> format. Depending on the mod installation method you have selected, DZGUI will proceed to stage and download mods and prompt you before connecting.

Main menu > Connect by ID

Requires a BM API key. Use the BattleMetrics site to find servers of interest (proximity, player count, rules, etc.)

Each server has a unique ID. This is the string of numbers at the end of the URL. Copy these IDs. For example, in the URL https://www.battlemetrics.com/servers/dayz/8039514, the ID is 8039514.

Enter the ID of a server to have it translated to an IP. After this step, the process continues as though you were connecting by IP.

Manage

Manage > Add server by IP

Add a server to your saved servers list by IP.

Provide the IP and query port in <IP>:<PORT> format.

Servers you add will be saved and listed when using the [My saved servers] option.

Manage > Add server by ID

Requires a BM API key. Use the BattleMetrics site to find servers of interest (proximity, player count, rules, etc.)

Each server has a unique ID. This is the string of numbers at the end of the URL. Copy these IDs. For example, in the URL https://www.battlemetrics.com/servers/dayz/8039514, the ID is 8039514.

Servers you add will be saved and listed when using the [My saved servers] option.

Manage > Add (change) favorite server

Prompts you to add/change a favorite server (limit one). The name of the server will be updated in the footer of the app when focused on the Quick connect to favorite server option in the Main menu context. If a favorite server is already enabled, this option switches to "Change favorite server."

Options

The options context is chiefly used to toggle settings, update API keys, or perform changes to mods.

Options > List installed mods

Prints a scrollable dialog containing all locally-installed mods and their corresponding symlink IDs and directory names.

If you right-click on an entry in the list, you have the option of opening the Workshop page for the mod in Steam or deleting the local mod.

Options > Toggle release branch

Used to toggle the branch to fetch DZGUI from between stable and testing.

The app ships with the stable branch enabled, with the testing branch being used to elaborate various experimental features.

Options > Toggle mod install mode

This feature is experimental. It attempts to queue the mods requested for download automatically, rather than prompting the user to subscribe to each one.

Note
 When using auto mod installation, DZGUI will track the latest version of your installed mods and periodically synchronize their signatures next time you attempt to connect to a server. This means that if you satisfy the mods needed for a server, but updates to other mods you already have are found, an update will be triggered until all of your local mods are refreshed. Provided you tend to keep auto mod install on, these updates should be atomic and ensure that mods are always up to date.
Options > Toggle Steam/Flatpak

This feature should be used if there are concurrent installations of Steam on the local system. Toggle between using Steam or Flatpak Steam to launch DayZ.

Options > Change player name

Used to change the in-game player name that is broadcast when on servers.

Options > Change Steam API key

Used to change or update the Steam API key; can be used if the old key needs to be revoked and updated with a new one.

Options > Change Battlemetrics API key

Identical to the option above, only for Battlemetrics.

Options > Force update local mods

Attempts to update the signatures of all local mods and synchronize them with the latest versions available on Steam Workshop. This option should be used when Toggle mod install mode is set to AUTO.

This can be used in the event of mod corruption or linkage errors.

Output system info to log file

Writes a list of your current settings and system configuration to a local file that can be pasted into bug reports. This process may take some time.

The file is written to $HOME/.local/state/dzgui/logs/DZGUI_SYSTEM.log

Help

The help context chiefly opens external documentation and support pages in the system-defined web browser or internal dialog.

Options > View changelog

Prints the entire changelog up to the current version in-app.

Options > Show debug log

Prints the DZGUI log file generated since the last session in a tabled format in-app.

Help > Help file

Uses xdg-open to open this documentation in the system browser.

Help > Report a bug

Uses xdg-open to open the bug tracker in the system browser.

Help > Forum

Uses xdg-open to open the discussion forum in the system browser.

Help > Sponsor

Uses xdg-open to open the sponsor page, where you can help fund development, in the system browser.

Help > Hall of fame

Uses xdg-open to open the Hall of Fame, which recognizes those who actively contributed to the betterment of the application through bug reports and suggestions, in the system browser.

Exit

Exits the DZGUI application.

Keybindings

The "?" button opens a dialog that provides additional information about keybindings and navigation throughout the application.

Note
 Due to size constraints, this button is not currently available on Steam Deck.

Server table and filters

Table metadata

All server browser contexts (My saved servers, Server browser, Recent servers) expose the following filters on the right-hand side. These options can be combined.

The table lists servers in columnar fashion according by:

  • Name: the server name and the menu context you are currently on

  • Map: the map name

  • Perspective: first-person (1PP) or third-person (3PP)

  • Gametime: in-game time on the 24-hour clock

  • Players: total players currently in-game

  • Maximum: total players the server supports

  • Address: the address in IP:Port format

  • Qport: the query port of the listening server

Columns are width-adjustable, and the positions they are set to will be saved and persist across sessions. The saved column width is used uniformly across server browsing contexts.

Contextual options

When in a server browsing context, right click on any server in the list to expose a series of contextual options. These are:

  • Add to (Remove from) saved servers: add or remove the server to/from your saved servers list

  • Copy IP to clipboard: copy the game server IP to the clipboard

  • Show server-side mods: opens a dialog with details about the name, Workshop ID, and local installation status of mods on the server. Select a mod to open its Workshop page in Steam

  • Refresh player count: refresh the player count for this server in-place in the table. Useful if some time has passed since you loaded the list and you want to see if the queue is open

Filters

The filter panel on the right-hand side of the table allows you to search by keyword, map type, and toggle different filters.

Keyword search

A text entry field where you can search for hits in any column of the table by partial string match. The field does not support regex, but does support basic backslash escapes for special characters, e.g., \[My string\].

Clear the keyword search and submit again to remove any keyword filter.

Map search

Opens a combobox that lets you filter the table by specific map.

A variety of navigation bindings for interacting with the table and toggling filters can be found via the Keybindings dialog.

Toggle filters

A series of filters that restrict the results by game parameters. Also toggleable via the number keys.

Filter Usage

1PP

Include servers in first-person perspective

3PP

Include servers in third-person perspective

Day

Include servers with gametime between 0600 and 1659

Night

Include servers with gametime between 1700 and 0559

Empty

Include servers with 0 current players

Full

Include servers at maximum capacity

Low pop

Include servers with a current player count < 30% of the allowable capacity

Non-ASCII titles

Include servers with special symbols, Unicode, or text in the title. Note: unticking this filter will also exclude CJK languages, Cyrillic, and other special character sets

Duplicate

Include servers with duplicated server titles (there may be large numbers of misconfigured or generic servers with the same boilerplate title)
Note
 It is possible to filter the list to 0 results if you combine or exclude logically opposed filter pairs, such as excluding both 'Day' and 'Night' servers, effectively restricting the list to no possible servers. If you expect to see results but do not, double-check your filters (and keywords) to make sure your search is not too restrictive.

Debug mode

Debug mode can be enabled via the button toggle on the right panel. When debug mode is enabled, any attempt to connect to a server will function as before, excluding the final connection step. DZGUI will attempt to synchronize and download mods and then print a dialog showing what options would have actually been run when connecting to the server.

This can be used to diagnose problems and test functionality without actually launching the game.

Troubleshooting/FAQ

Mods take a long time to synchronize when subscribing from Workshop

Steam schedules the downloads in the background and processes them in the order they were subscribed to. This process is not instantaneous and can take some time.

The Steam Workshop shows a black screen when attempting to open/download a mod via DZGUI

This bug is being tracked at https://github.com/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/issues/9598. If the issue occurs, manually intervene in the Steam client by clicking a different window context (e.g., navigate to the Store page from Workshop, then back again) until the Workshop page starts to load content.

The game does not launch through Steam

Check the logs emitted by Steam in the terminal, or in <Steam path>/error.log.

The game launches, but throws a "mod missing/check PBO file" error when connecting

In rare cases, the server may be using misconfigured, malformed, or obsolete mods. This depends on server operators checking their mods for integrity.

The game launches, but when joining the game world, an error occurs

A mod is corrupted or the issue lies with the server. Replace the mods in question and reconnect.

The game is slow or prone to crashing

DayZ does not manipulate the game itself and does not contribute to/degrade its performance. If you are experiencing performance degradation, it can be caused by too many mods installed or by a server-side problem (underpowered server, misconfiguration, etc.) Contact the server administrator for assistance.

Reference

Config file key/value pairs

The config file is located at $HOME/.config/dztui/dztuirc.

Under normal usage, these values are populated and toggled automatically in-app. Deprecated keys are not listed.

Key Value

api_key

an optional BattleMetrics API key generated at BattleMetrics. See API key & server IDs

auto_install

permissible values are 0, 1, and 2. These are set internally depending on if the user enabled auto mod installation

branch

by default, set to stable; set to testing to fetch the testing branch

debug

by default, unset; when set to 1, the launch options that would have been run are printed as a dry-run, instead of actually connecting (used for troubleshooting and submitting bug reports)

default_steam_path

the path to the default Steam client installation

ip_list

an array of server addresses; each record is a concatenation of the IP/GamePort/Queryport

fav_server

a single server to quick-connect to; a concatenation of the IP/Gameport/Queryport

fav_label

the human-readable name of the fav server set above

name

a custom "handle" name used to identify the player on a server (required by some servers)

preferred_client

whether the user prefers native Steam or Flatpak. This value is only set if concurrent versions of Steam are found on the system

src_path

the path to where DZGUI is currently being stored

staging_dir

a directory used to stage changes between updates

steam_path

the path to Steam detected/set during first-time setup

steam_api

the Steam API key. See API key & server IDs

Hall of fame

This section recognizes users who have gone above and beyond in submitting useful bug reports that helped in tracking down critical issues or resulted in the elaboration of important features. This list is not exhaustive, and any missing parties are errors of omission, but this does not diminish the gratitude I have for their contributions.

bongjutsu

Consistently one of the first to report emergent bugs and provides clear, detailed ways of replicating the issue.

dj3hac

Provided extensive debug information that was instrumental in solving issues with Flatpak Steam.

jiriks74

Gives highly relevant information about edge cases, particularly as they concern the Steam beta client, Wayland, desktop environments, and experimental features.

MatheusLasserr

Consistently provides constructive, straightforward suggestions about UI and readability improvements.

scandalouss

Tracked down several highly obscure but key bugs in the early development of the application that were breaking discovery of mods.

StevelDusa

Played a critical role in the elaboration of many of the features we now take for granted by being an early beta tester who not only reported bugs, but helped workshop and brainstorm various ideas that turned into QOL features.

Thoughtduck216

Contributed extensive beta testing of Steam Deck builds and provided ongoing troubleshooting for Steam Deck users