WiVRn

WiVRn #

The WiVRn mascot

WiVRn wirelessly connects a standalone VR headset to a Linux computer. You can then play PCVR games on the headset while processing is done on the computer.

WiVRn is based on Monado and can be used with xrizer or OpenComposite to support a majority of titles available for SteamVR. A wide range of standalone headsets are supported.

Proton version 9 or newer is required for Windows Steam games to work, on older versions it will fail to initialise VR.

Installing WiVRn #

We recommend using distribution packages when available (see below) or the WiVRn Flatpak when one is unavailable.

Arch Linux #

Packages are available on AUR, you will need the following packages:

  • wivrn-server and wivrn-dashboard for base feature + GUI (latest release), or wivrn-full-git for development version
  • xrizer-git or opencomposite-git for compatibility with OpenVR and Proton

Fedora #

The wivrn package will automatically pull wivrn-dashboard and opencomposite as dependencies, it can be installed with sudo dnf install wivrn.

To make use of patented codecs for video encoding like H264/H265, you must install the codecs from RPMFusion.

Gentoo Linux #

Packages are available on Guru, you will need media-libs/wivrn and media-libs/opencomposite.

NixOS #

See services.wivrn.

Flatpak (all distributions) #

The WiVRn Flatpak has the latest released version and can be installed with flatpak install flathub io.github.wivrn.wivrn or via your software centre application.

For development releases, you can download the wivrn-flatpak-x86_64 artifact from the GitHub Build action.

Envision (guided build) #

Using Envision for building WiVRn is highly discouraged! Packages made for your distribution (see above) should be preferred in most cases.

You can use Envision to install and launch WiVRn & xrizer / OpenComposite.

General WiVRn Notes #

WiVRn uses Avahi for network discovery. Ensure it is running with the following terminal command:

systemctl enable --now avahi-daemon

If Avahi is not available, --no-publish-service bypasses it, and the IP address of the server must be entered into the client.

If a firewall is installed, make sure ports 5353/UDP and 9757/UDP+TCP are open for Avahi and WiVRn respectively.

If using Nvidia proprietary drivers older than 565, install the Monado Vulkan Layers, otherwise games will crash with a segmentation fault.

For audio in WiVRn, you will need to assign applications, or the system as a whole, to output audio to the virtual output “WiVRn” which is created upon connection between the server and the headset.

Steam Flatpak #

It is possible to use WiVRn Flatpak with Steam Flatpak, though Steam Flatpak isn’t generally recommended for VR. If you are using Steam Flatpak, you just need to grant it access to the relevant paths with the command below.

If you have Steam installed in the system flatpak installation rather than the user installation, remove the --user flag from these commands.

flatpak override --user \
  --filesystem=xdg-config/openxr:ro \
  --filesystem=xdg-config/openvr:ro \
  --filesystem=xdg-run/wivrn \
  --filesystem=/var/lib/flatpak/app/io.github.wivrn.wivrn:ro \
  --filesystem=~/.var/app/io.github.wivrn.wivrn:ro \
  com.valvesoftware.Steam

As an added bonus to the above, this command will save you the effort of having to set launch options for every single VR game in your Steam library:

flatpak override --user --env=PRESSURE_VESSEL_IMPORT_OPENXR_1_RUNTIMES=1 --env=PRESSURE_VESSEL_FILESYSTEMS_RW=/var/lib/flatpak/app/io.github.wivrn.wivrn com.valvesoftware.Steam

Wired WiVRn #

You can use WiVRn with a cable instead of Wi-Fi. Use a 5Gbps cable & port at the very least.

  • Install adb on your system - usually the package is named android-tools or something similar.
  • Connect the headset via USB.
  • Run adb devices in your terminal.
  • If you have never authorised USB debugging from this computer before, put the headset on shortly and select ‘Always allow USB debugging from this computer’. Then depending on your installation method, follow these steps:

Using the dashboard:

  • The ‘Connect via USB’ button under the pairing toggle should have a list of devices - select any one to initiate a wired connection.

Using Envision:

  • Click the Start WiVRn Client (Wired) button in Envision.

Manual steps: See the README.

WiVRn + SlimeVR trackers #

SlimeVR support has been merged into WiVRn, however it is only in the development version at the moment. To use the development version:

  • Arch: Install the wivrn-full-git AUR package.
  • Envision: Clear XR Service Repo if it is set, then set XR Service Branch to master.
  • NixOS: Import the nixpkgs-xr overlay in your system configuration.
  • Flatpak: See the Flatpak installation section. Make sure you follow the development version instructions.

You will need to install a matching version of the headset application. Make sure you have plugged in the headset and set up adb as described in the Wired WiVRn section, then:

Install APK with the dashboard #

Click ‘Install the app’ at the top, then click the Install WiVRn / Reinstall WiVRn button on your headset in the list.

Install APK with Envision #

Click the ‘Install WiVRn APK’ button on the left side of the window.

Install APK manually #

Download the org.meumeu.wivrn-release.apk from the release matching your server version from the WiVRn-APK repository, then run adb install path/to/org.meumeu.wivrn-release.apk, filling in the path to the downloaded .apk file, to sideload it onto the headset.

WiVRn + Lighthouse driver #

This section covers using WiVRn 0.19 and newer with any Lighthouse-tracked device (such as Index/Vive controllers, Vive/Tundra trackers, etc.)

You must have SteamVR installed (no need to run it).

Upstream xrizer doesn’t support FBT, so either select OpenComposite as the OpenVR library in WiVRn dashboard settings, or build the branch of xrizer that supports full-body tracking.

Option A: Use Distro-Native Packages #

These packages come with lighthouse support enabled (Fedora, Flatpak, and Envision (by default) does NOT)

  • Arch: Install wivrn-dashboard wivrn-server from AUR
  • Gentoo: Emerge wivrn from Guru

Open the WiVRn dashboard and under advanced settings, tick Enable SteamVR tracked devices support, then stop/start the server.

Warning: distro-native packages are known to have issues with Flatpak Steam.

Option B: Build using Envision #

Set WiVRn Profile as such:

  • XR Service CMake Flags:
    • WIVRN_FEATURE_STEAMVR_LIGHTHOUSE=ON
  • Environment Variables:
    • WIVRN_USE_STEAMVR_LH=1
    • LH_DISCOVER_WAIT_MS=6000

Perform a Clean Build after changing the CMake flags!

Option C: NixOS #

Override the wivrn package and launch wivrn-server with the required environment variables:

{
  services.wivrn = {
    enable = true;
    defaultRuntime = true;
    package = pkgs.wivrn.overrideAttrs (old: {
      cmakeFlags = old.cmakeFlags ++ [
        (lib.cmakeBool "WIVRN_FEATURE_STEAMVR_LIGHTHOUSE" true)
      ];
    });
    monadoEnvironment = {
      WIVRN_USE_STEAMVR_LH = "1";
      LH_DISCOVER_WAIT_MS = "6000";
    };
  };
}

Option D: Manual Build #

Simply pass -DWIVRN_FEATURE_STEAMVR_LIGHTHOUSE=ON to CMake and export the above environment variables before starting wivrn-server.

Usage tips #

Discovery happens only on first connection, so be sure to have all Lighthouse devices powered on and in line-of-sight of your base stations before connecting the headset! Once a device is discovered, you may power it off and on at-will.

You can use Motoc to calibrate the two tracking technologies to work together.

Once video appears in the headset, check motoc monitor to make sure your devices all show up.

If one or more devices are missing, try:

  • Spread the devices out more; Lighthouse devices get discovered quicker if they’re not piled up on each other. Simply strapping them on is good, too.
  • Increase LH_DISCOVER_WAIT_MS, though this delays the client on first connection.

To re-discover devices, restart WiVRn server.

At this point, your Lighthouse devices will be randomly floating about somewhere. To calibrate them, follow the guide in the Motoc README.