SteamVR#

The de facto standard for anything PCVR, SteamVR runs natively on Linux.

Unfortunately the Linux version is riddled with bugs, missing features and bad performance, so in general it can be a subpar experience.

You can use one of the alternatives listed in the FOSS VR section.

If you want to use a standalone headset with SteamVR you can check out ALVR.

Room Setup#

The SteamVR room setup application is bug prone. It’s possible to circumvent the room setup application using quick calibration.

Quick Calibration#

Set the headset and controllers on the floor in the center of the playspace. Run the Quick Calibration utility from the SteamVR-Monitor (the desktop utility showing basestations, headset and controller icons) under Settings > Developer > Room and Tracking. This will setup a standing play area for you to use.

Envision#

Envision can run a quick calibration with the press of a button. This is convenient if you want to use Monado instead of SteamVR, but the calibration will also work on plain SteamVR.

VRCMD#

For a (nearly) headless option to do the room setup. First, turn on the basestations and controllers. Put the headset and controllers in the center of your play space.

Next, open two terminal windows with /home/user/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/SteamVR/bin/linux64 as the working directory. In one window, run the following command. This command will start the SteamVR server and generate pose data.

LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$(pwd) ./vrcmd --pollposes

In the second terminal window, run the following command. This command will perform a similar function to the Quick Calibration method described above.

LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$(pwd) ./vrcmd --resetroomsetup

Use Ctrl+C in the first terminal window to stop the SteamVR server.

Recalibration After Adding Base Station#

If you add a new base station to your setup and try to re-run the calibration, you may notice the front of your playspace not matching the direction of your headset or the center being offset.

If this occurs, delete the lighthouse calibration folder (~/.local/share/Steam/config/lighthouse) as well as the chaperone file (~/.local/share/Steam/config/chaperone_info.vrchap) and redo your calibration.