Install the desktop runtime and media plugins for your distribution, then
run the checks below before playing a video.
What your system needs
A graphical desktop session using X11 or Wayland, with working graphics
drivers and sound.
WebKitGTK 4.1 and its GTK runtime for Vega's desktop interface.
GStreamer media plugins for the built-in player, including decoders for
the files you watch.
A Vega build that matches your CPU architecture.
Identify your distribution and CPU
cat /etc/os-release
uname -m
Match x86_64 to an amd64/x86_64 asset,
or aarch64 to an arm64 asset if that release provides
one.
1. Install your runtime packages
Open Terminal and choose your distribution. These are runtime packages for
running Vega. Your package manager will also install their dependencies.
Ubuntu / Debian / Linux Mint
Ubuntu 22.04 or newer, Debian 12 or newer, and compatible Linux Mint releases. If a package cannot be found on Ubuntu, enable the Universe repository in Software & Updates, then run apt update again.
Expected: the installed WebKitGTK package and its version. A “not
installed” result means the runtime is still missing.
Fedora
These commands install Fedora's runtime and base plugins. Some H.264, HEVC, and other codec support may need additional packages; use Fedora's codec instructions linked below if decoder checks are missing.
Download the latest matching asset from the official desktop releases. Run the relevant command from the folder containing your download, with
only one matching Vega installer in that folder.
Ubuntu / Debian — install the .deb
sudo apt install ./Vega_*.deb
Fedora — install the .rpm
sudo dnf install ./Vega*.rpm
Launch Vega from your applications menu as your normal desktop user.
Using an AppImage instead?
Make the AppImage executable and launch it
chmod +x ./Vega_*.AppImage
./Vega_*.AppImage
If it reports a FUSE error, install the FUSE 2 library for your
distribution:
gst-inspect-1.0 --version
for element in qtdemux matroskademux h264parse h265parse avdec_h264 avdec_h265 avdec_aac autoaudiosink; do
if gst-inspect-1.0 "$element" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
printf 'PASS %s\n' "$element"
else
printf 'MISSING %s\n' "$element"
fi
done
PASS means that element can be loaded. MISSING means it is unavailable or failed to load; install the relevant media plugins
for your distribution. avdec_h264, avdec_h265, and avdec_aac check software decoders for H.264, HEVC, and AAC. Other decoders may also support
those formats.
Confirm your session's audio server
pactl info
Expected: server details, including Server Name and Default Sink. PulseAudio and PipeWire's PulseAudio compatibility service both work. A
connection error means this command cannot reach your session's audio
server; check your desktop sound settings and that service before testing
playback.
Finally, play a local file in Vega. Confirm that time advances, sound works,
audio tracks switch, and resizing stays responsive. Press F11 to enter
fullscreen and Esc to exit. Component checks alone do not guarantee
every codec profile or GPU path will play correctly.
If a check fails
“undefined symbol: vaMapBuffer2” or another library error
This indicates incompatible loaded libraries, rather than establishing a
missing HEVC decoder. Update your distribution's packages together and
relaunch the latest Vega build. On Arch, use a full sudo pacman -Syu update. If the error remains, include the complete error line and the executable/library
paths when reporting it.
FFmpeg / FFprobe checks
Vega's packaged FFmpeg and FFprobe handle probing and remuxing;
GStreamer plugins are separate. Checking a system ffprobe alone
does not confirm Vega's bundled tool works. For a current installed .deb,
check the bundled tool directly:
Expected: FFprobe's version and build information. If that file is
missing, check your installed package/version. AppImage and other
package layouts can use a different path.
