feralinteractive/gamemode

★ 5,831CAudience · generalComplexity · 2/5Setup · easy

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((gamemode))
    What it does
      Boost CPU performance
      Raise process priority
      GPU performance mode
      Screensaver inhibit
    Activation Methods
      gamemoderun prefix
      Steam launch options
      Built-in game support
    GPU Support
      Nvidia overclocking
      AMD performance mode
    Configuration
      Config file
      Custom scripts
      IO priority tuning

mindmap root((gamemode)) What it does Boost CPU performance Raise process priority GPU performance mode Screensaver inhibit Activation Methods gamemoderun prefix Steam launch options Built-in game support GPU Support Nvidia overclocking AMD performance mode Configuration Config file Custom scripts IO priority tuning

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Things people build with this

USE CASE 1

Boost Linux game performance by automatically switching the CPU to high-performance mode and raising game process priority when a game launches.

USE CASE 2

Add GameMode to a Steam game's launch options so system optimizations activate automatically whenever that game starts.

USE CASE 3

Configure custom scripts to run before and after a gaming session, such as closing background apps or adjusting display settings.

USE CASE 4

Enable temporary GPU performance mode for Nvidia or AMD cards during gameplay without making permanent system changes.

Tech stack

Cmesonsystemd

Getting it running

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

Available as a prebuilt package in Ubuntu, Debian, Arch, Fedora, and most major Linux distributions.

License information was not mentioned in the explanation.

In plain English

GameMode is a small background service for Linux that temporarily adjusts operating system settings to improve game performance, then restores everything to normal when the game closes. It was created by Feral Interactive, a company known for porting commercial games to Linux. When a game starts and requests GameMode, the service can switch the CPU to a high-performance power mode, raise the priority of the game process so the processor spends more time on it, and boost GPU performance on Nvidia and AMD graphics cards. It can also inhibit the screensaver while gaming, adjust I/O priority, and run custom scripts before or after a session. All changes are temporary and reversed when the game exits. You can trigger GameMode in a few ways. Some games and launchers already include built-in support and activate it automatically. For others, you prefix the launch command with "gamemoderun" in a terminal, or add it to Steam's launch options with "gamemoderun %command%". A configuration file lets you customize which optimizations run, including GPU overclocking parameters for Nvidia cards. GameMode ships as a prebuilt package in most major Linux distributions, including Ubuntu, Debian, Arch, Fedora, OpenSUSE, and Gentoo, so most users can install it without compiling anything. Building from source requires a C development environment, the meson build tool, and the systemd messaging library. The project is structured so the background daemon and the client-side library are separate pieces. This means a game that links against the GameMode client library will still launch safely even if the daemon is not installed or running on the system. It is maintained by Feral Interactive and open-source contributors.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1

How do I add GameMode to a specific game on Steam? I want it to activate automatically when I launch the game from my Steam library.

Prompt 2

I installed GameMode on Ubuntu. How do I verify it is actually activating when I start a game and check which optimizations are being applied?

Prompt 3

How do I configure GameMode to run a custom script before gaming starts and after it ends? Where is the config file and what format does it use?

Prompt 4

Does GameMode work with AMD GPUs? What GPU performance features does it support for AMD cards versus Nvidia?

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