Where can I find games I installed and save game files?

JeanDupleix · November 4, 2025, 8:50pm

System:
  Kernel: 6.17.7-zen1-1-zen arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 15.2.1 clocksource: tsc
    avail: hpet,acpi_pm parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/@/boot/vmlinuz-linux-zen
    root=UUID=4720892c-39b1-41e3-a61a-7feae0828c99 rw rootflags=subvol=@
    vt.default_red=30,243,166,249,137,245,148,186,88,243,166,249,137,245,148,166
    vt.default_grn=30,139,227,226,180,194,226,194,91,139,227,226,180,194,226,173
    vt.default_blu=46,168,161,175,250,231,213,222,112,168,161,175,250,231,213,200 quiet loglevel=3
  Desktop: KDE Plasma v: 6.5.1 tk: Qt v: N/A info: frameworks v: 6.19.0 wm: kwin_wayland vt: 2
    dm: SDDM Distro: Garuda base: Arch Linux
Machine:
  Type: Desktop System: CSL- GmbH & KG product: A0000001 v: N/A serial: <superuser required>
  Mobo: ASUSTeK model: PRIME H310M-K R2.0 v: Rev X.0x serial: <superuser required> part-nu: 72084
    uuid: <superuser required> UEFI: American Megatrends v: 1002 date: 05/24/2019
CPU:
  Info: model: Intel Core i5-9400F bits: 64 type: MCP arch: Coffee Lake gen: core 9 level: v3
    note: check built: 2018 process: Intel 14nm family: 6 model-id: 0x9E (158) stepping: 0xA (10)
    microcode: 0xFA
  Topology: cpus: 1x dies: 1 clusters: 6 cores: 6 smt: <unsupported> cache: L1: 384 KiB
    desc: d-6x32 KiB; i-6x32 KiB L2: 1.5 MiB desc: 6x256 KiB L3: 9 MiB desc: 1x9 MiB
  Speed (MHz): avg: 800 min/max: 800/4100 scaling: driver: intel_pstate governor: powersave
    cores: 1: 800 2: 800 3: 800 4: 800 5: 800 6: 800 bogomips: 34798
  Flags-basic: avx avx2 ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3
  Vulnerabilities: <filter>
Graphics:
  Device-1: NVIDIA GP107 [GeForce GTX 1050 Ti] driver: nvidia v: 580.95.05
    alternate: nouveau,nvidia_drm non-free: 550-580.xx+ status: current (as of 2025-08;
    EOL~2026-12-xx) arch: Pascal code: GP10x process: TSMC 16nm built: 2016-2021 pcie: gen: 2
    speed: 5 GT/s lanes: 4 link-max: gen: 3 speed: 8 GT/s lanes: 16 ports: active: HDMI-A-1
    empty: DP-1,DVI-D-1 bus-ID: 01:00.0 chip-ID: 10de:1c82 class-ID: 0300
  Device-2: Logitech Webcam C270 driver: snd-usb-audio,uvcvideo type: USB rev: 2.0
    speed: 480 Mb/s lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 bus-ID: 1-5:4 chip-ID: 046d:0825 class-ID: 0102
    serial: <filter>
  Display: wayland server: X.org v: 1.21.1.20 with: Xwayland v: 24.1.9 compositor: kwin_wayland
    driver: gpu: nvidia,nvidia-nvswitch display-ID: 0
  Monitor-1: HDMI-A-1 model: Asus VP278 serial: <filter> built: 2019 res: mode: 1920x1080 hz: 60
    scale: 110% (1.1) to: 1745x982 dpi: 82 gamma: 1.2 size: 598x336mm (23.54x13.23")
    diag: 686mm (27") ratio: 16:9 modes: max: 1920x1080 min: 640x480
  API: EGL v: 1.5 hw: drv: nvidia platforms: device: 0 drv: nvidia device: 2 drv: swrast gbm:
    drv: nvidia surfaceless: drv: nvidia wayland: drv: nvidia x11: drv: nvidia inactive: device-1
  API: OpenGL v: 4.6.0 compat-v: 4.5 vendor: nvidia mesa v: 580.95.05 glx-v: 1.4
    direct-render: yes renderer: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti/PCIe/SSE2 memory: 3.91 GiB
    display-ID: :0.0
  API: Vulkan v: 1.4.328 layers: 11 device: 0 type: discrete-gpu name: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
    driver: nvidia v: 580.95.05 device-ID: 10de:1c82 surfaces: N/A device: 1 type: cpu name: llvmpipe
    (LLVM 21.1.4 256 bits) driver: mesa llvmpipe v: 25.2.6-arch1.1 (LLVM 21.1.4)
    device-ID: 10005:0000 surfaces: N/A
  Info: Tools: api: clinfo, eglinfo, glxinfo, vulkaninfo de: kscreen-console,kscreen-doctor
    gpu: nvidia-smi wl: wayland-info x11: xdpyinfo, xprop, xrandr
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel 200 Series PCH HD Audio vendor: ASUSTeK driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel
    alternate: snd_soc_avs bus-ID: 00:1f.3 chip-ID: 8086:a2f0 class-ID: 0403
  Device-2: NVIDIA GP107GL High Definition Audio driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel pcie: gen: 3
    speed: 8 GT/s lanes: 4 link-max: lanes: 16 bus-ID: 01:00.1 chip-ID: 10de:0fb9 class-ID: 0403
  Device-3: Logitech Webcam C270 driver: snd-usb-audio,uvcvideo type: USB rev: 2.0
    speed: 480 Mb/s lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 bus-ID: 1-5:4 chip-ID: 046d:0825 class-ID: 0102
    serial: <filter>
  API: ALSA v: k6.17.7-zen1-1-zen status: kernel-api with: aoss type: oss-emulator tools: N/A
  Server-1: sndiod v: N/A status: off tools: aucat,midicat,sndioctl
  Server-2: PipeWire v: 1.4.9 status: active with: 1: pipewire-pulse status: active
    2: wireplumber status: active 3: pipewire-alsa type: plugin 4: pw-jack type: plugin
    tools: pactl,pw-cat,pw-cli,wpctl
Network:
  Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8211/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet vendor: ASUSTeK RTL8111H
    driver: r8169 v: kernel pcie: gen: 1 speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 1 port: d000 bus-ID: 03:00.0
    chip-ID: 10ec:8168 class-ID: 0200
  IF: enp3s0 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>
  Info: services: NetworkManager, smbd, systemd-timesyncd
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 1.19 TiB used: 97.5 GiB (8.0%)
  SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required.
  ID-1: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: Kingston model: SA400S37240G size: 223.57 GiB block-size:
    physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s tech: SSD serial: <filter> fw-rev: B1D2
    scheme: GPT
  ID-2: /dev/sdb maj-min: 8:16 vendor: Seagate model: ST1000DM010-2EP102 size: 931.51 GiB
    block-size: physical: 4096 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s tech: HDD rpm: 7200 serial: <filter>
    fw-rev: CC43 scheme: GPT
  ID-3: /dev/sdc maj-min: 8:32 vendor: Intenso model: Alu Line size: 58.98 GiB block-size:
    physical: 512 B logical: 512 B type: USB rev: 2.0 spd: 480 Mb/s lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 tech: N/A
    serial: <filter> fw-rev: 8.07 scheme: MBR
  SMART Message: Unknown USB bridge. Flash drive/Unsupported enclosure?
Partition:
  ID-1: / raw-size: 223.28 GiB size: 223.28 GiB (100.00%) used: 97.5 GiB (43.7%) fs: btrfs
    dev: /dev/sda2 maj-min: 8:2
  ID-2: /boot/efi raw-size: 300 MiB size: 299.4 MiB (99.80%) used: 664 KiB (0.2%) fs: vfat
    dev: /dev/sda1 maj-min: 8:1
  ID-3: /home raw-size: 223.28 GiB size: 223.28 GiB (100.00%) used: 97.5 GiB (43.7%) fs: btrfs
    dev: /dev/sda2 maj-min: 8:2
  ID-4: /var/log raw-size: 223.28 GiB size: 223.28 GiB (100.00%) used: 97.5 GiB (43.7%) fs: btrfs
    dev: /dev/sda2 maj-min: 8:2
  ID-5: /var/tmp raw-size: 223.28 GiB size: 223.28 GiB (100.00%) used: 97.5 GiB (43.7%) fs: btrfs
    dev: /dev/sda2 maj-min: 8:2
Swap:
  Kernel: swappiness: 133 (default 60) cache-pressure: 100 (default) zswap: no
  ID-1: swap-1 type: zram size: 15.54 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) priority: 100 comp: zstd
    avail: lzo-rle,lzo,lz4,lz4hc,deflate,842 dev: /dev/zram0
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 31.0 C mobo: N/A
  Fan Speeds (rpm): N/A
Info:
  Memory: total: 16 GiB available: 15.55 GiB used: 2.23 GiB (14.3%)
  Processes: 263 Power: uptime: 1m states: freeze,mem,disk suspend: deep avail: s2idle wakeups: 0
    hibernate: platform avail: shutdown, reboot, suspend, test_resume image: 6.14 GiB
    services: org_kde_powerdevil, power-profiles-daemon, upowerd Init: systemd v: 258
    default: graphical tool: systemctl
  Packages: pm: pacman pkgs: 1471 libs: 471 tools: octopi,paru Compilers: gcc: 15.2.1
    Client: Unknown Client: electron inxi: 3.3.39
Garuda (2.11.1-1):
  System install date:     2025-10-19
  Garuda release:          251002
  Last full system update: 2025-11-04
  Is partially upgraded:   No
  Relevant software:       snapper NetworkManager dracut nvidia-utils nvidia-dkms garuda-hardware-profile-nvidia-closed garuda-hardware-profile-standard
  Windows dual boot:       No/Undetected
  Failed units:            
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I hope the title says it all. Thanks in advance and btw also to all who contribute to the scripts so linux illiterates like me can use and maintain Garuda.

nepti · November 4, 2025, 8:53pm

It would be helpful to know which games are involved and which launcher you are using. Please describe your issue in more detail.

JeanDupleix · November 4, 2025, 9:03pm

At the moment I am looking for Saelig (live sim in 9th century England) installed via Steam.
I would like to save savegames before doing a reinstall of Garuda with the new ISO. I made some mistake and lost access to the 2nd harddrive in my pc which is still on NTFS also lost the fish app for console commands. Hence the reinstall. But would also be good to know generall where game files are to be found in case I want to modify some data file.

shayaknyc · November 4, 2025, 9:05pm

From within Steam, you can right-click on the game you have installed, then hover over Manage and select Browse local files. This should open where the game is installed on your local storage.

JeanDupleix · November 4, 2025, 9:29pm

Thanks a lot. That was a really enlightening hint. I had no idea that a . in the path may show a lot of files and folders I couldnt see before.

shayaknyc · November 5, 2025, 12:30am

If you’re in your file manager, make sure you have it display hidden files and folders, you’ll see a lot in your home directory that often contain local configuration and preferences for software you have installed.

fbodymechanic · November 5, 2025, 2:24am

For example, my borderlands 3 via steam (flatpak)

Duke187 · November 5, 2025, 9:37am

Hi you also can Backup the Game Files there to a Directory where you want have it

and simple install again

JeanDupleix · November 5, 2025, 2:28pm

Thank you all for your hints.
Setting the file manager to show hidden files was always one of the first things I did on a new Windows system. Thanks shayaknyc for that reminder.
Finding or reininstalling a game on steam is not really difficult. However, finding the save games is a different matter. With your hints I have been able to locate my Saelig.ini file but not my save games. I give it another try and failing that I can simply change my settings to save in the cloud and change back to local saves after reinstalling Garuda with the new ISO.
Though I generally dont like to save in the cloud it is an option for save games when changing to a new pc or installing a new OS.
In the long run however I would like to choose where my games are saved locally or at least know where they are.

OttoWolf · November 6, 2025, 7:17pm

I am afraid I can’t give advice on how to change where steam stores savegames, but I can provide some insight on where to find those files. E.g. for the game Final Fantasy XII, my savegames are located here :

The number 595520 in the path is steam’s app id which you can lookup on steamdb.info :

shayaknyc · November 6, 2025, 7:23pm

Alternatively, if you don’t have many steam games installed, you can just navigate to ~/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata/ and there you’ll find a directory of different numbers corresponding to each game you have installed, and just poke around in each one until you find the one you’re looking for.

Keep in mind, the way to play windows games on Linux, it uses a WINE/Proton layer, which means it has to have a prefix set up for each game. This is sort of like a pseudo-Windows file structure environment, which begins inside ../pfx/ which is short for prefix. You’ll see in @OttoWolf 's example above, once you enter ~/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata/595520/ for FFXII, inside the pfx folder is drive_c - consider this the C:\ drive for the game. If you look up where a game saves it’s file on Windows, the path usually is the same inside the drive_c directory.

Good luck!

OttoWolf · November 6, 2025, 7:27pm

Thanks for adding this. I have to admit I already forgot how much this had me confused at first…