Balota Launcher

DayZ server browser and mod manager for Linux and the Steam Deck.

DZSA Launcher — the tool everyone uses to find modded DayZ servers — is Windows only. Balota does that job natively on Linux: it lists every DayZ server, resolves the mods each one requires, tells you which ones you are missing, and launches the game through Steam with the symlinks Proton needs to load them.

What it does

• Every server, in one request. ~21,000 servers pulled from the DZSA master list, filtered and paginated natively so typing in the search box never stutters.
• Real latency. Direct A2S/UDP probes of the servers on screen, including the challenge handshake servers have required since 2020.
• Mods per server. Each server's mod list with names and Workshop IDs, and a clear mark on the ones you do not have. Joining is blocked until they are installed, instead of launching you into a rejection.
• Symlinks that work under Proton. Mods are linked as @<base64> inside the DayZ folder, using the compact encoding that keeps the -mod= command line under its length limit and free of characters Wine mangles.
• Finds DayZ wherever it lives. Reads libraryfolders.vdf, so a second drive or the Steam Deck's SD card is covered, and appmanifest_221100.acf, so a renamed install folder still works. Native, Flatpak and Snap Steam.
• Mod housekeeping. The Mods tab lists what is installed and unsubscribes in bulk, which is how mods actually leave the system — Steam deletes the files and stops tracking them.
• Keyboard and controller navigation. The whole interface works from the keyboard, and a plugged-in or paired controller drives it directly — built for the Steam Deck and the couch.
• Favourites, join history, and filters by map, mods, perspective, occupancy and password.

Install

Download

Grab the AppImage from the latest release:

chmod +x Balota_1.1.0_amd64.AppImage
./Balota_1.1.0_amd64.AppImage

It bundles GTK/WebKit and needs nothing installed, so it runs on any distro.

Native packages are attached too, for people who would rather the app went through their package manager:

sudo apt install ./Balota_1.1.0_amd64.deb    # Debian, Ubuntu, Mint, Pop!_OS
sudo dnf install ./Balota-1.1.0-1.x86_64.rpm # Fedora, Nobara, openSUSE

Every release ships a SHA256SUMS file. Check what you downloaded before running it:

sha256sum -c SHA256SUMS --ignore-missing

Build from source

Dependencies

Distro	Command
Arch, CachyOS, EndeavourOS	sudo pacman -S --needed webkit2gtk-4.1 gtk3 base-devel curl wget file
Debian, Ubuntu, Mint, Pop!_OS	sudo apt install libwebkit2gtk-4.1-dev libgtk-3-dev build-essential curl wget file libssl-dev librsvg2-dev
Fedora, Nobara	sudo dnf install webkit2gtk4.1-devel gtk3-devel openssl-devel gcc-c++ librsvg2-devel
Bazzite, SteamOS, Silverblue	see below — these are immutable

Plus Rust 1.88+ and Node.js 20+.

Build

git clone https://github.com/ayozetr/balota.git
cd balota
npm install
npm run app          # run it
npm run app:build    # AppImage + .deb in src-tauri/target/release/bundle/

The release binary is ~5 MB; the AppImage carries its own GTK/WebKit payload and needs no runtime dependencies.

Immutable distros (Bazzite, SteamOS, Silverblue)

The system image is read-only, so build dependencies do not belong on the host. Use the AppImage if you just want to run Balota — it bundles everything and needs nothing installed.

To build it yourself, do it inside a container (distrobox ships with Bazzite and SteamOS):

distrobox create --name balota --image fedora:41
distrobox enter balota
sudo dnf install webkit2gtk4.1-devel gtk3-devel openssl-devel gcc-c++ librsvg2-devel \
  nodejs npm git
# then the normal build; the resulting AppImage runs on the host

Do not reach for rpm-ostree install for this: it layers development packages onto every future system update for no reason, and needs a reboot each time.

Using it

1. Pick a server. Clicking one queries it live and lists its mods.
2. Subscribe & install subscribes to the whole list at once, so Steam downloads the mods and keeps them updated from then on. Progress updates on its own.
3. Join server creates the symlinks and launches DayZ through Steam.

Steam has to be running (Balota starts it otherwise; with the Flatpak build, start it yourself first).

Deliberate limitations

• Subscribing identifies Balota as DayZ. Subscribing goes through the Steamworks SDK, which means announcing AppID 221100 to Steam — so Steam shows you as playing DayZ for the few seconds the helper runs. It is confined to a separate short-lived process for exactly that reason. If Steam is closed, Balota falls back to downloading the mods unsubscribed and says so.
• GameMode and MangoHud are not toggles. They cannot work from here. steam -applaunch only hands a request to the running Steam client, which spawns the game itself — wrapping that command wraps nothing. Settings shows the string to paste into Steam's own launch options, which is the one place that does work.

Steam Deck & controllers

The whole interface is keyboard-navigable, and a controller drives it two ways: read directly on the desktop (the d-pad and left stick move, A opens, B goes back, X favourites, Y joins, the shoulders page), and through Steam Input in Game Mode, where Steam turns the pad into the keystrokes below before Balota ever sees it.

Key	Does
↑ ↓	Move through the server list
Enter	Open the selected server
J	Join it straight away
F	Toggle favourite
Home End	First / last server on the page
Page Up Page Down	Previous / next page
/	Jump to the search box
F5	Refresh the server list
Esc	Close a dialog, or leave a text field

Tab moves between regions rather than through every row: the list is one stop, and the arrows take over inside it. Settings → Controller shows the detected pad, its button map, and a live readout — useful when a controller maps oddly, as some do over Bluetooth.

Troubleshooting

Blank window, or Gdk-Message: Error 71 dispatching to Wayland display. WebKitGTK's DMABUF renderer misbehaving on Wayland. Balota already sets WEBKIT_DISABLE_DMABUF_RENDERER=1 on itself at startup, so this should not happen — if it still does, fall back to XWayland:

GDK_BACKEND=x11 balota

DayZ not found. Settings lists every path that was searched. If your install lives somewhere unusual, set the Steam path by hand there — it wants the folder that contains steamapps.

Joining does nothing. Steam has to be running, and with the Flatpak build it must be started before Balota. Settings shows whether Balota can see it.

How it works

The Proton mod-loading dance, the DZSA endpoints and the A2S challenge are written up in docs/HOW-IT-WORKS.md. Development setup lives in CONTRIBUTING.md.

Credits

Server data comes from the public dayzsalauncher.com API. Controller artwork is from Kenney's Input Prompts (CC0). Full third-party licences are in docs/THIRD-PARTY.md.

Legal

Balota is an unofficial tool built by the community. It is not affiliated with, authorised by or endorsed by Bohemia Interactive a.s., Valve Corporation or DZSA Launcher.

Bohemia Interactive, ARMA, DayZ and all associated logos and designs are trademarks or registered trademarks of Bohemia Interactive a.s. Steam and the Steam logo are trademarks of Valve Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

License

GNU General Public License v3.0 or later, with an additional permission under section 7 for linking against the Steamworks SDK — see LICENSE. Copyright © 2026 Ayoze Torres.

In short: the source stays open. Anyone may use, study, modify and redistribute Balota, and any distributed derivative has to ship its source under the same terms. The extra permission exists so the app can talk to Steam through Valve's proprietary SDK, which the GPL alone would not allow.

Third-party dependencies and their licences are listed in docs/THIRD-PARTY.md.

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Built by @ayozetr · Support on Ko-fi