install-resolve

An elegant, self-contained installer companion for DaVinci Resolve and DaVinci Resolve Studio on Linux.

Drop the official .zip or .run installer into ~/Downloads, run one command, and let the script handle discovery, Linux dependencies, extraction, installation, compatibility cleanup, and a quick GPU/OpenCL check.

╭─ DaVinci Resolve installer
│ Search        /home/you/Downloads
│ Mode          Install
├─ Dependencies
│    Package manager: dnf
│  ✓ apr
│  ✓ fuse-libs
│  ✓ glib2
│  ✓ xhost
│  ✓ clinfo
│  ✓ All dependencies are installed.
├─ Finding installer
│  ✓ Build: DaVinci_Resolve_Studio_20.2_Linux.zip
│    Edition: DaVinci Resolve Studio
│    Source: /home/you/Downloads
│  › Extracting ZIP into: .davinci-resolve-extract-...
├─ Installing DaVinci Resolve Studio
│  › Running the official installer with SKIP_PACKAGE_CHECK=1
│  › Temporarily granting root access to the X11/XWayland display
│  › Revoking temporary root display access
╰─ ✓ DONE · launch with /opt/resolve/bin/resolve

What it does

1. Detects apt, dnf, or pacman.
2. Checks the required FUSE 2, runtime, XCB, audio, OpenCL, and display packages.
3. Asks before installing any missing dependencies with elevated privileges.
4. Recursively finds the newest Resolve .zip or .run in ~/Downloads.
5. Detects whether the build is Resolve Free or Resolve Studio.
6. Installs XWayland when the current desktop session needs it.
7. Opens the root installer on X11/XWayland with a temporary, user-scoped grant.
8. Extracts the .run, makes it executable, and starts the official installer.
9. Falls back to extracting the AppImage when FUSE cannot mount it.
10. Moves incompatible bundled glib libraries into a timestamped backup.
11. Moves downloaded installers and extraction folders to Trash.
12. Prints a compact NVIDIA and OpenCL report.

The script does not download or redistribute DaVinci Resolve. Download the Linux installer directly from Blackmagic Design, then place it in ~/Downloads.

Quick start

Clone with GitHub CLI:

gh repo clone donutinit/install-resolve
cd install-resolve
./install-resolve

Run it as your regular desktop user. Do not prefix the script with sudo; it requests elevation only for the operations that need it.

Or download only the script:

curl -fsSLO https://raw.githubusercontent.com/donutinit/install-resolve/main/install-resolve
chmod +x install-resolve
./install-resolve

The default search is recursive, so files inside a subdirectory of ~/Downloads are found too. Typical filenames include:

DaVinci_Resolve_20.2_Linux.zip
DaVinci_Resolve_Studio_20.2_Linux.zip

Preview first

Use --dry-run to inspect the complete plan without extracting files, changing permissions, installing packages, touching /opt/resolve, or moving downloads:

./install-resolve --dry-run

Force or disable ANSI color when capturing the output:

./install-resolve --dry-run --color always
NO_COLOR=1 ./install-resolve --dry-run

Options

Option	Effect
--dry-run	Preview every action without changing files.
--search DIR	Search another directory; repeat to search several locations.
--skip-deps	Skip dependency detection and installation.
--skip-install	Extract or prepare the installer without launching it.
--skip-lib-fix	Leave Resolve's bundled glib libraries untouched.
--no-clean	Keep downloaded installers and extraction directories.
--no-fuse	Extract the AppImage and run AppRun without mounting FUSE.
--color auto|always|never	Control ANSI color output.

Examples:

# Search two custom locations
./install-resolve --search ~/Downloads --search /mnt/media/installers

# Keep the downloaded ZIP and extracted installer
./install-resolve --no-clean

# Run the official installer without dependency or glib handling
./install-resolve --skip-deps --skip-lib-fix

# Bypass FUSE and use the AppImage extraction fallback
./install-resolve --no-fuse

Supported systems

Package manager	Distribution family	FUSE 2 package	Wayland bridge	Dependency command
apt	Debian, Ubuntu, and derivatives	libfuse2t64 or libfuse2	xwayland	apt-get install
dnf	Fedora and derivatives	fuse + fuse-libs	xorg-x11-server-Xwayland	dnf install
pacman	Arch Linux and derivatives	fuse2	xorg-xwayland	pacman -S --needed

Requirements:

• Linux and Python 3.8 or newer
• sudo; launch the script as the regular graphical-session user
• An X11 session or XWayland inside a Wayland session
• FUSE 2 for the normal AppImage path; the script installs it when available
• gio, trash-put, or trash for safe download cleanup
• An official Linux build of Resolve Free or Resolve Studio

No third-party Python packages are required.

Safety notes

• Missing system packages are installed only after an explicit [y/N] prompt.
• The official Blackmagic Design installer remains interactive.
• The script passes SKIP_PACKAGE_CHECK=1 only after handling dependencies itself.
• Qt is directed to the xcb backend because Resolve's Linux installer does not ship a native Wayland platform plugin.
• Before elevation, the script temporarily runs xhost +si:localuser:root. This grants display access only to the local root user, not to every local or remote client. The grant is revoked in a finally block even when the installer exits with an error. A grant that already existed is left unchanged.
• When FUSE is unavailable, the fallback extracts into a temporary directory, runs squashfs-root/AppRun, and removes the temporary files afterward.
• Bundled glib files are moved, never deleted, to /opt/resolve/libs/disabled-by-auto-installer-<timestamp>.
• Downloads are sent to Trash when a supported trash command is available.
• Cleanup includes every matching Resolve .zip, .run, and extraction folder in the selected search directories. Use --no-clean to retain them.
• --dry-run performs read-only checks and does not change the filesystem.

Why the glib fix?

Some Resolve releases bundle glib libraries that conflict with newer Linux desktop environments. The script preserves those files in a timestamped backup so Resolve can use the compatible system libraries while keeping rollback possible.

Troubleshooting

The installer is not found

Check that its filename contains both DaVinci and Resolve and ends in .zip or .run. Use --search /path/to/folder when it is not under ~/Downloads.

The ZIP is rejected

The archive must contain a Resolve .run installer. Re-download incomplete or damaged archives from Blackmagic Design.

AppImages require FUSE to run

The normal run checks and installs the correct FUSE 2 package for the detected distribution. If FUSE is installed but mounting is blocked by a container, atomic desktop, or another system restriction, bypass it explicitly:

./install-resolve --no-fuse

This uses the AppImage's built-in --appimage-extract mode and runs its squashfs-root/AppRun entry point. See the official AppImage FUSE troubleshooting guide for additional background.

qt.qpa.xcb: could not connect to display :0 on Wayland

This message means Qt found the xcb plugin, but the elevated installer was not authorized to connect to the XWayland display. It is different from a missing XCB library.

Update the repository and run the script as your regular desktop user, without sudo:

git pull --ff-only
./install-resolve

On Fedora Wayland, the dependency pass includes xhost and xorg-x11-server-Xwayland. The script preserves DISPLAY and XAUTHORITY, selects QT_QPA_PLATFORM=xcb, grants only the local root user temporary display access, and revokes that grant when the installer closes.

If the script says that no DISPLAY is available, launch it from a terminal opened inside the graphical desktop instead of a TTY, SSH session, or root shell.

Could not load the Qt platform plugin "xcb" without a display error

The dependency check includes the X11/XCB bridge, keyboard, and utility libraries required by Qt. Update the script and run it normally so it can offer to install anything missing, or install the Fedora packages directly:

sudo dnf install libX11-xcb libxkbcommon-x11 xcb-util

The remaining XCB helper libraries are already part of the standard dependency set installed by this script.

Resolve cannot see the GPU

Review the final GPU/OpenCL section. Confirm that the correct proprietary or Mesa drivers are installed and that clinfo lists an OpenCL device.

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DaVinci Resolve is a trademark of Blackmagic Design Pty. Ltd. This project is an independent community tool and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Blackmagic Design.