NVIDIA Profile Inspector on Linux: the alternatives that work

Can NPI run in Wine or Proton?

Not usefully. We tried it in our lab, on a Linux machine with no NVIDIA GPU. LAB · F48, F49, F50

The reason is structural. NPI edits NVIDIA’s profile database through NVIDIA’s NVAPI library, which ships inside the Windows driver. On Linux, DXVK-NVAPI provides a small translation of the NVAPI calls that games make, mostly for DLSS and Reflex. It is not that database, and its own README says it is for games. OFFICIAL · DXVK-NVAPI README Whether NPI could edit anything through it on a PC with an NVIDIA GPU we could not test, so do not plan around it.

Force a DLSS preset in Proton (DXVK-NVAPI)

Proton 9.0 and newer include DXVK-NVAPI and enable it by default for most games, and PROTON_FORCE_NVAPI=1 force-enables it for a game that has it off. OFFICIAL · DXVK-NVAPI README, Proton README DXVK-NVAPI can pass driver setting values to the game through DXVK_NVAPI_DRS_SETTINGS. The README gives the format: setting=value pairs separated by commas, where both are unsigned 32-bit numbers that may start with 0x. Only DWORD values are supported. Its own example overrides the DLSS Super Resolution and Ray Reconstruction presets to latest with 0x10E41DF3=0xffffff,0x10E41DF7=0xffffff.

Those two IDs are the same ones NPI shows as 0x10E41DF3↗Copied (DLSS - Forced Preset Letter) and 0x10E41DF7↗Copied (DLSS-RR - Forced Preset Letter). So the preset values in the preset guide and the DLSS override page carry over: preset K is 0x0000000B, preset L is 0x0000000C, and 0x00FFFFFF means “use recommended preset”. CODE · settings.json

DXVK_NVAPI_DRS_SETTINGS=0x10E41DF3=0xb %command%

DXVK_NVAPI_DRS_SETTINGS=0x10E41DF3=0xffffff,0x10E41DF7=0xffffff %command%

Only the second line is DXVK-NVAPI’s own example. The first uses the same syntax with preset K’s value from NPI’s data, so treat it as untested. untested Whether a given game honours the preset is the same open question as on Windows.

Map from NPI to the Linux variable

The README also lists these names and says each can be given in text form or as its own variable, for example DXVK_NVAPI_DRS_NGX_DLSS_FG_OVERRIDE=on. We did not test the text forms, so the table sticks to the numeric form that the README’s example proves out. OFFICIAL · DXVK-NVAPI README (latest tag v0.9.3) The variable names and accepted values follow the current README; check it again before relying on them, as DXVK-NVAPI changes.

Verify it

• Set DXVK_NVAPI_LOG_LEVEL=info to print what DXVK-NVAPI does, and DXVK_NVAPI_LOG_PATH to write a log file. OFFICIAL · DXVK-NVAPI README
• Check the preset itself with the DLSS indicator, which is a Windows registry setting. Whether it works the same way under Proton is not covered by our tests, see the indicator page.
• To undo, remove the variable from the launch options.

Other settings through DXVK-NVAPI

The README lists named settings such as NGX_DLAA_OVERRIDE, NGX_DLSS_FG_OVERRIDE and NGX_DLSS_SR_OVERRIDE_SCALING_RATIO, and says arbitrary DWORD settings by ID are accepted. We verified none of them. A frame cap is not on that list.

Native Linux games: NVIDIA application profiles

NVIDIA’s Linux driver has its own application profile system, separate from the Windows database. It is configured in nvidia-settings on the “Application Profiles” page, or by files. The driver looks in $HOME/.nv/nvidia-application-profiles-rc, the .rc.d directory next to it, /etc/nvidia/nvidia-application-profiles-rc and a file under /usr/share/nvidia. OFFICIAL · NVIDIA Linux README 595.104.02

The NVIDIA README’s own example rule matches a program by name and sets one key:

{
"rules" : [
  { "pattern" : "glxgears", "profile" : [ "GLSyncToVBlank", "1" ] }
]
}

Settings from application profiles beat global nvidia-settings values but lose to environment variables. Support is currently for the GLX (OpenGL) driver only, so this does not reach Vulkan or Proton games. We did not run a rule, as the lab has no NVIDIA GPU. The README maps key names such as GLThreadedOptimizations and GLShaderDiskCache to environment variables, so check it for the keys you need. OFFICIAL · NVIDIA Linux README 595.104.02

Frame caps and latency on Linux

DXVK has a limiter, dxgi.maxFrameRate for D3D11 and D3D10 and d3d9.maxFrameRate for D3D9, set in dxvk.conf or through DXVK_CONFIG, for example DXVK_CONFIG=“dxgi.maxFrameRate = 141”. Its own file says not to use it when an external limiter is available: MangoHud or Gamescope limiters give a better experience. OFFICIAL · dxvk.conf, DXVK v3.1.1 We tested none of these. For how to choose a cap value, see the G-SYNC and low latency page.

Windows dual-boot users

Windows and Linux use different drivers and different profile stores, so NPI changes made on Windows do not carry to Linux or back. Keep a .nip backup for your Windows install, and keep your Linux launch options in a note.