prismlauncher permission error by redirecting data dir to $HOME #298

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opened 2026-10-15 12:50:39 +00:00 by bsakaguchi · 0 comments

bsakaguchi commented

2026-10-15 12:50:39 +00:00

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📋 Pull Request Information

Original PR: https://github.com/games-on-whales/gow/pull/315
Author: @JBailes
Created: 4/18/2026
Status: ✅ Merged
Merged: 4/18/2026
Merged by: @ABeltramo

Base: master ← Head: fix/prismlauncher-portable-data-dir

📝 Commits (1)

889c001 prismlauncher: point portable build at $HOME data dir

📊 Changes

1 file changed (+7 additions, -2 deletions)

View changed files

📝 apps/prismlauncher/build/scripts/startup.sh (+7 -2)

📄 Description

Summary

Fixes #314 — PrismLauncher fails to start with couldn't create a log file ... Make sure you have write permissions to the data folder. (/opt/prismlauncher).
Root cause: commit ad24ec5 switched from the APT package to the official Qt6 Portable tarball. Portable PrismLauncher uses its install dir (/opt/prismlauncher) as the data folder, but that path is owned by root after extraction, so the runtime user (retro, dynamic UID) can't write logs there.
Secondary problem the same change introduced: user data (Minecraft instances/worlds) written to /opt/prismlauncher wouldn't persist across container restarts. The APT package previously stored data under ~/.local/share/PrismLauncher, which lives in the persistent $HOME.
Fix: pass -d "$HOME/.local/share/PrismLauncher" (created via mkdir -p) from startup.sh. Both problems resolved with one change — logs land in a writable dir, and instances survive restarts.

Test plan

Rebuild ghcr.io/games-on-whales/prismlauncher:edge from this branch.
Launch via Wolf; confirm PrismLauncher opens (no "write permissions" error).
Create a Minecraft instance, exit, recreate the container, confirm the instance is still there under $HOME/.local/share/PrismLauncher/instances.
Confirm /opt/prismlauncher is not being written to at runtime.

_{🔄 This issue represents a GitHub Pull Request. It cannot be merged through Gitea due to API limitations.}

## 📋 Pull Request Information **Original PR:** https://github.com/games-on-whales/gow/pull/315 **Author:** [@JBailes](https://github.com/JBailes) **Created:** 4/18/2026 **Status:** ✅ Merged **Merged:** 4/18/2026 **Merged by:** [@ABeltramo](https://github.com/ABeltramo) **Base:** `master` ← **Head:** `fix/prismlauncher-portable-data-dir` --- ### 📝 Commits (1) - [`889c001`](https://github.com/games-on-whales/gow/commit/889c0018a3a8ea961ab6e9dbfcd656d355ad9562) prismlauncher: point portable build at $HOME data dir ### 📊 Changes **1 file changed** (+7 additions, -2 deletions) <details> <summary>View changed files</summary> 📝 `apps/prismlauncher/build/scripts/startup.sh` (+7 -2) </details> ### 📄 Description ## Summary - Fixes #314 — PrismLauncher fails to start with `couldn't create a log file ... Make sure you have write permissions to the data folder. (/opt/prismlauncher)`. - Root cause: commit `ad24ec5` switched from the APT package to the official Qt6 Portable tarball. Portable PrismLauncher uses its install dir (`/opt/prismlauncher`) as the data folder, but that path is owned by root after extraction, so the runtime user (`retro`, dynamic UID) can't write logs there. - Secondary problem the same change introduced: user data (Minecraft instances/worlds) written to `/opt/prismlauncher` wouldn't persist across container restarts. The APT package previously stored data under `~/.local/share/PrismLauncher`, which lives in the persistent `$HOME`. - Fix: pass `-d "$HOME/.local/share/PrismLauncher"` (created via `mkdir -p`) from `startup.sh`. Both problems resolved with one change — logs land in a writable dir, and instances survive restarts. ## Test plan - [ ] Rebuild `ghcr.io/games-on-whales/prismlauncher:edge` from this branch. - [ ] Launch via Wolf; confirm PrismLauncher opens (no "write permissions" error). - [ ] Create a Minecraft instance, exit, recreate the container, confirm the instance is still there under `$HOME/.local/share/PrismLauncher/instances`. - [ ] Confirm `/opt/prismlauncher` is not being written to at runtime. --- <sub>🔄 This issue represents a GitHub Pull Request. It cannot be merged through Gitea due to API limitations.</sub>

bsakaguchi

2026-10-15 12:50:39 +00:00