How to Install OpenRazer on Linux

One of the things that’s most frustrating about building a new computer for Linux is peripherals, especially for gamers who are looking for lots of functionality out of their peripherals. If you have Razer peripherals, you may be in luck, because the OpenRazer project has a solution for you. Here we go over how to install OpenRazer on Linux.

Getting Started

The first place you should go is the project’s Github.io page. You can see what devices are supported and learn more about the installation process. It’s fairly simple, but it does take a bit of time and planning.

Note: I have a Razer Basilisk Essential, which is in the process of being supported, but I’ll still demonstrate the process.

Installing OpenRazer

First, add the user you log in as to the plugdev group. This ensures you will have control over pluggable devices, like mice and keyboards. To do that, simply run the following command:

sudo gpasswd -a $USER plugdev

After that, you can follow the specific instructions for your distro that are listed on the page.

Arch Linux

For Arch users, openrazer is in the AUR, which is quite convenient. They suggest using pacaur to install in order to avoid dependency loops.

All Other Officially Supported Distros

All other officially supported distros should get their packages from the OpenSUSE build service. There are commands available for you to use, and they vary based on your distro. For Fedora, I’ll be running these commands:

sudo dnf config-manager --add-repo https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/hardware:razer/Fedora_34/hardware:razer.repo
sudo dnf install openrazer-meta

For Ubuntu, run these commands:

echo 'deb https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/hardware:/razer/xUbuntu_20.04/ /' | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/hardware:razer.list
curl -fsSL https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/hardware:razer/xUbuntu_20.04/Release.key | gpg --dearmor | sudo tee /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/hardware_razer.gpg > /dev/null
sudo apt update
sudo apt install openrazer-meta

For OpenSuse, which seems to be the best supported, run these commands:

zypper addrepo https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/hardware:razer/openSUSE_Leap_15.2/hardware:razer.repo
zypper refresh
zypper install openrazer-meta

You can find the commands for your distro there.

For Community-Supported Distros

There are various communities that have stepped up and worked out different ways to support OpenRazer on their distros. You can reference the installation instructions on their website. Some distros like Solus and Void Linux have made it very simple.

Once you have OpenRazer installed, restart your computer, and you should be able to then install one of the graphical front ends listed on their website, which are Polychromatic, RazerGenie, razerCommander, and Snake.

Troubleshooting

General

Make sure you add your user to the plugdev group. Some distros might not have it, but it’s a really important step that allows your user to control those devices.

Also, if you’re having trouble with a device, make sure it’s on the supported devices list. It sounds simple, but if your particular variation of a device is not supported, the device won’t work. OpenRazer will pick up that it’s a Razer device, but it won’t know how to talk to it. Take my Basilisk Essential, for example. The Basilisk is supported, and I bought the Basilisk Essential thinking it would be the same thing. Big mistake.

Fedora

There is a bug specifically with Fedora that makes it install the wrong kernel headers. To counteract that, install the kernel-devel package before you do anything else by running this command:

sudo dnf install kernel-devel

Hopefully, with the help of OpenRazer, you can get the best out of your Razer peripherals on your Linux system. If your Linux system is running slow, find the cause here. Also, learn how to use the Hosts file to access websites in Linux.