Building MangoHud from Source on Pop OS 24.04

Why Build from Source?

The repository versions of MangoHud often lag behind the latest development and can have issues detecting Nvidia GPUs properly on Wayland sessions. Building from source ensures you get the latest fixes and features, particularly important for:

• Nvidia GPU support on Wayland
• Latest performance optimizations
• Bug fixes for multi-GPU systems
• Better sensor detection

Prerequisites

• Pop!_OS 24.04 (this guide should also work on Ubuntu 24.04)
• Nvidia GPU with proprietary drivers installed
• Terminal access
• Approximately 10-15 minutes

Step 1: Install Build Dependencies

Open a terminal and install the required packages:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install meson gcc g++ ninja-build cmake python3-pip \
  libdbus-1-dev libx11-dev libxnvctrl-dev libvulkan-dev \
  glslang-tools git

Step 2: Remove Any Existing MangoHud Installation

If you have MangoHud installed from the repositories, remove it first:

sudo apt remove mangohud

Verify it’s removed:

which mangohud

This should return nothing or “mangohud not found”.

Step 3: Clone the MangoHud Repository

cd ~/Downloads
git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/flightlessmango/MangoHud.git
cd MangoHud

The --recurse-submodules flag is important as MangoHud has dependencies that need to be cloned as well.

Step 4: Build MangoHud

./build.sh build

This will compile MangoHud. The process may take a few minutes depending on your system.

Step 5: Package and Install

./build.sh package
sudo ./build.sh install

Note: During installation, you may be prompted to install additional packages. Answer yes to these prompts.

Step 6: Verify Installation

Check that MangoHud installed correctly:

which mangohud
mangohud --version

You should see:

• Path: /usr/bin/mangohud or /usr/local/bin/mangohud
• Version: Something like v0.8.1-xxx-xxxxxxx (much newer than the repo version)

Step 7: Configure MangoHud

Create the configuration directory:

mkdir -p ~/.config/MangoHud

Create your configuration file:

nano ~/.config/MangoHud/MangoHud.conf

Basic Configuration

Here’s a basic configuration to get started:

gpu_stats
gpu_temp
gpu_core_clock
gpu_mem_clock
gpu_power
vram
cpu_stats
cpu_temp
fps
frame_timing=1
vulkan_driver

Advanced Configuration (Nvidia Multi-GPU Systems)

If you have multiple GPUs (integrated + discrete), you need to specify which GPU to monitor. First, find your Nvidia GPU’s PCI address:

lspci | grep -i nvidia

You’ll see output like:

01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation ...

Take note of the PCI address (e.g., 01:00.0). Then use this enhanced configuration:

pci_dev=0000:01:00.0
legacy_layout=false

horizontal
background_alpha=0.0
round_corners=10
background_color=000000

font_size=24
text_color=C0C0C0
position=top-left

table_columns=3
gpu_text=GPU
gpu_stats
gpu_load_change
gpu_load_value=50,90
gpu_load_color=FFFFFF,FFAA7F,CC0000
gpu_core_clock
gpu_mem_clock
gpu_temp
gpu_color=75B800

cpu_text=CPU
cpu_stats
cpu_load_change
cpu_load_value=50,90
cpu_load_color=FFFFFF,FFAA7F,CC0000
cpu_mhz
cpu_temp
cpu_color=FA8000

ram
ram_color=C26693
fps
frame_timing
frametime_color=FA8000

fps_color_change
fps_color=B22222,FDFD09,39F900
fps_value=30,60

Important: Replace 0000:01:00.0 with your actual PCI device address from the lspci command.

Save and exit (Ctrl+X, then Y, then Enter).

Step 8: Test MangoHud

Test with a simple Vulkan demo:

mangohud vkcube

Or test with glxgears:

mangohud glxgears

You should see an overlay displaying:

• GPU name and stats
• GPU temperature
• GPU clocks
• VRAM usage
• CPU stats and temperature
• FPS counter
• Frame timing graph

Using MangoHud with Games

Steam Games

To enable MangoHud for a Steam game:

1. Right-click the game in your Steam library
2. Select Properties
3. In the Launch Options field, add:

mangohud %command%

Native Games

Simply prefix the game command with mangohud:

mangohud ./your-game

Lutris Games

Lutris has built-in MangoHud support:

1. Right-click the game
2. Select Configure
3. Go to System options
4. Enable Show MangoHud overlay

Troubleshooting

MangoHud not showing GPU temperature

Make sure you’re using the Nvidia proprietary drivers and that nvidia-smi works:

nvidia-smi

If this shows your GPU temperature, MangoHud should work as well.

Wrong GPU being monitored

Make sure you’ve specified the correct pci_dev in your config file using the address from lspci | grep -i nvidia.

MangoHud not found after install

Clear your shell’s command cache:

For bash:

hash -r

For zsh:

rehash

Note About GOverlay

GOverlay Warning: If you want to use GOverlay (a GUI configuration tool for MangoHud), be aware that installing it via apt will pull in the repository version of MangoHud as a dependency, which will conflict with your source-built version.

If you need GOverlay, you have two options:

1. Skip GOverlay entirely - Edit your MangoHud.conf file manually (it’s just a text file)
2. Advanced: Create a dummy package to satisfy the dependency - This is beyond the scope of this guide

For most users, manually editing the config file is simpler and gives you full control.

Keeping MangoHud Updated

To update to the latest version:

cd ~/Downloads/MangoHud
git pull
git submodule update --init --recursive
./build.sh build
./build.sh package
sudo ./build.sh install

Conclusion

You now have the latest MangoHud built from source with full Nvidia GPU support on Pop!_OS 24.04. The source-built version provides better compatibility with modern systems, especially when using Wayland and Nvidia GPUs.

The configuration file at ~/.config/MangoHud/MangoHud.conf can be customized extensively. Check the official MangoHud documentation for all available options.

Additional Resources

• MangoHud GitHub Repository
• MangoHud Configuration Examples