Lexicon on Linux

Lexicon runs on Linux. Almost everything works the same as on macOS and Windows. This page explains what is different.

Supported systems

Lexicon for Linux comes in two packages:

• A .deb for Ubuntu 22.04 or newer and Debian 12 or newer, and distributions based on them.
• An .rpm for Fedora, openSUSE and RHEL 10 (and distributions based on RHEL 10, like AlmaLinux 10 or Rocky Linux 10). RHEL 9 and the distributions based on it are too old.

Both need a 64-bit Intel or AMD processor (x86_64). There is no ARM version.

Download the package for your system from lexicondj.com/download and install it with your software center, or from a terminal:

• .deb: sudo apt install ./<downloaded file>.deb
• .rpm on Fedora or RHEL: sudo dnf install ./<downloaded file>.rpm
• .rpm on openSUSE: sudo zypper install ./<downloaded file>.rpm

The package is called lexicon-dj (the beta: lexicon-dj-beta), for example to remove it with sudo apt remove lexicon-dj. The Lexicon beta has its own package and installs next to the stable version, so you can have both.

Updates

With the .deb, Lexicon adds its own package source to your system. New versions then arrive with your normal system updates, for example in Software Updater on Ubuntu, or in a terminal with sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade.

The .rpm has no package source yet. When a new version is out, download the new .rpm and install it the same way as the first time.

Lexicon itself does not install updates on Linux. When a new version is available, the update popup says On Linux, updates are installed manually, and its Open download page button opens the download page.

DJ apps on Linux

DJ apps have no Linux version, so the way Lexicon finds their libraries is different.

No DJ app needed

These work on Linux without any DJ app:

• Sync to Pioneer USB and Import from Pioneer USB
• Sync to Engine DJ on a USB drive
• Rekordbox XML. Lexicon saves the XML file, but it cannot set the XML location in Rekordbox for you.
• Apple Music / iTunes XML export

DJ app libraries from Wine or a folder you pick

You can still import from and sync to the other DJ apps (Rekordbox, Serato, Traktor, VirtualDJ, Engine DJ, djay and Apple Music / iTunes) when their library is on your computer:

• In a Wine prefix. Lexicon looks inside Wine prefixes automatically. This covers plain Wine, Bottles, Proton (Steam), Lutris, Heroic, CrossOver and PlayOnLinux.
• In another folder, for example on a mounted Windows partition (dual boot) or a folder copied from another computer.

When Lexicon finds the library, the check on the Import tab tells you where it came from: the Wine tool and prefix it was found in (for example Found in Bottles: followed by the name of the bottle), or Found in the folder you selected.

On Linux, the Import tab of the Sync window has an extra DJ app folder row. Click Click to select folder and choose the library folder of the DJ app. The same folders can also be set in the settings, under Advanced ➡ Advanced Overrides (for example rekordbox6DataFolder).

When Lexicon cannot find a library, importing and syncing to that DJ app stops with a message like No Rekordbox library found. Select its folder on the Import tab, or set it in Settings > Advanced overrides.

The DJ app's library stores the locations of your music files as they were on that computer (for example C:\Users\...). If tracks show as missing after an import, use Find Lost Tracks to point Lexicon to your music folder.

DeckConnect

DeckConnect works on Linux.

• If the ufw or firewalld firewall is enabled, Lexicon warns you once per session. Allow incoming traffic on UDP ports 50000, 50002, 2049 and 50111 and TCP ports 1051 and 12523, otherwise the CDJs cannot reach Lexicon.
• If Lexicon says Another program has claimed a CDJ port, it is usually rpcbind or nfs-kernel-server using port 2049. Stop that service and Lexicon reconnects by itself.
• There is no Rekordbox on Linux, so Lexicon cannot use your Rekordbox player settings (see CDJ settings on the DeckConnect page).

Ghost Curator

Ghost Curator cannot follow a DJ app on Linux. You can use it from a track with Find mixable tracks, and it can follow CDJs connected with DeckConnect.

Wayland

In a Wayland session:

• Dragging tracks out of Lexicon into other apps does not work.
• Media keys do not work, and system-wide hotkeys only work while Lexicon is the active window.

In an X11 session these work as usual.

Minimize to tray

Minimize to tray is off by default on Linux, because many desktops (for example standard GNOME) do not show tray icons. Without a tray icon, a window closed to the tray cannot be brought back.

Blank or garbled window

If the Lexicon window stays blank or looks garbled, your graphics driver may not work well with hardware acceleration. Start Lexicon with the environment variable LEXICON_DISABLE_GPU=1, or with the --disable-gpu option, to turn it off.