>NOTE: Specifically tested for version 21.0.4, but might work for the 21.x.x series.

1. Initial Setup

Download DaVinci_Resolve_Studio_21.x.x_Linux.zip from the Official Blackmagic Website.

>Tip: Use the Download Only link at the bottom-left of the registration form to download directly without filling out your details.

2. Dependencies

Ensure you have the base dependencies installed:

sudo pacman -S --needed libxcrypt-compat curl glu base-devel git

>Note: Older guides often required manually removing or linking bundled libraries (such as libglib, libgio, or libz in /opt/resolve/libs/). With modern updates to the AUR davinci-resolve-studio package, manual library fixes are no longer required.

GPU Compute (Required)

Depending on your GPU hardware, install the appropriate OpenCL / CUDA drivers:

• NVIDIA:

  sudo pacman -S --needed nvidia nvidia-utils opencl-nvidia cuda
  

  > Use nvidia-open if nvidia is not found.
• AMD:

  sudo pacman -S --needed rocm-opencl-runtime
  

• Intel:

  sudo pacman -S --needed intel-compute-runtime
  

Verify your OpenCL / GPU compute setup:

clinfo | less

3. Installation

>Important: Do not run the .run installer directly!

Option 1: Using Git & makepkg (Recommended)

Place the downloaded .zip file in the cloned repository directory before building:

(Assuming the zip file is in ~/Downloads*)*

cd ~/Downloads
git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/davinci-resolve-studio.git
cd davinci-resolve-studio
cp ../DaVinci_Resolve_Studio_21.x.x_Linux.zip .
makepkg -si

(Replace 21.x.x with your downloaded version, e.g., 21.0.4*)*

Cleanup (Optional):

cd ~/Downloads
rm -rf davinci-resolve-studio

Option 2: Using AUR Helpers (paru or yay)

If you prefer using an AUR helper, clone the build files, copy the .zip archive, and install:

With paru:

paru -G davinci-resolve-studio
cp ~/Downloads/DaVinci_Resolve_Studio_21.0.4_Linux.zip ~/.cache/paru/clone/davinci-resolve-studio/
cd ~/.cache/paru/clone/davinci-resolve-studio
paru -Bi .

Cleanup (paru):

rm -rf ~/.cache/paru/clone/davinci-resolve-studio

With yay:

yay -G davinci-resolve-studio
cp ~/Downloads/DaVinci_Resolve_Studio_21.0.4_Linux.zip ~/.cache/yay/davinci-resolve-studio/
cd ~/.cache/yay/davinci-resolve-studio
makepkg -si

Cleanup (yay):

rm -rf ~/.cache/yay/davinci-resolve-studio

4. Crack / Bypass (Version 21.0.4)

Navigate to the DaVinci Resolve installation directory:

cd /opt/resolve

Step 1: Patch the Binaries

Run the following Perl commands to patch the executable:

sudo perl -pi -e 's/\x03\x00\x89\x45\xFC\x83\x7D\xFC\x00\x74\x11\x48\x8B\x45\xC8\x8B/\x03\x00\x89\x45\xFC\x83\x7D\xFC\x00\xEB\x11\x48\x8B\x45\xC8\x8B/g' bin/resolve

sudo perl -pi -e 's/\x74\x11\x48\x8B\x45\xC8\x8B\x55\xFC\x89\x50\x58\xB8\x00\x00\x00/\xEB\x11\x48\x8B\x45\xC8\x8B\x55\xFC\x89\x50\x58\xB8\x00\x00\x00/g' bin/resolve

sudo perl -0777 -pi -e 's/(\x40\x84\xED)\x74(.\xBF\x16\x00\x00\x00\xBE.\x01\x00\x00\xE8)/$1\x75$2/g' bin/resolve

Step 2: Generate the License File

Create the license directory and write the license file:

sudo mkdir -p .license
echo -e "LICENSE blackmagic davinciresolvestudio 999999 permanent uncounted\n hostid=ANY issuer=CGP customer=CGP issued=28-dec-2023\n akey=0000-0000-0000-0000 _ck=00 sig=\"00\"" | sudo tee .license/blackmagic.lic

5. Wayland / Hyprland Fix (Optional)

DaVinci Resolve does not natively support Wayland and must run via XWayland using X11 backends. Without this, it may fail to launch or crash on startup.

Option A: User Desktop Entry (Recommended)

Copy the .desktop file to your local directory so modifications persist across package updates without needing root permissions:

mkdir -p ~/.local/share/applications
cp /usr/share/applications/DaVinciResolve.desktop ~/.local/share/applications/
sed -i 's|^Exec=/opt/resolve/bin/resolve %u|Exec=env QT_QPA_PLATFORM=xcb GDK_BACKEND=x11 /opt/resolve/bin/resolve %u|g' ~/.local/share/applications/DaVinciResolve.desktop

Option B: Modify System Desktop File

Edit the system-wide desktop file directly:

sudo nano /usr/share/applications/DaVinciResolve.desktop

Find the line:

Exec=/opt/resolve/bin/resolve %u

Change it to:

Exec=env QT_QPA_PLATFORM=xcb GDK_BACKEND=x11 /opt/resolve/bin/resolve %u

(Or apply via a one-line sed command:)

sudo sed -i 's|^Exec=/opt/resolve/bin/resolve %u|Exec=env QT_QPA_PLATFORM=xcb GDK_BACKEND=x11 /opt/resolve/bin/resolve %u|g' /usr/share/applications/DaVinciResolve.desktop

Option C: Launch from Terminal

You can also launch directly from your terminal:

env QT_QPA_PLATFORM=xcb GDK_BACKEND=x11 /opt/resolve/bin/resolve

References

• Chris Titus Tech - DaVinci Resolve in Arch Linux
• Original Reddit Post (r/LinuxCrackSupport)