diff --git a/.github/linux/appimage.sh b/.github/linux/appimage.sh
index bde546e..9b0d2d7 100755
--- a/.github/linux/appimage.sh
+++ b/.github/linux/appimage.sh
@@ -13,9 +13,8 @@ else
 fi
 
 curl -sSfLO "https://github.com/linuxdeploy/linuxdeploy/releases/download/continuous/linuxdeploy-$LINUX_DEPLOY_ARCH.AppImage"
-curl -sSfLO "https://github.com/linuxdeploy/linuxdeploy-plugin-gtk/raw/master/linuxdeploy-plugin-gtk.sh"
 
-chmod a+x linuxdeploy*
+chmod a+x "linuxdeploy-$LINUX_DEPLOY_ARCH.AppImage"
  
 mkdir -p AppDir/usr/bin
 cp BM64Recompiled AppDir/usr/bin/
@@ -26,20 +25,22 @@ cp .github/linux/BM64Recompiled.desktop AppDir/
 
 "./linuxdeploy-$LINUX_DEPLOY_ARCH.AppImage" --appimage-extract
 mv squashfs-root/ deploy
-./deploy/AppRun --appdir=AppDir/ -d AppDir/BM64Recompiled.desktop -i AppDir/BM64Recompiled.png -e AppDir/usr/bin/BM64Recompiled --plugin gtk
-sed -i 's/exec/#exec/g' AppDir/AppRun
-echo 'if [ -f "portable.txt" ]; then' >> AppDir/AppRun
-echo '    APP_FOLDER_PATH=$PWD' >> AppDir/AppRun
-echo '    cd "$this_dir"/usr/bin/' >> AppDir/AppRun
-echo '    APP_FOLDER_PATH=$APP_FOLDER_PATH ./BM64Recompiled' >> AppDir/AppRun
-echo 'else' >> AppDir/AppRun
-echo '    cd "$this_dir"/usr/bin/' >> AppDir/AppRun
-echo '    ./BM64Recompiled' >> AppDir/AppRun
-echo 'fi' >> AppDir/AppRun
+./deploy/AppRun --appdir=AppDir/ -d AppDir/BM64Recompiled.desktop -i AppDir/BM64Recompiled.png -e AppDir/usr/bin/BM64Recompiled
 
-# Remove conflicting libraries
-rm -rf AppDir/usr/lib/libgmodule*
-rm -rf AppDir/usr/lib/gio/modules/*.so
-rm -rf AppDir/usr/lib/libwayland*
+# linuxdeploy may create AppRun as a symlink to the binary; remove it first
+# so we don't overwrite the actual executable through the symlink.
+rm -f AppDir/AppRun
+cat > AppDir/AppRun << 'APPRUN'
+#!/bin/bash
+this_dir="$(dirname "$(readlink -f "$0")")"
+export LD_LIBRARY_PATH="$this_dir/usr/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH"
+if [ -f "portable.txt" ]; then
+    APP_FOLDER_PATH="$PWD" exec "$this_dir/usr/bin/BM64Recompiled" "$@"
+else
+    cd "$this_dir/usr/bin/"
+    exec ./BM64Recompiled "$@"
+fi
+APPRUN
+chmod +x AppDir/AppRun
 
 ./deploy/usr/bin/linuxdeploy-plugin-appimage --appdir=AppDir
diff --git a/.github/workflows/validate.yml b/.github/workflows/validate.yml
index 1cb3086..6e165c1 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/validate.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/validate.yml
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Install Linux Dependencies
         run: |
           sudo apt-get update
-          sudo apt-get install -y ninja-build libsdl2-dev libgtk-3-dev lld llvm clang-15 libfuse2
+          sudo apt-get install -y ninja-build libsdl2-dev libdbus-1-dev lld llvm clang-15 libfuse2
 
           # Install SDL2
           echo ::group::install SDL2
@@ -185,7 +185,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Install Linux Dependencies
         run: |
           sudo apt-get update
-          sudo apt-get install -y ninja-build libsdl2-dev libgtk-3-dev lld llvm clang-15 libfuse2
+          sudo apt-get install -y ninja-build libsdl2-dev libdbus-1-dev lld llvm clang-15 libfuse2
 
           # Install SDL2
           echo ::group::install SDL2
diff --git a/BUILDING.md b/BUILDING.md
index e1dfea4..03db6df 100644
--- a/BUILDING.md
+++ b/BUILDING.md
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ For Linux the instructions for Ubuntu are provided, but you can find the equival
 
 ```bash
 # For Ubuntu, simply run:
-sudo apt-get install cmake ninja libsdl2-dev libgtk-3-dev lld llvm clang-15
+sudo apt-get install cmake ninja libsdl2-dev libdbus-1-dev lld llvm clang-15
 ```
 
 ### Windows
diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index c104f86..a52b053 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -27,6 +27,8 @@ endif()
 
 if (CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME MATCHES "Linux")
     option(RECOMP_FLATPAK "Configure the build for Flatpak compatibility." OFF)
+    # Use xdg-desktop-portal for file dialogs to avoid GTK runtime mismatches in AppImages.
+    set(NFD_PORTAL ON CACHE BOOL "Use xdg-desktop-portal for native file dialogs on Linux" FORCE)
 endif()
 
 # Avoid warning about DOWNLOAD_EXTRACT_TIMESTAMP in CMake 3.24:
diff --git a/src/game/config.cpp b/src/game/config.cpp
index ee76ca5..896f83e 100644
--- a/src/game/config.cpp
+++ b/src/game/config.cpp
@@ -134,7 +134,14 @@ namespace recomp {
 }
 
 std::filesystem::path zelda64::get_app_folder_path() {
-   // directly check for portable.txt (windows and native linux binary)
+   // Prefer portable.txt next to the executable so portable mode works even
+   // when launched from a different working directory.
+   const auto program_path = zelda64::get_program_path();
+   if (!program_path.empty() && std::filesystem::exists(program_path / "portable.txt")) {
+       return program_path;
+   }
+
+   // Keep compatibility with legacy launchers that rely on the current dir.
    if (std::filesystem::exists("portable.txt")) {
        return std::filesystem::current_path();
    }
diff --git a/src/main/main.cpp b/src/main/main.cpp
index 85b7514..e64666d 100644
--- a/src/main/main.cpp
+++ b/src/main/main.cpp
@@ -700,7 +700,11 @@ int main(int argc, char** argv) {
 
     recomp::start(cfg);
 
+    // Skip NFD_Quit on Linux: the portal backend's dbus_bus_get() returns a shared
+    // connection that aborts on unref. Process exit cleans up the connection safely.
+#ifndef __linux__
     NFD_Quit();
+#endif
 
     if (preloaded) {
         release_preload(preload_context);
diff --git a/src/main/support.cpp b/src/main/support.cpp
index 6bdbb74..15d5e99 100644
--- a/src/main/support.cpp
+++ b/src/main/support.cpp
@@ -48,10 +48,24 @@ namespace zelda64 {
     std::filesystem::path get_program_path() {
 #if defined(__APPLE__)
         return get_bundle_resource_directory();
-#elif defined(__linux__) && defined(RECOMP_FLATPAK)
-        return "/app/bin";
 #else
-        return "";
+        // Resolve resources relative to the executable location instead of the launch
+        // working directory so packaged builds (e.g. AppImage) work from any CWD.
+        static const std::filesystem::path program_path = []() -> std::filesystem::path {
+            char* base_path = SDL_GetBasePath();
+            if (base_path != nullptr) {
+                std::filesystem::path ret{ base_path };
+                SDL_free(base_path);
+                return ret;
+            }
+#if defined(__linux__) && defined(RECOMP_FLATPAK)
+            return "/app/bin";
+#else
+            std::error_code ec;
+            return std::filesystem::current_path(ec);
+#endif
+        }();
+        return program_path;
 #endif
     }