Steam Deck · Setup & compatibility

Decky adds a plugin menu to Game Mode. Start with its stable release and install plugins through the built-in store.

1. In Desktop Mode, open Decky's official site, download the installer, and follow its stable-release installation instructions.
2. Return to Game Mode, press the three-dot Quick Access button, and select the Decky plug tab.
3. Open the store icon, search for the plugin's exact name, and select Install.
4. Open the installed plugin from the Decky tab. Check Decky and plugin updates after Steam client changes.

PowerTools is advanced manual tuning, with no guaranteed FPS gain. ProtonDB Badges shows community reports, separate from Valve's Deck Verified rating.

Use CSS Loader for interface themes and SteamGridDB for game artwork. Both install through Decky's store in Game Mode.

1. Open Quick Access, select the Decky plug tab, and open its store. Install CSS Loader and SteamGridDB.
2. Open CSS Loader from the Decky tab, browse its theme collection, and enable the theme you want to try.
3. For artwork, open a game's context menu from your library or its settings cog, then choose Change Artwork.
4. Browse SteamGridDB's images or select a local image. Check the result in your library before changing other games.

Try one interface theme at a time so you can identify and disable it if a Steam update changes the layout.

ProtonUp-Qt manages additional compatibility tools. Install a version first, then choose it separately for the game that needs it.

1. In Desktop Mode, install ProtonUp-Qt from Discover or use the Linux download on its official site.
2. Open ProtonUp-Qt, select your Steam installation, choose Add version, and select the GE-Proton version you need.
3. Wait for installation to finish, then fully restart Steam so it can find the new compatibility tool.
4. Open the game's Properties, select Compatibility, enable the specific compatibility-tool option, and select the installed GE-Proton version.

Compatibility varies by game. Keep a working configuration available and test changes one game at a time.

Choose the workflow that matches your game's source. Heroic, Lutris, and Bottles each manage their own installations and settings.

1. Use Heroic for your Epic, GOG, or Amazon library. Sign into the relevant service and install a game you own.
2. Use Lutris for a supported game installer or another collection. Follow that game's installation instructions and test its launcher entry.
3. Use Bottles for a separate Windows software environment. Create a Gaming bottle and follow the app's installer instructions inside it.
4. Once the game works in Desktop Mode, use the launcher's Steam shortcut option where available, then test the shortcut in Game Mode.

Pick one suitable workflow for each installation; adding more launchers does not fix an incompatible game.

Choose EmuDeck or RetroDECK as your starting setup. Steam ROM Manager handles library shortcuts and artwork for an existing collection.

1. In Desktop Mode, follow EmuDeck's installer guide or install RetroDECK from Discover and complete its first-run setup.
2. Choose your storage location, then copy your own game dumps and required BIOS files into the setup's documented folders.
3. Launch one game through the chosen frontend and check its controls before importing a larger library.
4. If you want individual Steam entries, configure Steam ROM Manager for your emulator paths, preview the results, and save only the shortcuts you want.

EmuDeck and RetroDECK are alternative setups. Their documentation explains supported formats, folder locations, and emulator-specific requirements.

Moonlight receives the stream on your Deck. Sunshine runs on the gaming PC that renders and launches the games.

1. Install Sunshine on the host PC using its official instructions, start it, and complete the initial configuration.
2. Install Moonlight on the Deck and connect both devices to the same local network for the first pairing.
3. Open Moonlight and select the PC. If it is not discovered, add the PC's local IP address manually.
4. Enter the PIN shown by Moonlight in Sunshine's PIN page on the host, then select a game or application to test.

Keep the host PC running while streaming. Confirm local play works before following the projects' separate remote-network instructions.

Set up your own PlayStation console first, then register chiaki-ng. Start with the Deck and console on the same home network.

1. Enable Remote Play in your console's settings. Use the official configuration guide for the different PS4 and PS5 menu paths.
2. Install and open chiaki-ng in Desktop Mode. Keep the console powered on and select it when it is discovered.
3. Follow chiaki-ng's PSN account and registration guide. Use its automatic registration flow or the documented console-link PIN method.
4. Confirm the console is marked registered, then open it and test a game locally before configuring optional rest-mode wake or remote access.

Use the guide matching your console and chosen registration method; account registration and console pairing are separate setup steps.

LocalSend transfers files over your local network. Install it on both devices and keep its receive window available on the destination.

1. Install LocalSend on the Deck in Desktop Mode and on the phone or computer holding your files.
2. Connect both devices to the same local network and open LocalSend on each device so they can discover one another.
3. On the sending device, choose the files, select Send, and pick the receiving device's displayed name.
4. Confirm the incoming transfer on the receiving device. Wait for completion, then open its receive folder and check the files.

If discovery fails, check the project's network troubleshooting instructions. A guest Wi-Fi network may separate connected devices.

Use Flatseal for a specific app's folder access. Use Protontricks only when a game's instructions require a Windows component or prefix change.

1. Close the affected application, open Flatseal, and select that application's entry rather than changing permissions for every app.
2. For an inaccessible library folder, add only its required path under Filesystem, Other files. Use read-only access when sufficient.
3. Restart the affected app and test access. Use Flatseal's Reset button if your permission changes cause problems.
4. For a documented Protontricks fix, launch the game once through Steam with its selected Proton tool, close it, then select it in Protontricks.
5. Apply only the components or actions named by the game's instructions, then test the game again.

Set up a shared folder between your own devices. Start with a small test folder before choosing a game-save or document folder.

1. In Desktop Mode, unpack the official Linux AMD64 build and start its syncthing executable following the project guide. Start Syncthing on your other device too.
2. Open the local browser interface shown by Syncthing. Add the other device using its device ID, and accept the matching device on that device.
3. Add a folder with the path you want to share. Select the paired device, then accept the shared folder and choose its destination on the receiving device.
4. Copy a test file into the shared folder and wait for both devices to report that they are up to date. Keep Syncthing running while you need synchronization.

Sync propagates edits and deletions. Keep independent save backups; optional versioning archives incoming changes and is configured separately on each device.

Use Desktop Mode to browse a download before extracting it into a chosen folder.

1. Unpack the official portable Linux Qt6 build and open PeaZip from the extracted application folder, following its Linux setup notes.
2. Open the archive in PeaZip and review the file list. For a multipart archive, keep all supplied parts together.
3. Choose Extract, select a new destination folder, and review the overwrite and output options. Keep deletion of the original archive disabled.
4. Complete extraction and check the output folder in Dolphin. Keep the original archive and use the extracted files only as directed by their project.

Filelight maps folders in Desktop Mode. Storage Cleaner shows per-game cache and compatibility-data usage through Decky.

1. Install Filelight from Discover in Desktop Mode. Scan your home folder or the drive you want to inspect.
2. Explore larger segments of the ring map to identify the folders using space. Review their paths and contents before making changes.
3. For Game Mode inspection, install Storage Cleaner through Decky's stable store, then open it from the Decky tab.
4. Read the per-game shader-cache and compatibility-data sizes. Leave cleanup actions untouched while you identify the data and check your backups.

Compatibility folders can contain saves and settings. Shader caches may regenerate after removal, so clearing them is not a permanent storage saving.

TabMaster customizes your library tabs. HLTB for Deck adds completion-time estimates to game pages.

1. Install TabMaster and HLTB for Deck from Decky's stable plugin store in Game Mode.
2. Open TabMaster in Quick Access. Add or edit a tab, then choose a collection, installed-game, or platform filter for the titles you want to see.
3. Reorder or hide tabs as needed, then return to the library and check the result.
4. Open a game page to see its HowLongToBeat estimates. Use View Details to inspect the source listing, and adjust the bar's appearance in the HLTB plugin menu.

Completion times are community estimates. HLTB data can become temporarily unavailable when its upstream service changes.

Pair a device once in Steam Settings, then use the Bluetooth plugin as a Quick Access shortcut.

1. Open Steam Settings, select Bluetooth, enable it, and pair your headphones or controller using the normal Steam interface.
2. Open Quick Access with the three-dot button, select Decky, and install Bluetooth from its stable plugin store.
3. Open Bluetooth in the Decky tab and select your already paired device to reconnect it.
4. Check that the controller or headphones work in your game. If the device is missing, return to Steam Settings and confirm its pairing.

The plugin connects existing pairings; it does not replace initial device pairing in Steam Settings.

Use manual pause first so you can check how a game behaves before enabling focus-based automation.

1. Install Pause Games from the stable Decky store, launch an offline game, and save your progress.
2. Open Quick Access, select Decky, then open Pause Games to see its running-game list.
3. Select the game icon with the pause symbol to stop it. Select its play symbol to resume, then check controls and audio.
4. If manual pausing works, optionally enable Pause on focus loss. Test switching apps and turn the option off if the game freezes or loses input.

This stops running processes; it does not save their state to disk or release their RAM/VRAM. Network sessions may time out while paused. Save frequently.

Audio Loader uses a curated Pack Manager to install sound packs for the Steam interface.

1. Install Audio Loader from the stable Decky store, then open it from the Decky tab in Quick Access.
2. While connected to the internet, open the plugin's Pack Manager and browse the available sound packs.
3. Install a pack and select it in Audio Loader. Navigate the Steam menus to check its sound effects.
4. Try one pack at a time. Return to Audio Loader to disable or change the selected pack if you want different menu sounds.

Menu sound packs are separate from game audio. Use the plugin manager rather than manually copying theme folders.

Animation Changer manages installed startup animations and can choose a different one each boot.

1. Install Animation Changer from Decky's stable plugin store and open it from Quick Access.
2. Open its animation browser, choose a startup animation from SteamDeckRepo, and install it.
3. Select the installed animation in the plugin. Check Steam Settings > Customization if a different Startup Movie overrides it; follow the project's current setting instructions.
4. Restart the Deck when convenient to check the result. Enable randomization only if you want to rotate through your installed animations.

The built-in browser supplies startup animations. Suspend-animation configuration is a separate advanced feature described by the project.

Start with manual update checks before deciding whether you want background automation.

1. Install AutoFlatpaks from Decky's stable plugin store and open it from Quick Access.
2. Keep automatic upgrading disabled initially. Run a manual check for available Flatpak updates.
3. Open the package manager to review the apps and runtimes. Select the updates you want, start the queue, and keep the Deck awake until it finishes.
4. Choose a check interval and notification style if useful. Enable upgrading without user interaction only if you want automatic updates.

The plugin requires root permissions and currently supports system-installed Flatpaks only. It updates Flatpak apps and runtimes, not SteamOS or Steam games.

Quick Launch opens installed apps in Game Mode and can create Steam library shortcuts.

1. Install the desktop application you need in Desktop Mode and check its normal setup first.
2. Return to Game Mode and install Quick Launch from the stable Decky plugin store.
3. Open Quick Launch from Decky's Quick Access tab, choose an installed app, and launch it.
4. Close that application before opening another through the plugin. Use the plugin's shortcut action if you also want the app listed in your Steam library.

The author reports limited maintenance and support for one application at a time. If it stops working after a Steam update, add the application to Steam from Desktop Mode instead.