Steam Deck¶

Bootible uses Ansible to configure your Steam Deck, installing applications via Flatpak and setting up gaming enhancements like Decky Loader.

Quick Start¶

1. Switch to Desktop Mode¶

Hold the Power button and select Switch to Desktop.

2. Set Your Sudo Password¶

If you haven't already, open Konsole and run:

passwd

3. Run Bootible¶

curl -fsSL https://bootible.dev/deck | bash

This runs a dry run first, showing what would change. Then run bootible to apply.

What Gets Installed¶

Gaming Enhancements¶

Applications (Flatpak)¶

System Configuration¶

• Hostname setting
• Static IP configuration
• SSH server with key management
• Tailscale VPN
• Shader cache relocation to SD card

Decky Loader Plugins¶

Decky adds features to Gaming Mode. Access it by pressing ... (Quick Access Menu) and selecting the plug icon.

Available Plugins¶

Enable Plugins¶

Configure in your config.yml:

install_decky: true
decky_plugins:
  powertools:
    enabled: true
  protondb_badges:
    enabled: true
  steamgriddb:
    enabled: true
  css_loader:
    enabled: true

Storage Management¶

Internal vs SD Card¶

Steam Deck has limited internal storage. Bootible can help manage this:

# Move shader cache to SD card (can be 10-50GB+)
move_shader_cache: true

# Store emulation on SD card
emulation_storage: "sdcard"  # or "internal", "auto"

SD Card Detection¶

Bootible automatically detects SD cards at:

• /run/media/mmcblk0p1 (unlabeled)
• /run/media/deck/<label> (labeled)

Proton & Windows Games¶

What is Proton?¶

Proton lets you play Windows games on Linux. It's built into Steam but Bootible enhances it:

• Proton-GE: Custom build with extra fixes and codecs
• Protontricks: Install Windows components (vcrun, .NET, etc.)

Checking Compatibility¶

Use ProtonDB.com or the ProtonDB Badges plugin:

Common Launch Options¶

Add to game Properties > Launch Options:

# Fix some crashes
PROTON_NO_ESYNC=1 %command%
PROTON_NO_FSYNC=1 %command%

# Reduce shader stutter
DXVK_ASYNC=1 %command%

# Force resolution
gamescope -w 1280 -h 800 -- %command%

Remote Access¶

SSH¶

Enable SSH to manage your Deck from another computer:

install_ssh: true
ssh_generate_key: true
ssh_add_to_github: true  # Adds key to your GitHub account
ssh_import_authorized_keys: true
ssh_authorized_keys:
  - "desktop.pub"  # From private/ssh-keys/

Tailscale¶

Access your Deck from anywhere with Tailscale VPN:

install_tailscale: true

After install, authenticate: tailscale up

Sunshine (Game Streaming Host)¶

Stream from your Deck to other devices:

install_remote_desktop: true
install_sunshine: true

Emulation¶

EmuDeck Setup¶

EmuDeck is an interactive installer that configures:

• RetroArch (multi-system)
• Dolphin (GameCube/Wii)
• PCSX2 (PlayStation 2)
• RPCS3 (PlayStation 3)
• Yuzu/Ryujinx (Switch)
• And many more...

install_emudeck: true
emulation_storage: "sdcard"  # Recommended

Bootible downloads EmuDeck; you complete setup interactively.

After EmuDeck Setup¶

1. Copy ROMs to ~/Emulation/roms/<system>/
2. Add BIOS files to ~/Emulation/bios/
3. Run Steam ROM Manager to add games to Steam

ROM Formats¶

Backup & Recovery¶

Btrfs Snapshots¶

Before making changes, Bootible creates a snapshot:

/home/.snapshots/bootible-pre-setup-20250108-143022

To restore if something goes wrong:

# List snapshots
sudo ls /home/.snapshots/

# Restore (requires root)
sudo btrfs subvolume delete /home
sudo btrfs subvolume snapshot /home/.snapshots/bootible-pre-setup-* /home

Disable Snapshots¶

create_snapshot: false

Troubleshooting¶

Decky Not Showing¶

1. Restart Steam: Power > Restart Steam
2. Still missing? Re-run Bootible

SSH Connection Refused¶

1. Check service: systemctl status sshd
2. Check firewall: sudo firewall-cmd --list-all
3. Verify port: ss -tlnp | grep 22

Flatpak Install Failed¶

1. Update Flatpak: flatpak update
2. Check Flathub: flatpak remote-list
3. Add if missing: flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

SteamOS Update Broke Things¶

SteamOS updates can reset system changes. Re-run Bootible:

bootible

Next Steps¶