I recently bought a Steam Deck and I have a lapdock on the way, intending to use the Deck as a dual-purpose gaming handheld and laptop replacement. So on that front, I was wondering what more experienced users could tell me about using it.
I did read through the official FAQ, and a few questions pop up. In no particular order:
- Is there a way to boot the Steam Deck directly into desktop mode, without going through the Steam environment first? (Strictly as a time saver)
- In practice, how well does
sudo steamos-readonly disableand installing things from pacman work out for you? In particular, I want to use PWAs For Firefox and it requires this package in order to work. Do packages actually get wiped with SteamOS updates, as the FAQ warns? - Is it possible to re-enable the read-only filesystem after installing a package, to safeguard it from accidental changes?
- Any other tips, tricks or warnings you’d like to share.
I think it would be much less hassle for you to install another OS instead of SteamOS. Like Bazzite. You should be able to configure that to your liking more easily.
Wanted to suggest the same thing.
Bazzite is immutable tho, unless I’m mistaken, so if you’d rather use a mutable distro you can look into CachyOS or DraugrOS.
Thanks for the advice. I’ll consider it long-term, but want to stick with SteamOS for now. I gave a more detailed reply to a different comment if you’re interested in reading it.
Hmm, yeah I read that. I think you are just not the target audience of SteamOS. It’s more or less meant for people who don’t want to tinker.
If you’re already familiar with Cachy it’s probably a great choice. Personally I went with OpenSUSE which was quite a hassle to get set up like I want. Especially since I couldn’t be bothered to hook up a keyboard. But I think Cachy has all the stuff I had to add manually already integrated.
When docked, the Deck works great as a desktop PC. But not as a laptop. It’s too much to carry (lapdock + deck). The lapdock would be more suitable for your phone.
Also, I wouldn’t change the Deck’s OS, the only viable alternative is going with Bazzite. Anything else would be either a risk or a downgraded experience.
When docked, the Deck works great as a desktop PC. But not as a laptop. It’s too much to carry (lapdock + deck). The lapdock would be more suitable for your phone.
Thanks for the advice. I’m going to find out for myself either way though.
I have a large backpack and I’m used to carrying a lot of weight. I often carry a laptop + Nintendo Switch + battery pack and a bunch of misc stuff. So size and weight will be fine.
And part of the plan is that on days where I don’t need a full Linux OS, I would only take the lapdock and indeed use it with my phone. Thus my portable computing options are a lot more modular.
To save you time, Nested Desktop can effectively get you into Desktop stuff much more quickly than the standard reboot-to-Desktop sequence.
That is an older post, but all of this still works exactly the same way now as it did then.
For 2, there are ways to install packages without messing with the read only file system. Easiest ways are using nix packages or using distrobox to install non-flatpak software.
So for the linked aur PWA package you provided, you could create an arch linux distrobox, enter it, install yay (or another aur helper), install firefox and your pwa package, and then use the
distrobox-export --app <package>command to make the installed software directly runnable from the desktop.Very interesting, thank you for this tip!
Can you explain this lapdock setup you’re talking about?
It’s a hybrid between a laptop and a USB hub. Takes the monitor and keyboard of a laptop and makes them connect by USB to usually a phone, but here the Steam Deck.
Oh, so it’s like a portable monitor with a keyboard attached to it? I had no idea these were a thing.
Precisely! I like to describe it as: a portable external monitor, in the shape of a laptop, with a built-in keyboard and trackpad.
Many Android phones support a desktop mode when connected to an external monitor. Most notably Samsung’s higher-end phones, and they call this feature Samsung DeX. Lapdocks are perfect to make use of this functionality.
NexDock is a more reputable brand that makes high-quality lapdocks. Uperfect is another, but I get the feeling they don’t care as much about making good usable products, and instead just want to maximize their specs for marketability.
ELECROW, I never heard of before and it looks like chinesium, but it’s the only lapdock I found that actually ships to me so that’s what I ordered. Should arrive in a couple of weeks.
I wanted to get a Linux phone and a lapdock. Would give me one device that I could keep personal stuff on, but turn into a full workstation when needed. (But Linux phones are still very much a work in progress)
It’s probably something like a Nexdock or similar. I’ve got one from Dopesplay for example - Easier if you look it up, but basically it’s a laptop with no brains that just acts as a dock for other devices
- In practice, how well does sudo steamos-readonly disable and installing things from pacman work out for you? In particular, I want to use PWAs For Firefox and it requires this package in order to work. Do packages actually get wiped with SteamOS updates, as the FAQ warns?
As far as I know, a new update of SteamOS will revert these changes back. However Steam has builtin support for Nix package system, where you don’t need to disable readonly filesystem and changes to this directory / package system stays intact even after an update. Two articles explaining how to do this at https://sadatdaniel.dev/2023/11/install-nix-package-manager-on-your-steam-deck/ (2023) and https://chrastecky.dev/gaming/persistent-packages-on-steam-deck-using-nix (2025). Check if a certain package is available under https://search.nixos.org/packages . Now, I never did that, as I never had a need for. I can’t say if this helps you with the specific package, but it might be useful for you to look into this.
I am speaking from Bazzite experience so it might be slightly different, but I wouldn’t do #2. What I would do is install distrobox (pre installed on Bazzite, with boxbuddy for gui), create an Arch distrobox, and use that to access AUR.
If you want to install a package, you layer it using rpm-ostree. Don’t fuck with the immutability imo
Apparently distrobox come pre-installed. Also I don’t think there’s any rpm-ostree on steamos, that’s a Fedora Atomic thing.
Ah, so it is. Quick Google search tells me that layering packages isn’t even supported on SteamOS, which seems weird to me.
So I’m guessing pacman doesn’t work properly since it’s immutable… What are your options besides flatpak and distrobox?
Huh.
Well that’s not what the OS is designed for, it’s designed to be simple to update and hard to break. If you really want a traditional package manager then you can just install a different OS, I guess.
Rpm-ostree isn’t really a traditional package manager (that would be pacman, which SteamOS does apparently have even though it presumably doesn’t work correctly).
Yeah that’s what I meant, if you really want to use pacman or one of the traditional package managers then install another distro
Right… I guess I’m just a little surprised that there isn’t a solution akin to Fedora Atomics’ rpm-ostree.
I’ve not read the details for a few years, but I’d guess there isn’t because there doesn’t need to be for the vast majority of users. Even the few who use desktop mode can manage with flatpaks, the few who can’t can use distrobox, etc.
I haven’t looked into 1 but from my experience yes, 2 does wipe your changes with every OS update. Coming from another arch-based system it was my preference too but I learned the hard way. Yes it’s annoying but for an immutable distro like SteamOS it’s simpler to install via flatpak.
If you’re using desktop mode in handheld it does take a minute for the trackpads to work because it uses steaminput, and the Steam client needs to start separately in desktop mode. Touch works immediately.
Make sure to put your go-to file paths in Places (I think that’s what it’s called) because navigating Dolphin in handheld can also be mildly annoying.
If you’re using a customizer like DeckyLoader holding off on updates for a week or so until there’s confirmation of stability and compatibility is advisable, but that’s more for handheld mode.
Thanks for the advice! I did already figure out the thing about the trackpads. I found the whole environment to be surprisingly usable in handheld mode, but definitely not ideal.
Thankfully that’s not how I’m planning to use it. I ordered a lapdock (specifically this one, which is the only one I’ve found that ships to my godforsaken country) and it should arrive in a couple of weeks and be the main way I use Desktop Mode. Then I don’t need Steam input.
If you’re using a customizer like DeckyLoader holding off on updates for a week or so until there’s confirmation of stability and compatibility is advisable, but that’s more for handheld mode.
Can you tell me more about DeckyLoader and why I might want to use it? Or just link to a page with that info. I never looked into it, and I’m wondering what’s actually missing from vanilla SteamOS.
Deckyloader is a plugin hub for all sorts of customization and QoL changes. I mainly use it for color customization, artwork changes, ProtonDB icons, and HowLongToBeat stats when I’m deciding on a new game.
I also use it to download custom boot animations and sounds. It’s mostly geek tweaks but gives you a sense of extra power over your device on the game mode side.
Here’s the primary website link: https://decky.xyz/
You’ll want a keyboard if you want to navigate TempleOS.
