Knowledge Repository for Steam Deck modifications, setup guides and custom hacks for engineering, programming and emulation
Warnings and Other Such Statements: This repository contains scripts, guides, etc written by an individual with NO affiliation with Steam. This is just a repository for my ideas and projects that involve hacking the steam deck for Engineering and Programming related tasks. Use this repositoy at your own risk. The super duper handy Valve Reimaging Guide can start everything fresh and new!
- Starting from a fresh install of SteamOS 3 you need to do a basic setup for Steam
- Setup language, time zone and Wifi
- Note if the Keyboard does not show up when you click a text field you can press the Steam Button (lower left side) + the X button (left button on the right side of the controller) to pull up the on screen keyboard.
- The Steam Deck will do updates, this takes a bit. it stalled for me after downloading completed. Hitting the B button and going back to my wifi network then hitting the A button for continue it started the installation process skipping the hold up.
- Login to your steam profile
- Go through the tour and explore the gaming interface. The Aperture Desk Job Game does a great "Job" of teaching you the basic controls of the Steam Deck and I highly recommend it for newbies or Portal fans!
- Setup language, time zone and Wifi
- When ready enter Desktop mode
- Hold down the power button and a new menu will drop down to restart, shutdown, sleep the machine or enter desktop mode.
- Select enter Desktop Mode
- If you have enabled security on the gaming mode of Steam Deck (Guide Here) you will have to enter your pin before entering desktop mode. Once in desktop mode you will have to setup additionally security per your Linux OS (by default Steam OS 3 which is Arch Linux)
- Explore the desktop interface
- "Start" menu is located in the bottom left corner and includes all your installed Applications as well as holding the settings menu and other useful software.
- The icon in the bottom right of the toolbar will always bring you back to the desktop.
- You can return to gaming mode by clicking the "Return to Gaming Mode" shortcut on the desktop.
- The file explorer (dolphin) is the third shortcut by default on the toolbar. This accesses the file structure for the entire system like windows explorer
- The Discover Store is a host of Flatpak softwares that can be installed on Steam OS 3 without any extra work needed in most cases.
- Flatpak software is the recommeneded way to install tools on the Steam Deck under Arch Linux. However some tools I use are not Flatpak available yet so I will also use pacman and snap to fill in the gaps when nessecary.
Recommened Software (biased for Micro Controllers, Java, C, C++, Python, CAD, CNC/3D Printing)
| Software Title | Category | Description | Flatpak | Pacman | Snap | Tested by Me |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MarkText | Programming | Markdown Editor Tool. All the knowledge here is typed up in MarkDown. I have yet to test this software myself | ✔️ | ❌ | ||
| Visual Studio Code | Programming | IDE for many languages with extension support | ✔️ | ✔️ | ||
| Android Studio | Programming | IDE for Android App Creation. I have tested for opening, but not running a test project yet | ✔️ | ❌ | ||
| QT Creator | Programming | GUI creator tool for QT applications | ✔️ | ❌ | ||
| FileZilla | Programming | FTP tool for remote file transfer. Highly recommended for moving data to and from network devices like Steam Deck to a Desktop PC or Laptop on your local network | ✔️ | ✔️ | ||
| Eclipse IDE for Java | Programming | IDE for Java programming. Have tested with Swing, but not Java FX yet | ✔️ | ✔️ | ||
| Sublime Text | Programming | Advanced notepad tool with programmer friendly features | ✔️ | ✔️ | ||
| Github Desktop | Programming | VCS and Graphical GIT tool. Works in conjunction with a GitHub account and can be used to pull this repository! | ✔️ | ✔️ | ||
| Arduino IDE | Programming/Engineering | IDE for microcontrollers like Arduino, ESP8266, ESP32, Pi Pico, Etc. | ✔️ | ✔️ | ||
| Thonny IDE | Programming/Engineering | IDE for Python, Micropython and Circuit Python | ✔️ | ❌ | ||
| Fritzing | Engineering | Breadboard, Schematic and PCB tool for Arduino and other components | ✔️ | ✔️ | ||
| LibrePCB | Engineering | PCB creation tool | ✔️ | ❌ | ||
| Raspberry Pi Imager | Engineering | SD card image creator for Raspberry Pi SBCs | ✔️ | ✔️ | ||
| OpenSCAD | Engineering | Open Source Parametric CAD software | ✔️ | ❌ | ||
| FreeCad | Engineering | Free Cad software | ✔️ | ❌ | ||
| KiCad | Engineering | EDA and PCB design tool | ✔️ | ❌ | ||
| Prusa Slicer | Engineering | 3D printing slicing tool | ✔️ | ❌ |