Steam Deck Basics Guide: Getting Started and Essential Tips

If you've just gotten a Steam Deck, are thinking about buying one, or simply want to know the full potential of this little "console-shaped PC," this guide is for you. Valve's machine may look simple on the outside, but inside it's a a very powerful and full of possibilities Linux device that go far beyond opening Steam and clicking Play.

Throughout this article you will see how to get the most out of it in both console and desktop modes, what to do to save battery, free up space, install other launchers such as Epic or Game Pass, using it as a desktop PC, sharing files, enabling remote access, and even which external distributions and tools are worth knowing if you want to go a step further.

What exactly is Steam Deck and how does it differ from a console?

Steam Deck is, technically, a Linux-based gaming laptopDeveloped by Valve in collaboration with AMD, its operating system, SteamOS 3.0, is built on Arch Linux and uses the KDE Plasma desktop environment when you activate Desktop Mode. This allows you to treat it like a full-fledged PC, installing applications, editing files, programming, or working with office software.

At the hardware level, the console features a Custom AMD SoC With a Zen 2 CPU (4 cores / 8 threads, between 2,4 and 3,5 GHz) and an RDNA 2 GPU with 8 CUs between 1,0 and 1,6 GHz, accompanied by 16 GB of LPDDR5 memory at 5500 MT/s. It's a very balanced configuration for 800p, capable of smoothly running most modern games if you adjust graphics, FPS, and power consumption properly.

For storage, there are several models: the basic one with 64 GB eMMC, a mid-range one with 256 GB NVMe SSD, and a top-of-the-line one with 512 GB NVMe SSD. All models are expandable with microSD up to 2 TBInternally they use the M.2 2230 format, so the SSD can also be changed (technically possible, although not recommended for everyone).

The screen is a 7-inch LCD panel with a 1280×800 resolution at 60 Hz (native 800p). The console can also output up to 8K@60 or 4K@120 in docked mode, so when connected to an external monitor it behaves like a Very compact mid-range gaming PCIn addition, there is the official Steam Deck Docking Station and a multitude of third-party docks with additional HDMI/DisplayPort, Ethernet, and USB ports.

SteamOS, game mode and desktop mode: how to switch between them

The interface you see when you turn on the console is called Game Mode. From there you manage your library, purchases, quick settings, and everything else you'd associate with a console. But underneath it all is Arch Linux with KDE Plasma, accessible with just a couple of taps. Press and hold the power button and select "Switch to Desktop"By doing so, Steam Deck becomes a classic desktop Linux PC.

In Desktop Mode, you'll have access to Discover (the KDE software store), browsers like Firefox or Chrome/Chromium, LibreOffice, video editors, advanced file managers, and, in short, all the typical tools of a modern Linux distribution. To return to Game Mode, simply click the "Return to Game Mode" icon on the desktop.

If you want to go further and treat SteamOS like any Arch Linux, you can disable read-only mode, use pacman with superuser privileges and even install packages from the base distro. However, each major SteamOS update may require you to repeat some steps, and modifying the system with `sudo` carries responsibility: a serious mistake could leave you unable to boot.

First steps: Game compatibility and Deck Verified system

One of the biggest questions when starting out is which games work well on Steam Deck. Valve created the program. Deck VerifiedThis system marks titles with icons (green, yellow, gray, etc.) according to their compatibility level, font size, controller support, performance, etc. It's a quick reference, but it doesn't always tell the whole story.

To go a step further, the community uses ProtonDB as the gold standard; you can also consult a guide for Configure Proton on Steam for LinuxProtonDB is a reporting database where thousands of users They assess the actual functioning of the games under Proton (the compatibility layer that allows Windows games to run on Linux) and share specific settings: recommended Proton versions, launch parameters, graphics configurations, etc.

It's quite common to find games that Steam marks as "Not Compatible" but which nevertheless appear with a Gold or even Platinum rating on ProtonDB. In many cases, simply changing the Proton version from the game properties so they work perfectly on Steam Deck. There are even extensions and utilities that integrate ProtonDB data directly into the console.

In addition to Proton and Deck Verified, tools like SteamDB allow you to view game details (prices, beta branches, dependencies, etc.). Keep in mind that SteamDB is a third-party project, with no official affiliation with Valve, but it's very useful for exploring the catalog in more depth.

Button and keyboard shortcuts: control the Deck without peripherals

One of the first things you should learn is the Steam button shortcuts combined with other controlsSince you don't have a physical keyboard, these shortcuts will be a lifesaver both in games and in Desktop Mode.

The Steam button, if you hold it down, displays several quick commands on the screen. Among the most useful are those that simulate basic keyboard and mouse functions:

• Force closing from the game: Steam + B (long press).
• Screenshot: Steam + R1.
• Show virtual keyboard: Steam + X.
• Intro: Steam + right D-pad.
• Tab: Steam + down on the D-pad.
• I: Steam + left D-pad.
• Mouse with trackpad: Steam + corresponding trackpad.
• Bright: Steam + left lever up/down.
• Land: Steam + L1.

Memorizing these combinations makes navigating SteamOS and many other applications much more comfortable without a physical keyboard and mouse. Konsole, browsers or text editors They make all the difference when you're on the sofa or traveling.

Record gameplay and manage videos on Steam Deck

Steam already includes a native system of game recording Steam Deck works with games that support this feature. You no longer need an external capture card if you only want to share clips or gameplay.

From Steam's Settings, in the Game Recording section, you can choose between background recording (which always keeps the last few minutes ready to save) and manual recording. The system may add Automatic markers when you achieve or when important events are detected, which then facilitates editing.

To locate the videos, you have two options. The quick way: the Content tab within the SteamOS game interface itself. The advanced way: enter Desktop Mode and navigate to your Steam user folder, usually in a recordings directory, from where you can copy the files to a USB drive or upload them directly to YouTube, TikTok or another platform.

How to use Steam Deck as a desktop PC

The Steam Deck shines when you connect it to an external monitor, keyboard, and mouse. With a dock (official or third-party), you can transform it into a highly capable desktop computerValve's official Docking Station offers three USB-A 3.1 Gen1 ports, Gigabit Ethernet, DisplayPort 1.4, HDMI 2.0 and multi-monitor support via MST, with resolutions up to 4K@60 or 1440p@120 and FreeSync compatibility.

Brands like JSAUX offer 6-in-1 docks with HDMI 4K@60, Ethernet, USB-C charging, and multiple USB-A 3.0 ports, supporting up to 100W of power delivery (enough to fully charge the Deck with the original charger). There are even models with integrated M.2 slot to add extra SSD that is automatically mounted on Linux with a script.

If ergonomics and protection are your priorities, there are cases with stands like the JSAUX Protective Standing Case, robust cases from Spigen with rigid elements usable for mods, and premium products like the PROJECT Killswitch by dbrandwhich combines a case, stand, and high-quality skins. You can also make your own vinyl decals if you have the right equipment and a compatible cutting template.

In addition to the screen and casing, think about peripherals: controllers like the Xbox Wireless Controller, PS5 DualSense or the Switch Pro Controller They work flawlessly, and there are plenty of microSD cards, 45W chargers, power banks, and USB-C hubs to complete your hybrid laptop/desktop setup.

Battery management and extended storage mode

Lithium batteries suffer over time, especially if you leave a device unattended. months sitting idle with the battery full or emptyValve knows this and has added a battery storage mode to protect the Steam Deck when you're not going to use it for weeks or months.

This mode physically cuts the battery's connection to the rest of the system, minimizing degradation and preventing deep discharges. The process is very specific: first, turn off the console completely, then hold down Volume + and press the power button to enter the BIOS. In the "Setup Utility" menu, look for the options for Power and activate “Battery Storage Mode”.

When you do this, the Deck turns off and the power LED blinks three times. It won't turn back on until you plug it into a power source. Once you plug in the charger, storage mode is deactivated and normal operation resumes.

For daily use, if you want to maximize battery life while gaming (See how to get the most out of your batteryIn addition to the FSR, which we will discuss later, there are tools such as auto-cpufreq in Linux or Power Control Panel in Windowswhich allow you to adjust TDP, CPU/GPU frequencies and other parameters to balance performance, temperature and battery life.

Security: Locking the console and using a password in Linux

If you share the Deck at home or simply don't want just anyone to be able to access your account, in Game Mode you can set a six digit PIN From Settings > Security. The machine will prompt you when you turn it on, when you wake from sleep mode, or when you switch to Desktop Mode. It's a simple but very effective layer.

In Desktop Mode, to protect the Linux system, you must set a password for the deck user using the Konsole terminal. Open Konsole, type Use password and follow the instructionsThis key will allow you to log in to Plasma (if required) and to run commands with sudo and manage the system with superuser privileges.

Install other launchers: Epic Games, GOG and Game Pass

Although Steam is the central hub of Steam Deck, one of its greatest strengths is that you're not tied to just that store. You can play titles from Epic Games Store, GOG, Battle.net, Ubisoft Connect, EA, etc., generally with the help of specific tools.

For Epic and GOG, the most convenient option is Heroic Games LauncherYou can find it in Discover, install it in Desktop Mode, log in with your accounts, and from there you can download your games. The best part is that Heroic allows Add each game to your Steam library with one click, so that you can then start everything from Game Mode as if they were native titles.

The case of Game Pass (Xbox Cloud Gaming or Game Pass PC) is a bit more complicated. Essentially, you need to install Microsoft Edge as a Flatpak from Discover, grant it special permissions with a flatpak command in Konsole, and then Add Edge to Steam as a non-Steam gameIn its launch parameters you can specify options such as window size and kiosk mode, pointing to the Xbox Cloud Gaming URL for a more "app" experience than a browser experience.

Beyond these, there are clients like Lutris, GameHub, and Bottles that make it easy to manage games across multiple platforms and compatibility layers (Wine/Proton, installation scripts, etc.). These are very powerful tools if you want to gather your games from Epic, GOG, Battle.net or Origin in one place.

Remote Play and streaming: PS4, PS5, PC and cloud

Steam Deck can also be the hub of your streaming ecosystem. Locally, you have Steam Remote Play Together and Steam Link, which allow play remotely on your desktop PC or share local multiplayer with friends over the Internet.

If you own a PS4 or PS5, the community has created Chiaki and variants like Chiaki4Deck, which are free Remote Play clients adapted for Linux. You can install Chiaki from Discover, add it as a non-Steam game, and map your controls. It requires obtaining your Sony account ID and a brief initial setup, but then offers... streaming with very low latency and good image quality. Many users even recommend playing it in Desktop Mode to minimize performance issues.

In the cloud space, there are options such as GeForce NOW, Xbox Cloud Gaming, Amazon Luna, Parsec or Moonlight + SunshineThese services allow you to stream games from a PC with an NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel GPU to the Steam Deck at very high quality. For some services, a web browser is all you need; for others, there are native clients or Flatpaks that simplify setup.

FSR and resolution: how to squeeze out performance and battery life

One of Steam Deck's secret weapons for balancing image quality and performance is the system-level integrated FSR (FidelityFX Super Resolution). Basically, it allows you to render the game at a lower resolution and scale it up at 800p with sharpening filters and post-processing, saving resources and battery in many titles.

The trick is to lower the game's resolution, either through its internal settings or by forcing it in Steam's properties, and enable FSR in the quick performance menu, making sure it's set to ON in the statistics. Not all games offer resolutions below 720p, but many allow you to force 16:10 resolutions like 1024x640 or 800x500 through Steam, and the game will accept them without issue.

Some useful combinations that have become popular are:

• 1152 × 720This setting is often found in the graphics options of many games. It doesn't reduce resource consumption, but it improves sharpness thanks to FSR's post-processing, ideal if the game is already running smoothly and you just want a "cleaner" image.
• 1024 × 640One of the most balanced settings. It's usually enabled through the game's properties on Steam. It reduces resource consumption while maintaining good visual quality.
• 900 × 600: present in several games. It further reduces consumption, with a bit more visible smoothing, although the FSR sharpening compensates quite well.
• 800 × 500: extreme for cases where you prioritize performance and battery life above all else.

In very demanding titles like RDR2 or some recent Star Wars games, forcing these resolutions in Steam and enabling FSR can to make the difference between an unstable game and a solid experience with lower battery consumption. However, it's worth checking the performance overlay to ensure FSR is actually enabled, as this sometimes depends on whether the game is in fullscreen, borderless window, or other modes.

Storage, caches, and how to easily gain gigabytes

If you have the 64 or 256 GB model, or simply install a lot of large games, the space runs out quickly. And much of what it takes up isn't necessarily games, but the... shader cache and Proton compatibility datawhich Steam automatically downloads to improve performance and loading times.

To clean all that up without going crazy, the community often recommends Decky Loader, a plugin loader for Game Mode. Once installed, you can add the Storage Cleaner plugin, which displays how much space does each game take up in the cache? And it lets you delete the one you no longer need with just a couple of taps. It's an easy way to recover tens of gigabytes without uninstalling games.

In addition to cache management, consider using a good microSD card (brands like SanDisk, Samsung, or Lexar work very well) and, if you're feeling up to it, replace the internal SSD with a higher capacity M.2 2230 SSDThis last step requires opening the console and is not something Valve recommends to the average user, but it is a real option for those who need a lot of internal space.

Visual customization: animations, skins, and interface appearance

Valve has opened the door to customizing the Steam Deck startup animation. You can get it from the Steam Points Store. custom intros Paying with points earned by purchasing games. Once acquired, they are activated from Settings > Personalization, where there is also an option for the system to choose a random animation at each startup.

If you want to go even further, in Desktop Mode you can search for the folder uioverrides/movies and add your own .webm filesFor example, classic console intros or other videos you might want to watch when you turn on the Deck. The community has huge collections of ready-to-use animations.

Beyond the startup animation, services like SteamGridDB and tools like SGDBoop allow you to customize the cover art, backgrounds, and logos of your games in your library, both from Steam and third-party titles. It's a fairly simple way to have a... visually coherent and carefully curated collection even when you mix games from various platforms.

Useful software: Discover, Flatpak, Flathub, and Flatseal

In Desktop Mode, your hub will be Discover, the KDE application store. From there you can manage system software, Flatpak repositories, the Snap store, or even install AppImages from store.kde.org. Discover also has a section for Install and manage Plasma plugins and other KDE apps, such as themes, widgets, icons, etc.

Flatpak is the recommended format for installing programs on SteamOS. Each app runs in its own container with limited permissions, reducing the risk of breaking the system. Most major programs (browsers, office suites, media players, development tools, emulators, etc.) are available in Flatpak. Flathub, Flatpak's main storewhich you can explore both from Discover and from the command line.

If you want to fine-tune the permissions of each Flatpak, there's Flatseal, a graphical utility that shows what each application can do (access folders, hardware, network, etc.) and lets you enable or disable permissions with a single click. It's especially useful for strengthen privacy and security or to grant specific permissions without using the terminal.

Terminal, Superuser, and Best Practices in Linux

On Steam Deck, console access is through Konsole in Desktop Mode. A terminal in Linux is a command interpreter It allows you to install software, copy or move files, create scripts, manage services, etc., without using the graphical interface. Combined with superuser privileges (sudo), it gives you almost total control of the system.

The default user is called "deck" and, by default, has no password configured for sudo. To fix this, open Konsole and type passwd, you enter a password and confirm itFrom there you can use sudo to run administrative tasks (install packages with pacman, modify system configuration files, disable read-only mode, etc.).

However, you should be very careful with what you do with sudo: serious mistakes when modifying the base system can force you to Reinstall SteamOS or use the recovery imageIt's a good idea to stick to Flatpak and Discover if you have no experience with Linux, and only switch to pacman and manual editing when you know exactly what you're changing.

Locate the IP address, share files, and connect via SSH/FTP

Knowing your Steam Deck's local IP address is very useful for advanced tasks: it allows you to connect to it via SSH, SCP, or FTP from another computer to manage files and run commands remotely. By opening a terminal in Desktop Mode and using an appropriate network command, you can see the IP address assigned by your router.

To transfer files between the Deck and other devices on the same local network there are many convenient solutions: KDE Connect to synchronize with your mobile and share files or notifications; Warpinator, Dragit or RiftShare to send files without dealing with complicated paths; FileZilla as a graphical FTP/SFTP client; or SyncThing if you need continuous synchronization between multiple machines.

If you want to go the classic route, you can install and enable an SSH server to access the terminal from another PC (for example, with PuTTY on Windows or directly from PowerShell with the ssh command), and even configure an FTP server on the Steam Deck to access your folders from the file explorer of another systemThis makes it much easier to organize ROMs, mods, screenshots, or projects without being physically in front of the laptop.

Languages, Spanish keyboard layout, and Plasma customization

By default, Steam Deck's Desktop Mode is usually in English, as is the keyboard. Changing it to Spanish involves changing both the local system settings such as Plasma configurationThe typical procedure involves editing files such as locale.gen and locale.conf, generating the new locales, and installing the corresponding language packs.

Next, in Plasma's preferences, you can add Spanish (for example, es_ES) as a language, move it to the top of the list, and apply the changes. For the keyboard layout, in the Layouts section, add "Spanish" and move it to the top. After a restart, you'll see the interface, the keyboard, and the formats (dates, currency, etc.) adapted to the Spanish you have chosen.

Emulation, retro gaming, and an advanced gaming ecosystem

Steam Deck has become the go-to platform for emulation. Tools like EmuDeck or RetroDECK They automate almost everything: they install RetroArch, EmulationStation Desktop Edition, controller configurations for GameCube, Wii, Citra, SNES and many others, create ROM folders, add emulators to Steam and leave the interface ready to browse your retro collection from Game Mode.

Aside from those all-in-one suites, you have individual emulators on Flathub for almost any system: Dolphin for GameCube/Wii, Citra for 3DS, yuzu for Switch, bsnes and Snes9x for Super Nintendo, mGBA for GBA, PCSX2 for PS2, RPCS3 for PS3, MAME for arcadesxemu for the original Xbox, Xenia for Xbox 360, and many more. In many cases, there are profiles specifically designed for Steam Deck.

If you're interested in having everything neat and tidy, frontends like Pegasus, EmulationStation DE, or RetroPie (on other devices) allow you to do so. Organize your ROMs, add cover art, videos, and information and launch the games from a single interface. And if you want something more geeky, projects like Cartridge let you set up a private ROM server to download them from any machine on your network.

Alternative distributions and SteamOS on other computers

Beyond Steam Deck itself, there are projects like HoloISO that carry SteamOS 3 (Holo) to other PCs, with the idea of ​​giving a near-official experience on generic hardware. Similarly, distributions like Nobara, WinesapOS, Manjaro, EndeavourOS, Garuda, Batocera, and many others have become popular among users who want a Linux optimized for gaming.

These alternatives are interesting if you want to replicate the Deck environment on a desktop computer, or if you plan to use the Steam Deck itself with a different primary operating system. However, this involves deeply modifying the main partition, deleting SteamOS, or install alternative operating systems on the SSD It's not something Valve officially supports.

So it's a good idea to know exactly what you're doing and always have your SteamOS recovery image handy.

The combination of well-designed hardware, a gaming-oriented operating system, and a vast array of community tools makes the Steam Deck an incredibly versatile device. By dedicating some time to learning these tricks, configurations, and utilities, you can have a device that functions as... console, desktop PC, emulation center, streaming machine, and thin workstation without constantly changing equipment.