this post was submitted on 27 Apr 2025

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Alternative OS? (discuss.tchncs.de)

submitted 2 months ago by Fanmion@discuss.tchncs.de to c/steamdeck@sopuli.xyz

24 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Ist there any alternative os beside steam OS and bazzite? Something based on opensuse or Debian?

top 24 comments

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[–] pogodem0n@lemmy.world 22 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

Steam Deck is just a computer. You can install any other Linux distro. Or Windows, if you are into that. I wouldn't recommend anything other than SteamOS, though.

[–] Fanmion@discuss.tchncs.de -2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Yeah I know, but I want a OS preconfigured for handhelds

[–] pogodem0n@lemmy.world 13 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Doesn't SteamOS satisfy that requirement? What do you dislike about it?

[+] Fanmion@discuss.tchncs.de -6 points 2 months ago (3 children)

Just only because KDE, I want GNOME

[–] yahiroz@lemm.ee 9 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Bazzite offers a Gnome image, on the download page select Steam Deck then on the second drop down it'll ask what desktop environment you want.

[–] Fanmion@discuss.tchncs.de -2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Yes bazzite offers GNOME but I prefer something not fedora

[–] yahiroz@lemm.ee 2 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

You're going to have to go with whatever you prefer and then manually configure it for the Deck, pretty much every popular gaming distro with an image for the Deck is either based on Arch or Fedora.

[–] Fanmion@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Thanks! I will give Cachy a try, seems it has everything i need

[–] yahiroz@lemm.ee 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Heads up CachyOS is based on Arch.

[–] Fanmion@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 2 months ago

I'm fine with Arch based distros

[–] bjoern_tantau@swg-empire.de 2 points 2 months ago

In that case you should really try OpenSUSE Tumbleweed. I used the Gnome based live image to install (although I wanted KDE) because it's the only one with a usable on screen keyboard.

You should instantly have a usable system. Then you just need to install Steam.

[–] MoogMuskie@lemmy.zip 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

That's a fair desire for a touchscreen device. Don't know why people are downvoting so much. You want GNOME on something that's not Bazzite. To be honest, I'm looking for a good non SteamOS and non Bazzite distro pre-configured for Deck too (when I get one), for my own reasons. So you're not the only one.

[–] rowdyrockets@lemm.ee 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

They’re being downvoted because they made a lazy post, then proceeded to say “no” to all the suggestions based on requirements they were too lazy to include in the post.

[–] MoogMuskie@lemmy.zip 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I don't see why it matters that they didn't include every detail. They are asking what alternatives there are; they weren't asking for alternatives based on their specific needs; just alternatives, and that's what people gave them. And they accepted Chimera OS as a (to them) seemingly good option and what they are choosing to install. Not every post needs to be extravagantly laid out in perfect detail. If it's a complex support post, sure. But a simple question can have more details added when necessary in the comments.

[–] rowdyrockets@lemm.ee 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Preferences:

Preconfigured for handhelds
GNOME
Not Fedora

Not so extravagant, huh? You wrote more to excuse a lazy post then OP did making it.

[–] MoogMuskie@lemmy.zip 1 points 2 months ago

I'm not trying to argue that they didn't need to add that detail at all, or that it wasn't important to add. My point is, (and I didn't do a good job of articulating it before), that there's no point in downvoting it; It's not a huge deal. In my opinion, people mass downvoting a comment without saying why, is like a group of individuals in a physical location, audibly grumbling because they don't like what someone has to say, without actually explaining why they're grumbling, and then expecting the person they're collectively grumbling at to somehow figure it out on their own. It's ridiculous. If you don't agree with how OP went about something, say something instead of just saying "grr" and doing nothing.

We're in a building full of people who're trying to help out one guy who asked a question. There's a bunch of bystanders standing around getting all grumbly because he didn't ask the question with enough detail. They haven't shared this reasoning with one another; that's just silently going through their mind, and they can only assume what each other are thinking. I'm standing there with them finding it kind of stupid but kinda funny too, that they're grumbling. "If you have a problem with it then why don't you say something instead of sitting in the corner whining?"

[–] cannedtuna@lemmy.world 8 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Nobara and CachyOS both have builds preconfigured for handhelds.

Nobara based on Fedora

CachyOS based on Arch

[–] Fanmion@discuss.tchncs.de -2 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Thx, I know nobara too. No thanks fedora

[–] colourlesspony@pawb.social 7 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

There is ChimeraOS for gaming. You can install most modern distros and the gamepad will still work like a gamepad. Navigating most Desktop Enviroments will be problematic without a keyboard and mouse though.

[–] bjoern_tantau@swg-empire.de 3 points 2 months ago

At least the mouse is emulated by default in the gamepad's "lizard mode". And when you run Steam you get the same functionality as on the Deck.

[–] hperrin@lemmy.ca 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

There’s ChimeraOS. Not sure what it’s based on.

[–] Fanmion@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 2 months ago

No OLED SD support (As far as I can read based on their site)

[–] bjoern_tantau@swg-empire.de 2 points 2 months ago

Just about any distribution should work out of the box. At least on the LCD model. Don't know how far the kernel sources are upstreamed for the OLED model.

I run OpenSUSE on my Deck. I did some tinkering to get it to a state I like. Unfortunately I don't have the energy to list everything. For many things I have created posts on Lemmy, should be my older stuff.

At https://gitlab.com/evlaV you can find all the sources from Valve's changes. If you have an OLED model you should be able to get a fully working kernel from here. For my LCD I created DKMS modules for the fan and controller.

[–] Creat@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

There's also PikaOS. It's using Debian mechanics (so apt as the package manager and such), but a modern kernel and their own repos. If you're more used to this world, might be worth a look. 8 didn't know how well it'll handle the controller and specific button inputs from the deck though.

I personally also came from a mostly debian background, but ended up going with CachyOS for my desktop needs (my deck is still on steam os). It's arch based, and just very polished and well thought out. It has a version specifically for mobile consoles, like the steam deck.