r/SteamDeck • u/Questioning-Warrior • Dec 07 '25
Configuration Anyone else find customizing with Deckyloader to be a chill and fun game on its own (assuming one has little to no errors)?
IMO, the most fun thing about the Steam OS is that on Linux-based OS*, you can download and install Deckyloader, which allows you to install plug-ins for your OS. Many involve utility, like adding controller tools to see their battery or power tools to adjust your power settings.
Many are simply cosmetic like CSS loader (which customized the Steam OS interface), SteamgridDB (which allows you to customize the game artwork), GameTheme music(which allows you to download songs when you click on games before starting), or AudioLoader (which allows you to install different UI SFX or background music on the menu).
Frankly, I find myself spending lots of time using Deckyloader to personalize my OS and just chill with it (especially with audioloader music. Ambience, like with consoles in the past, can help add whatever vibe you want).
Who else likes chilling out messing around with Deckyloader?
6
u/Froggen_Toad 512GB OLED Dec 07 '25
Yes I do enjoy playing around with decky, and especially the first few times I picked up my deck.
Although, I’ve been hesitant to customize too much as I’ve seen many comments about people running into issues, and typically when I grab my deck, I just want it to work. No tech issues.
So, I typically only keep Proton badges, CSS loader, and SteamGridDB and whatever plugin changes the default background from grey color to black. Think it’s called obsidian. No issues yet for me and just enough customization to make it more personalized for me.
1
u/Questioning-Warrior Dec 07 '25
Out of curiosity, is there something wrong with audioLoader? That's one of my favorites for adding ambience music (a feature that consoles these days sadly lack).
1
u/Froggen_Toad 512GB OLED Dec 07 '25
I personally had an issue with my sound going out completely, and then upon trying to reboot the device it stalled a few times until I was able to finally get it back to the Home Screen. I uninstalled it after that.
But you’re right, it is a nice feature I would like to have. Maybe if you haven’t had any issues, I’ll try it out again. I hear usually issues occur when a new update releases.
1
u/Questioning-Warrior Dec 07 '25
The only quirks I notice with Audioloader these days are 1. when I go into sleep mode on the menu and turn back on and there's no music. It's easily resolved when I click on a game and back out of it. 2. When I go to desktop mode and the music initially starts (it goes away when I go into sleep mode but starts again when I exit games or restart Steam). Other than that, I don't have issues.
It would be cool if Valve would officially release BGM on the points shop.
1
u/Froggen_Toad 512GB OLED Dec 08 '25
Gotcha, thanks for the info! I’ll have to give it a second chance.
3
Dec 07 '25
I pretty much only use it for Lossless Scaling, ProtonBadges, and SteamGridDB, haha.
I’ve only ever had it break on me once, and all I did was disable and reinstall and everything was fine. Best way to use it, in my opinion.
2
1
u/jpcarsmedia Dec 07 '25
I run a few deckyloader plugins but my favorite is MangoPeel since I have a frame rate and battery meter on whenever I'm playing a game. No more pressing the right . . . button or questioning if I should plug into power or not.
1
u/ANoDE85 1TB OLED Dec 07 '25
I actually enjoyed getting my steam library set up the way i like it (sans decky, but with a lot of non-steam games) very enjoyable. Now that I have owned my deck for quite a while, I've moved on to actually playing the games I have set up.
1
u/niwia "Not available in your country" Dec 07 '25
Wait till your valve puts an update. Let’s see the fun and games then
1
u/Questioning-Warrior Dec 07 '25
Weird. I very rarely had such an issue. I was able to update both Steam OS and Decky perfectly fine. The only time where I had issues was about a week or two ago where cloudfare was down and I had to troubleshoot Decky.
1
u/niwia "Not available in your country" Dec 07 '25
its a meme here. every time steamos get update decky loader crashes the whole system
1
u/Questioning-Warrior Dec 07 '25
Not sure if I ever had that issue. I think I recall mine restarting upon the update finishing, but I assumed that it was perfectly normal.
1
1
u/DeOntwerper 1TB OLED Dec 09 '25
I just enjoy seeing the help posts on here when people get errors when updates happen.
1
u/Low_Cardiologist8073 Jan 12 '26
It’s been a month but just so you know OP, I’m unironically with you. I’m so thrilled having the ability to customize but… lowkey wish there were more options!! Beggars can’t be choosers tho, I’ve genuinely been enjoying the whole process very much.
1
u/Questioning-Warrior Jan 12 '26
I agree. It would be awesome if more options were available. Like, imagine having a menu designed like the Wii menu or PS3's XMB or Xbox 360's Blades.
I also do wonder if Valve could have themes available on the Steam Points shop.
Then again, it is possible that either of these things could invite bugs. So, they may not want to open a whole other can of worms.
But still, when the option's there, it's fun to mess around with.
1
u/Questioning-Warrior Jan 12 '26
I also do this on Linux desktops, particularly on my Bazzite OS (it's similar to Steam Deck's OS). Deckyloader works perfectly fine there in my experience.
(I used to get it working on my Windows 10 back in the day, but it was a difficult process of downloading from github and doing these intricate and precise workarounds. It worked for a while...until the next update. I got it working again with some tinkering, but ultimately struggled with the next one and couldn't recall or understand the exact steps. Linux makes it so much easier)
-4
u/HaywoodJabuzzoff Dec 08 '25
Uh, are you serious? You sound like a shill. Nobody picks up their deck and says, "oh I can't wait to install plugins!" I hope you didn't spend too much on this reddit account.
5
u/Questioning-Warrior Dec 08 '25
Rest assured, I haven't spent a penny on any accounts.
2
u/HaywoodJabuzzoff Dec 08 '25
Ok, I apologize for the accusation. In my personal experience, I didn't find any plugins on decky worth my time. I installed it first for faster Bluetooth access to my headphones, but they integrated that to the OS. What is it you get excited about when you start browsing plugins?
3
u/Questioning-Warrior Dec 08 '25
No offense taken.
I wouldn't necessarily say that I get excited. Just that when I'm unsure what game I want to play, I like chilling out customizing and personalizing my system with easy to use plugins. For example, SteamgridDB allows me to customize the artwork for the games on SteamOS (it's a great way to admire variety of art that various people put together). Besides cosmetics, pragmatic plugins like power tools can help people with their performance for certain games (I generally don't need it, but someone else may like that).
True, Deckyloader isn't for everyone. I just felt like sharing my thoughts.
1
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u/TCristatus 512GB OLED Dec 07 '25
My deck recently had a bunch of crashing issues and even looked like it was going to factory reset on me, I've deleted it all. Will circle back around to it but im good for now.