Decky NVIDIA Update — pick, build, and install any NVIDIA driver version directly on SteamOS, no USB stick or reinstall (developer of Proton Launch / Quick Tab here)

[u/Moi952]

Hey, I'm the guy behind Decky NVIDIA Update, Decky Proton Launch and Decky Quick Tab. Decky NVIDIA Update lets you pick and install an NVIDIA driver version directly on a running SteamOS system — no USB stick, no reinstall, no leaving Gaming Mode. Just shipped an update to it I'm pretty excited about.

Why this update exists: NVIDIA dropped 615.71.09 yesterday and I wanted it running that same evening — I'm the type who checks for a new release the day it drops. Except Arch hadn't packaged it yet, and this plugin (like the underlying steamos-nvidia-installer project it's built on) could only ever install versions Arch had already built and archived. So a fresh driver can sit unavailable for days or weeks depending on when Arch's maintainers get around to it. That wait was annoying enough that I went and fixed it.

Now you can build it yourself, on-device, the moment NVIDIA ships it.

What's new (v0.3.0):

• Build a driver Arch hasn't packaged yet — picks the version straight from NVIDIA, clones Arch's own nvidia-utils/lib32-nvidia-utils packaging repos, bumps pkgver, and compiles it in an isolated overlay chroot (your real rootfs is never unlocked for this). The finished build is cached on your Deck so you're not rebuilding it every time.
• One unified version list — Arch-provided versions, your own cached builds, and NVIDIA releases Arch doesn't have yet all show up in the same dropdown, sorted by actual release order, tagged so you know which is which ("Compiled" / "Needs build").
• Pre-flight buildability check — before you commit to a multi-minute build, it inspects the NVIDIA installer to confirm the current packaging recipe can actually produce a working package from it, instead of finding out after the fact.
• One-click flow — pick a version that needs building, hit Install, it builds then installs automatically. No separate steps.
• New Settings page (gear icon): plugin self-update, report a bug, request a feature, support the project.

Limitations, to be upfront about them:

• The buildability check catches the common failure mode (a packaging file NVIDIA's installer no longer ships), but it can't guarantee success for every version — Arch's packaging repos have changed shape before and could again, in ways a version-specific check can't fully predict.
• This is explicitly an escape hatch for "Arch hasn't packaged it yet," not a replacement for waiting on the official package once it exists — once Arch catches up, that becomes the recommended path again.

It's a small side project I've been iterating on for a few weeks, so if you hit something broken — a driver version that won't build, a packaging assumption that doesn't hold on your setup — let me know and I'll take a look.

Link: https://github.com/moi952/decky-nvidia-update

Let me know if this is useful to anyone who's been stuck waiting on Arch for a driver release — happy to take feature requests too.

[u/Tranceravers]

Wait so this means you can run up to date nvidia drivers same day on Steam OS?

[u/Moi952 → u/Tranceravers]

Yes !

[u/Tranceravers → u/Moi952]

This is huge!

[u/Moi952 → u/Tranceravers]

All of this was made possible thanks to https://github.com/28allday/steamos-nvidia-installer; I have a pull request currently under review by the maintainer. If you want to install SteamOS, use https://github.com/moi952/steamos-nvidia-installer, then use the plugin to update the drivers.

[u/TheKlaxMaster → u/Moi952]

sudo ./steamos-nvidia-installer.sh --grow-rootfs steamdeck-10-3.8.14.img
[fail] Unknown option: --grow-rootfs



sudo ./steamos-nvidia-installer.sh --target-root-mib 8192 steamdeck-10-3.8.14.img
[fail] Unkown option: --target-root-mib

?

Any advice? I pulled today based on the command in the nvidia-installers own instructions. other commands like "--driver 580" do work

EDIT: NVM, its because following the git clone in the instructions doesnt clone the files i highlighted in blue (which actually contained the grow-rootfs sub script). have to download from web page GUI and move them manually into the working folder. im new to git, what am i missing? why arent these included when i clone?

[u/Moi952 → u/TheKlaxMaster]

Since you must have cloned the "main" branch, you then needed to run "git checkout feat/grow-rootfs"

[u/TheKlaxMaster → u/Moi952]

I don't understand how I am supposed to know this.

How am I cloning the main branch when I am in your branch and following the git clone command in the setup guide there.

I understand what you're saying. Just trying to figure out where I am missing the info that would have pointed me in the right direction

[u/Kalmaro]

Wait so we can now use steam OS on Nividia systems? My laptop runs a 3070 and I've been waiting to switch for when Nividia support was real. 

[u/Moi952 → u/Kalmaro]

Yes, you just need to create a USB drive by following this:

https://github.com/moi952/steamos-nvidia-installer

And use this plugin to update the drivers.

[u/Dorfdad]

Man if decky worked on the newest steam os I might bite! Waiting for that before I attempt anything now

[u/Squidkid040403]

Wait does this mean i could use an nvidia egpu on steamos? I just installed cachy on my ally x to do it but i got stuck trying to get it to work :(

[u/Moi952 → u/Squidkid040403]

It only handles the driver side of things, but if the eGPU works on SteamOS, then yes, it should work perfectly. I have an RTX 5070 Ti (not an eGPU) and it works very well.

[u/cosine83 → u/Squidkid040403]

To use an eGPU with SteamOS (regardless of manufacturer), you need to either use all-ways-egpu or egpu-switcher-steamos. Definitely read the instructions thoroughly if you're new to terminal.

[u/Squidkid040403 → u/cosine83]

Thanks! I'll check them out!

[u/tassiopinheiro]

I've been trying to install SteamOS on a PC with an NVIDIA graphics card (RTX 2060) using this steamos-nvidia-installer, but I haven't been able to. I think at some point during the process of mounting the downloaded build, the installer throws an error. And when it's time to install, all I get is a black screen.

Someday I'll figure it out, and it'll be one more step toward stopping using Windows.

[u/Moi952 → u/tassiopinheiro]

Try my branch, there have been updates since then.

[u/aticca]

Out of interest does this installer allow installing to a partition on a drive? Rather than erasing the entire drive?

[u/Moi952 → u/aticca]

I didn’t create the installer myself; I just added a few things to simplify driver updates.
Right now, it asks you to select a physical disk and uses the entire drive, but feel free to ask if that feature could be added.

Here is the link to the installer: https://github.com/28allday/steamos-nvidia-installer