Jovian NixOS

NixOS on the Steam Deck

---

A set of packages and configurations for running NixOS on the Steam Deck. This repo is also useful for obtaining a Deck-like experience on other x86_64 devices.

Installation

Use the normal installation images available on NixOS.org.

Prefer the nixos-unstable image, but you can also use the latest stable image as long as you use the unstable channel for the system.

When configuring the system, import ./modules from this repo in your configuration.

Steam Deck

To enter the boot menu, power off the Steam Deck then hold down Volume- and tap the Power button.

When configuring the system, import ./modules from this repo in your configuration and enable the Steam Deck-specific hardware configurations with jovian.devices.steamdeck.enable = true;.

Other Devices

No other device-specific quirks or configuration handled for now.

Feel free to contribute one or more!

Configuration

All available module options along with their descriptions can be found under modules.

To use the Steam Deck UI, set jovian.steam.enable = true; in your configuration. Then you can start the UI using one of the following methods:

• Select "Gaming Mode" in the Display Manager or run steam-session in a VT.
• Launch steam-session within an existing desktop session. This will run gamescope in nested mode which results in higher latency.

Firmware Updates

steamdeck-firmware

Updates to the BIOS and the controller are available in the steamdeck-firmware package:

• BIOS: Run sudo jupiter-biosupdate
• Controller: Run sudo jupiter-controller-update

jupiter-dock-updater-bin

Updates to the Docking Station firmware are available in the jupiter-dock-updater-bin package. Connect to the dock via USB-C and run jupiter-dock-updater to update.

FAQs

Jovian “Relating to [...] Jupiter or the class of [...] which Jupiter belongs.”

What's Jupiter?

There's a disambiguation page that won't help you. I don't know exactly what it's the codename for. It is either the codename for the Steam Deck, or the codename for the new Steam OS for the Steam Deck. Things get awfully murky when you realize that Neptune's also a thing, and it's unclear really from the outside, and quick searches don't provide conclusive evidence. But to the best of my knowledge, Jupiter is the OS for us.

What channels are supported?

Truthfully, no channel is supported, but the older the stable release was cut, the more likely the additions from Jovian NixOS won't work as expected.

Thus, it is preferrable to use nixos-unstable. The latest update should work fine, and when it doesn't, it'll be handled soon enough.

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Importing the modules in your configuration

One way to do so is by using fetchTarball in the imports of your configuration.

{ config, lib, pkgs, ... }:

{
  imports = [
    (
      # Put the most recent revision here:
      let revision = "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"; in
      builtins.fetchTarball {
        url = "https://github.com/Jovian-Experiments/Jovian-NixOS/archive/${revision}.tar.gz";
        # Update the hash as needed:
        sha256 = "sha256:0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000";
      } + "/modules"
    )

  /* ... */
  ];

  /* ... */
}

Another way is to use Flakes, or any other method to fetch inputs.

When hacking on Jovian NixOS things, adding the path to a Git checkout of this repo to imports works well too.