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The Steam Deck is already a great handheld gaming device, but if you want more functionality, you can install software like Decky Loader. If you've never heard of Decky Loader before, it's a launcher for the Steam Deck that gives you easy access to browse and install a variety of plugins. By installing it, users will gain access to plugins that can be found through the Quick Access menu. Once you download and install this, you'll wonder how you got by without it, especially now that the installation process has been made easier for beginners.
How to get startedAs a small disclaimer, this tutorial was created using a Steam Deck running the stable channel release of Steam OS — version 3.4.4, at the time of this writing. If you're using another OS version (Beta or Preview), these instructions might not work.
Additionally, make sure to back up any important data before hopping into this tutorial in case anything goes wrong. While the installation is pretty straightforward, you never know what can happen.
To get started, you will want to Enable Developer Mode by heading into the Settings menu.
After the reboot, you will need to switch to Desktop mode.
If everything's gone as planned, you should see the Decky menu. While it is currently empty, pat yourself on the back as you've successfully installed Decky Loader. It's now time to install some plugins.
The main reason I installed Decky Loader was to grab game art from SteamGridDB. For games that are installed through the Steam Store, game art will be populated automatically. But if you load something on your own, you'll be left with a blank canvas, which, frankly, looks terrible. While game art can be added manually, this process makes it much simpler. You'll be presented with game art for all different areas of the Steam Deck UI, too, including for the capsule, wide capsule, hero, and logo.
By looking at the before and after image below, you can get an idea of just how much of a difference assets downloaded from SteamGridDB can really change things, leaving you with a polished product that looks like it came installed natively.
ProtonDB Badges is another plugin that I had my eye on. If that sounds familiar, it's because colleague Adam Conway has previously discussed ProtonDB, which can help you find more games to play on your Steam Deck. With this plugin, you'll be able to instantly see which games in your library are suitable for the Steam Deck, some of which might not be included by Valve in the Great on Deck category on the Steam Store.
By tapping or selecting the badge, you'll get details on how well the game works on Steam Deck, and you'll also see feedback from the community. So if you're ever doubtful about some of the games you might own and their support, give the ProtonDB Badges plugin a try.
There are a lot of different plugins available. There's even the Animation Changer plugin that will easily let you find and install boot and suspend animations. Scroll through the loader and try some out.
For the most part, Decky Loader is intended to make life easier for Steam Deck users. Perhaps its best feature is that after the initial installation process, you can make all of these changes while staying in the Gaming Mode environment. If you have a plugin you'd recommend, let us know in the comments below.
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