The Tool Desk
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Before you install EmuDeck
EmuDeck is a setup and configuration tool for Steam Deck emulation. It creates the required folder structure, installs or configures emulators and related tools, and applies Steam Deck-friendly settings. It does not supply copyrighted games, ROMs, BIOS files, or firmware. Use only game files and system files you are legally entitled to use.
The current official SteamOS installation documentation is dated January 22, 2025. It does not state a specific installer version or SteamOS version requirement, so the labels and options you see may differ slightly as EmuDeck changes.
Choose where your emulation files will live
EmuDeck can place the Emulation directory on the Steam Deck’s internal SSD or on a microSD card. That directory contains your ROMs, BIOS files, and emulation storage data. The emulator and tool suite itself is installed on the internal SSD even when you choose the SD card for ROM storage.
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If you are using a microSD card, format it in Game Mode before installing EmuDeck. The current guide lists ext4 and btrfs as supported formats. Formatting erases the card, so back up anything you need first.
Install EmuDeck on Steam Deck
- In Game Mode, press the STEAM button.
- Choose Power, then Switch to Desktop.
- Download the official EmuDeck Installer.
- Copy the installer to the Desktop if necessary, then run it.
- When prompted, choose SD Card or Internal SSD as the location for the
Emulationdirectory. - Complete the installer prompts.
The normal official installation flow uses the downloaded installer; it does not document a terminal command as the standard way to install EmuDeck.
Standard mode or Custom Mode?
Use the standard setup if you want EmuDeck to configure its normal collection of supported tools with minimal decisions. Choose Custom Mode if you want more control, including which emulators are installed.
EmuDeck can install or configure tools such as ES-DE, Steam ROM Manager, and Pegasus. Decky Loader, Power Tools, and SteamDeckGyroDSU are listed as optional projects rather than requirements for the basic setup.
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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsAdd ROMs and BIOS files
After installation, open the Emulation directory on the storage location you selected. Put legally dumped game files in the appropriate folder under Emulation/roms. Put system BIOS or firmware files in Emulation/bios.
Do not guess the folder name, file extension, or BIOS filename. They vary by system and emulator. Use the EmuDeck Cheat Sheet for the system-specific folder, supported extensions, and BIOS requirements.
Typical paths
For an internal-SSD installation, a ROM path may look like:
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- Compatible with Nintendo-Switch 1 (NOT compatible with Nintendo-Switch 2), smartphones, and tablets
- Boost your gaming experience with up to 160MB/s read for fast load times
- A2-rated app performance lets you quickly access and enjoy games and apps without lag for an enhanced gaming experience and a competitive edge
- Store more of your favorite games and other content with capacities up to 2TB
- Built to endure with temperature resistance, waterproofing, x-ray protection, and more
/home/deck/Emulation/roms/...For an SD-card installation, it may look like:
/run/media/mmcblk0p1/Emulation/roms/...For example, Nintendo DS games belong in the nds folder:
Emulation/roms/ndsThe exact path on your Deck can differ if the storage volume has a different mount name.
Show hidden folders in Dolphin
Some EmuDeck files and configuration data are hidden. In the Dolphin file manager, click the hamburger menu in the top-right and enable Show Hidden Files. This reveals folders such as .config, .local, and .var.
EmuDeck’s configuration directory is:
$HOME/.config/EmuDeck/Choose how games appear in Game Mode
Installing EmuDeck does not automatically add every ROM to your Steam library. You can use Steam ROM Manager, ES-DE, both, or neither.
Option 1: Add individual games with Steam ROM Manager
Steam ROM Manager creates Steam Non-Steam Game shortcuts for selected ROMs. This makes individual games appear in Game Mode, usually with artwork and emulator launch settings.
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- Steam closes and the Deck switches to what EmuDeck calls Lizard Mode. In this mode, use R2 for left-click, L2 for right-click, and the trackpad to move the cursor.
- Enable the parser or parsers for the systems you want to add.
- Click Preview.
- Click Parse. The first run may take time while artwork downloads.
- Review the detected entries, then click Save apps to Steam.
- Close Steam ROM Manager and click Return to Game Mode on the Desktop.
The saved entries appear in Steam as Non-Steam Game shortcuts. You do not need to enable Proton compatibility for these emulated games. EmuDeck’s current troubleshooting documentation identifies that advice as outdated, and it also says not to add STEAM_COMPAT_MOUNTS parameters.
Option 2: Use ES-DE as a front end
ES-DE provides a single front-end entry through which you browse systems and games, instead of adding every ROM individually to the Steam library. In Steam ROM Manager, enable the ES-DE parser and save the app list. Selecting the Emulators parser can also add EmuDeck’s installed emulators to Steam.
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- Note: NOT compatible with Switch2 Please note that this product is not a microSD Express card and is not compatible with Switch2 for game storage or save data. If used in the Switch2, it may only support limited functions such as storing screenshots or videos, but will not allow game installation or save file access.
- Designed for dependable storage on portable gaming consoles
- Steam Deck users: For optimal gaming performance, including the ability to store and load video games, we suggest using a Gen4x4 2230 SSD.
- 5-year limited manufacturer warranty
- SmartPhones: S20, S20+, S20 ultra 5G, S10 lite, S10, S10+ A22, A22 5G, A52 5G, A32 5G, A52, A72, A32, A02s, A12, A21, A71 5G, A51 5G, A20s, Note 10+, J4 Core, J8, J7 Star, J7, Note 10 Plus. SAMSUNG TABLETS: Tab S7 FE 5G, Tab S7 FE, Tab A7 Lite, Tab A7 10.4 (2020), Tab Active 3, Tab S7, Tab S7+, Tab S6 Lite, Tab S6, Tab A 8.0 (2017), Book S and 10th Generation Fire Tablets.
ES-DE is often the better choice for very large collections. EmuDeck specifically identifies libraries of roughly more than 1,000 ROMs as a situation where adding every title to Game Mode can produce laggy menus, scrolling problems, incorrect collections, and other bugs. For a large library, prefer the ES-DE and Emulators parsers and avoid enabling every individual system parser.
Updating and managing emulators
EmuDeck’s Manage Emulators section can update emulator versions, update EmuDeck configurations and optimizations, reset configurations, install advanced emulators, and uninstall emulators or tools.
EmuDeck documents several package types: AppImage, Flatpak, EXE through Proton, and Binary. Flatpak emulators can be updated through Discover. AppImages, binaries, and Cemu can be managed from EmuDeck’s Manage Emulators section.
For reference, the documented Steam ROM Manager executable is:
Emulation/tools/srm/Steam-ROM-Manager.AppImageThe documented ES-DE executable is:
Emulation/tools/ES-DE-x64_SteamDeck.AppImagePCSX2 is documented at:
/home/deck/Applications/pcsx2-Qt.AppImageTroubleshooting EmuDeck installation and games
The installer is slow, fails to download, or never finishes
EmuDeck attributes this problem to Steam Deck network or DNS issues that can occur even when other devices connect normally. In Desktop Mode, click the Steam Deck icon on the taskbar and open Settings → System Settings → Connections → IPv4. Set Method to Automatic (Only Addresses) and enter 1.1.1.1 in DNS Servers. Open IPv6, set Method to Disabled, and restart the Deck. Trying a 2.4-GHz Wi-Fi network is another documented fallback.
“Path is not writable” appears for the SD card
Spaces in the drive label are a common cause. In Desktop Mode, open KDE Partition Manager, right-click the drive, choose Unmount, open Properties, and change the label to a name without spaces. Click OK, right-click the drive, choose Mount, and run EmuDeck again.
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A ROM does not appear in Steam ROM Manager
Check all three of these:
- The ROM is in the correct system folder under
Emulation/roms. - The file extension is supported for that system.
- The file is not compressed in a format the emulator or parser cannot use.
Many emulators do not accept .7z or .zip files directly, so extraction may be required. After correcting the file, run Preview, Parse, and Save apps to Steam again.
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The ROM filename prevents it from launching
EmuDeck documents problems with apostrophes, plus signs, accented characters, and similar special characters. Rename the file with simpler characters, then rerun Steam ROM Manager. Examples of potentially troublesome names include Pokémon, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, and Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury.
Only one disc appears for a multi-disc game
A parser option can make disc filenames look identical. In systems such as PlayStation 2, the Remove (…) and […] brackets option can remove markers such as (Disc 1) and (Disc 2). Rename the files to remove the parentheses or disable that option in the relevant parser.
Steam ROM Manager reports “unexpected end of JSON input”
Steam ROM Manager may have been terminated while saving. Delete the addeditemsv2.json file at the path shown in the error, then generate the app list again.
Steam ROM Manager cannot load configuration presets
Open Settings. Under Community variable/preset settings, click Force download config presets.
No parsers are listed
Use Reset Steam ROM Manager or Custom Reset from its documented reset options, then reopen it and try again.
A game has no audio
In Desktop Mode, open the emulator and launch the game. If it is fullscreen, hold R1 and press Select until the desktop or taskbar is visible. Click the taskbar Speaker icon, choose Applications, and click the speaker icon under the emulator application. A red line through that icon indicates it is muted.
Performance or audio quality is poor
In Game Mode, press the … button to open the Quick Access Menu, select the Battery icon, and open Advanced View. Set Framerate Limit to Off and Refresh Rate to 60. You can enable Use per-game profile when the adjustment should apply only to one title.
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Controls do not work in Desktop Mode
Hold the Start button for three seconds to switch the controller configuration to gamepad mode. Game Mode is generally the recommended environment for playing ROMs.
The wrong player receives input
Reorder the connected controllers using EmuDeck’s controller-order troubleshooting steps. This matters when an external controller has taken the player-one slot unexpectedly.
A Flatpak emulator stops working after an update
Open Discover and update pending system libraries as well as the emulator. Updating only RetroArch or another Flatpak may not be sufficient if required runtime libraries are still waiting to be installed.
Gamescope Flatpak causes crashes
In Konsole, check whether the Gamescope Vulkan layer is installed:
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flatpak remove org.freedesktop.Platform.VulkanLayer.gamescopeA fix still has not worked
A full restart is not the same as switching between Desktop Mode and Game Mode. If the documentation calls for a restart, use the Steam Deck’s restart command rather than merely changing modes.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What a successful setup looks like
At the end of the process, EmuDeck should have created an Emulation directory on your chosen storage device, with ROMs in the appropriate roms subfolder and any required BIOS files in bios. You can then choose the launch method that suits your library:
- Steam ROM Manager: individual games appear in Game Mode as Non-Steam Game shortcuts.
- ES-DE: one front-end entry organizes and launches your library.
- Emulators only: launch games directly from the emulator or file manager without adding entries to Steam.
EmuDeck itself is not the game library. It is the layer that prepares the Steam Deck, emulators, folders, and launch tools so you can use your own legally obtained files with the system you prefer.
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