Some users may prefer to keep their current desktop installation and instead just add the ‘Steam Deck Mode’ aka ‘Game Mode’ session to their current setup.
To do this, install the following packages:sudo dnf install gamescope gamescope-session-plus gamescope-session-steam gamescope-htpc-common
For additional support for things like gyro and tdp, optionally also installsudo dnf install ryzenadj sdgyrodsu
These should be enough to work on both gnome and kde.
For a full KDE conversion, also install:sudo dnf install kde-steamdeck kde-steamdeck-additions
At this point you can log out, then:
On SDDM/KDE: At the login screen choose ‘Steam Deck Mode’ from the session drop down menu.
On GDM/GNOME: At the login screen click the gear icon and choose ‘Steam Deck Mode’
Lastly, if you want the system to boot directly into ‘Steam Deck Mode’ aka ‘Game Mode’:
For SDDM
open /etc/sddm.conf and edit the following:
By default Nobara installs with auto-login enabled. If you declined this, you need to add this section:
[Autologin]
User=username
Session=gamescope-session-steam.desktop
If you already have the auto-login section, just change:Session=plasma.desktop
to
Session=gamescope-session-steam.desktop
Then reboot.
For GDM:
open /etc/gdm/custom.conf and edit the following:
By default Nobara installs with auto-login enabled. If you declined this, you need to add this section:
[daemon]
AutomaticLogin=username
AutomaticLoginEnable=True
Next, you need to change the default session used by GDM. To do this, open as root /var/lib/AccountsService/users/username (replace username with your username), and change:
Session=gnome
XSession=gnome
to:
Session=gamescope-session-steam-steam
XSession=gamescope-session
Then reboot.