Bazzite delivers the SteamOS experience Windows handhelds need - and it's terrific
Bazzite delivers the SteamOS experience Windows handhelds need - and it's terrific
Windows 11 is the biggest problem for Windows-based PC handhelds. Enter Bazzite, a custom Linux OS based on Steam OS that can be transformative.
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I'm glad Bazzite is finally getting some more mainstream attention, it's an incredible distro! It's my go-to recommendation these days, and what I'd use myself if I wasn't a NixOS nerd lol
Is Steam gaming mode available on NixOS?
Sure! With this module, it's pretty much indistinguishable from vanilla steamos apart from some more complex decky plugins not working. I daily drive it on my own deck.
Yes, simply install Steam and run it in Big Picture mode.
I have played around with the OS and think it is really exciting. That being said have yet to really daily drive it. How is it as a daily driver? Also what did you come from previously?
I've been using it as my daily driver on my laptop for a couple of months, and I cannot recommend it enough. It has been running flawlessly.
I came from EndeavourOS. So it's a big change from bleeding edge, to the insane stability of immutable, but I'm here for it.
And you always have BoxBuddy if there's anything you can't do because ostree, or if you only know how to do it in Arch (or whatever other distro).
When I used Bazzite, I had it on a samsung laptop and on my steam deck, both worked perfectly for the handful of months that lasted. It integrates seamlessly with steam's updater so apart from updates taking longer, you wouldn't be able to tell it wasn't vanilla from gaming mode. Layering my own packages on top was painless and worked fine too, I particularly remember using tailscale that way. Overall it was rock solid and hands off, most variants keep themselves and flatpaks updated on their own and whatnot.
I came from vanilla stramos and I had it on my laptop as soon as I got it. On the desktop side, I hadn't moved away from windows 10 yet, and by the time I did all my devices were already on NixOS. All in all if nix's declarative approach didn't tickle my nerd bones so perfectly, I'd probably be all in on it to this day.
Still not a fan of the limitations of an immutable system. Can't even install Mullvad. :/
FYI, this isn't true. I'm on Bazzite and I'm currently using MullvadVPN and Mullvad browser.
You just need to use rpm-ostree to install it. I don't remember the exact way I did it, but the documentation is out there. Just search for "silverblue" instead of bazzite. Or better yet, maybe even just "mullvad vpn fedora rpm-ostree" would probably get you in the right direction.
Edit: For the person who claims they bricked someone's system while trying to install a vpn application... I don't even know what to say. I would actually love to hear how that is even possible. Especially on an immutable distro... Do we have different definitions of "brick"?
Cool. See my reply to that comment then.
So first off: This isn't just about you. Other people read this, and your comment is just flat out wrong. I am typing this comment on my laptop, running Bazzite, using Mullvad VPN (that took me about 5 minutes to figure out how to install).
Second, I was literally just trying to help, why be a dick?
So highly ironic, just like the instance you're on. Jfc I hope one day when your system fails you understand that not everyone has the same experiences as you.
I don't know bazzite but if you just want to use your vpn you could create a wireguard config on the Mullvad site and use this in any NetworkManager. So no direct need for the Mullvad appliction.
I can import the config files through the network manager, but that's clunky and only allows for one connection. So if one server slows down or its IP is blocked on a specific site, I cannot easily hop servers without the actual app.
This GitHub issue claims you just need to install the rpm, enable the service and reboot, has anything changed in the meantime?
In my limited experience with Tailscale, it was about that simple back then, at least.
Trying to install the rpm manually by layering it just errors out for me. Someone else on here said that for him it bricked his entire system, so I'm not exactly fond of attempting to brute force it - especially with 4 year old instructions for another distro.
Use rpm-ostree
You're literally replying to my comment stating how I tried that and how it bricked someone's system.
OK, and where did you say you used rpm-ostree? I was just trying to help... And not just you, but others. Because, as I said, I'm literally using Mullvad on Bazzite as we speak. Your comment was flat out false, and I felt the need to correct it..
I have no fucking idea how you could possibly brick hardware by trying to install an application... I never got anywhere close to doing anything that could have possibly had consequences like that.
It took me like five minutes to install Mullvad VPN on Bazzite.
OK, and where did you say you used rpm-ostree?
What do you think "layering" refers to? And there's only this, or Flathub, to actually install something in the main immutable system. So I'm not sure what else you were expecting.
Your comment was flat out false, and I felt the need to correct it..
The fuck? It absolutely is not false. When I tried to install the rpm package it errored out. Another user here reported to me that he did not error out, but it ended up bricking his system. Why in the fuck do you think you can just invalidate other people's experiences like that?!
I have no fucking idea how you could possibly brick hardware by trying to install an application... I never got anywhere close to doing anything that could have possibly had consequences like that.
That is super cool for you, but you should maybe be less close minded and accept that other people have other experiences as you. You should not base your opinion on things that only affect you personally.
It took me like five minutes to install Mullvad VPN on Bazzite.
Somehow. Cool. Next.
The top options here don't work https://search.nixos.org/packages?channel=24.05&from=0&size=50&sort=relevance&type=packages&query=mullvad ?
I'm using Bazzite, not NixOS.
Oh oof I misunderstood because of the parent comment talking about NixOS oops
Never heard of it, how is this distro for new users? I run mint for reference, but I'm always trying to learn about other distros.
It's very much set and forget, and straight up walks you through the basics with a friendly first time setup tool (that you can also invoke at any point afterwards). Useful gaming and quality of life tweaks out of the box, great balance between up to date and stable, atomic updates and built-in rollbacks so it's super hard to break too. It stays out of your way and keeps things updated as needed, you just have to reboot now and then to apply like an Android phone.
The one thing to keep an eye out for is manually editing config files and such isn't going to be the same as you'd expect since it's atomic, but you can still get it done most of the time. Lots of info for Silverblue out there, and as another rpm-ostree based distro, most should apply to Bazzite as well.
I daily drive it on my laptop and it’s amazing. My usb c dock just works. No open source community drivers needed! Nothing has broken!
Virtual machines I have a hard time running but oh well. Price u pay for stability.
Have you used BoxBuddy? I know it's not exactly a VM, but it could suffice depending on what you need it for.
Yeah it’s built in and I use it for running .deb files on Fedora which is kind of neat. I was thinking more of running a windows xp machine