How do I install RetroDECK on the Steam Deck?

Quick start guide

Put the Steam Deck into Desktop Mode Steam button > Power > Switch to Desktop
Install RetroDECK from Discover
Start RetroDECK first time in Desktop Mode
Choose where RetroDECK should create the roms folders Internal or SDCard.
Put the BIOS inside ~/retrodeck/bios/ for more information read: Emulators: BIOS and Firmware
Put the ROMS inside ~/retrodeck/roms/ or <sdcard>/retrodeck/roms/ depending on your choice
In Steam desktop go to the tab Games press Add non Steam game to My library and select RetroDECK to add it into your library. If that is not working you can Right Click on the RetroDECK desktop icon and press Add to Steam in the menu.
Optional way: Get RetroDECK Steam Grid art and add it to your Steam library with BoilR. Or add the art manually from SteamgridDB for the Steam Grid.
Switch over to game mode and go to RetroDECK on the Steam Grid under Library > Non-Steam
Add the Official Layout under Controller Settings -> Controller Layouts -> Templates in the Steam Deck called RetroDECK: Official Layout with a version number and apply
Launch RetroDECK and enjoy

Other quick tips:

Read up on the Steam Deck: Hotkeys and controls to ease your navigation.
Read up on the EmulationStation DE: User Guide
Check out our other software recommendations Steam Deck: Software recommendations.
Check various optional optimizations that can make some emulators run even better Steam Deck: Optimizations.

Full step by step guide:

Step 1: Go to Desktop Mode

Put the Steam Deck into Desktop Mode Steam button > Power > Switch to Desktop

Step 2: Install from Discover

Open the Discover application.
NOTE: Depending on what language you have set in Desktop mode your Discover application can be named differently.
Inside Discover search for RetroDECK and press the install button.
After the installation is finished, launch RetroDECK from Discover or in the program menu under Games > RetroDECK.
Follow the first time setup instructions and choose where RetroDECK should create the roms folders Internal or SDCard.
Open Steam while still in desktop mode.
Inside Steam go to the tab Games press Add non Steam game to My library and select RetroDECK to add it into your library.
After this is done you can now see RetroDECK in Steam Deck's gamemode after you return to it from desktop mode.

Step 3: Configure the official controller layout

Go back into gamemode by pressing the return to gamemode icon on the desktop.
Go to RetroDECK on the Steam Grid under Library > Non-Steam
Press the Controller Icon
Go into Controller Layouts and press Templates
Add the layout for RetroDECK called RetroDECK: Official Layout with a version number.
You can now use RetroDECK and it's ready to populate with ROMS.
If you are unsure on how to add ROMS and BIOS to RetroDECK follow the Getting Started Guide from Step 2 and onward on how to add them.

Step 4 (Optional): Extras

Get RetroDECK Steam Grid art with BoilR or add it manually from SteamgridDB for the Steam Grid.
Check various optional optimizations that can make some emulators run even better Steam Deck: Optimizations.
Read up on the Steam Deck: Hotkeys and controls to ease your navigation.
Read up on the EmulationStation DE: User Guide
Check out our other software recommendations Steam Deck: Software recommendations.

How do I update RetroDECK on the Steam Deck?

Automatic Updates

RetroDECK features Automatic Updates and should download the latest version when you start the application. This feature can be turned off inside the RetroDECK Configurator.

Manually from Desktop Mode:

Put the Steam Deck into Desktop Mode Steam button > Power > Switch to Desktop
Open the Discover application.
Click on the updates tab.
If there are any updates available it will be shown here.
Click on the Update or Update all buttons.

How do I move my installation to a new Steam Deck?

Note: depending on how comfortable you are using the Steam Deck controller to navigate the desktop environment, this may be easier to do with a connected mouse and keyboard.

The general process is as follows:

Put the Steam Deck into Desktop Mode Steam button > Power > Switch to Desktop.
Back up existing RetroDECK files.
Install RetroDECK on your new Steam Deck from the Discover store.
Before starting RetroDECK, restore files that were backed up in Step 1.
Start RetroDECK.

Step 1: Back up your existing files

You will need to backup two directories: the main retrodeck folders and a hidden net.retrodeck.retrodeck folder.

First put the Steam Deck into Desktop Mode Steam button > Power > Switch to Desktop.
Main retrodeck folder
- Open the Dolphin File Manager (the folder icon in the taskbar).
- Navigate to /home/retrodeck/. This folder should contain sub-folders such as bios, roms, and saves.
- Copy all contents of this directory to a folder on another device, such as a thumb drive, microSD Card, or NAS
Hidden net.retrodeck.retrodeck folder
- Return to home
- Find the "hamburger" menu button (three horizontal lines in the top-right). Open the menu and select Show Hidden Files. If on a keyboard, you can type Ctrl+H.
- Navigate to home/.var/app/net.retrodeck.retrodeck/. Again, copy all contents of this directory to a folder another device, such as a thumb drive, microSD Card, or NAS.
Ensure that you are keeping your backups of these two directories in two separate folders.

Step 2: Install RetroDECK on your new Steam Deck

Follow steps 1 and 2 of the standard installation guide.
Stop after Step 2.
Do not open RetroDECK yet!

Step 3: Restore your backed up files

Restore your backed up contents of retrodeck to /home/retrodeck/ on the new device.
Restore your backed up contents of net.retrodeck.retrodeck to home/.var/app/net.retrodeck.retrodeck/ on the new device.
In both cases, you can safely overwrite all existing files.

Step 4: Return to Game Mode and launch RetroDECK

Launch RetroDECK from Game Mode and continue with steps 3 and 4 of the standard installation guide.
Don't forget to install the official controller profile!

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