Which image should I use?
There are two ways to run Linux on a PS5, and the choice decides how much of this wiki you need to read.
The console path: PS5 Bazzite Deck
PS5 Bazzite Deck boots into Steam's Gaming Mode, with a KDE desktop one click away. It is the least work because the PS5-specific fixes documented on this wiki are already applied in the image:
| Problem on a general image | On PS5 Bazzite Deck |
|---|---|
| Internal Wi-Fi needs a driver install, and again after every kernel update | Built in, for the Marvell IW620 and the MediaTek chips on the Slim and the Pro |
Fan and CPU/GPU boost are off until you install ps5-linux-tools | On by default (ps5-perf) |
| DualSense pairs once and then won't reconnect | Fixed, and one controller keeps separate pairings for the PS5 OS and Linux |
| Black screens from the internal display link | Link locked at full rate at every boot |
| 1440p120, 4K120, HDR, VRR, HDMI CEC | Working on FLAVA3 consoles |
| Kernel updates mean rebuilding or repackaging | Updates in place with one command, with an undo |
| PS5 Pro GPU firmware | Staged into the initrd automatically |
| Sleep and wake | Suspend-to-idle |
You still need a jailbreak and the loader, like any other image. What you give up: it is Fedora-based and immutable, so installing software outside Flatpak and the desktop's own tools takes extra steps, and it is tuned for Steam first.
The general path: a distro of your choice
Pick Ubuntu, Arch, Fedora, Debian, Alpine, Proxmox or any of the other images, and you get a normal Linux system that happens to run on a PS5. This is the right choice if you want a server, a desktop that isn't built around Steam, a specific distro, or to build your own kernel.
The cost is that you apply the PS5-specific pieces yourself. The Post-install checklist lists them in order; most take a few minutes each, and the package repository does the kernel and Wi-Fi driver for you on apt, pacman and dnf systems.
Recommendation
- You want to play games and have it work: PS5 Bazzite Deck.
- You want a desktop or a server: one of mia's community images, which grow the root partition by themselves and take kernel updates from the package repository. Ubuntu is the usual first choice.
- You want to build images or kernels: start from the official builder or build an image.