PS5 Bazzite Deck

PS5 Bazzite Deck turns the PS5 into a Steam console. It is Bazzite in Steam Deck mode, adapted for the PS5: it boots straight into Steam Gaming Mode (the Steam Deck interface), and a full KDE desktop is one click away.

It runs from a USB drive (or the M.2 slot) and is started by the Linux loader, like any other image. The PS5 itself is not modified: when you restart or power off, the PS5 starts its own system again, even with the drive still plugged in.

Download: releases
Help and testing: Discord, channel #bazzite-problems
Support the project: Ko-fi

Which version?

Use the release marked Latest. Releases marked Pre-release are test builds, even when their version number is higher.

What works on your console

One image runs on every supported PS5. What you get depends on three parts of the console; ps5-report shows all three. See Hardware overview for how to check them by hand.

By HDMI chip:

Feature	FLAVA3 (most consoles)	VERDE (some later models)	Notes
1440p at 120 Hz	✅	❌
4K at 120 Hz	✅	❌	v1.7.2+, needs an HDMI 2.1 TV and cable. From v1.8.5 only offered when the TV can take it, and falls back to 4K60 by itself if the link fails.
HDR (1080p60, 4K60)	✅	❌	Game Mode → Settings → Display
VRR (displays with HDMI VRR)	✅	❌	v1.7.1+, at every resolution: Game Mode → Settings → Display → Enable VRR. Like on the PS5 system, not on monitors that only have FreeSync (from v1.8.6).

Both chips support 1080p60, 1080p120, 1440p60 and 4K60, when the display can do them. Other resolutions (ultrawide, other refresh rates) are not offered: the HDMI chip only has setups for these.

By Wi-Fi/Bluetooth chip:

Feature	IW620	MediaTek	Notes
One DualSense for the PS5 and Linux	✅	✅	On by default from v1.8.9, see DualSense
Wi-Fi after restarting straight into Linux (`ps5-warm-reboot on`)	⚠️	✅	IW620: repaired automatically. If Wi-Fi is still missing, power off and run the loader.

PS5 Pro: supported from v1.8.4 as a first version (GPU with its own firmware, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth). After the very first start, start Linux with the loader once more: the second start uses the Pro's GPU firmware. Reports are welcome in #bazzite-ps5-pro-tests.

Prerequisites

A PS5 on a firmware the Linux loader supports. Tested on 13.60.
An original PS5, a PS5 Slim or a PS5 Pro.
etaHEN and kstuff off: they don't work together with the Linux loader (freezes, especially when going to sleep).
A USB drive of 32 GB or more, ideally an external SSD (much faster than a stick).
A PC to download and flash the image. A USB keyboard is handy for the first setup.
The required PS5 settings: USB power in rest mode set to Always, and HDMI Device Link off (otherwise you'll usually get a black screen).

Install

Download all ps5-bazzite-deck-vX.Y.Z.img.7z.00* files from the latest release into one folder.
Extract the .001 file with 7-Zip (Windows), Keka (macOS) or 7z x (Linux). You get ps5-bazzite-deck.img.
Flash it to the USB drive with Rufus: select the drive, select the .img file and click Start. This erases the drive.
Plug the drive into a fast port, see USB ports. Use the slow USB 2.0 port for a controller or keyboard.
Jailbreak and send the loader as described in Booting Linux. Wait until the orange light stops blinking, then press the power button. A white light means Linux is booting.
Be patient on the first boot. The screen can stay black for a few minutes.

Already installed? Each release's notes explain how to update.

First boot

The default password is ps5. You need it for anything that requires admin rights. SSH is on: ssh ps5@<your PS5's IP>.

warning
Change the password with passwd: anyone on your network can try ps5.
After you join Wi-Fi, Steam updates itself in the background, often behind a blank screen with a blinking cursor that looks frozen, for several minutes. Don't power off during this: it is the most common cause of a broken first start.
The first start is at 1080p60. Choose your resolution under Game Mode → Settings → Display; it is remembered.
Set RGB range to Full, both in Game Mode and on the desktop.

Built-in commands

Command	What it does
`ps5-report`	Collects your hardware details and the relevant logs into one file for a bug report. It only reads.
`ps5-perf`	CPU boost and fan target
`ps5-warm-reboot`	Restarts straight back into Linux, without the PS5 system and the loader. Experimental, `on`/`off`.
`ps5-bt-address`	One DualSense for the PS5 and Linux, on by default. `status`, `on`, `off`.

Boot options (cmdline.txt)

cmdline.txt is on the USB drive's small FAT32 partition and must stay one single line. To add an option, add it at the end with a space in front of it; delete it again to undo. Leave the existing entries as they are.

Option	What it does	When to use it
`amdgpu.force_1080p=1`	Only allows 1080p60	A black or garbled picture you can't get past, for example after choosing a resolution your display can't show. Remove it once you've set a working resolution, see Display recovery.
`usb-storage.quirks=xxxx:yyyy:u`	Turns off UAS for one USB drive (`xxxx:yyyy` from `lsusb`)	USB-C SSDs or enclosures that disconnect, freeze or show I/O errors (many have buggy UAS)
`usbc_dp.enable=1`	Turns on DisplayPort output on the front USB-C port (v1.6.1+)	USB-C displays and the PS VR2. Not when your boot drive is in the front USB-C port.
`hdmi.frl_4k120=0`	Never offers 4K at 120 Hz (v1.7.2+)	A TV where 4K120 misbehaves

To turn off VRR, use Steam's setting (Settings → Display). To stop the TV from turning on with the console, turn off HDMI-CEC in the TV's settings (SIMPLINK, Anynet+, BRAVIA Sync…).

The commands on this wiki that edit cmdline.txt find it by themselves: on Bazzite the boot partition is mounted at /efi, on most other images at /boot/efi.

40 GPU compute units

The image supports the 40 CU unlock on the original PS5 and the Slim. The setting is kept across updates. Don't use it on a PS5 Pro.

Install to the internal M.2

The USB drive stays required: the loader always starts the kernel from its small FAT32 partition. The M.2 holds the system. Install the same version on the M.2 as on the USB drive.

All steps run on the PS5, booted from the USB drive, in a terminal (password ps5).

Get the tools. Bazzite has everything needed to build ps5-linux-tools. If the M.2 isn't prepared for Linux yet, run m2_init first (see Install to M.2).
```
git clone https://github.com/ps5-linux/ps5-linux-tools ~/ps5-linux-tools && make -C ~/ps5-linux-tools
```
Install. m2_install.sh looks for the boot partition at /boot/efi, but Bazzite mounts it at /efi, so mount it at /boot/efi too:
```
sudo mkdir -p /boot/efi && (mountpoint -q /boot/efi || sudo mount LABEL=boot /boot/efi)
cd ~/ps5-linux-tools && sudo ./m2_install.sh --install /path/to/ps5-bazzite-deck.img
```
- Use the extracted .img file, not the .7z files.
- Keep the .img file on the USB system (for example in ~/Downloads), not on the M.2: the M.2 is wiped during the install.
- Tip: type the command up to --install (with the space), then drag the .img file from the file manager into the terminal to insert its path.
- What you'll see: Formatting /dev/nvme0n1p1 …, then Copying files to M.2..., and then nothing for 10–30 minutes while the system is copied (there is no progress bar). Wait for Installation complete.
- It asks for the password and then ends without any output: /boot/efi isn't mounted, or it is mounted several times (from running the mount line more than once). Reset it to a single mount and run the install again:
```
while mountpoint -q /boot/efi; do sudo umount /boot/efi; done; sudo mount LABEL=boot /boot/efi
```
- /dev/nvme0n1p1 not found: the M.2 isn't prepared for Linux yet, see step 1.

Boot from the M.2 from now on by pointing cmdline.txt at it:

E=$(for d in /boot/efi /efi; do sudo test -f $d/cmdline.txt && echo $d && break; done); sudo sed -i 's/root=LABEL=bazzite-deck /root=LABEL=bazzite-deck-m2 /' $E/cmdline.txt && sudo cat $E/cmdline.txt

Start it: reboot (sudo reboot) and run the loader as usual. It now starts the system on the M.2. You can also switch right away with cd ~/ps5-linux-tools && sudo ./m2_exec.sh; if it says kexec isn't found, just reboot instead.

To go back to the USB system, change bazzite-deck-m2 back to bazzite-deck in cmdline.txt.

Notes:

The first start from the M.2 can show a grey or black screen: reboot once and run the loader again.
The USB drive afterwards: keep its small FAT32 partition (label boot). The loader always starts Linux from there, and updates put the new kernel there. The large Linux partition on the USB drive is now only a fallback. You can reformat that partition (only that one, not the whole drive) for storage, but then you can't switch back to the USB system any more.
Updating: run the in-place update while booted from the M.2, with the USB drive plugged in. The update script finds the USB drive's boot partition by itself.
Stuck in emergency mode when booting from the M.2: its /etc/fstab may contain a boot partition line with an empty UUID=. Boot from USB, mount the M.2 with sudo mount LABEL=bazzite-deck-m2 /mnt, and replace that line in /mnt/etc/fstab with:
```
LABEL=boot /efi vfat defaults,nofail 0 2
```

Optional Decky plugins

These are community-made and not part of the image. They need Decky Loader: install it from Desktop Mode with the installer on its website. Decky plugins appear in Game Mode's quick access menu (the ... button).

Plugin	What it does
PS5 hardware control	Fan target, live temperatures, CPU and GPU governors and clocks, LED presets. It sets the same things as `ps5-perf`: whichever was set last applies. There is also a desktop version, ps5-hwcon-gui.
PS5 Bazzite Updater	Shows when a new release is out with its notes, installs it (the same update as in the release notes) and then powers off. Unofficial; full releases only.

Troubleshooting

Ask in #bazzite-problems on Discord and attach the report from ps5-report. Without a network connection, copy the report to the USB drive's FAT32 partition and take it from there on your PC:

E=$(for d in /boot/efi /efi; do sudo test -f $d/cmdline.txt && echo $d && break; done); sudo cp ~/ps5-report-*.txt $E/

The console runs but there's no picture (wrong mode, or a mode the TV doesn't accept): see Display recovery.
White light but black screen: check that HDMI Device Link is off, try another HDMI port or TV, toggle HDCP in the PS5 settings. As a last resort, add amdgpu.force_1080p=1 to cmdline.txt.
Black screen, but the PS5 is running: press Ctrl+Alt+F2, wait 2–3 seconds, then Ctrl+Alt+F1. Over SSH: sudo chvt 2; sleep 3; sudo chvt 1.
It boots back into the PS5 menu: you pressed the power button before the orange light stopped blinking, or USB power in rest mode isn't set to Always.
Artefacts, green dots or crashes: turn the 40 CU unlock off again. For glitches in a single game, use the launch option RADV_DEBUG=nohiz %command%.
VRR: no "Enable VRR" option means a VERDE console, a display without HDMI VRR (FreeSync-only monitors), or VRR turned off for that input on the TV. If the screen goes dark for 2 seconds in menus, use VRR per game instead (quick access menu → Performance). OLED flicker on the desktop: set Adaptive Sync to Automatic, not Always.
HEVC video with broken colours or a red screen (recording, streaming with Sunshine or Moonlight): the PS5's video engine gets HEVC P-frames wrong. Use H.264, or encode HEVC with I-frames only (see VCN). As a Moonlight client: use H.264, or "Force software decoding" for HEVC.
Won't boot from an SSD in a USB enclosure: some enclosures don't work with the loader. Try another one.

How it works

Bazzite's Game Mode never worked on the PS5 before, and it wasn't the display or Gamescope. Bazzite starts Steam through the cardwired service, which loads an eBPF program and needs two kernel features that the PS5 kernel configs don't enable: the BPF LSM (bpf must be in CONFIG_LSM) and kernel BTF (CONFIG_DEBUG_INFO_BTF). Without them, cardwired crash-loops and Bazzite drops you to the desktop after five attempts. See Kernel setup for details.

The image is built on the ps5-linux-image builder with Linux 7.3 and rmuxnet's 7.3 PS5 patches, plus its own HDMI, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth fixes. Each release ships a VERSIONS.md with the exact versions used. To build it yourself (Linux or WSL with Docker and about 60 GB free; it takes a couple of hours):

git clone https://github.com/VivaLaVent/ps5-bazzite-deck && cd ps5-bazzite-deck
bash build.sh

The output lands in ~/ps5-build-7.3/output/.

What works on your console​

Prerequisites​

Install​

First boot​

Built-in commands​

Boot options (cmdline.txt)​

40 GPU compute units​

Install to the internal M.2​

Optional Decky plugins​

Troubleshooting​

How it works​