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Post-install checklist

Linux is running. These are the steps every PS5 Linux user ends up doing, in the order that avoids the most trouble. None of them are generic Linux setup; for your distro's own first steps, use its documentation.

PS5 Bazzite Deck

All of this is already done on PS5 Bazzite Deck apart from changing the password and the optional items. Skip to Set the GPU memory if you want more than the default.

1. Change the password and check SSH​

Most images ship with SSH on and a known password. Change it:

passwd

The default users per image are on SSH and getting help. Keep SSH working: it is how you get in when the display goes black.

2. Stop the distro from replacing the kernel​

The PS5 kernel comes from ps5-linux-patches, not from your distro. A distro upgrade that installs a stock kernel into the boot partition leaves you with a system that doesn't boot. On Ubuntu and Debian, hold the stock kernel packages:

sudo apt-mark hold linux-generic linux-generic-hwe-24.04 linux-generic-hwe-26.04 \
  linux-image-generic linux-image-generic-hwe-24.04 linux-image-generic-hwe-26.04 \
  linux-headers-generic linux-headers-generic-hwe-24.04 linux-headers-generic-hwe-26.04

On Arch and Fedora, the linux-ps5 package from the package repository is the kernel; don't install the distro's linux or kernel package alongside it.

3. Disable the screen saver​

It is broken on the PS5 and can't be dismissed once it starts. Turn it off in your desktop's power settings before any long install or download. Over SSH, sudo reboot is the way out if it already started.

4. Turn on the fan and boost​

Without this, the fan stays off and the CPU and GPU stay at their lower clocks. Install ps5-linux-tools and enable both at every boot:

git clone https://github.com/ps5-linux/ps5-linux-tools
cd ps5-linux-tools
make
sudo ./install.sh

On a distro with the package repository, ps5-linux-tools is a package that does the same. Check with sudo systemctl status ps5fan ps5boost. See Fan control and GPU boost.

5. Set the GPU memory​

The default vram.txt reserves 512 MB for the GPU and lets it borrow up to half of the rest, which caps games at about 7 GB. For gaming, reserve 6 GB instead: the GPU then has 6 GB guaranteed and can borrow up to about 10 GB in total. Edit vram.txt on the boot partition (it is read as a hexadecimal byte count):

vram.txt
180000000

That memory is no longer available to the rest of the system, so stay at the default on a server or a desktop that doesn't game. For games that need more than 8 GB, raise the ceiling further with ttm.pages_limit, see VRAM.

6. Install the Wi-Fi driver​

If you use the internal Wi-Fi, install the driver for your chip, see Wi-Fi. On the Marvell IW620 the driver is out of tree and must be reinstalled after every kernel update, unless your kernel comes from the package repository, which bundles it. Ethernet works out of the box.

7. Tune cmdline.txt​

Two parameters on the boot partition are worth a look, see Kernel parameters:

  • video=DP-1:1920x1080@60: the safe boot mode. Keep it, and set your real resolution from the desktop.
  • amdgpu.force_1080p=1: caps output at 1080p60. Remove it unless you need it to get a picture at all.

8. Optional​

  • 40 CU unlock: more GPU power on units whose disabled compute units are good; artefacts on units where they aren't. Original PS5 and Slim only, see 40 CU unlock.
  • Swap or zram: a desktop with Steam open can fill the 14 GB that is left, see Memory, VRAM and swap.
  • Graphical glitches in games: set RADV_DEBUG=nohiz globally, see GPU performance tips.
  • Steam: not the Snap package, see Gaming performance.
  • Updated Mesa: the PS5's GPU (GFX1013) gets fixes in newer Mesa releases. On Ubuntu, the kisak PPA is the usual source: sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kisak/kisak-mesa then sudo apt upgrade.

Where to go next​