How to Set Custom Boot Animation on Steam Deck

This article will show you how to Set Custom Boot Animation on Steam Deck. As a gamer, you must want to change up your device and make it look more interesting. You can change the outside of your Steam Deck, and you can also make its boot screen look more like you. It means that whenever you start your gaming computer, your favorite clip will show up instead of a boring background.

The good news is that it’s pretty easy to do. And the fact that Valve officially backed this made it even easier. So, if you’re sick of seeing that Steam Deck image all the time, it’s time for a change. Steam Deck is not just another portable video game system. It runs on Linux, which is what Steam OS is built on. If you want to know more information about this Visit Official Steam Deck site.

You can make Steam Deck more your own by changing a lot of things about it without having to change the settings too much. Valve has made it much easier to use unique boot animations on Steam Deck with the latest update to Steam OS. If you want to change Steam Deck more deeply, you need to know more about how it works. There are many ways to Install Custom Boot Animation on Steam Deck.

Turn On Developer Mode on Steam Deck

The first step is to turn on development mode. By doing this, we can install Decky, a shop made by the community that has many flatpaks (Linux apps) that change how the Steam Deck works. This is an important step, so here’s what to do:

1. Press the “Steam” button and head to the “Settings” on your Steam Deck.
2. Next, move to “System” from the left sidebar and toggle on “Enable Developer Mode” here.
3. Once that’s done, scroll down to the end of the settings menu to find a new “Developer” option in the left sidebar. Open developer settings and toggle on the “CEF Remote Debugging” feature.

Install Decky Loader on Steam Deck

Using Official Installer

1. First, you need to switch to the Desktop Mode on Steam Deck. If you don’t know how to do that, follow the linked guide.
2. Next, open the browser (learn how to install Chrome on Steam Deck) and go to the official Decky Loader GitHub page. Here, click the “Download” button to get the plugin launcher.
3. Once downloaded, browse the file explorer and head to the “Downloads” tab to find the installer. Copy it onto the desktop and double-click on it.
4. Before installation, we need to set a sudo password for the Steam Deck. So, open the Terminal (called Konsole) via the Application Manager on Steam Deck.
5. Then, type “passwd” without quotes in the Terminal. Set a password of your choice and make sure you remember it.
6. Once the sudo password is set, run the Decky Loader installer on the desktop. When prompted, enter the sudo password and continue the installation.
7. Once completed, reboot the Steam Deck into gaming mode. And now, you are ready to change the boot animation on the Steam Deck.

Using the Terminal

How to Set Custom Boot Animation on Steam Deck, Through the Konsole is another way to run Decky Loader. Follow the steps below to set it up this way.

1. Open up the Konsole (Linux Terminal) on Steam Deck. It’s available under the “System” tab in the Application Manager.
2. Next, run the below command in the Terminal to install Decky Loader:
   • curl -L https://github.com/SteamDeckHomebrew/decky-installer/releases/latest/download/install_release.sh | sh
3. If the command you enter is correct, it will request the sudo password. Enter your password to install the Decky Loader app.
4. Once installed, reboot into the gaming mode.

Change the Boot Animation on Steam Deck

1. Once back in the gaming mode, press the “three dots” button to open up the quick access settings menu. You will now notice a new “plug” symbol in the menu list. This is the Decky Loader, which allows users to run plugins in the simplest ways possible.
2. To install plugins, click the “Shop” icon to open the plugins page.
3. While various plugins improve the experience on Steam Deck, we need to download the “Animation Changer” plugin to customize the boot animation. Search for the plugin in Decky Loader and install it.
4. Once downloaded, it should now turn up under the Decky settings.
5. Now, open the Animation Changer plugin and check out hundreds of user-generated custom boot animations for Steam Deck. Select the one that fancies you
6. Last, use the “Animations” options on the Decky Loader plugin page to use the unique boot animation. Congratulations, your Steam Deck boot motion is now unique to you. Animation Changer also lets users switch between different boot images every time the computer starts up.

What you’ll need to change the boot animation on your Steam Deck

1. (Strongly recommended) An internet connection: You don’t have to be connected to the internet to do this, but if you are, it will be much easier because you can download the boot images right to your Steam Deck. If not, you’ll have to download them on another device and then move them to the one you want to use.
2. (Optional) A keyboard: If you have a keyboard, it’s easier to install apps that aren’t games on your Steam Deck. This is especially true if you need to type in your browser to get to a website and create the appropriate folders. It’s not necessary, though, because you can bring up an on-screen keyboard by holding down the Steam key and pressing X at the same time.