--- title: Nix on the Steam Deck | daily.dev description: A step-by-step guide to installing Nix on the Steam Deck, which runs a read-only Arch Linux-based SteamOS with an A/B boot system. The key challenge is... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/nix-on-the-steam-deck-zj3idyryw twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Nix on the Steam Deck | daily.dev og:description: A step-by-step guide to installing Nix on the Steam Deck, which runs a read-only Arch Linux-based SteamOS with an A/B boot system. The key challenge is... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/nix-on-the-steam-deck-zj3idyryw og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/ZJ3iDYRyw.png og:image:alt: Nix on the Steam Deck og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Nix on the Steam Deck **[Determinate Systems](https://daily.dev/sources/determinate-systems)** · 11 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary A step-by-step guide to installing Nix on the Steam Deck, which runs a read-only Arch Linux-based SteamOS with an A/B boot system. The key challenge is creating a persistent /nix directory despite the read-only rootfs and A/B partition layout. The solution uses systemd units to temporarily disable read-only mode, create /nix, bind-mount /home/nix to /nix, and reload the systemd daemon so Nix-linked units are properly resolved. The post also introduces an experimental Rust-based nix-installer with a dedicated steam-deck planner that handles these steps automatically. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Someone merged SteamOS with NixOS, and the result is the strangest Linux distro I've ever loved](https://daily.dev/posts/someone-merged-steamos-with-nixos-and-the-result-is-the-strangest-linux-distro-i-ve-ever-loved-0srcr9fis) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [A Linux Power User Puts SteamOS To Work](https://daily.dev/posts/a-linux-power-user-puts-steamos-to-work-vme39cquy) · Hackaday · 33 upvotes · 2 comments - [Infecting the Steam Link with NixOS](https://daily.dev/posts/infecting-the-steam-link-with-nixos-emaie25ho) · Lobsters · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [I stopped using my Steam Deck as just a handheld after discovering Desktop Mode](https://daily.dev/posts/i-stopped-using-my-steam-deck-as-just-a-handheld-after-discovering-desktop-mode-hkxfgfgrv) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Is NixOS the most powerful Linux distro in 2026?](https://daily.dev/posts/is-nixos-the-most-powerful-linux-distro-in-2026--p9cuehho6) · All Things Open · 15 upvotes · 3 comments --- Tags: [#linux](https://daily.dev/tags/linux), [#rust](https://daily.dev/tags/rust), [#steam-deck](https://daily.dev/tags/steam-deck), [#steamos](https://daily.dev/tags/steamos) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/nix-on-the-steam-deck-zj3idyryw) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Nix on the Steam Deck","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/nix-on-the-steam-deck-zj3idyryw","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/nix-on-the-steam-deck-zj3idyryw"},"datePublished":"2026-07-26T07:48:31.017Z","dateModified":"2026-07-26T07:50:43.985Z","description":"A step-by-step guide to installing Nix on the Steam Deck, which runs a read-only Arch Linux-based SteamOS with an A/B boot system. The key challenge is...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/e1aab9f7cbac40d78f76b3aed1d1ba74?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/e1aab9f7cbac40d78f76b3aed1d1ba74?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"Determinate Systems","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Determinate Systems","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--E2qrkc9w--/c_limit,w_256/f_auto,q_auto/v1785052094/logos/determinate-systems?_a=BAMAMicg0","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/determinate-systems"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/nix-on-the-steam-deck-zj3idyryw","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"linux,rust,steam-deck,steamos","timeRequired":"PT11M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Determinate Systems","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/determinate-systems"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Nix on the Steam Deck"}]} ```