deck-tools

Deck tools for managing dosbox stuff and also a shader cache tool.

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Quick Install

No cloning required. Paste one command into a terminal and the rest is automatic.

Option A — Steam Deck Konsole (Desktop Mode)

Switch to Desktop Mode, open Konsole, and run:

bash <(curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jaydarkseed757/deck-tools/main/install.sh)

Option B — SSH from your laptop or desktop (the fun way)

Set up your Steam Deck without ever touching its keyboard — run the installer remotely from your couch, your desk, or anywhere on the same network.

1. Enable SSH on your Steam Deck

In Gaming Mode:
Steam button → Settings → System → scroll to "Network" → Enable SSH

2. Set a password (SSH requires one; Steam Deck ships without one by default)

Open Konsole in Desktop Mode and run:

passwd

3. Find your Deck's IP address

In Gaming Mode:
Steam button → Settings → System → IP Address

Or in Konsole:

ip -4 addr show wlan0 | grep inet

4. Run the installer from your other machine

ssh deck@<DECK-IP> 'bash <(curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jaydarkseed757/deck-tools/main/install.sh)'

Replace <DECK-IP> with the address from step 3. That's it — the installer runs on the Deck, you watch the output on your machine.

Option C — Manual (git clone)

git clone https://github.com/jaydarkseed757/deck-tools
cd deck-tools/dos-workstation
bash setup.sh

Updating

Re-run the same curl command. install.sh always downloads the latest version before running setup, so it's safe to re-run at any time.

Flags

Both the curl installer and setup.sh accept:

Flag	Effect
--dry-run	Print every action without making any changes
--skip-flatpak	Skip DOSBox Staging / RetroArch install (already installed)

# Preview what would happen, nothing is changed
bash <(curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jaydarkseed757/deck-tools/main/install.sh) --dry-run

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DOS Workstation (dos-workstation/)

Turns your Steam Deck into a portable DOS development machine running DOSBox Staging, RetroArch, QBASIC 1.1, and GW-BASIC.

setup.sh does all of this automatically:

• Creates ~/DOSGames/ with the full workspace tree
• Installs DOSBox Staging and RetroArch via Flatpak (user install, no sudo)
• Deploys Steam Deck-optimised DOSBox configs
• Installs launcher scripts to ~/.local/bin/
• Creates .desktop shortcuts for Desktop Mode

Workspace layout

~/DOSGames/
├── GAMES/
│   ├── DOOM/
│   ├── DUKE3D/
│   └── WOLF3D/
├── QBASIC/        ← copy QBASIC.EXE + QBASIC.HLP here
├── GWBASIC/       ← copy GWBASIC.EXE here
├── PROJECTS/
│   ├── BLACKJACK/
│   ├── HANGMAN/
│   └── DEMOS/
└── UTILS/

Deploy a game — dos-game-deploy.sh

bash dos-workstation/dos-game-deploy.sh <game-name> [source-directory]

Point it at any unzipped DOS game folder and it handles everything:

• Copies the game to ~/DOSGames/GAMES/<GAME>/
• Detects the main .EXE (by name match, known-game table, or first EXE found)
• Generates a per-game DOSBox Staging config (cycles = max, SB16, svga_s3)
• Writes a launcher script to ~/.local/bin/launch_<game>.sh
• Creates a .desktop shortcut
• Prints numbered, step-by-step instructions for adding it to Gaming Mode

# Game folder is in the current directory
bash dos-workstation/dos-game-deploy.sh quake

# Explicit source path
bash dos-workstation/dos-game-deploy.sh doom ~/Downloads/doom
bash dos-workstation/dos-game-deploy.sh wolf3d /run/media/mysdcard/wolf3d

Known games with automatic EXE detection: DOOM, DOOM2, Duke3D, Wolf3D, Quake, Heretic, Hexen, Descent, Descent2, Tyrian, X-COM, Warcraft, Warcraft 2, and more.

Launchers

Script	Description
launch_dos.sh	DOSBox Staging with the full DOS workspace
launch_qbasic.sh [file.bas]	Boots straight into the QBASIC IDE; optionally opens a .BAS file

Add either script as a non-Steam Game in Steam Desktop Mode (Games → Add a Non-Steam Game) to make it appear in Gaming Mode.

Steam Deck controls (recommended Steam Input layout)

Control	DOS action
Left Trackpad	Mouse pointer
Right Stick	Mouse pointer
Left Trigger	Left mouse click
Right Trigger	Right mouse click
A	Enter
B	Escape
Steam + X	On-screen keyboard

DOSBox configs

File	Used for
configs/dosbox-staging.conf	General DOS workspace — cycles = auto, fullscreen
configs/dosbox-qbasic.conf	QBASIC IDE — cycles = fixed 25000, auto-launches QBASIC

Both configs are deployed to ~/.var/app/io.github.dosbox-staging/config/dosbox/ by setup.sh. Key settings: machine = svga_s3 (best VGA / SCREEN 13 support), aspect = true (4:3 letterboxed on the 16:10 Steam Deck screen), glshader = sharp.

Required files (not bundled)

QBASIC and GW-BASIC are not included; obtain them legally from:

• MS-DOS 5 or 6 installation disks / images
• The FreeDOS project (compatible open-source replacements)

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shader_cache_report.sh

Shows shader cache and Proton compatdata usage on your Steam Deck — internal storage and SD card — with game name resolution from installed app manifests.

Usage

./shader_cache_report.sh [OPTIONS]

Options

Option	Description
--clean	Scan for orphaned cache entries (no matching installed game) and interactively offer to delete them
--csv	Export the full report as CSV (type,location,appid,name,size_bytes) — suitable for piping or saving to a file
--game <name>	Look up cache usage for a specific game by name (partial, case-insensitive match)
--json	Export the full report as JSON — suitable for piping or processing with other tools
--nosd	Skip SD card storage scan
--top <N>	Show top N entries per section (default: 10)
--warn-at <size>	Print a warning if total cache usage exceeds the given size (e.g. 20G, 500M, 1.5T)
--help	Show usage information

Examples

# Full report
./shader_cache_report.sh

# Skip SD card
./shader_cache_report.sh --nosd

# Show top 5 entries per section
./shader_cache_report.sh --top 5

# Look up a specific game
./shader_cache_report.sh --game "Elden Ring"

# Find and clean up orphaned cache entries
./shader_cache_report.sh --clean

# Warn if total cache exceeds 20GB
./shader_cache_report.sh --warn-at 20G

# Export to CSV
./shader_cache_report.sh --csv > cache.csv

# Export to JSON
./shader_cache_report.sh --json > cache.json

# Combine flags
./shader_cache_report.sh --nosd --csv > internal_only.csv

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https://github.com/jaydarkseed757/deck-tools