Why I Wanted Plex on My Steam Deck
Alright so my Steam Deck isn’t just for games right? I’ve got this huge movie collection from over the years and sometimes I just wanna chill in bed binging Lord of the Rings. Steam Deck screen actually looks pretty decent for movies if you hold it close enough. Problem is all my stuff’s on the old hard drives.
The Big Plan
I remembered Plex lets you stream your own files between devices. My TV already runs it, my phone too. Figured why not force it onto the Deck? SteamOS is basically Linux anyway so it should be possible. Didn’t feel like dragging laptops around anymore.
Getting Down to Business
First I flipped the Steam Deck into Desktop Mode. Felt weird using a handheld as a computer but whatever. Opened up Discovery Store – that’s the app shop thing on Steam Deck’s desktop side.
Typed “Plex” expecting it to pop right up. Nada. Just some weird third party scripts. Closed that garbage and opened Firefox instead. Went straight to Plex’s download page but then paused. Their Linux download gives you a .deb file which is for Debian systems. SteamOS is Arch Linux-based? Something like that. Nearly messed this part up.
The Install Dance
Here’s how I wrestled it in:
- Downloaded the .deb anyway thinking maybe it’ll work
- Opened Konsole terminal like some kind of hacker
- Ran sudo apt-get install ./* and got yelled at about dependencies
- Remembered SteamOS uses Pacman package manager
- Installed Debtap – that thing converts .deb packages
- Ran debtap * to turn it into an Arch friendly package
- Finally did sudo pacman -U the-new-package-name
Whole process took 20 minutes with coffee breaks. Terminal kept throwing warnings but I ignored them like expired coupons.
Making It Gamepad Friendly
Biggest headache? Getting controller support working right. By default the touchpad acts like a mouse which sucks for couch viewing. Had to:
- Launched Steam in Desktop Mode
- Clicked “Add Non-Steam Game”
- Found Plex in the applications list
- Went into controller settings for Plex
- Copied my desktop config layout for Big Picture mode
Now the d-pad navigates menus and X button selects stuff. Still gotta touchscreen for typing searches though.
The Final Test
Flipped back to Gaming Mode and fired up Plex. Took like 15 seconds to load my library. Played Die Hard first obviously just to see if it buffers – smooth as butter at 720p. Battery drained faster than my phone at a concert while streaming, but plugged in it’s perfect. Even works offline if I sync files to SD card.
Was It Worth The Hassle?
Totally! Now my Deck does double duty. Airport waits just got less boring. Installing stuff on Linux always feels like solving a puzzle – satisfying when it finally clicks. Still wish Plex had a proper flatpak though.
