How to Customize a Steam Deck Theme
When it comes to creating your own Steam deck, there are many ways to personalize it. You can purchase different shells and cases, or even change the joystick covers to give your device a custom look. But if you want to customize the appearance of the Steam Deck’s menus and user interface, that’s a different matter entirely.
The best way to set up a Steam Deck, at least that I’ve found over the past few months, is to install a third-party downloader called Decky. This loader gives you access to many different plugins, including a CSS loader that you can use to change the theme of your Steam Deck.
How to install Decks
Before you can install Decky, you first need to make sure you have a Sudo password set. If you don’t already have it, I suggest following our detailed instructions in our guide to installing CryoUtilities , a set of scripts and commands that help improve Steam Deck performance. Once you have set up your Sudo password, you can install Decky itself by downloading the installation file. Here are the steps:
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Make sure your Steam Deck is charged or plug it into a charger. The last thing you want to do is drain your battery while installing a program.
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Go to Steam Deck desktop mode by clicking the Steam button > Power > Desktop Mode.
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Once desktop mode is launched, open your preferred browser and navigate to Decky.xyz . Here you will find the Decky Loader website and can download the file directly to your Steam Deck.
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Once downloaded, double click the file and wait for the system to install Decky. Make sure to select the Recommended Settings option, and once the installation is complete, boot back into Game Mode by clicking the Game Mode option on your desktop.
Install CSS Loader
Once back in Game Mode, click the Menu button (it looks like three dots) on the right side of the Steam Deck. A list of various settings will appear. Scroll down and select the plugin icon that looks like a fork. You can check for updates using the Settings cog, but if you want to start installing plugins, select the icon that looks like a market stall.
This will load the Decky store where you will find a ton of different plugins. You can decide which plugins you want to use, but the main one you need to install here is the CSS Loader plugin. Scroll down the list until you find it, then select Install.
Now wait for the CSS Loader to install and return to the main game carousel page. Here you can click the menu button again, then the plugin icon and select “CSS Loader”. If you click the download button (it looks like a downward arrow), you can choose from the different themes available in the store. The themes you choose to use here really come down to personal preference, and many of them can be mixed and matched to create a unique look that will make the Steam Deck look more like your own machine.