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SteamOS RSS Feed DistroWatch.com: SteamOS

SteamOS


Last Update: 2026-02-08 01:17 UTC

SteamOS is an Arch-based Linux distribution developed by Valve Corporation, a US video game developer, publisher and digital distribution company. It comes with Steam, Valve's own video game store, and it is the default Linux distribution for Valve's line of gaming hardware, including the Steam Deck, Steam Machine and Steam Frame. The distribution also supports some third-party handheld devices, such as Lenovo Legion Go and ASUS ROG Ally, but it can also be installed on standard personal computers. SteamOS uses the KDE Plasma desktop as its default user interface.

Popularity (hits per day): 12 months: 201 (64), 6 months: 202 (78), 3 months: 164 (99), 4 weeks: 176 (103), 1 week: 155 (96)

Average visitor rating: 8.0/10 from 2 review(s).

SteamOS Summary
Distribution SteamOS
Home Page http://store.steampowered.com/steamos/
Mailing Lists --
User Forums https://steamcommunity.com/discussions/
Alternative User Forums
Documentation https://help.steampowered.com/ • FAQ
Screenshots --
Screencasts
Download Mirrors https://store.steampowered.com/steamos/download/ • DistroWatch Torrent Archive
Bug Tracker https://github.com/valvesoftware/steamos/issues
Related Websites GitHub • Wikipedia
Reviews 1.0 Beta: Dedoimedo • PC Authority • Techgage
Where To Donate, Buy or Try

Recent Related News and Releases
  Releases announcements with download links and checksums:
 • 2015-06-26: Development Release: SteamOS 2.0 Preview
 • 2015-01-15: Development Release: SteamOS 1.0 Beta Update 153
 • 2014-10-23: Development Release: SteamOS 1.0 Beta Update 145
 • 2014-05-09: Development Release: SteamOS 1.0 Beta Update 105
 • 2013-12-14: Development Release: SteamOS 1.0 Beta
 • More SteamOS releases...

  Headlines:
 • 2025-01-08 SteamOS comes to third-party device
 • 2021-07-16 Steam Deck to run an Arch-based OS
 • 2021-05-26 Valve planning a Linux-based portable gaming device
 • 2019-01-09 Linux well supported by popular games
 • 2018-10-29 Over 2,600 Windows Steam games now run on Linux
 • 2018-08-22 Steam to run Windows games on Linux
 • More SteamOS headlines...

Table Notes and Explanations

(Please refer to the table below.)
  • Select view:
  • To compare the software in this project to the software available in other distributions, please see our Compare Packages page.
  • Notes: In case where multiple versions of a package are shipped with a distribution, only the default version appears in the table. For indication about the GNOME version, please check the "nautilus" and "gnome-shell" packages. The Apache web server is listed as "httpd" and the Linux kernel is listed as "linux". The KDE desktop is represented by the "plasma-desktop" package and the Xfce desktop by the "xfdesktop" package.
  • Colour scheme: green text = latest stable version, red text = development or beta version. The function determining beta versions is not 100% reliable due to a wide variety of versioning schemes.
TUXEDO
TUXEDO Computers

TUXEDO Computers - Linux Hardware in a tailor made suite
Choose from a wide range of laptops and PCs in various sizes and shapes at TUXEDOComputers.com. Every machine comes pre-installed and ready-to-run with Linux. Full 24 months of warranty and lifetime support included!

Learn more about our full service package and all benefits from buying at TUXEDO.

Star Labs

Star Labs Systems | Laptops designed for Linux

Star Labs - Laptops built for Linux.
View our range including the highly anticipated StarFighter. Available with coreboot open-source firmware and a choice of Ubuntu, elementary, Manjaro and more. Visit Star Labs for information, to buy and get support.


Feature 3.7.7 3.5.7 2.195 2.148 2.117
Release Date 2025-05-22 2023-11-27 2019-07-17 2018-01-23 2017-08-02
End Of Life          
Price (US$) Free Free Free Free Free
Image Size (MB) 3000-3100 2500-2600 1400-1500 1900-2000 1800-1900
Free Download IMG IMG ISO ISO ISO
Installation Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode
Default Desktop KDE Plasma KDE Plasma GNOME GNOME GNOME
Default Browser          
Package Format flatpak, pkg flatpak, pkg deb deb deb
Package Management          
Release Model Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed
Office Suite -- -- -- -- --
Processor Architecture x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64
Init Software systemd systemd systemd systemd systemd
Journaled File Systems Btrfs, ext4 Btrfs, ext4      
Multilingual          
Full Package List 3.7.7 3.5.7 2.195 2.148 2.117
Package 3.7.7 3.5.7 2.195 2.148 2.117
alsa-lib (1.2.15.3) 1.2.13 1.2.9 1.0.28 1.0.28 1.0.28
amdgpu (25.0.0) 23.0.0 23.0.0 18.1.99 18.1.99 18.1.99
apparmor (4.1.6) -- -- -- -- --
apt (3.1.16) -- -- 1.0.9.8.5 1.0.9.8.4 1.0.9.8.4
bash (5.3) 5.2 5.1 4.3 4.3 4.3
bind (9.20.20) -- -- -- -- --
chromium (145.0.7632.159) -- -- -- -- --
cinnamon (6.6.7) -- -- -- -- --
cups (2.4.16) 2.4.11 -- -- -- --
e2fsprogs (1.47.3) 1.47.2 1.47.0 1.42.12 1.42.12 1.42.12
ffmpeg (8.0.1) 7.1 6.0 -- -- --
firefox (148.0) -- -- 60.7.0 38.8.0 38.8.0
flatpak (1.16.3) 1.15.91 1.14.4 -- -- --
freetype (2.14.2) 2.13.3 2.13.0 2.5.2 2.5.2 2.5.2
gcc (15.2.0) -- -- 4.9.2 4.9.2 4.9.2
gimp (3.0.8) -- -- -- -- --
git (2.53.0) 2.47.1 2.41.0 -- -- --
glibc (2.43) 2.41 2.37 2.19 2.19 2.19
gnome-shell (49.4) -- -- 3.14.4 3.14.4 3.14.4
grub (2.14) 2.13 2.06 2.02beta2 2.02beta2 2.02beta2
gtk (4.20.3) 4.16.12 3.24.38 3.14.5 3.14.5 3.14.5
httpd (2.4.66) -- -- -- -- --
inkscape (1.4.3) -- -- -- -- --
kmod (34.2) 33 18 18 18 18
krita (5.2.16) -- -- -- -- --
LibreOffice (26.2.1) -- -- -- -- --
Package 3.7.7 3.5.7 2.195 2.148 2.117
libselinux (3.10) -- -- 2.3 2.3 2.3
linux (6.19.6) 6.11.11 6.1.52 4.19.45 4.14.13 4.11.12
mariadb (12.2.2) -- -- -- -- --
mate-desktop (1.28.2) -- -- -- -- --
mesa (26.0.1) 24.3.4 23.1.3 18.3.4 17.1.2 17.1.2
mysql (9.6.0) -- -- -- -- --
nautilus (49.4) -- -- 3.14.1 3.14.1 3.14.1
NVIDIA (590.48.01) -- -- 415.27 381.22 381.22
openjdk (25) -- -- -- -- --
openssh (10.2p1) 9.9p1 9.3p1 6.7p1 6.7p1 6.7p1
openssl (3.6.1) 3.4.0 3.1.1 1.0.1t 1.0.1t 1.0.1t
perl (5.42.0) 5.40.0 5.36.1 5.20.2 5.20.2 5.20.2
php (8.5.3) -- -- -- -- --
plasma-desktop (6.6.2) 6.2.5 5.27.5 -- -- --
postfix (3.11.0) -- -- -- -- --
postgresql (18.3) -- -- -- -- --
Python (3.14.3) 3.13.1 3.11.3 3.4.2 3.4.2 3.4.2
qt (6.10.2) 6.8.1 5.15.9 4.8.6 4.8.6 4.8.6
samba (4.23.6) 4.21.3 4.18.3 -- -- --
systemd (259.3) 257.2 253.5 215 215 215
thunderbird (148.0) -- -- -- -- --
vim (9.2) 9.1 9.0 7.4 7.4 7.4
vlc (3.0.23) 3.0.21 -- -- -- --
wayland (1.24.0) 1.23.1 1.22.0 -- -- --
xfdesktop (4.20.1) -- -- -- -- --
xorg-server (21.1.21) 21.1.16 21.1.8 1.16.4 1.16.4 1.16.4

Reader Ratings
Reader supplied reviews for SteamOS

Average rating
8.0
from 2 review(s)


What are your thoughts on SteamOS?
Please include a few pros and a few cons, along with your overall impression of the operating system.
Our FAQ page has tips on writing a good mini-review.

Version:

Rating:    out of 10

Your review (minimum 250 words):



Past reviews - sort by:

Version: 3.7.7
Rating: 6
Date: 2026-02-03
Votes: 2


 Ive been using SteamOS on my Deck for about 3 years and its okay. SteamOS is a great beginner distro as It provides all the tools for a console like experience making gaming simple yet providing a desktop for any other needs. Also SteamOS is possible to navigate with the controller which Isn't very comfortable but very nice to have the tools out of the box to do so. But even with that said I would not recommend it to someone trying to use it on a desktop as It makes the administration process difficult due to all the restrictions set for new users and security measures you would expect from a basic Linux computer are not set nor are you prompted to set It (Ex: Root Password). Those very cons Is why I believe SteamOS is great for only gaming esp with kernel level anti-cheats. Closing this out I believe SteamOS is good for some users but Is Incredibly overhyped when other distributions provide the same functionalities and more for the price of Inconvenience of configuring and tinkering your operating system.


Was this review helpful? Yes No
Version:
Rating: 10
Date: 2025-08-28
Votes: 6


 I am writing this on SteamOS Version 3.8, and the experience has been outstanding. From startup to shutdown, the interface feels smooth, responsive, and designed with gaming at its heart. Steam integration is flawless, making it effortless to manage my library and jump into a session with perfect controller support and excellent Proton compatibility. Games run beautifully, and even titles from other platforms feel right at home. Desktop Mode offers a capable Linux environment for everyday tasks while keeping the gaming focus front and center. Performance has been consistently strong, the visuals are polished, and stability has exceeded my expectations. SteamOS 3.8 blends console‑like ease with the power of Linux, making it a joy to use every day.


Was this review helpful? Yes No



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