wip: docs(steamframe): plan a desktop-first NixOS host for the Steam Frame #937

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lytedev wants to merge 1 commit from steamframe-plan into main

lytedev commented

2026-08-05 10:57:25 -05:00

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Planning issue for running NixOS on the Steam Frame as a productivity/desktop machine first, gaming/VR later.

Key findings:

Frame is aarch64 (Snapdragon 8 Gen 3); Valve ships ARM SteamOS + Proton/FEX/Lepton.
Jovian-NixOS does not help — it is Deck-specific (jupiter kernel, amdgpu) with no aarch64 work in its tracker. Our lib/modules/nixos/steamdeck.nix is Jovian-stub workarounds that would not transfer.
Bootloader unlock is undocumented — blocking; it decides whether this issue is live at all.
Steam itself is x86-only, which is exactly why desktop-first is the tractable framing.

No host file and no packages/hosts/default.nix registration: it would be fiction on disk/kernel/display, and an unbuildable aarch64 host would break CI eval. First real artifact is proving an aarch64 lyte.shell+lyte.desktop closure builds — which needs no hardware.

Planning issue for running NixOS on the Steam Frame as a productivity/desktop machine first, gaming/VR later. Key findings: - Frame is **aarch64** (Snapdragon 8 Gen 3); Valve ships ARM SteamOS + Proton/FEX/Lepton. - **Jovian-NixOS does not help** — it is Deck-specific (jupiter kernel, amdgpu) with no aarch64 work in its tracker. Our `lib/modules/nixos/steamdeck.nix` is Jovian-stub workarounds that would not transfer. - **Bootloader unlock is undocumented** — blocking; it decides whether this issue is live at all. - Steam itself is x86-only, which is exactly why desktop-first is the tractable framing. No host file and no `packages/hosts/default.nix` registration: it would be fiction on disk/kernel/display, and an unbuildable aarch64 host would break CI eval. First real artifact is proving an aarch64 `lyte.shell`+`lyte.desktop` closure builds — which needs no hardware.

lytedev added 1 commit

2026-08-05 10:57:26 -05:00

docs(steamframe): plan a desktop-first NixOS host for the Steam Frame

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1e13b92f61

Captures what is actually known ahead of the hardware (mid-2026 window):
aarch64 Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, Valve's ARM SteamOS with Proton/FEX/Lepton, and
Collabora's Holo Core aarch64 Arch port.

Two findings worth writing down: Jovian-NixOS is Deck-specific (jupiter kernel,
amdgpu, no aarch64 work in its tracker) so it does not transfer, and the
bootloader-unlock story is undocumented, which blocks everything else.

No host file and no registration in packages/hosts/default.nix -- a host
written now would be fiction on disk layout, kernel and display, and an
unbuildable aarch64 host would break CI eval.

lytedev changed title from ~~docs(steamframe): plan a desktop-first NixOS host for the Steam Frame~~ to wip: docs(steamframe): plan a desktop-first NixOS host for the Steam Frame

2026-08-05 11:13:42 -05:00