Can bazzite start up to desktop mode and also require login password?
I want to use bazzite as a desktop system as I really enjoy it in handheld mode on my win max 2 (don't want to dual boot). But I wanted it to start in desktop mode and ask for my password, but I can't disable autologin. Maybe it's not a good fit? Maybe I could install tdp control on other distros? I don't know.
I really don't wanna go back to windows, so I'm trying to find a solution.
Thanks
20 Replies
rebase to the desktop version
you lose the gamemode ui (and all the toggles for performance overlay and tdp), you gain login screen and boot to desktop
if you want to keep gamemode ui then you have to make a custom image and the process to break the steamos session management so you can get a login screen and select if you want gamemode or desktop from the login screen.
it works for now but we can not guarantee it will work in the future.
you can use the search function and search for
steamos.conf and you will find me explaining on multiple times on what changes you need to do on your custom image in github.That's too complicated for me, a light user. I'll try bazzite some more because I really like it. I'll look into a workaround like a third party or something that locks the system on startup. Because I think having no password on boot isn't secure, right?
Isn't it insecure not to have any type of password on your machine? Even if it's exclusive for gaming, if you loose your device people can get into your browser and all of your data there.
the deck image is meant for htpc and handhelds. having to type in password with a non existent keyboard (in most cases) is going to be hard
this is 1:1 with steamos
steam offers a lock screen and pin in gamemode
if you want a password on boot that is not a lockpin handled by steam, use the desktop image or make a custom image where you break the steamos session management to get the login screen back
Thank you for the fast answers! I think I'll take a look at grub or BIOS password as a workaround. I appreciate the work you guys are doing. Thank you
yw
Warning wall of text. I figured out how to do this without making a custom image.
This will give you the sddm login screen where you can select which session you want to boot into with no auto login.
Here are a few warnings:
* use this information at your own risk, as this isn't something supported by the Bazzite team.
* I've only tested with with bazzite-deck and not bazzite-gnome-deck
* Also I wouldn't recommend doing this setup on a handheld that isn't permanently docked since you need a keyboard to log in.
According to the Arch wiki, sddm uses it's config files in the following order and config files that are later in the file tree overwrite the earlier ones.
* /usr/lib/sddm/sddm.conf.d/*
* /etc/sddm.conf.d/*
* /etc/sddm.conf
Where there are multiple files in the folder it reads them in order and you can overwrite files as different levels. It's easiest to just edit "/etc/sddm.conf" because Bazzite doesn't edit this one at all at boot. You can make a setting unset by setting it to blank like how we make the user not auto login.
Now if you put the following in the
/etc/sddm.conf file then you'll get a login screen where the default session is set to desktop mode
Now if you put the following in the /etc/sddm.conf file then you'll get a login screen where the default session is set to game mode
If you select the switch to desktop mode from game mode it will just take you to the login screen where you need to select "Plasma" and then you can log into desktop mode. The toggle is on the bottom left for switching sessions. There are two "Steam Big Picture" mode entries which seems to be caused because both /usr/share/wayland-sessions/gamescope-session-steam.desktop and /usr/share/wayland-sessions/gamescope-session.desktop are identical (is this a Bazzite bug?) so you can use either one to return to game mode.
Also note that "Return to Game" mode just takes you to the login screen where you need to log in again to get into game mode.
To reset everything just clear the /etc/sddm.conf file to go back to the defaults of auto logging into gamemode.Man, thank you for being so helpful! I think I'm going with the grub password route, but this might help other people looking into this in the future. I'm leaning into the grub method because I wouldn't like to type the password when switching modes. I need a password just for basic protection in case I lose my Win Max 2, it get stolen or something.
I'm also considering moving to Fedora. But I'm not sure yet, I don't know what I'd be losing compared to bazzite
For that scenario, I'd go with disk encryption when you install Bazzite and then you need to type in a password once at boot and leave all the auto login on. Since your device has a built in keyboard this will work nicely. And in the sad event that the device is stolen, everything is encrypted
If you want the system mostly for gaming but you want something more like Fedora workstation. Then I'd recommend that you try Nobara rather than plain Fedora Workstation. If you new to Linux though, I'd recommend sticking with Bazzite for a while as it's easier to update Bazzite than Fedora, especially when switching between the 6 monthly major releases (Or it just broke for me everytime 😅 )
I've been away for some 3 years, but I've used linux for more than a decade. Nevertheless, I really enjoy bazzite man, I don't know what it is, but the ability to switch to handheld mode just make it fun. Like a console, haha, can't explain. I don't know why my installation isn't encrypted, as I've always chose to encrypt my linux installations. But that is the way to go for sure. Thanks for the tip.
It's honestly the most polished Linux gaming experience I've had. I have the Rog Ally Z1E, Bazzite makes it into such a nice handheld console (or gaming console if you dock it)
Heh, this is exactly what I do on my WM2, I just don't recommend it since it's a janky setup
Note that this setup is only possible on a device with a physical keyboard. You need some way to enter the disk decryption key.
But here's the problems you need to solve to get a bazzite-deck setup with a lockscreen, etc:
1. somehow force a password on reboot, otherwise a reboot will skip the lock screen and bring you straight into the desktop because of auto-login
2. enable a lockscreen for the Desktop mode, that way you can suspend-resume and get lock screen prompts
3. somehow add security to game mode, just in case you suspend/sleep your device in game mode
4. (optional) boot automatically into desktop mode first
and here's a solution for each:
1. When installing Bazzite, setup LUKS disk encryption and setup an encryption password. On every reboot, you will be prompted to enter that password to decrypt the disk. This requires a physical keyboard
2. bazzite-deck, with KDE, still gives you access to the lockscreen settings, so you can just enable it. Gnome doesn't, so it's not possible to use here.
3. for game mode, you'll need to enable the Steam pin code. It's not exactly the most secure, but it's better than nothing
4. to boot directly into desktop mode first, use the old autologin toggle
This is the setup I've been running on my GPD Win Max 2 for months now. It's worked well for me, but I wouldn't recommend this to anybody because of how nonstandard it is. Relying on a disk encryption password for security is not a good idea to recommend, especially since I don't think you can change it after you've set it.
The other option is to roll your own custom image based on Bazzite.
This is awesome thank you
Do you guys know if there is a way to prevent steam from auto-starting with the system in Desktop mode? not a big deal, but it would be nice to have
remove it from autostart menu
from steam menu you mean? I did do that. Also looked into the autostart menu on Bazzite system settings
not steam, from the setting
yeah, I also did that, it autostarts anyway
try removing the file in
~/.config/autostart/steam.desktopits actually in
/etc/xdg/autostart/steam.desktop and you need to empty the file and hope that works, otherwise it gets restored on boot
other option if it does not work is to make a custom image.
steam is also required to the handheld control navigation to work in desktop mode FYI if you rely on that.Ok, thanks! I'll try that
How do I do that? I opened the folder as Administrator in Dolphin, but couldn't delete the file
Nevermind, @HikariKnight method did work. I just had to go again in steam settings > interface > uncheck "Run Steam when my computer starts"