Last Update: 2024-03-25

The following guide or recipe requires shell access to your FydeOS installation, therefore is assumed to be enabled. If altering system file is required, you will also need to .

#What is Borealis

Borealis is an innovative virtual machine based on ArchLinux, designed to empower Linux users to run Steam games seamlessly. It leverages a translation layer known as "Proton" to enhance gaming on Linux. Proton, which is largely built on Wine—an open-source compatibility layer—enables Windows applications to run on Linux systems.

The gaming landscape on Linux has witnessed significant improvements over the years, thanks to the active support and collaboration from the gaming community, game publishers, and Proton itself. For detailed information on compatibility, supported games, and minimum requirements, the community-supported is an invaluable resource.

Disclaimer: Borealis is currently in its experimental phase. This implies potential unexpected issues and a risk of game data loss. Please proceed with caution.

#Borealis-Compatible FydeOS Distributions

#FydeOS for PC

• FydeOS for PC - amd64-fydeos variant, v16.1 and onwards
• FydeOS for PC - amd64-fydeos_iris variant, v16.1 and onwards
• FydeOS for PC - amd64-fydeos_apu variant, v16.1 and onwards

#FydeOS for You

• FydeOS for You - Chromebook Pixel 2015, v16.1 and onwards
• FydeOS for You - Surface Pro4, v16.0-SP1 and onwards
• FydeOS for You - Surface Pro5, v16.0-SP1 and onwards
• FydeOS for You - Surface Pro6, v16.0-SP1 and onwards
• FydeOS for You - Surface Pro7, v16.0-SP1 and onwards
• FydeOS for You - Surface Pro7+, v16.0-SP1 and onwards
• FydeOS for You - Surface Pro8, v16.0-SP1 and onwards

If your device and FydeOS version are not mentioned above, please refrain from proceeding with the following operations. This list will be updated as new versions of FydeOS are released.

For an optimal gaming experience via the Borealis component on the Steam platform, we recommend your device to have at least 4GB of working memory (8GB preferred) and over 50GB of free disk space. If your system configuration falls significantly below our recommendations, we cannot guarantee a satisfactory gaming experience.

#Setting Up Borealis: A Step-by-Step Guide

1. Open the FydeOS browser and enter chrome://flags#borealis-enabled. Set the corresponding switch to Enabled and restart the UI as prompted.

2. and type sudo -i to gain root privileges.

   Note: From FydeOS v17 and openFyde r114 onwards, use sudo -i instead of sudo su. This change does not affect older versions.

3. Execute the following commands in sequence to download and place the necessary files for Borealis. Please note that these commands will download approximately 500MB of data from a public domain internet location, so ensure your network connection is stable:

   mount -o remount,rw /
   wget https://github.com/secretmem/borealis-dlc/releases/latest/download/borealis-dlc.tar.zst -O /tmp/borealis-dlc.tar.zst
   tar -Izstd -xvf /tmp/borealis-dlc.tar.zst -C /
   rm -v /tmp/borealis-dlc.tar.zst
   

4. Restart your FydeOS device.

5. Once you're on the FydeOS desktop, search for Steam in the search bar located at the bottom left corner and open it.

6. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the Steam client configuration.

#Installing the Community Edition Compatibility Layer - Proton GE (Optional)

1. Press Control + Alt + T to open the Crosh terminal.

2. Enter vsh borealis to access the Borealis virtual machine terminal.

3. Navigate to the Steam file directory by typing cd .steam.

4. Move to the root directory by typing cd root.

5. Create a new directory by typing mkdir compatibilitytools.d.

6. Download Proton GE by typing:

   curl -sLOJ $(curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/GloriousEggroll/proton-ge-custom/releases/latest | grep browser_download_url | cut -d\" -f4 | egrep .tar.gz)
   

7. Decompress Proton GE by typing tar -xf GE-Proton*.tar.gz.

8. Reboot the system.

9. In Steam, select GE-Proton 8-4 as the compatibility layer.

• The "System Backup (beta)" feature introduced in version 16.1 cannot back up all data generated by Steam running on Borealis.
• After successfully setting up the Steam client on Borealis and installing games, if the system undergoes an OTA update, the Steam client and installed games will become inaccessible. To reactivate, you must execute the aforementioned script again.