MAKO Decky v2.0.0

Looking for the standalone Vulkan layer? See MAKO Renderer v2.0.0.

What's new in MAKO Decky v2.0.0

MAKO Decky 2.0 is the polished SteamOS-first MAKO experience: game-aware controls, adaptive frame generation, private installation, and support for the launchers people actually use.

• Game-aware profiles: Save a detected game or process once and MAKO selects its settings automatically on later launches. Unmatched games return to Default, and every change saves immediately. There is no Update Profile step.
• Adaptive Frame Generation and live controls: Fixed Frame Generation (2x to 4x) and Adaptive Frame Generation, live on/off, Target FPS, FPS caps, multiplier ceiling, and Smooth Cadence are available in one place. When a game becomes GPU or compositor-bound, Adaptive reduces generated-frame work instead of holding a fixed interpolation load. That can improve performance and frame pacing; test it per game. Settings that need new GPU resources are clearly marked restart-only.
• Steam, Heroic, EmuDeck, Bazzite, and compatibility support: MAKO keeps activation per game through its private mako-run wrapper and selected Flatpak extensions. Zink, ALSA, Steam Deck Mode, GPU and DLL overrides, HDR safety, and the one-launch bypass stay per-profile and never change Steam or Proton globally.
• A coherent Decky interface: Profiles lead the workflow, while Frame Generation and renderer options use consistent headings, subtitles, spacing, darker controls, and clearer update feedback. Installation status, Advanced Details, and Flatpak Setup now share the same dark-teal panel system.
• Verified private deployment: The plugin installs the exact checksum-pinned Renderer 2.0 payload with 64-bit, 32-bit, and Freedesktop 23.08, 24.08, and 25.08 coverage. It does not replace unrelated Vulkan layers, games, or Decky plugins.

🎮 In-game considerations

Tip

Try the game’s V-Sync setting both on and off. It can make frame delivery feel steadier, but may also add input lag or clash with the game’s FPS cap, VRR, or compositor. Every game is different: compare both options and keep the one that feels smoother and more responsive.

Every game, renderer, and display setup behaves differently. Compare Fixed and Adaptive Frame Generation one setting at a time. For most games, fullscreen is the best starting point for performance and frame pacing. Keep the configuration that feels best for that game.

• Adaptive target behaviour: Adaptive varies the generated-frame count toward an average target. It cannot reduce a native frame rate already above that target, and the result still depends on the selected multiplier plus available GPU and compositor capacity.
• Quality and latency tuning: Higher multipliers and lower real-frame rates can increase ghosting and input latency. Smooth Cadence may improve motion consistency while reducing responsiveness, so compare the available choices per game.

See the Configuration guide and Troubleshooting guide for complete behaviour and per-game controls.

⚠️ Required Renderer update: Installing the ZIP updates the Decky plugin files, but does not by itself replace the private MAKO Renderer layer. Open Mako and select Install MAKO Renderer after installing the ZIP.

Important

Preferred clean update: To prevent Decky retaining a previous plugin backend or bundled payload, especially when moving between local test ZIPs, uninstall Mako from Decky, install the newer ZIP, restart your Steam Deck or Steam Machine, then select Install MAKO Renderer in the plugin.

First-time Heroic setup: Read the MAKO Decky README before preparing Heroic.

Installation

New to Decky or installing MAKO for the first time? See the full install and use guide for Decky Loader setup and prerequisites.

1. Download MAKO-Decky-v2.0.0.zip below.
2. On SteamOS, open Decky Loader's settings and enable Developer Mode.
3. Choose Developer > Install Plugin from Zip, then select the downloaded ZIP.
4. In Mako, select Install MAKO Renderer. For native Steam/Proton games, add ~/.local/bin/mako-run %command% to the game’s Steam launch options.

Important

If Decky does not show or reload the plugin after installing a ZIP, uninstall Mako from Decky, install the ZIP again, then restart your Steam Deck or Steam Machine. Open Mako afterwards and select Install MAKO Renderer again.

Updating an existing MAKO Decky installation

1. Quit any game currently using ~/.local/bin/mako-run.
2. Uninstall Mako from Decky, then download the newer ZIP from MAKO Decky v2.0.0.
3. In Game Mode, open Decky Loader’s settings, choose Developer > Install Plugin from Zip, then select the newer ZIP.
4. Restart your Steam Deck or Steam Machine.
5. ⚠️ Required: Open Mako and select Install MAKO Renderer to install the version bundled in the new ZIP.
6. In Flatpak Setup, select Update for every prepared application’s matching runtime extension. This replaces its Flatpak layer with the engine bundled in the new ZIP while preserving its preparation and per-game Wrapper commands.

Existing profiles and Steam launch options are retained. The private native renderer and launcher are re-created in step 5; shared Flatpak extensions are retained, then refreshed in step 6.

Known limitation

• HDR is unavailable in this Decky release: The engine foundation is included, but the plugin locks HDR exposure off and does not provide a per-game opt-in. In-game HDR controls may be unavailable by design. A later release can unlock the path after activation, presentation, colour, and performance are validated across games.

Before you play

• Test MAKO per game and start with Frame Generation disabled, then Fixed 2x, before adding Adaptive or higher multipliers.
• Confirm the detected Lossless.dll path before launching. Leaving it blank permits normal discovery.
• Do not combine mako-run with another Lossless Scaling Vulkan wrapper for the same game.

Bundled MAKO Renderer 2.0.0

• Includes checksum-verified mako-render-v2.0.0-linux.tar.xz.
• Installing the ZIP does not replace the private Renderer by itself; complete the required in-plugin installation step above.