How to access the NAS with Steam Deck

Access to NAS is possible from Dolphin in desktop mode

Steam Deck has a desktop mode, and a file browser called "Dolphin" is installed as standard in the desktop mode. Access to NAS from Steam Deck is possible with Dolphin.

How to access the NAS from Dolphin in Steam Deck

After launching Dolphin (the folder icon) in desktop mode, select "Netowrk" from the left column and click the "Add Network Folder" button to launch a dialog for connecting to a NAS.

Once the dialog is launched, enter the necessary information and you should be able to see the NAS folders that are on the same network.

Then, with the NAS folder selected, click "Actions for XXX > Add to Places" from the top-right three-way menu to add the NAS folder to Dolphin's left-column menu and use it as a shortcut to access the NAS next time.

This is normal Linux behavior, and if you have ever accessed a NAS from Windows or macOS, you will have no trouble.

How to access the NAS in game mode

In the game mode of Steam Deck, only games and apps registered on Steam can be launched.

However, if you use this rule properly, you can access your NAS from Dolphin even in game mode.

1. Switch to desktop mode
2. Launch the Steam client app
3. Click the "+" symbol in the lower left corner of the application and click "Add Non-Steam Games to My Library
4. Click "Browse
5. Find and click "org.kde.dolphin.desktop" under /user/share/application/
6. Click on "Add selected programs
7. Go back to the game mode from the desktop icon
8. Make sure Dolphin is registered in the "Non-Steam" section of the library

Then, you can select Dolphin from the "Non-Steam" library in game mode.

It is not easy to use as it can only be operated by touch, but you can at least copy files between Steam Deck and NAS.

If you install Steam games on the NAS, you can use the NAS in game mode.

So far, we have shown how to access the NAS in normal PC-like mode. Next, let's take a look at the unique use of Steam Deck.

In the reddit thread [Did you know you can setup a NAS as a Steam folder to install games remotely?"(https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/wu044l/ comment/il6xlti/) shows how to install Steam games directly to a remote disk on a NAS.

The detailed setup procedure is given in the above page, but the general flow of the procedure is as follows. 1.

Mount the NAS as a system disk (write a script to automate the mounting procedure and have it run automatically) Specify the folder on the NAS as the game installation folder on the Steam Deck. 1.

1. specify the NAS folder when installing games on Steam Deck

You need to have some programming knowledge to use shell scripts, and to be able to read English because the above reddit guide is in English, but it is simple to do.

Note that according to Mystic5hadow, who started the thread, he played the game from the NAS and it loaded faster than the micro SD card.

This depends on the disk performance of the NAS and the network environment, but for users who have a small storage capacity, such as a 64 GB model, or who want to install a large number of games with a game capacity of 100 GB or more, the ability to install games on the NAS is good news. However, this approach is not "always at home.

However, this approach also has the disadvantage of requiring the user to be in the home network environment at all times, so Steam Deck's strength, its portable performance, is somewhat lost.