Power on, land in Steam, pick a game, play. On a fully mutable, performance-tuned Arch base.
Install pocknix · Documentation · Known issues
Warning
pocknix-os is experimental software. Install it at your own risk.
- SteamOS gaming mode on the Steam ARM client, with Proton picked for you.
- Performance tuning that just works. pocknix builds its own kernel, based on the ROCKNIX kernel, and tunes it, the CPU scheduler and the graphics stack for smooth frame times out of the box. All you do is set a frame cap.
- A full, mutable Arch system underneath: a touch-friendly desktop mode, Flatpak apps via Discover, and updates through
pacman, no reflashing. - Locked by default, rolling if you want it. Out of the box
pacmanpoints at our own tested snapshot of the Arch Linux ARM packages pocknix needs, so updates arrive together and stay stable, like SteamOS. Advanced users can switch to rolling mode, which pointspacmanat the full Arch Linux ARM repo and makes pocknix a true rolling Arch distro, with the occasional breakage that comes with it.
| Device | SoC family | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Retroid Pocket Flip 2 | SM8250 | ✅ Supported |
| Retroid Pocket 5 | SM8250 | ✅ Supported |
| Retroid Pocket 6 | SM8550 | ✅ Supported |
| AYN Odin 2 | SM8550 | ✅ Supported |
| AYN Odin 2 Portal | SM8550 | ✅ Supported |
| AYN Odin 2 Mini | SM8550 | ✅ Supported |
| AYN Thor | SM8550 | 🧪 Beta |
| Retroid Pocket Nova | SM8550 | 🧪 Beta |
| AYN Odin 3 | SM8750 | 🚧 In progress |
- Install: flash the image for your device from the latest release and follow the install guide.
- Play: download a game, launch it, then open the Quick Access Menu → Performance and set a Framerate Limit. That's it.
- Optional: if it doesn't feel smooth, try toggling the game's own vsync setting.
- Update: Quick Access Menu → Pocknix Control → Updater → Check for Updates → Install Updates.
- Install guide: flashing, the bootloader, first boot
- Install to internal storage: faster loads, uninstalling, restoring the stock bootloader
- Pocknix Control: per-game settings, fan curve, updates, controller calibration
- Emulation: ES-DE, supported systems, ROMs and BIOS
- Android apps: Waydroid
- Snapshots and rollback: recovering from a bad update
- Known issues
- Contributing and building from source
Built on ROCKNIX, Arch Linux ARM, Valve's SteamOS stack, FEX-Emu, Mesa and KDE Plasma Mobile, with reference from armada and thorch-os.
GPL-2.0-or-later. Third-party components keep their own licenses: see docs/licensing.md.