Desktop and Steam Deck

This guide walks through setting up Kyaraben, adding games, and syncing between devices.

Download Kyaraben if you haven’t already.

With sync enabled, ROMs and saves transfer automatically between devices. You can set up your collection on one device and sync handles the rest. For large collections, you may prefer copying files manually to avoid the network transfer.

First run

1. Select the systems you want to emulate
2. Click Apply

Kyaraben downloads emulators, creates your collection folder structure, and adds desktop entries to your application menu.

Adding games

Place ROM files in the appropriate roms/ subdirectory of your collection (default ~/Emulation). For systems that require BIOS files, check the provisions panel or run kyaraben doctor to see what’s needed and where to place them.

Playing games

Launch games through EmulationStation DE or open ROMs directly from individual emulators.

Recommended: EmulationStation DE via Steam

For the best controller support, enable EmulationStation DE in Kyaraben settings and launch it from Steam. Kyaraben automatically adds it as a non-Steam game.

Steam Input handles controller mapping, so any controller Steam recognizes works automatically. This applies to Steam on any Linux system, not just Steam Deck.

Opening emulators directly

You can launch emulators from your application menu. This works well with keyboard/mouse or when Steam is handling your controller (e.g., Steam Deck Game Mode, or Desktop Mode with Steam running).

In desktop mode without Steam running, controller support varies:

Emulator	Controller support
RetroArch cores, DuckStation, PCSX2, PPSSPP, Dolphin	Works with most controllers
Eden, Cemu, Flycast, xemu	Launch via Steam/ES-DE, or configure manually
RPCS3, Vita3K, Xenia Edge	Good auto-detection for most controllers

If your controller isn’t working, add the emulator to Steam as a non-Steam game and launch from there.

Syncing between devices

To play on both a desktop and Steam Deck and continue where you left off:

1. On the first device, go to Settings > Synchronization and enable it
2. Click “Generate pairing code”
3. On the second device, enable synchronization and enter the code

See collection reference for what syncs. Changes sync whenever both devices are online; offline changes queue up until they reconnect.

Tips

• Enable “Start on boot” in sync settings so Syncthing runs automatically, including in Game Mode on Steam Deck
• If you have a large ROM collection, use ignore patterns to skip syncing large disc images to the Steam Deck
• EmulationStation DE media can be several gigabytes; skip videos with frontends/esde/media/**/videos/** in your ignore patterns
• Play statistics (playtime, last played) are tracked per-device and do not sync