eugeniosegala/MAKO plugin-v4.0.0

MAKO Decky v4.0.0

on GitHub

Looking for the standalone Vulkan layer? See MAKO Renderer v4.0.0.

What's new in MAKO Decky v4.0.0

Release codename: Inferno

MAKO Decky 4.0 adds per-game shaders and ordered effect stacks through MAKO's managed vkBasalt fork. Install MAKO Renderer from the plugin to get the matching layer; a separate vkBasalt installation is unnecessary.

• Shaders and effects: Profiles offer sharpening, anti-aliasing, 20% default DLS denoise, and curated colour, contrast, cinematic, and retro effects, including new Clarity and Levels Plus shaders. Combine effects in your chosen order; each extra pass can increase GPU cost. Native 64-bit and 32-bit games and prepared Flatpak apps are supported.
• Live controls and custom chains: Supported shader settings update while you play. Default and saved profiles retain editable vkBasalt configuration files for custom chains and ReShade-compatible effects. Layer activation and manual configuration edits take effect after restarting the game.
• Image Processing and Live Status: Frame Generation, Scaling, and Shaders have separate tabs. Live Status shows active modes, limits, fallbacks, and input and display resolutions.
• Frame Generation pause: Enable Frame-gen (Restart) loads Frame Generation at launch; select 0x to pause or resume it while playing. Steam and Decky menus pause generated frames automatically while real frames and scaling continue.
• Fractional real-frame priority: Choose Automatic, Low, Medium, High, or Very High. Automatic keeps the previous behavior; other levels estimate a real-frame cap from Target FPS without changing your saved manual Base FPS Cap. The displayed cap is an estimate, not a guaranteed frame rate.
• VRR and pacing: Follow Steam uses Gamescope's VRR state for eligible pacing modes without resetting the Adaptive level. Fixed Smooth Cadence and stable Steady 2x also gain ordered pacing without VRR.
• Scaling with Frame Generation: Improved frame delivery reduces stalls when the two features run together. The frame rate shown in-game may sit slightly below the selected target.
• Adaptive and recovery: Adaptive avoids raising the multiplier when it already reaches at least 98% of the target, and backs off after an unsustainable promotion. Recovery responds to frame-acquisition deadlines rather than ordinary slow rendering; eligible resolution changes can retry resource allocation once.
• Steam Desktop FPS counter: Native and Proton Steam launches retain Steam's Vulkan overlay with MAKO's managed layers in Desktop Mode.

🎮 In-game considerations

Compare Fixed, Adaptive, and scaling-only modes one at a time. If a feature does not work, try Fullscreen, Borderless Fullscreen, and Windowed. For Scaling, test in-game resolutions and check that Live Status shows Input smaller than Display.

• Adaptive target: Adaptive aims for an average frame rate; it cannot lower a game’s native rate or exceed available GPU and compositor capacity.
• Quality and latency: Higher multipliers and lower real-frame rates can increase ghosting and latency. Smooth Cadence may trade responsiveness for steadier motion.

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

⚠️ Required MAKO Renderer update: Installing the ZIP updates MAKO Decky, but does not replace the shared native Renderer. Open the plugin and select Install MAKO Renderer afterwards.

Installation

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

1. Download MAKO-Decky-v4.0.0.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 Decky, select Install MAKO Renderer. For native Steam/Proton games, add /home/deck/.local/bin/mako-run %command% to the game’s Steam launch options.

Third-party launcher setup: Follow the quick guides for Heroic, Lutris, EmuDeck, and other Flatpak apps.

Updating an existing MAKO Decky installation

1. Quit any game currently using /home/deck/.local/bin/mako-run.
2. Uninstall MAKO Decky, then download the newer ZIP from version 4.0.0.
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 Decky 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 shared native Renderer and launcher are re-created in step 5; shared Flatpak extensions are retained, then refreshed in step 6.

Known limitation

• HDR frame generation and scaling are unavailable: MAKO Decky does not expose the engine’s HDR path yet; in-game HDR controls may be unavailable.

Before you play

• Test MAKO per game. Start with Frame Generation and Scaling disabled, then enable one path at a time before combining them.
• If you use Frame Generation or LS1 scaling, confirm the detected Lossless.dll path before launching. Leaving it blank permits normal discovery. The open MAKO Scaler does not need it.
• Do not combine mako-run with another frame-generation or scaling Vulkan wrapper for the same game.

Bundled MAKO Renderer 4.0.0

• Includes checksum-verified MAKO-Renderer-v4.0.0-linux.tar.xz.
• Corresponding MAKO Decky source: plugin-v4.0.0.
• Corresponding MAKO Renderer source: render-v4.0.0, pinned by commit and checksum in the ZIP metadata.