eugeniosegala/MAKO render-v4.0.0

MAKO Renderer v4.0.0

on GitHub

Looking for Decky integration? Download the latest MAKO Decky release.

What's new in MAKO Renderer v4.0.0

Release codename: Inferno

Inferno brings managed shaders to MAKO Renderer. Native and Flatpak builds bundle MAKO's vkBasalt fork for 64-bit and 32-bit games alongside Frame Generation and Scaling.

• Shaders and effect stacks: Build ordered per-profile stacks with sharpening, anti-aliasing, DLS denoise, and curated colour and cinematic effects. Managed changes apply live; advanced vkBasalt and ReShade-compatible chains load on the next launch.
• Layer integration: mako-launch places MAKO Renderer before vkBasalt, isolates unrelated implicit layers, and releases replaced effect graphs instead of retaining their GPU memory.
• Steam Desktop FPS counter: Native and Proton Steam launches preserve Steam's requested Vulkan overlay after MAKO's managed layers.
• Display-aware pacing: Gamescope VRR feedback selects qualified FIFO or target-clock pacing without resetting Adaptive. Fixed Smooth Cadence and validated Steady 2x can use FIFO; variable Fractional plans retain target-clock pacing.
• Fractional Real Frame Priority: Optional Low through Very High presets estimate real-frame caps from Target FPS. Automatic keeps prior behavior; explicit priorities preserve the saved Base FPS Cap. Delivered rates depend on the game and GPU.
• Live Frame Generation pause: The 0x control pauses and resumes generation without reallocating resources. Scaling-only games skip unused Frame Generation initialization.
• Adaptive and recovery: Promotions compare adjacent measured workloads and stop when the current level already reaches 98% of target. Recovery responds to acquire timeouts or budget exhaustion, not ordinary slow frames.
• Scaling and resolution: Scaling with Frame Generation causes fewer presentation stalls in affected games. Eligible live resolution changes retry allocation once after retired resources are released; actual FPS still depends on the workload.
• Arch Linux package: mako-renderer-bin installs verified payloads system-wide without changing user-local MAKO installations.

🎮 In-game considerations

Every game, renderer, and display setup behaves differently. Compare Fixed Frame Generation, Adaptive Frame Generation, and scaling-only operation one setting at a time. If Frame Generation, Scaling, or Shaders do not work, test Fullscreen, Borderless Fullscreen, and Windowed; none is universally best. For Scaling, also test in-game resolutions and verify that the input is smaller than the display. Changing display mode can change GPU cost. Restart after changing a setting labelled (Restart). Flow Scale and Lighter FG Model normally apply live and may cause one brief hitch while MAKO replaces their private resources.

• 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.

Installation

Choose the right download

GitHub's automatically generated Source code ZIP and tarball contain source code, not ready-to-run MAKO Renderer packages. SteamOS users who want the managed plugin workflow should use the separate MAKO Decky release.

Host archive

Download MAKO-Renderer-v4.0.0-linux.tar.xz, extract it into a new folder, then use the included graphical installer:

1. Double-click Install MAKO Renderer.
2. Choose Execute if your file manager asks.
3. Confirm the installation. The wizard verifies the package, installs it under ~/.local, safely updates existing files, preserves profiles, and opens the configuration UI.

To remove it later, open Uninstall MAKO Renderer from the application menu. The wizard removes MAKO-owned files and keeps your profiles unless you explicitly choose to remove them.

The host archive includes 64-bit and 32-bit Vulkan layers; the CLI and Qt UI are 64-bit.

Reopen the configuration UI after installation:

• Application menu: On Steam Deck or Steam Machine, switch to Desktop Mode, open the bottom-left Application Launcher, search for MAKO Renderer Configuration, and click the MAKO-logo app icon.
• Terminal: Run ~/.local/bin/mako-ui from Konsole or another terminal. Do not run it with sudo.

Configure the profile in the UI or ~/.config/mako-render/conf.toml. Select the licensed DLL path when using Frame Generation or LS1 scaling, then use ~/.local/bin/mako-launch %command% for a direct Steam launch.

Arch Linux package

Download mako-renderer-bin-4.0.0-1-x86_64.pkg.tar.zst and install the verified system-wide package with:

sudo pacman -U ./mako-renderer-bin-4.0.0-1-x86_64.pkg.tar.zst

The package installs MAKO Renderer under /usr, preserves profiles under ~/.config/mako-render, and does not touch MAKO Decky's user-local Renderer under ~/.local. Use either the system package or the user-local installation as the active owner for a user; see the Arch package guide for coexistence details.

After installation, open MAKO Renderer Configuration from the application menu or run mako-ui, create a game profile, and use /usr/bin/mako-launch %command% as that native Steam or Proton game's launch option. Installing the package alone does not activate MAKO globally.

Flatpak runtime extensions

Download and extract MAKO-Renderer-v4.0.0-flatpaks.tar.xz. It contains one self-contained MAKO extension for each supported Flatpak runtime. Install the extension matching the application runtime, for example:

flatpak install --user org.freedesktop.Platform.VulkanLayer.makorender-24.08.flatpak

Updating an existing MAKO Renderer installation

1. Quit every game or application currently using MAKO Renderer.
2. For a user-local installation, download the newer host archive, extract it into a new folder, and run Install MAKO Renderer again. For the Arch package, download the newer .pkg.tar.zst and run sudo pacman -U on it.
3. If you use Flatpak applications, download the matching Flatpak archive and reinstall the extension for each runtime you use.
4. Restart the game. Revalidate the configuration with mako-cli validate if you changed the DLL path or profiles.

Keep the previous archives until the new version has been tested with your games.

Known limitation

• HDR frame generation and scaling are not currently supported: HDR pipeline groundwork remains in the renderer, but MAKO does not present either feature as an enabled HDR release path yet.

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. MAKO Scaler does not need it.
• Do not combine MAKO with another frame-generation or scaling Vulkan wrapper for the same game.