Desktop mode and apps
Switch to the Plasma desktop, install apps from Flathub, and get back to Steam.
Behind Steam, CouchPotatOS has a full KDE Plasma desktop, for the things a console can’t do: a web browser, other launchers, moving files around. You’ll want a keyboard and mouse for it.
Switch to the desktop
In Steam, press the Steam button, open Power and choose Switch to Desktop. Steam closes and the desktop opens.
Back to Steam
Open the app menu and choose Return to Game Mode (under Games). The desktop also only lasts until the next start: turning the PC off and on always brings you back to Steam.
Installing apps
Apps come from Flathub, which is already set up. Open Discover, the app store, search for what you want and click Install. Apps you install there:
- update along with CouchPotatOS when you update from Steam;
- can be added to Steam with Add a Non-Steam Game in the desktop’s Steam, so they show up in your library on the TV.
Firefox, Heroic, Lutris, Discord, VLC and most other popular apps are on Flathub.
What you can’t change
The system itself is read-only, and each update replaces it with a fresh, identical image. That’s what keeps every CouchPotatOS PC working the same. So:
- install apps from Flathub, not with
zypperortransactional-update. System packages added that way are gone after the next update. (NVIDIA’s driver, chosen on first boot, is the one exception: it is reinstalled automatically.) - your files in your home folder, your apps and your settings are kept through updates.