To stay connected with your friends and favorite servers, installing Discord on Steam Deck can be a great way to stay connected while gaming on the go. We’ve listed all the steps to set up Discord on your Steam Deck like a pro.
The Steam Deck is not only one of the best portable gaming consoles on the market, it’s also a capable desktop PC. Like any PC, having the Discord app at your disposal is a great way to set up voice chats for online gaming sessions or just chat with your friends.
While Steam already has a voice calling and messaging service for your friends on Steam, Discord will allow you to stay in touch with servers, friends, and more.
Setting up Discord on the Steam Deck isn’t difficult, but it does involve going through desktop mode and customizing some settings that not everyone knows about. To make it easier for you, we’ve put together this guide so you can install and use Discord on the Steam Deck with ease.
Install Discord
- Switch to desktop mode
- Open the “Discover” app
- Search for “Discord”
- Click “Install” the Discord app
To install Discord on the Steam Deck, turn on your Valve handheld console and switch to desktop mode. From desktop mode, open the Discover app by selecting the small blue bag icon in the bottom toolbar.
If you’re having trouble finding the Discover icon, it’s in the lower-left corner, next to the App Launcher and System Settings.
In the Discover app, open the Steam Deck keyboard and type “Discord” into the search bar. Once the list of apps appears, double-click on the first result, which will be the official Linux-based version of the Discord app.
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To install the Discord app on your Steam Deck, select the “Install” option in the top-right corner of the Discover app window. It will take a few moments for Discord to install on your device, but once it’s done, you’ll be able to launch Discord from the same window, but by clicking the “Launch” option instead of “Install.”
If you want to use Discord in game mode, you can add Discord as a non-Steam game. This will add the Discord app to your Steam library, allowing you to run the app alongside any game you want.
Add Discord as a non-Steam game
- Switch to desktop mode
- Select the Steam Deck Launcher
- Go to “All Apps”
- Scroll down to “Discord”
- Right click and press “Add to Steam”
To add Discord as a non-Steam game, switch to Desktop mode on the Steam Deck. From there, use the touchscreen, joysticks, or touchpad to access the Steam Deck Launcher and select the launcher icon from the desktop toolbar.
The Steam Deck Launcher is represented by a small version of the Steam Deck logo and is located in the lower left corner of the screen.
After selecting the Steam Deck Launcher, scroll down to “All Apps” and find Discord in the list. Since you already have Discord installed on your Steam Deck, it will now be among all the other apps you have downloaded to your device.
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Hover over the Discord app and right-click while pressing the L2 trigger button. In the newly opened drop-down menu, scroll down to “Add to Steam” and select it from the list. From now on, once you return to Game Mode, Discord will be listed as a non-Steam game.
Connect to Discord
- Turn on Steam Deck
- Select the “Steam” button
- Go to the “Library”
- Select “Discord” in the non-Steam games library
- Select “Play”
- Login with Discord details
Now that Discord is installed and accessible through Game Mode, you can use Discord on the Steam Deck. To use Discord, turn on your Steam Deck and select the “Steam” button on the left side of your device.
From the Steam Deck menu, select “Library” from the list to access all of your Steam games and non-Steam apps on your handheld console. From there, press the R1 trigger button once to switch to the “Non-Steam Games” tab in your Steam Deck library.
To launch Discord, select Discord from the list of non-Steam Deck games, then select “Play” on the next page. From there, log in manually with your Discord credentials or by using the QR code on your smartphone via the Steam app, and you will now have access to Discord on Steam Deck.
With the Discord app on Steam Deck, you can run the app while playing other games, just like you would on your desktop gaming PC. To do this, make sure you don’t close Discord when you select a new game to play.
Instead, when you’re in Discord on Steam Deck in Game Mode, press the “Steam” button and select a game from your library as usual. When you go to SteamOS and load your game, Discord will run in the background.
You can also configure custom art for apps like Discord to help make your non-Steam games more unified with the rest of your Steam Deck library.
How to Use Discord with Steam Deck Controller Settings
- Launch the Discord app
- Select the “Steam” button
- Select “Controller Settings”
- Select the second option “Controller Settings”
- Select “Gamepad with trackpad joystick”
- Go to the “Community Provisions” tab
- Hover over the “Simple Navigation” option
- Press X to download the “Simple Navigation” controller layout
- Select the “Simple Navigation” option
- Press X to apply the simple navigation layout
Now that Discord is downloaded to your Steam Deck and accessible via Gaming Mode, you may launch the app and discover that you can’t control it like you would on a regular PC. That’s because as a non-Steam Deck game, Valve hasn’t set up an official controller configuration.
In this case, we can download a Community Creator Controller layout, which will give us full control over Discord on Steam Deck.
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To do this, first turn on your Steam Deck and launch the Discord app from the non-Steam games list in your game library. Once Discord loads, press the “Steam” button on your handheld console, then select “Controller Settings” from the small menu that appears. Also select “Controller Settings” on the next screen, which will appear under an image of a Steam Deck handheld console.
If this is your first time accessing the controller settings, you may need to press right on the D-pad a few times to navigate through the pre-made tutorial and reach the controller settings screen. From the Discord Controller Settings screen, scroll up and select the “Gamepad with thumbstick trackpack” option, listed under “Current button layout.”
From this new screen, press the R1 trigger button once to access the “Community Layouts” tab. Here we can download a community-created controller layout that will allow you to control Discord with the Steam Deck.
Hover over the top result labeled “Simple Navigation” and press the X button on the Steam Deck to download the controller settings layout. Once downloaded, select the layout from the list and a new page will appear, displaying the community-created button configuration for that layout. Press the X button to apply these settings and return to the Discord app.
You can now control the Discord app with the Steam Deck. If you don’t like the layout of the controller settings, you can try other controller configurations created by the community, or even create your own.
Looking for more Steam Deck guides? We’ve got you covered with our ultimate getting started guide. Check out our How to Add Xbox and PC Game Pass Games to Steam Deck article if you’re looking for even more Steam Deck games to play on the go.
