ChimeraOS is a Linux-based PC operating system designed for a game console experience.
It runs Gamepad UI, the same interface used by the Steam Deck, allowing you to play most of your Steam library, but also allows you to install and play many non-Steam games through the built-in Chimera web app.
See our OS Comparison for more details.
ChimeraOS is based on Arch Linux. However, this is only relevant to ChimeraOS developers and no Arch Linux knowledge is required to install or use ChimeraOS.
The key difference between Arch Linux and ChimeraOS is that ChimeraOS has a unique install and update mechanism called frzr.
Arch Linux's native package manager pacman is disabled by default. In fact, ChimeraOS users do not deal with packages at all. Instead, the entire system is provided as a single downloadable image that is extracted to disk as a read-only volume upon each update.
This allows safe, automatic, zero downtime updates that can be done with a gamepad.
The main goal of ChimeraOS is to provide an out-of-the-box console gaming experience that is usable by anyone, even those with no Linux experience.
ChimeraOS is for you if:
- you want a zero maintenance console gaming experience on PC hardware
- you are willing to sacrifice some game compatibility and customizability
ChimeraOS does not officially support dual booting with other operating systems on the same drive, however there is a community guide available. No support requests will be provided to troubleshoot dual booting from the development team..
If you install ChimeraOS on a separate drive, you can dual boot with other operating systems by using your BIOS to select a boot drive.
In order to achieve true automatic updates, ChimeraOS uses a unique update system called frzr that requires full control of the boot loader. On every update, ChimeraOS downloads an entirely new version of itself to disk and rewrites the boot loader configuration to point to the newly downloaded system. This precludes using the same bootloader with multiple operating systems.
The installation media is not outdated, it simply follows a different release cycle than the operating system itself.
ChimeraOS works very differently compared to traditional operating systems. The installer downloads and installs the latest system image file through a simple process that doesn't change from release to release. Therefore there is usually no need to update the installation media.
The installation media is occasionally updated with new hardware support, bug fixes, or other minor changes. These releases don't normally coincide with releases of the operating system.
This can be a very long process for some games, and while it can usually be skipped, there is a way to pre-download these shaders if they are available. If you switch to Desktop mode you can open Steam's Settings, and in the Downloads section there's a subsection called Shader Pre-caching, where pre-caching can be enabled and also background processing can be enabled. Enabling both of these should reduce or even eliminate the initial shader compilation step when launching a game.
You can use Chimera or access the terminal and install additional software manually using flatpak.
You must create a shortcut YAML file which will allow you to specify a banner image, tags, and a specific launch command. See the Chimera README for details.
Software installed through Chimera will automatically appear in the Steam UI after a restart.
The Chimera web app allows you to install and manage non-Steam games, including your ROM collection and games from third-party stores.
It also functions as a handy remote control for your ChimeraOS box when used from your phone.
The Chimera app can be accessed from a web browser on another device by navigating to http://chimeraos.local:8844 or the IP address of your ChimeraOS machine. You can obtain the IP address of your ChimeraOS machine by navigating to Settings -> Internet, then selecting your active network connection.
Where to find GOG install files
These files are located under ${HOME}/.local/share/chimera/content/gog. The game will be inside a folder with a numerical ID that corresponds to the title seen at GOGDB.org, as well as on the Chimera app page for the installed game.
32X *
3DO *
Arcade
Atari 2600
Atari 7800
Dreamcast
Game Boy
Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Color
GameCube
Game Gear
Genesis/Mega Drive
Jaguar
Master System
Neo Geo *
Nintendo
Nintendo 64
Nintendo DS
PlayStation *
PlayStation 2 *
PlayStation Portable
Saturn *
Sega/Mega CD *
Super GameBoy *
Super Nintendo
Super Nintento MSU1
TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine
* requires BIOS file to function
Access to the RetroArch menu is disabled by default to preserve the simple console experience. It's possible to enable the menu, but changing settings may create a configuration that we can't support, so be aware that you may be on your own. The config file is located in /home/gamer/.config/retroarch/retroarch.cfg but be aware that Chimera periodically merges default config files with this file. You can add input_menu_toggle_gamepad_combo = 9 to the file to make Gamepad-Down+Select open the RetroArch menu.
If you need to back them up or grab a copy they are stored in /home/gamer/.local/share/chimera/content
- Epic Games Store
- Flathub
- GOG
These stores are not compatible with a game console experience and are thus not supported and likely never will be.
Only stores that allow running and installing games without having to use desktop client software can be used with ChimeraOS/Chimera.
Non-Steam games can be installed from the Library page of the Chimera app.
Steam must be restarted to pick up the new games. You can do that through the Actions page in the Chimera app or by restarting the computer.
A system notification will appear when an update is available. You can also select "Check For Updates" in Settings -> System.
See the Terminal Access page for details.
See the Mounting Additional Disks guide.
Please see our contributing page for more details.
See our Troubleshooting Guide or join our Discord help channel