View source for SteamOS and Desktop Linux

SteamOS on the Steam Deck is a customized Arch Linux variant optimized for handheld gaming, differing from a standard user-installed Linux desktop like Ubuntu or Arch in several ways.

* Arch Linux - Arch Linux is a rolling release distribution that provides the latest stable versions of software.

The root filesystem is immutable and read-only by default to ensure stability during updates, requiring a specific command to enable write access for modifications, whereas standard desktops have fully mutable filesystems for easy changes.

* Discover - (KDE Plasma's software center) the default graphical package manager in KDE Plasma.

Application management prioritizes Flatpaks through Discover for sandboxed installs, limiting direct system package additions without overriding read-only mode, unlike standard desktops that allow unrestricted use of native package managers.

General-purpose tasks like productivity require switching to Desktop Mode (KDE Plasma).

* pacman - the package manager for Arch Linux that handles installation, updates, upgrades, and removal of software packages using binary .pkg.tar.zst files from official repositories.

On Steam Deck, the root filesystem is read-only by default, so you must disable read-only mode (via password in Desktop Mode terminal with steamos-readonly disable) before using pacman to modify system packages. Re-enable it afterward with steamos-readonly enable for stability. Flatpaks via Discover remain the preferred method for most applications.