MAKO - Frame Generation, Scaling, and Shaders on SteamOS/Linux

Independent project: MAKO is not an official Lossless Scaling, Decky Loader, lsfg-vk, vkBasalt, or ReShade release. MAKO does not contain or distribute Lossless Scaling, Lossless.dll, or extracted proprietary model payloads. The optional Lossless Scaling frame generation model (LSFG) and LS1 scaling read selected resources at runtime from a lawful, user-supplied Lossless Scaling installation; MAKO FG, the open MAKO Scaler, and bundled shaders do not require it. MAKO does not alter the user's DLL file, and translated resources remain process-local. Users are responsible for complying with the terms applicable to their copy. See Third-party notices.

Downloads

Published Renderer packages currently target x86_64 Linux hosts and include layers for both 64-bit and 32-bit x86 game processes. Native AArch64/Armada packages are not included in this release.

MAKO is developed and tested on AMD GPUs with Mesa's RADV driver, including the Steam Deck. NVIDIA and Intel GPUs are community-tested. Options that need AMD hardware say so in the configuration guide.

Community

Join the official MAKO Discord for discussion, testing, development, showcases, and live troubleshooting. GitHub remains the source of truth for bug reports and feature requests.

[!TIP] Want update alerts? MAKO Decky and MAKO Renderer are published independently. At the top-right of the MAKO GitHub repository page, click Watch > Custom, select Releases, then click Apply. GitHub will notify you when a new release is published, subject to your GitHub notification settings.

✨ Feature Highlights

• Per-game frame generation models: MAKO FG by default, or the optional Lossless Scaling models from your licensed installation, with quality and performance controls.
• Reduced ghosting: MAKO FG is designed to preserve static HUD elements and reduce ghosts on thin moving objects at 4× and above. Full-quality v2 with LSFG Quality can also reduce ghosting; supported AMD GPUs gain extra safeguards. Results vary by game.
• Spatial scaling: The open MAKO Scaler by default, or optional LS1 Quality and LS1 Performance, used alone or alongside frame generation.
• Per-game shaders: Live sharpening, anti-aliasing, colour, cinematic, and retro effects through bundled vkBasalt.
• Adaptive Frame Generation: Target 30–240 FPS with a selectable 2x–5x generation ceiling.
• Display-aware pacing: Adapts frame delivery to the presentation plan and Gamescope VRR state.
• Experimental HDR: HDR support for Scaling, Frame Generation, and Shaders through Gamescope.
• 64-bit and 32-bit x86 support: Matching Vulkan layers for native and Flatpak games.
• Gamescope recovery: Preserves real frames during presentation pressure and Steam-menu transitions.
• Automatic profiles: Saves per-game renderer and compatibility settings, matched by Steam app ID or process.
• Launcher integration: Per-game setup for Heroic, Lutris, and EmuDeck, including Steam shortcuts.
• Native Steam Remote Play: Opt-in frame generation, scaling, and shaders on the receiving device, controlled from MAKO Decky or the Qt UI.

What MAKO is

MAKO (Motion-Adaptive Kernel Orchestration) brings frame generation, spatial scaling, and bundled shader effects to Linux gaming. MAKO FG and MAKO Scaler are the defaults and, with Shaders, work without Lossless Scaling. Only the optional Lossless Scaling frame generation model and LS1 scaling require it. Scaling can run alone or alongside Fixed or Adaptive Frame Generation.

The project consists of two closely integrated components:

• MAKO Decky is the Decky Loader component, providing per-game controls, installation, updates, Flatpak preparation, and game launch integration.
• MAKO Renderer is the Vulkan layer that provides the graphics pipeline for frame generation and spatial scaling; its packages also include optional bundled shader effects.

In-game considerations

[!TIP] Try the game's V-Sync setting both on and off. Neither setting is universally best: the result depends on the game, its FPS cap, VRR, and the compositor. Keep whichever option feels smoother and more responsive for that game.

Every game and display behaves differently, so compare one setting at a time. If Frame Generation, Scaling, or Shaders do not work, try the game's Fullscreen, Borderless Fullscreen, and Windowed modes; none is universally best. For Scaling, also try different in-game resolutions and check that Live Status shows Input smaller than Display. Changing display mode can change the resolution MAKO processes and its GPU cost. See the configuration guide for which controls apply live and which require a restart.

Install and use

1. Install Decky Loader (if you haven't already). Switch to Desktop Mode and follow the official Decky Loader installation guide, then return to Game Mode.
2. Optional: Lossless Scaling (skip this step if you only want MAKO FG, MAKO Scaler, and Shaders). To use the Lossless Scaling frame generation model or LS1 scaling, install the default public version of Lossless Scaling through Steam. Beta branches are not validated; the default public branch is recommended.
3. Open the latest MAKO Decky release and download its ZIP under Assets.
4. In Decky's settings, enable Developer Mode, then select Developer > Install Plugin from Zip.
5. Open MAKO Decky and select Install MAKO Renderer. Installing the ZIP alone does not install its bundled Renderer.

6. For a native Steam or Proton game, add this under Steam Properties > Launch Options:

   text /home/deck/.local/bin/mako-run %command%

7. Start the game normally.

8. Experiment with the settings to find what works best for each game. Try Fixed or Adaptive Frame Generation, scaling, and shader effects independently.

[!IMPORTANT] If Decky does not show or reload MAKO Decky after installing a ZIP, uninstall it, install the ZIP again, and restart your Steam Deck or Steam Machine. Then open the plugin and repeat step 5.

Optional graphics integrations

Shaders use bundled vkBasalt; no separate installation is needed. MAKO Decky also offers host-installed MangoHud and a per-profile Gamescope WSI compatibility option, independent of Scaling. See optional graphics integrations for ordering and limits.

How to configure MAKO with third-party launchers

• Heroic
• Lutris
• EmuDeck
• Other Flatpak apps
• Other non-Steam games

For a step-by-step guide that creates a shareable report on the Desktop, see Collect MAKO Decky Diagnostics.

Updating MAKO Decky

1. Quit the games using MAKO.
2. Uninstall MAKO Decky, then install the newer ZIP through Developer > Install Plugin from Zip.
3. Restart your Steam Deck or Steam Machine.
4. Open MAKO Decky and select Install MAKO Renderer, or Update when MAKO offers it, to install the version bundled in the ZIP. This also refreshes every MAKO Flatpak runtime extension already installed.

Valid profiles and Steam launch options are kept. Removing or reinstalling MAKO Decky leaves Renderer, launchers, and the Remote Play override in place. Older Decky versions may remove Renderer; step 4 restores it. Invalid or unreadable Renderer configurations reset to defaults.

The ZIP updates MAKO Decky. Apply the offered update inside Decky for Renderer, MAKO FG, and installed Flatpak extensions, even when the version number is unchanged.

To remove Renderer, use Remove MAKO Renderer in Decky or the desktop Uninstall MAKO Renderer entry, which remains available after Decky is removed.

Use MAKO Renderer directly

Decky is optional. Desktop Linux users can install MAKO Renderer directly:

1. Optional: Lossless Scaling (skip this step if you only want MAKO FG, MAKO Scaler, and Shaders). To use the Lossless Scaling frame generation model or LS1 scaling, install the default public version of Lossless Scaling through Steam. Beta branches are not validated; the default public branch is recommended.
2. Download and extract MAKO-Renderer-v<version>-linux.tar.xz from the latest MAKO Renderer release, then run Install MAKO Renderer. The installer opens MAKO Renderer Configuration and shows the launch option.
3. Create or select a profile and choose Frame Generation, scaling, and/or shader effects. Add the executable manually under Profile Matching > Matched Processes, or start the game normally and use Detect Running Game…, then close it. Detection only identifies the executable; it does not activate MAKO in the running game.

4. Every standalone native Steam or Proton game must start through MAKO. Add the option shown by the configuration window under Steam Properties > General > Launch Options, then use Steam's Play button normally:

   text ~/.local/bin/mako-launch %command%

   Set this once per game; Steam applies it on every launch. Use the complete option shown by the window when shaders are enabled. The window can be closed during play. For direct desktop commands, see Renderer usage; for shader details, see Optional graphics integrations.

5. For Flatpak games, launchers, or emulators, follow the standalone Flatpak guide to install the matching extension and prepare each app, then launch it normally. The Renderer configuration window does not prepare Flatpaks, and the host mako-launch command cannot replace sandbox setup.

Run the installer again to update. See the MAKO Renderer guide for manual installation and removal.

[!IMPORTANT] MAKO Decky and the standalone archive share one native Renderer. Installing either selects its version: the standalone installer warns before replacing Decky's version, while Decky adopts a valid standalone installation or offers its bundled update when payloads differ, including same-version model changes. Uninstall MAKO Renderer removes the shared native files but keeps MAKO Decky and profiles; removing MAKO Decky preserves the independent Renderer and its launchers. Shared Flatpak extensions remain installed.

Documentation

These guides describe the selected branch. For a published version, select its plugin-vX.Y.Z or render-vX.Y.Z tag on GitHub; a development branch may document features that are not in the latest download.

• MAKO Decky configuration: panel controls, profiles, runtime boundaries, and compatibility.
• MAKO Renderer configuration: Qt controls, profiles, and game launch setup.
• MAKO Renderer: direct installation, usage, builds, and architecture guides.
• Troubleshooting and diagnostics: activation, presentation problems, and private reports.
• Testing and releases: contributor validation and publication.
• Ongoing maintenance: dependencies, version owners, upstream review triggers, and required checks.

Featured in

Community creators and publications have covered and tested MAKO on Steam Deck, Steam Machine, and Linux. See Featured In for videos, articles, and creator coverage.

Credits and project lineage

MAKO builds on and integrates work from these open-source projects and their communities:

• Kurt Himebauch / xXJSONDeruloXx created the original Decky LSFG-VK plugin that formed the foundation of MAKO's Decky interface, installation workflow, and per-game controls.
• PancakeTAS and the lsfg-vk contributors created the GPL-3.0-or-later version 2 Vulkan layer and Linux integration from which MAKO Renderer descends. MAKO's direct upstream baseline is 8b0da266; the exact lineage and migration commits are recorded in LICENSE.md.
• Georg Lehmann / DadSchoorse and the vkBasalt contributors created the Vulkan post-processing layer that MAKO bundles through its maintained fork. Selected shader effects come from CeeJayDK/SweetFX and crosire/reshade-shaders; exact source and license details are in Third-party notices.

MAKO also thanks the Lossless Scaling developers for the LS1 and LSFG models accessed through each user's licensed installation, the Wine/vkd3d developers whose shader translator enables the Vulkan LS1 path, and the Decky Loader team, community contributors, testers, guide authors, and creators who helped make the project possible. The open MAKO Scaler is independently implemented in this repository.

The original copyright and license notices are preserved in LICENSE.md. MAKO is an independent community project and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Lossless Scaling, Decky Loader, or the credited upstream projects.

License

MAKO is distributed under GPL-3.0-or-later. Required upstream notices and the user-supplied proprietary-component boundary are recorded in Third-party notices, and visual sources are recorded in Asset provenance. Contributions are accepted under the policy in CONTRIBUTING.md.

AI-assisted development

MAKO uses coding agents as part of an evidence-driven engineering workflow while keeping architecture, review, validation, and release decisions under human ownership. See AI use in MAKO for the full approach.

Contributors

MAKO thanks everyone whose commits or co-authored work is in this repository. This gallery is generated from human authors and co-authors in the current branch's Git history; upstream projects and other forms of help are credited above.

See Contributing to get involved.