/rwfus

A method for persistence through RAUC A/B updates on the Steam Deck.

Primary LanguageShellGNU Lesser General Public License v2.1LGPL-2.1

Rwfus: Read-Write OverlayFS for your Steam Deck!

Like a vinyl couch cover for your filesystem, Rwfus covers your Deck's /usr/ directory (and some others) allowing you to initialize and use pacman (the Arch Linux package manager) on the Steam Deck without losing packages when the next update comes out.

Directories covered in a default installation:

Directory Contents
/etc/pacman.d pacman configuration
/usr Programs and libraries
/var/cache/pacman Package cache
/var/lib/pacman Package metadata

Installation:

  1. git clone https://github.com/ValShaped/rwfus.git
  2. cd rwfus
  3. ./rwfus -iI

Then you're all set! Remember to periodically run pacman -Sy to update your repos

Jank warning

Due to the way Valve's firmware updates work, doing pacman -S[y[y]]u at any time will lead to complications when the next firmware update is installed. I highly advise avoiding -Su, -Syu, and -Syyu altogether on a Steam Deck with read-only rootfs. It may lead to bad behavior.

Usage:

USAGE:
    rwfus [FLAGS] [OPTIONS] [--] [DIRECTORY]...

FLAGS:
    -h, --help          Show this help text, then exit
    -v, --version       Show the version number, then exit

    -i, --install*      Install Rwfus
    -u, --update*       Re-generate systemd service files, without touching data
    -r, --remove*       Remove ALL FILES AND DIRECTORIES associated with Rwfus

    -e, --enable*       Activate overlays
    -d, --disable*      Deactivate overlays
    -s, --status        Get the status of the overlay-mounter and disk image

        --mount*        Mount Rwfus's disk image
        --umount*       Unmount Rwfus's disk image

    -I, --install-bin*  Put /usr/local/bin/rwfus into a [...]/usr/local/bin folder
    -R, --remove-bin*   Remove Rwfus from a [...]/usr/local/bin folder

    -t, --test          Use fake directory targets when performing operations
    -g, --gen-config    Generate a sample config file, which you can use to customize your install

    * flags marked with a star require root, unless the --test flag is set.

    OPTIONS:
    -l, --logfile <path>    Specify the location of Rwfus's log file
                                Default: /tmp/rwfus.XXXX.log (where X is random)
    -c, --config <path>     Specify a configuration file to use
                                Default: /opt/rwfus/
        --backup <dest>*    Backup Rwfus's disk image to (file path) <dest>
        --restore <src>*    Restore Rwfus's disk image from (file path) <src>

    * options marked with a star require root, unless the --test flag is set.

ARGS:
    <DIRECTORY>...          List of directories to create overlays for
                                Defaults: /usr /etc/pacman.d /var/lib/pacman /var/cache/pacman

Examples:

rwfus: Get status

rwfus --install: Install Rwfus

rwfus --update: Update Rwfus's scripts

rwfus --remove: Remove Rwfus, including the pacman keyring and all installed pacman packages

rwfus --gen-config: Generate a sample config file in your present working directory

rwfus --config ./rwfus.conf: Use a config file called rwfus.conf when setting up Rwfus

rwfus --install-bin: Install Rwfus into the overlaid /usr/local/bin folder, so you can configure Rwfus from anywhere!

rwfus --install --install-bin will do the above, with a fresh install, in a single command!