Installing GeForce NOW on CachyOS Handheld Edition

These steps were tested on an ASUS ROG Xbox Ally X with the November 2025 release of CachyOS Handheld Edition.

Requirements

• AMD-based x86 Handheld PC running CachyOS Handheld Edition.
• KDE Wallet disabled or configured.
• flatpak

Preparation

Disable or configure KDE Wallet.

For some reason GeForce NOW refuses to launch when KDE Wallet isn't configured. Since I use a different credential manager, I've disabled KDE Wallet.

Using the Terminal

1. Run the following command.

   echo -e "[Wallet]\nEnabled=false" > ~/.config/kwalletrc

2. Reboot.

Using the GUI

1. Open System Settings > KDE Wallet.
2. Under the Wallet Preferences tab, uncheck Enable the KDE wallet subsystem.
3. Reboot.

Install flatpak and dependencies

1. Install flatpak.

   sudo pacman -S flatpak

2. Add the Flathub repository.

   sudo flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists \
       flathub https://dl.flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

3. Install GeForce NOW dependencies

   sudo flatpak install flathub \
       org.freedesktop.Platform//24.08 \
       org.freedesktop.Sdk//24.08 \
       org.freedesktop.Platform.VulkanLayer.gamescope//24.08

Installation

Install GeForce NOW

1. Add the GeForce NOW flatpak repository.

   flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists --user \
       geforcenow https://international.download.nvidia.com/GFNLinux/flatpak/geforcenow.flatpakrepo

2. Install GeForce NOW for the current user.

   flatpak install --user geforcenow com.nvidia.geforcenow

3. Check that you're able to launch NVIDIA GeForce NOW from the Application Launcher.

Post-Installation

Enable TV Mode

This scales the UI to be larger and more appropriate for handheld use.

1. In the GeForce NOW config file, set tvMode to true.

   set gfn_config_file (find ~/.local/share/flatpak/app/com.nvidia.geforcenow -type f -name config.json)
   and test -n "$gfn_config_file"
   and sed -i 's/"tvMode": false,/"tvMode": true,/' $gfn_config_file
   or echo "Config file not found"

2. Verify the value is correct.

   cat $gfn_config_file | grep "tvMode"

   Expected output:

Log-in to GeForce NOW

The GeForce NOW flatpak is unable to open the browser on CachyOS. We'll have to manually extract the log-in URL from the logs.

1. Open NVIDIA GeForce NOW.
2. Click on the GET IN button.
3. While the spinner is loading, open a Terminal window and run the following command.

   cat ~/.var/app/com.nvidia.geforcenow/.local/state/NVIDIA/GeForceNOW/console.log | \
     grep "login.nvidia.com/authorize"

4. This should give you a login URL. Open this URL in a browser and login with your NVIDIA account credentials. This can also be done in a different PC.
5. After signing in with the browser, the GeForce NOW app should automatically log in as well.

Add to Game Mode

1. From the Application Launcher, right-click on NVIDIA GeForce NOW and click on Add to Steam.
2. (Optional) Use the SteamGridDB plugin for Decky Loader to add artwork to the Steam launcher entry.