eugeniosegala/MAKO

What MAKO does

MAKO is a Vulkan-based graphics layer for Linux gaming that adds frame generation, spatial upscaling and post-processing shader effects to games running on SteamOS, Steam Deck, Steam Machine and desktop Linux. It ships as two integrated parts: MAKO Decky, a Decky Loader plugin that handles per-game controls, installation, updates and launcher integration, and MAKO Renderer, the Vulkan layer that performs the actual frame generation and scaling MAKO repository.

The defaults are self-contained: MAKO FG (frame generation) and the open MAKO Scaler work without any commercial component, and shader effects come from a bundled vkBasalt fork. Only the optional Lossless Scaling frame generation model and LS1 scaling read resources at runtime from a user-installed copy of Lossless Scaling Lossless Scaling on Steam; nothing proprietary is redistributed. Settings are stored as per-game profiles matched by Steam app ID or process name.

Quick start on Steam Deck

1. Install Decky Loader in Desktop Mode following the Decky Loader installation guide, then return to Game Mode.

2. Download the ZIP from the latest MAKO Decky release under Assets.

3. In Decky settings enable Developer Mode, then choose Developer > Install Plugin from Zip.

4. Open MAKO Decky and select Install MAKO Renderer. Installing the ZIP alone does not install the renderer.

5. For a native Steam or Proton game, add the following under Steam Properties > Launch Options:

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

6. Launch the game normally and tune Fixed or Adaptive Frame Generation, scaling and shaders per game.

Desktop Linux users who do not want Decky can install MAKO Renderer directly: extract MAKO-Renderer-v<version>-linux.tar.xz from the latest Renderer release, run Install MAKO Renderer, match the game executable in the configuration window, and add the launch option ~/.local/bin/mako-launch %command% to each Steam game standalone usage notes. Flatpak games and third-party launchers need extra sandbox preparation that the host mako-launch command cannot replace; see the Flatpak guide and the launcher instructions for Heroic, Lutris and EmuDeck.

A standalone frame-generation model and runtime are also published on Hugging Face for use outside MAKO.

Requirements and limits

Published Renderer packages target x86_64 Linux hosts and include layers for both 64-bit and 32-bit x86 game processes; native AArch64 packages are not included. Development and testing use AMD GPUs with Mesa RADV, including the Steam Deck; NVIDIA and Intel GPUs are community-tested, and options that require AMD hardware are labelled in the configuration guide. Results vary by game, display mode and VRR setup, so the project recommends comparing settings one at a time and testing fullscreen, borderless and windowed modes. Both MAKO Decky and the standalone archive share one native Renderer, so installing one selects its version; uninstalling Renderer keeps plugin profiles, and uninstalling Decky keeps the Renderer and its launchers. MAKO is an independent community project, not affiliated with Lossless Scaling, Decky Loader, lsfg-vk, vkBasalt or ReShade, and users of the optional Lossless Scaling models are responsible for complying with their own license. The code is GPL-3.0-or-later.

HotRepo's take

On 2026-11-13 MAKO recorded 773 stars with 49 gained in the day and a best position of 10 on the C++ daily list. That single snapshot supports only a point-in-time observation, not a growth trend, but it does show that the combination of a Decky plugin and a Vulkan frame-generation layer drew same-day attention in the C++ ecosystem. The project's lineage is explicit, descending from lsfg-vk upstream commit and the original Decky LSFG-VK plugin Decky LSFG-VK plugin, with the open MAKO Scaler implemented independently in this repository, which makes the codebase easier to audit than a black-box distribution.