# MAKO: LSFG Frame Generation and Scaling for Steam Deck and Linux

> MAKO is a Vulkan layer and Decky plugin that brings Lossless Scaling frame generation and LS1 or open spatial scaling to SteamOS and desktop Linux. It reads the frame generation models from a Lossless Scaling installation you already own, and the project is explicit that it is not an official Lossless Scaling release.

**eugeniosegala/MAKO** — Next-generation, Vulkan-powered graphics layer for Linux gaming, bringing Lossless Scaling frame generation and scaling  to Steam Deck, Steam Machine and desktop Linux.

- Repository: https://github.com/eugeniosegala/MAKO
- Website: https://eugeniosegala.github.io/MAKO/
- Stars: 534 · Forks: 16
- Language: C++
- License: NOASSERTION
- Published: 2026-09-17 · Updated: 2026-09-17 · Language: en
- Canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/eugeniosegala-mako

## The gap MAKO fills on SteamOS and desktop Linux

Frame generation on Windows is usually a checkbox in a driver panel. On Linux it has been a patchwork: a Vulkan layer here, a Decky plugin there, and no shared profile system. MAKO is the continuation of two earlier projects, Decky LSFG-VK Experimental and LSFG-VK Experimental, which the README says are now this repository. That history matters, because it means the layer and the plugin are now versioned and released together rather than drifting apart.

The target user is narrow and specific. You are on a Steam Deck, a Steam Machine, or a desktop Linux box, you own a copy of Lossless Scaling, and you want its frame generation models applied to games that were never built with them. MAKO does not ship those models. The README states that LSFG frame generation and LS1 scaling read selected resources at runtime from a lawful, user-supplied Lossless Scaling installation, and that MAKO does not contain or distribute Lossless.dll or extracted model payloads. The open MAKO Scaler is the one path that does not need it.

So this is not a general upscaling toolkit. It is a bridge between a Windows-oriented commercial tool and the Linux Vulkan stack, with the licensing boundary drawn deliberately at runtime resource loading.

## How the Vulkan layer and Decky plugin fit together

Two artefacts ship separately. MAKO Renderer is the Vulkan layer itself, installed directly when you do not want Decky. MAKO Decky is the plugin that bundles the Renderer and exposes it through Decky Loader. The README's download table recommends MAKO Decky for Steam Deck, Steam Machine and Decky Loader users, and MAKO Renderer for direct Vulkan-layer installation.

The layer ships architecture-matched host and Flatpak libraries for both 64-bit and 32-bit x86 game processes, so Vulkan can select the correct library per process. That is a real constraint, not a detail: a 32-bit game and a 64-bit game load different layer binaries, and a package missing one of them will silently do nothing for that title.

On top of the layer sit the controls. Fixed and Adaptive frame generation are separate modes, and Adaptive targets 30 to 240 FPS while the renderer varies generated frames up to a selected 2x to 5x ceiling. Scaling is independent of generation: LS1 Quality, LS1 Performance, or the open single-pass MAKO Scaler can run alone or before generation. Profiles capture a running game once and are selected automatically by Steam app ID or process, with per-profile controls that include ALSA audio. The README also describes a gamescope recovery path that preserves native presentation and resumes generation only after the game cadence becomes stable again, which tells you the authors expect presentation to be interrupted in practice.

## Installing MAKO Decky and running a first profile

The README points at two release streams. MAKO Decky is published under plugin-* tags, and the latest release page carries a ZIP under Assets. MAKO Renderer is published under render-* tags, with a Linux archive under Assets. For Decky users the ZIP is the artefact to install.

If you build from the repository instead, the justfile exposes the monorepo commands. Installing the plugin dependencies pulls from the pnpm lockfile:

```bash
just install-plugin
```

Building the Renderer and the plugin together is a single target, and the Renderer build is a standard CMake release configuration:

```bash
just build
```

```bash
cmake -S engine -B engine/build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
cmake --build engine/build
```

The README does not document a rollback path for a bad layer install, so keep the previous release archive before replacing it. For a first real use, the workflow the README describes is: install the Decky plugin, launch a game, capture it once as a profile, then choose a scaling mode and a generation mode for that profile. The README does not give a step-by-step first-run walkthrough with exact menu labels, so expect to read the quick guides for Heroic, Lutris and EmuDeck in the repository rather than following a single canonical tutorial.

## What MAKO does not do, and where it fails

The sharpest limitation is architectural. The README states that published Renderer packages currently target x86_64 Linux hosts, and that native AArch64/Armada packages are not included in this release. If you are on an ARM handheld or an Arm-based Linux machine, the current packages are not for you.

HDR is the second one, and the project is unusually candid about it. MAKO Renderer includes HDR10/PQ and linear-scRGB groundwork, but MAKO Decky keeps HDR exposure disabled while activation, presentation, colour and performance are validated across games. Groundwork plus a disabled switch is not HDR support, and treating it as such will lead to wrong expectations.

Quality is explicitly game-dependent. The README says the full-quality v2 model with Lighter FG Model off can show noticeably less ghosting than the older layer, and that supported AMD GPUs gain extra protection against ghosting and corrupted moving edges. It then adds that results remain game-dependent. There is no compatibility list in the README, and no benchmark figures, so you cannot predict from the README alone how a specific title will behave.

Finally, the licensing boundary is a functional limit, not just a legal note. Without a Lossless Scaling installation, LSFG frame generation and LS1 scaling have nothing to read. Only the open MAKO Scaler works standalone.

## MAKO against lsfg-vk and the Decky Framegen lineage

The obvious comparison is with the projects MAKO grew out of. The README states plainly that Decky LSFG-VK Experimental and LSFG-VK Experimental are now MAKO, and that this repository is their new home and continuation, with future development, releases, documentation and issue tracking happening here. If you are still tracking the old repositories, you are tracking a lineage that has moved.

The practical difference is scope. The older arrangement was a layer and a plugin maintained as separate efforts. MAKO ships them as one monorepo with a shared justfile, a single test target covering protected inputs, Gym selection, engine, plugin and trace-producer suites, and paired release tags. It also adds pieces the older layer did not have: Adaptive Frame Generation with a 2x to 5x ceiling, the open single-pass MAKO Scaler as an alternative to LS1, per-profile ALSA audio, and third-party launcher setup for Heroic, Lutris and EmuDeck.

The trade-off is that a monorepo with two release streams is more to track. MAKO Decky and MAKO Renderer are published independently, which the README acknowledges by suggesting you enable release notifications through GitHub's Watch menu. That independence is also a failure mode: a Decky release can lag or lead its bundled Renderer, and the version numbers in the README already differ, with render-v3.2.1 and plugin-v3.2.1 as separate tags.

## Licence, releases and the cost of keeping up

The repository carries GPL-3.0-or-later according to the badge in the README, while the repository metadata reports the licence as NOASSERTION. Those two signals disagree, and the licence file is LICENSE.md. Treat the badge as the project's stated intent and the metadata as unresolved, and read LICENSE.md before you redistribute anything.

The licensing situation around the frame generation models is separate and more consequential. MAKO is not an official Lossless Scaling, Decky Loader or lsfg-vk release. It 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, and THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md is the document the README points to. None of that is legal advice; it is the project telling you where the boundary sits.

The upgrade cost is mostly release management. The last push to the repository was on 2026-09-16, and the most recent releases in the README are render-v3.2.1 and plugin-v3.2.1, both published on 2026-09-08. Two independently versioned streams mean two things to check before a gaming session. The justfile gives maintainers a way to keep this honest: test-protected-inputs rejects licensed inputs and disguised binary, model or archive payloads from Git, which is the mechanism that keeps the repository from drifting into distributing what it must not.

## Conclusion

MAKO suits Steam Deck, Steam Machine and desktop Linux users who already own Lossless Scaling and want frame generation inside Decky Loader or as a Vulkan layer, and who accept that the layer only targets x86_64 Linux hosts today. It is the wrong choice if you do not own Lossless Scaling and need LSFG models, if you are on AArch64, or if you want a single stable layer rather than separately versioned Renderer and Decky releases. Before installing, verify that your GPU driver exposes the Vulkan device features the layer needs, that the Renderer archive matches your host architecture, and that you have read THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md and the terms of your Lossless Scaling copy.

## FAQ

### Does MAKO include Lossless Scaling or the frame generation models?

No. The README states that MAKO does not contain or distribute Lossless Scaling, Lossless.dll, or extracted proprietary model payloads, and that LSFG frame generation and LS1 scaling read selected resources at runtime from a lawful, user-supplied Lossless Scaling installation. The open MAKO Scaler is the component that does not require it.

### Which download should I pick, MAKO Decky or MAKO Renderer?

The README recommends MAKO Decky for Steam Deck, Steam Machine and Decky Loader users, and notes that it bundles the Renderer. MAKO Renderer is for direct Vulkan-layer installation without Decky. They are published as separate release streams under plugin-* and render-* tags.

### Does MAKO work on ARM or AArch64 devices?

Not with the current packages. The README states that published Renderer packages currently target x86_64 Linux hosts and that native AArch64/Armada packages are not included in this release.

## Sources

- [eugeniosegala/MAKO on GitHub](https://github.com/eugeniosegala/MAKO)
- [Issues](https://github.com/eugeniosegala/MAKO/issues)
- [Project website](https://eugeniosegala.github.io/MAKO/)
- [README](https://github.com/eugeniosegala/MAKO/blob/main/README.md)
- [Releases](https://github.com/eugeniosegala/MAKO/releases)

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Hysen Labs editorial analysis, written from the project's own repository and release notes. Cite the canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/eugeniosegala-mako