AudioForge

A Decky Loader plugin that brings full audio DSP processing to SteamOS devices. Built on DeckSP and JamesDSP for Linux, AudioForge packages everything together with patches for reliable operation on SteamOS.

Features

• Parametric & Graphic EQ — Fine-tune your audio with fully adjustable equalizer
• Bass Boost — Dynamic bass enhancement
• Reverb — Configurable room reverb effect
• Compander — Dynamic range compression/expansion
• Tube Modeling — Analog warmth simulation
• Crossfeed — Improved headphone stereo imaging
• Stereo Wideness — Adjustable stereo field width
• Convolver — Impulse response-based processing
• ViPER DDC — Device-specific correction from a built-in database
• Limiter — Output limiter for clipping prevention
• LiveProg (EEL) — Scriptable audio effects with parameter editing
• Per-game Profiles — Automatically switch DSP presets per game
• Multi-user Support — Separate settings for each Steam account

What's Different from DeckSP

AudioForge ships a patched JamesDSP flatpak (org.audioforge.jamesdsp) that includes:

• PipeWire loopback fix — Prevents the audio feedback loop caused by JamesDSP's PipeWire loopback picking up its own output. The fix filters out loopback stream nodes that lack a PW_KEY_APP_ID (loopback streams never have one, real applications always do).
• Improved hardware backend compatibility — Better handling of different audio backends across SteamOS builds and hardware (Steam Deck, Legion Go, ROG Ally, etc.)
• Automatic flatpak management — The plugin installs, updates, and manages the JamesDSP flatpak automatically; no manual setup needed.

Installation

Prerequisites

• Decky Loader installed on your SteamOS device

Quick Install

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/neoseek/AudioForge/master/install.sh | bash

This downloads the latest release, extracts it to the Decky plugins directory, and restarts Decky Loader.

Prerelease Install

To install the latest prerelease (test) build:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/neoseek/AudioForge/master/install_prerelease.sh | bash

Manual Install (from source)

git clone https://github.com/neoseek/AudioForge.git
cd AudioForge

# Install dependencies and build frontend
pnpm install
pnpm build

# Copy plugin files to Decky
sudo mkdir -p /home/deck/homebrew/plugins/AudioForge
sudo cp -r plugin.json main.py dist py_modules bin resources /home/deck/homebrew/plugins/AudioForge/

# Restart Decky Loader
sudo systemctl restart plugin_loader.service

Note: Building from source requires pnpm and node. The flatpak bundle (bin/jamesdsp.flatpak) must be built separately — see the build section below.

Building

Frontend

pnpm install
pnpm build

Patched JamesDSP Flatpak

Requires flatpak-builder:

flatpak run org.flatpak.Builder --user --repo=repo --force-clean build-dir org.audioforge.jamesdsp.yaml
flatpak build-bundle repo bin/jamesdsp.flatpak org.audioforge.jamesdsp

Release Package

pnpm run package

This creates out/AudioForge.zip ready for distribution.

Uninstallation

The plugin cleanly uninstalls the JamesDSP flatpak when removed through Decky Loader. To manually remove:

flatpak --user uninstall org.audioforge.jamesdsp
sudo rm -rf /home/deck/homebrew/plugins/AudioForge
sudo systemctl restart plugin_loader.service

Troubleshooting

• No audio effect: Open the plugin in the Decky quick access menu, ensure JamesDSP is running (it starts automatically).
• Audio feedback/echo: You should not experience this with the patched JamesDSP. If you do, try Force PW Relink from the plugin menu.
• Plugin not showing in Decky: Verify files are in /home/deck/homebrew/plugins/AudioForge/ and restart Decky (sudo systemctl restart plugin_loader.service).
• JamesDSP logs: Check ~/homebrew/plugins/AudioForge/log/jdsp/jdsp.log for JamesDSP process output.

Credits

• DeckSP by Jesse Bofill — Original Decky plugin for JamesDSP
• JamesDSP for Linux by James Fung (ThePBone) — The DSP engine
• Decky Loader — Plugin framework for SteamOS

License

Dual licensed:

• GPL-3.0 — JamesDSP / DSP engine components
• BSD-3-Clause — Plugin framework code (Copyright 2025 Jesse Bofill, original Copyright 2022 Steam Deck Homebrew)

See LICENSE for full details.