Where can I find logs to debug crashes?

[thejames42]

I have been using my deck extensively since it arrived in July. I have played a wide variety of games including verified, playable, and untested. Almost every game I play will freeze at some point, and I will have to exit from the steam menu and then restart. For some games, like Cursed to Golf, this will happen after only a few minutes in game, where others like Across the Obelisk or No Man's Sky may work without issue for several hours before failing.

From a suggestion on r/SteamDeck, I updated UMA frame buffer size to 4GB, but that did not seem to affect anything. I am not sure what that setting does, so I am considering changing it back before troubleshooting further.

I also saw someone mention an issue with networking, so I disabled my wifi and cloud synch, but that didn't work either.

I am not sure if the issue is hardware, steamOS, steam, the games, or something else entirely. I haven't made any modifications to the system other than those mentioned, and have only entered desktop mode once to try and track down logs. The game logs were just a blob, so I couldn't inspect them. I am hoping that system or proton logs may have more information.

I am a software engineer and relatively familiar with Linux and CLI, so technical answers are very welcome. The deck has quickly become my preferred gaming platform, so I will go to great lengths to avoid an RMA.

[Nathan]

PROTON_LOG=1 %command% - Add to launch options. Wait for problem. Check log.

/var/log/* - contains a whole bunch but also crashes, errors etc. this is system wide, but will probably contain useful information.

[Kirito]

Originally posted by Nathan:

PROTON_LOG=1 %command% - Add to launch options. Wait for problem. Check log.

/var/log/* - contains a whole bunch but also crashes, errors etc. this is system wide, but will probably contain useful information.

Is this command supposed to be added to a game in the launch settings? And would the log I'm looking for just be labeled "1" ?

[CJM]

Originally posted by Kirito:

Is this command supposed to be added to a game in the launch settings? And would the log I'm looking for just be labeled "1" ?

The "1" simply means "Enabled".

The log will have the number of the game you are logging. Also, it seems to have moved from the default "/var/log/" directory to the Home directory on the Steam Deck.

~/steam-$GAMEID.log

You will probably want to remove the launch option when you are finished debugging, it might fill up your hard drive space.

[Kirito]

Originally posted by CJM:

Originally posted by Kirito:

Is this command supposed to be added to a game in the launch settings? And would the log I'm looking for just be labeled "1" ?

The "1" simply means "Enabled".

The log will have the number of the game you are logging. Also, it seems to have moved from the default "/var/log/" directory to the Home directory on the Steam Deck.

~/steam-$GAMEID.log

You will probably want to remove the launch option when you are finished debugging, it might fill up your hard drive space.

thanks for the info, ill give it a try and see what I can do, I've been having an issue with a game called Death Mark by Aksys although its deck verified it still crashes after about 20 min of game play. I appreciate the assistance.