linux desktop sudo password not working

[hatsune miku fanboy]

recently got my 512gb steam deck and while trying to install a password on konsole I was unable to enter a new password, I did enter one in settings but even after doing so I couldn't enter one when needed kn konsole. any help would be very much appreciated

[DarkCrystalMethod]

If you're still logged in with your non-root account you can change your own password once more just to make sure it is what you want it to be. Then try more sudo-fu.

[Ben Bernanke]

Originally posted by piss man:

recently got my 512gb steam deck and while trying to install a password on konsole I was unable to enter a new password, I did enter one in settings but even after doing so I couldn't enter one when needed kn konsole. any help would be very much appreciated

I don't understand the question. We're talking about using CLI in desktop mode?
Steam Deck ships without a password and it prevents you from doing root-level things with commands.

If you need to sudo, you first have to create a password with the "passwd" command. So open your command line and type "passwd" and then press enter it will let you set the root password. Then you can use that password after typing the "sudo" to do root level things like you would in other distros. (I said that you're permitted from doing root level things by default, but I guess "passwd" is the only root-level thing you can do before you set the root password).

I said I didn't understand your question because you're talking about using "konsole" (I think that's the command line, right? The command line is a bash shell that controls the entire system). But then you talked about setting a password in "settings" (and my understanding is that this is GUI app that's primarily used to change options in the graphical KDE desktop environment). I think you need to do all this in the command line, but I'm not sure.

[notboxbot]

Let me correct some misunderstandings in the above post:

"sudo" doesn't ask for the "root" user's password, but for the *current* user's - which doesn't work if the password isn't set.

Therefore, you need to set the "deck" user's password. The "root" user normally doesn't need a password.

You can do this using the "password" command in the command line (the "konsole"); or you can do the same in the "Settings" app (Settings -> System Settings -> Users).

[hatsune miku fanboy]

Originally posted by notboxbot:

Let me correct some misunderstandings in the above post:

"sudo" doesn't ask for the "root" user's password, but for the *current* user's - which doesn't work if the password isn't set.

Therefore, you need to set the "deck" user's password. The "root" user normally doesn't need a password.

You can do this using the "password" command in the command line (the "konsole"); or you

can do the same in the "Settings" app (Settings -> System Settings -> Users).

let me try and re-tell my issue, its my first time on linux and the steam forum so i'm sorry if I have trouble explaining. I did set a password in settings but for some reason when in konsole/terminal when I go to enter it it either wont let me or says its wrong when I enter the same password I set in settings

[[KAMI] RedWyvern]

Originally posted by piss man:

Originally posted by notboxbot:

Let me correct some misunderstandings in the above post:

"sudo" doesn't ask for the "root" user's password, but for the *current* user's - which doesn't work if the password isn't set.

Therefore, you need to set the "deck" user's password. The "root" user normally doesn't need a password.

You can do this using the "password" command in the command line (the "konsole"); or you

can do the same in the "Settings" app (Settings -> System Settings -> Users).

let me try and re-tell my issue, its my first time on linux and the steam forum so i'm sorry if I have trouble explaining. I did set a password in settings but for some reason when in konsole/terminal when I go to enter it it either wont let me or says its wrong when I enter the same password I set in settings

Which settings?
KDE System Settings it's Manage Users panel or the Game Mode lock screen settings?
These are separate things, the Game Mode settings only affect Game Mode and this password will not exist for any other Linux application.
The KDE System Settings found in Desktop Mode do the same as the passwd command you should use to set a user password for sudo.
Make sure you are not confusing these, then it should work.

The reason it works like this is that the Deck has two different systems on it, Valve's Game Mode and KDE's Desktop Mode, these two are mostly separate things, with some exceptions settings of one will not affect the other.

[[KAMI] RedWyvern]

Another thing to keep in mind is that password fiels in a terminal will not show any feedback as you type.
This is an intentional privacy feature, the command is reading your input.
If you enter the password you set with the passwd command or KDE User settings and follow with enter, it will work.

[hatsune miku fanboy]

Originally posted by KAMI RedWyvern:

Another thing to keep in mind is that password fiels in a terminal will not show any feedback as you type.
This is an intentional privacy feature, the command is reading your input.
If you enter the password you set with the passwd command or KDE User settings and follow with enter, it will work.

thats what it was, Thank you so much for your response and time

[DarkCrystalMethod]

Its times like these when I wish Valve would have put out the Steam Deck OS install disk as an iso file...
I'd love to see how the package manager works, etc before buying the $700 version. Also this would help everyone know what software issues to expect including user management and sudo tricks. No idea why Valve is keeping the Deck OS a secret(no iso install disk)

[Ben Bernanke]

Originally posted by notboxbot:

Let me correct some misunderstandings in the above post:

"sudo" doesn't ask for the "root" user's password, but for the *current* user's - which doesn't work if the password isn't set.

Therefore, you need to set the "deck" user's password. The "root" user normally doesn't need a password.

You can do this using the "password" command in the command line (the "konsole"); or you can do the same in the "Settings" app (Settings -> System Settings -> Users).

thanks i didnt know that.
i remembered setting the password in settings and it didnt work for me but idk why.

[[KAMI] RedWyvern]

Originally posted by DarkChrystmastalMethod:

Its times like these when I wish Valve would have put out the Steam Deck OS install disk as an iso file...
I'd love to see how the package manager works, etc before buying the $700 version. Also this would help everyone know what software issues to expect including user management and sudo tricks. No idea why Valve is keeping the Deck OS a secret(no iso install disk)

HoloISO is a community made SteamOS version, but it requires AMD hardware as it is based on an OS only made for Steam Deck.
But the package manager is just Pacman, you can use Arch Linux / EndeavourOS / Garuda Linux to see how it works.
SteamOS does have it's own repositories, these can be added to Pacman but on a machine that isn't a Steam Deck, there is no need for it.
But by default the filesystem is locked and Pacman is uninitialised, so it doesn't work on SteamOS unless you change this anyway.

No clue why you think this needs the 512GB Steam Deck, all versions come with the exact same OS.
It isn't secret either, the current OS is only optimised for Steam Deck hardware, making it work on most PCs requires a lot of work that isn't finished yet.
The recovery image is available as an ISO too, it just isn't made for other machines.

[[KAMI] RedWyvern]

(yet again I think of something after I posted)
All the apps you can install from Discover, without "sudo tricks", are found on https://flathub.org/home and work on almost any Linux distro if flatpak is installed,