How to use cheats and trainers on Steam Deck

Here is how to use cheats and trainers on Steam Deck, thanks to a new plugin for Decky Loader.

With more and more games deciding to use a high-difficulty level as part of their game design (cough, Souls-likes), a large player base will feel frustrated to be left out of these experiences.

On the PC front, we could always use trainers and software like Cheat Engine or WeMod. But this used to be more cumbersome on the Steam Deck as you couldn't quickly launch such software while running a game.

But thanks to a new plugin for Decky Loader, you can easily run any cheats in Gaming Mode. And it's super easy to get started. Here's how:

How to use cheats on Steam Deck:

Install Decky Loader following this guide if you haven't done so.
Install the Cheat Plugin. You can find it by clicking the ... button, and then navigating to Decky Loader. Here, click on the Store icon in the top right. Install CheatDeck.
After installation, boot to desktop mode. Click the Steam button, go down to Power, and then Switch to Desktop. Wait for the Deck to reboot.
Download a cheat software of your choice. You'll have the best chance with standalone trainers like Fling trainers. I couldn't get WeMod to work, and while Cheat Engine started (after opening up a ton of windows in the background), it was a tad too cumbersome to navigate.
Save the trainer somewhere you can easily retrieve it.
Boot back to Gaming Mode.
Navigate to the game you want to cheat in, click the cog icon and find the new CheatDeck entry.
Enable the cheats option, and navigate to where you downloaded the software. Hit save.
Now, launch the game. Typically, the cheat software should open up automatically. Sometimes it opens up in the background, in which case you click the Steam button, and switch windows.
If you can't click on any of the cheats, try changing the game's settings to Windowed mode.