steamos-chroot

Switch to other A/B partition

$ steamos-chroot -p other

$ steamos-chroot -d [/dev/sdX] -p [A|B]

$ steamos-chroot -h

steamos-chroot [OPTIONS]

steamos-chroot switches the root directory in a SteamOS environment, enabling access to the alternate A/B partition or partitions on other drives. SteamOS uses A/B partition schemes for reliable updates, allowing one partition to be updated while the other remains bootable.
This tool is useful for recovery operations, system repair, or accessing files on the inactive partition.

-p, --partset A|B|other

Select partition set (A, B, or the other inactive one)

Target a specific disk device

Display help

Requires root privileges. Changes made in the chroot affect the target partition. Be careful when switching between A/B partitions during an active update.

steamos-chroot is part of the SteamOS utilities developed by Valve for the Steam Deck. SteamOS 3.0, based on Arch Linux, was released in 2022 with the Steam Deck handheld gaming device.

steamos-readonly(1), chroot(1)