PC On/Off - Wake on LAN Plugin for Steam Deck

A Decky Loader plugin that allows you to wake up and shut down your PC directly from your Steam Deck.

Features

• 💚 Send Wake-on-LAN packets to wake up devices
• 🛑 Remote shutdown for devices (requires PC agent)
• 🟢 Real-time host status indicators (requires PC agent)
• 📝 Save multiple hosts with custom names
• 🔧 Simple IP-based configuration (MAC address detected automatically)
• 🎮 Clean, Steam Deck-optimized interface
• ✏️ Edit and delete saved hosts
• 🔄 Automatic MAC address refresh when device is online
• 🔌 Configurable port for shutdown agent (default: 9876)

Requirements

• Steam Deck with Decky Loader installed
• Target device(s) must support Wake-on-LAN and have it enabled in BIOS/UEFI
• Network connectivity between Steam Deck and target device

Installation

Manual Installation

Option 1: Install via Decky Loader (Recommended)

1. Download the latest .zip file from the releases page
2. Open Decky Loader on your Steam Deck (... button → Decky icon)
3. Go to Settings (gear icon) → Developer → "Install Plugin from ZIP"
4. Select the downloaded .zip file
5. The plugin will be installed and ready to use

Option 2: Manual File Installation

1. Download the latest release from the releases page
2. Extract the contents to ~/homebrew/plugins/deck-pc-on-off/
3. Restart Decky Loader or reload plugins

Usage

1. Open the Quick Access menu on your Steam Deck (... button)
2. Navigate to the PC On/Off plugin
3. Click "Add Host" to add a new device
4. Enter the following information:
   • Name: A friendly name for your device (e.g., "Gaming PC")
   • IP Address or Hostname: The IP address or hostname of your device (e.g., 192.168.1.100 or gaming-pc.local)
   • Port: The port for the shutdown agent (default: 9876, only needed if using shutdown feature)
5. Click the power button (⏻) to send a WOL packet and wake up your device
6. Click the stop button (⏹) to send a shutdown command (requires PC agent to be running)

Note: The plugin automatically detects the MAC address from the IP using ARP. For this to work:

• The device must be online when you add it (or have been recently online)
• Both devices must be on the same network
• The MAC address is cached after the first successful detection

Enabling Wake-on-LAN on Your PC

In BIOS/UEFI

1. Enter BIOS/UEFI settings (usually by pressing Del, F2, or F12 during boot)
2. Look for "Wake on LAN", "WOL", or "Power On by PCI-E" settings
3. Enable the option
4. Save and exit

In Windows

1. Open Device Manager

2. Find your network adapter

3. Right-click → Properties → Power Management

4. Enable "Allow this device to wake the computer"

5. Advanced tab → Enable "Wake on Magic Packet"

6. Disable Fast Startup (Windows 10/11):

   • Open Control Panel → Hardware and Sound → Power Options
   • Click "Choose what the power buttons do"
   • Click "Change settings that are currently unavailable"
   • Uncheck "Turn on fast startup (recommended)"
   • Click "Save changes"

   Why? Fast Startup prevents Wake-on-LAN from working properly because it puts the PC into a hybrid shutdown state instead of a full shutdown.

In Linux

sudo ethtool -s eth0 wol g

Replace eth0 with your network interface name.

To make it persistent, add to /etc/network/interfaces:

post-up ethtool -s eth0 wol g

PC Shutdown Agent (Optional)

To use the remote shutdown feature and real-time status indicators, you need to run an agent on your PC that listens for shutdown commands.

Download Ready-to-Use Agent

A pre-built Windows agent is available here:
https://github.com/proilyxa/pc-agent

The agent:

• Listens on port 9876 (configurable)
• Responds to /ping for status checks
• Responds to /shutdown to initiate PC shutdown
• Can be set up as a Windows service

Status Indicator (requires agent):

• 🟢 Green dot: PC agent is running and responding
• 🔴 Red dot: PC agent is not responding or offline

Firewall Configuration

Make sure to allow incoming connections on the agent port (default: 9876):

Windows Firewall:

New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "PC Shutdown Agent" -Direction Inbound -LocalPort 9876 -Protocol TCP -Action Allow

Troubleshooting

Cannot add host / "Could not find MAC address" error:

• Make sure the device is currently online and reachable
• Verify you can ping the device from Steam Deck: ping [ip-address]
• Both devices must be on the same local network
• Check that the IP address is correct

Device doesn't wake up:

• Ensure Wake-on-LAN is enabled in BIOS and OS
• Make sure the device is connected via Ethernet (WiFi WOL is unreliable)
• Verify both devices are on the same network or VLAN
• Try waking the device again (the plugin refreshes MAC address on each wake attempt)
• Some routers/switches may block WOL packets - check router settings

Shutdown doesn't work:

• Verify the shutdown agent is running on your PC
• Check that the port is correct (default: 9876)
• Ensure the firewall allows incoming connections on the agent port
• Test the agent manually: curl http://[pc-ip]:[port]/ping (should return "OK")
• The agent must be running with administrator/root privileges

Status indicator always shows red:

• Status indicators require the PC agent to be installed and running
• Make sure the shutdown agent is running on your PC
• Verify the port number is correct in plugin settings
• Check firewall settings - the agent port must be accessible
• The status updates every 5 seconds while the plugin is open
• The agent must respond to /ping requests
• Without the agent, Wake-on-LAN will still work, but status will show red

Plugin doesn't appear:

• Restart Decky Loader
• Check the Decky logs for errors
• Ensure the plugin folder is in the correct location

Acknowledgments

• Built using the Decky Plugin Template
• Thanks to the Decky Loader team