Valve open source the Steam Machine e-ink screen so you can make your own | GamingOnLinux
This website makes use of cookies to enhance your browsing experience and provide additional functionality -> More info Deny Cookies - Allow Cookies
Check out what anti-cheat enabled games work on Linux / SteamOS on our dedicated anti-cheat compatibility page.
Valve open source the Steam Machine e-ink screen so you can make your own
3 Jul 2026 at 7:38 am UTC | Last updated: 3 Jul 2026 at 9:24 am UTC
By Liam Squires-Hand<br>9 comments
While Valve will not be making and providing their own e-ink display for the Steam Machine, they have opened it up so anyone can now do it. Valve originally teased it with the first lot of reviewers that got their hands on it.
All of it is available on their GitLab under the MIT license, which goes over everything you need to make your own and stick it on the front of your fancy new Steam Machine.
Image Credit - Gamers Nexus
They're now calling it the "Inkterface" and there's a good few things you'll need to make it including:
1 x Adafruit ESP32 Feather with 2MB PSRAM.
1 x Adafruit eInk Breakout Friend.
1 x Adafruit 5.83" Monochrome eInk Panel.
13 x M2.5 x 5mm Pan Head Machine Screws.
4 x 1/4" x 1/4" x 3/16" Stepped Magnet SB443-OUT.
Valve even provided a video on the GitLab showing it being put together, which we're re-hosting to make it easily viewable for you:
YouTube videos require cookies, you must accept their cookies to view. View cookie preferences.<br>Accept Cookies & Show Direct Link
Pretty cool to see.
Maybe we will see some other vendors actually do them pre-built for us. JSAUX teased they would be doing it back in November 2025, and checking back today they've said they still plan to do "Ink & Pixel versions". If the Steam Machine is popular enough - no doubt we'll have other accessory brands do various versions of their own.
🌐 External Sources: gitlab.steamos.cloud, x.com/jsauxofficial, gamersnexus.net<br>Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Tags: Steam Machine, SteamOS, Hardware, Misc, Open Source
10 Likes
Share
About the author - Liam Squires-Hand
I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly checked on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. You can follow me personally on Mastodon [External Link] .<br>See more from me
Some you may have missed, popular articles from the last month:<br>Steam Machine and Steam Frame shipping "this summer", Valve now rolling out verification systems
California Protect Our Games Act fails in committee, as an ESA rep calls Minecraft servers "illegal"
NVIDIA 595.84 released as the new Recommended Driver for Linux
PlayStation 5 Linux project gets upgraded to support new firmware and PS5 Slim
You can also find comments for this article on social media:<br>Mastodon Bluesky
All posts need to follow our rules. Please hit the Report Flag icon on any post that breaks the rules or contains illegal / harmful content. Readers can also email us for any issues or concerns.
9 comments
TheSHEEEP 5 hours ago
Flag
Link
Supporter Plus
View PC info
Huh. Interesting.
Still not a rig I'd get for gaming, but it could be something to run a server on, or as a streaming PC (not that I stream, but in theory), etc.
0 Likes
doragasu 5 hours ago
Flag
Link
Nice. I love when they opensource some bits of their devices (like the SteamDeck and the Index CAD files).
0 Likes
Ardje 5 hours ago
Flag
Link
Someone should put modos eink stuff on that... "Full color" display with very low latency.
(External Link: You need to be logged in to view this. )
Also available (External Link: You need to be logged in to view this. )
Basically a guy that spend a lot of time creating the lowest latency possible with (color) e-ink. Everything open, upgradeable, tweakable...
Or from the guy himself: (External Link: You need to be logged in to view this. )
1 Likes 👍 (1) See more...
Verglas 4 hours ago
Flag
Link
View PC info
Huh, I am out of the loop. The Steam Machine has an e ink display on its case? First time I see this and google only returns this article (and copies of it on other sites). I couldn't find that picture or any mention of it in the linked Gamer Nexus article either.
Looks pretty cool, although I am not sure what it's even for. I guess I wouldn't mind reading some e-books while my modded Skyrim takes 2 minutes to load, but that seems to be a pretty niche application.
Last edited by Verglas on 3 Jul 2026 at 9:23 am UTC
0 Likes
Ardje 4 hours ago
Flag
Link
Quoting: VerglasHuh, I am out of the loop. The Steam Machine has an e ink display on its case?
It was part of the introduction: they said they will provide stl files to replace the front plates, and as an example someone made an e-ink display as front plate. However, it is not standard. It is just to show that...