How to install steam on arch linux

Steam

Steam is a popular game distribution platform by Valve.

Contents

Installation

Enable the multilib repository and install the steam package.

The following requirements must be fulfilled in order to run Steam on Arch Linux:

• Installed 32-bit version OpenGL graphics driver.
• Generated en_US.UTF-8 locale, preventing invalid pointer error.
• The GUI heavily uses the Arial font. See Microsoft fonts. An alternative is to use ttf-liberation or fonts provided by Steam instead.
• Install wqy-zenhei to add support for Asian languages.
• If using systemd-networkd for network management, install lib32-systemd in order for Steam to be able to connect to its servers.

SteamCMD

Alternative Flatpak installation

Steam can also be installed with Flatpak as com.valvesoftware.Steam from Flathub. The easiest way to install it for the current user is by using the Flathub repo and flatpak command:

The Flatpak application currently does not support themes. Also you currently cannot run games via optirun / primusrun , see Issue#869 for more details.

Steam installed via Flatpak is not able to access your home directory and overriding this will cause Steam to not run because it is not safe. However, you can freely add directories outside the home directory. If you want to add an external library, run the following command to add it:

Asian Font Problems with Flatpak

If you are having problem getting Asian fonts to show in game, it is because org.freedesktop.Platform does not include it. First try mounting your local font :

If that does not work, consider this hack: make the fonts available by directly copying the font files into org.freedesktop.Platform’s directories, e.g.

Directory structure

The default Steam install location is

/.local/share/Steam . If Steam cannot find it, it will prompt you to reinstall it or select the new location. This article uses the

/.steam/root symlink to refer to the install location.

Library folders

Every Steam application has a unique AppID, which you can find out by looking at its Steam Store page path.

Steam installs games into a directory under LIBRARY/steamapps/common/ . LIBRARY normally is

/.steam/root but you can also have multiple library folders (Steam > Settings > Downloads > Steam Library Folders).

In order for Steam to recognize a game it needs to have an appmanifest_AppId.acf file in LIBRARY/steamapps/ . The appmanifest file uses the KeyValues format and its installdir property determines the game directory name.

Usage

Steam also accepts an optional Steam URL, see the Steam browser procotol.

Launch options

When you launch a Steam game, Steam executes its launch command in a Bash shell. To let you alter the launch command Steam provides launch options, which can be set for a game by right-clicking on it in your library, selecting Properties and clicking on Set Launch Options.

By default Steam simply appends your option string to the launch command. To set environment variables or pass the launch command as an argument to another command you can use the %command% substitute.

Examples

• only arguments: -foo
• environment variables: FOO=bar BAZ=bar %command% -baz
• completely different command: othercommand # %command%

Tips and tricks

Start Minimized

It is possible to have Steam start minimized to the system tray, rather than taking focus. Simply add -silent to the list of arguments in the autostart file.

Fsync patch

Valve has released a special kernel patch that should help increase FPS in massively-threaded applications. There are few methods to get and use this patch:

• Use binary kernel provided directly from Valve. See Unofficial user repositories#valveaur and once you add this repository, kernel packages linux-fsync and linux-fsync-headers become available. You will likely need to replace some regular packages (e.g. nvidia ) with DKMS packages (e.g. nvidia-dkms ) as well.
• Install linux-zen kernel that includes the fsync patches since the 5.2 release[2]
• Install linux-pfAUR or linux-pf-gitAUR kernel.

Proton Steam-Play

Valve developed a compatibility tool for Steam Play based on Wine and additional components named Proton. It allows you to launch many Windows games (see compatibility list).

It is open-source and available on GitHub. Steam will install its own versions of Proton when Steam Play is enabled.

Proton needs to be enabled on Steam client: Steam > Settings > Steam Play. You can enable Steam Play for games that have and have not been whitelisted by Valve in that dialog.

If needed, to force enable Proton or a specific version of Proton for a game, right click on the game, click Properties > General > Force the use of a specific Steam Play compatibility tool, and select the desired version. Doing so can also be used to force games that have a Linux port to use the Windows version.

You can also install Proton from AUR with proton AUR or proton-git AUR , but extra setup is required for them to work with Steam. See the Proton GitHub for details on how Steam recognizes Proton installs.

Big Picture Mode without a window manager

To start Steam in Big Picture Mode from a Display manager, you can either:

• Install steamos-compositorAUR
• Alternatively, install steamos-compositor-plusAUR , which hides the annoying color flashing on startup of Proton games and adds a fix for games that start in the background
• Manually add a Steam entry (but you lose the steam compositor advantages: mainly you cannot control Big Picture mode with keyboard or gamepad):

create a /usr/share/xsessions/steam-big-picture.desktop file with the following contents:

Steam skins

The Steam interface can be customized using skins. Skins can overwrite interface-specific files in

To install a skin:

Place its directory in

/.steam/root/skins .

Open Steam > Settings > Interface and select it.

Restart Steam.

An extensive list of skins can be found in this Steam forums post.

Creating skins

Nearly all Steam styles are defined in

/.steam/root/resource/styles/steam.styles (the file is over 3,500 lines long). For a skin to be recognized it needs its own resource/styles/steam.styles . When a Steam update changes the official steam.styles your skin may become outdated, potentially resulting in visual errors.

/.steam/root/skins/skins_readme.txt for a primer on how to create skins.

Changing the Steam notification position

The default Steam notification position is bottom right.

You can change the Steam notification position by altering Notifications.PanelPosition in

• resource/styles/steam.styles for desktop notifications, and
• resource/styles/gameoverlay.styles for in-game notifications

Both files are overwritten by Steam on startup and steam.styles is only read on startup.

Use a skin

You can create a skin to change the notification position to your liking. For example to change the position to top right:

Live patching

gameoverlay.styles can be overwritten while Steam is running, allowing you to have game-specific notification positions.

And the #Launch options should be something like:

Steam Remote Play

Steam has built-in support for remote play.

See this Steam Community guide on how to setup a headless streaming server on Linux.

Steam Controller

Normally a Steam controller requires the use of the Steam-overlay. In non-Steam native Linux games however the overlay may not be practical. For that, while the Steam client is running it will maintain a «desktop configuration». With your Steam controller, configure the desktop configuration for it as a generic XBOX controller. As long as the Steam client is running you can then use your Steam controller in other games, such as GOG games, as an XBOX controller. Make sure to select your type of controller to map to in «general controller settings».

Sharing Games With Windows Using Proton / Other Compatibility Layers

With the addition of Proton compatibility for games has increased thanks to Valve, you can use custom forks such as Proton GE or others, to increase the amount of games that will work with it, you can extend this further to create a steam library on an NTFS volume containing your games, the only thing you ideally will have to force the uid and gid of the user you are currently logged in as so Steam may write files as needed, you will also need to make sure not to have the noexec option in your fstab or Steam will not be able to detect your games.

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Install and start steam on Arch Linux

Installation Process

If you are an Arch Linux type of person, then you must be aware of the vibrant attributes and default packages of this OS. You need to comply with four cardiac processes to get Steam running efficaciously on your server. These steps encompass;

• Step#1 Installing the Steam
• Step#2 Configuration
• Step#3 Using Steam
• Step#4 Setting up the proton

You can also go for some additional steps like installing and uninstalling a game.

Prerequisites

The prerequisites for getting Steam on your system is the same as that of other requirements for installing apps Arch Linux. The provisions involve the sudo user to log-in to the server and the availability of Pacman to manage the packages. The application is of 32-bit size, you can find it in the multilib repository. Firstly, enable that repository as its disabled by the default feature of the server. Run the following command;

Now, find the following segment in the output window and then uncomment it.

Save the file to proceed further. Once you are done with saving the file, input the following command to refresh the system packages.

It is the conventional sudo command of Arch Linux that synchronize, refresh and update the packages through Pacman.

Installing the Steam

The prerequisites completion allows you to install the Steam on your server. Input the following command to get the Arial font of the Steam.

Now, install the package of steam through Pacman using the following command.

This way, you will get the package from the official repository of Arch Linux, along with its libraries encompassing the data of 32-bit.

You can reboot your system now so that the server can implement the changes. You have the option of flathub for the installation of Steam. It contains all the official software pertinent to a flatpak. For the manual configuration of steam from flatpak, input the command for system refresh.

Install Flatpak through Pacman using the following command.

Input the command to add the repository of flathub for the enabling function of Flatpak.

Your Flatpak is standing by to install the steam for Arch Linux. Issue these commands for the output.

Configuration

If you are installing steam through multilib, then follow this procedure for the configuration. Open up the configuration file by running this command.

Add these settings in the configuration file of the server wrapper and proceed to save the file.

You can face some errors due to the conflict of libraries, the most usual error they may appear are as follows.

use the following commands to discard the libraries that are not required.

/ .local / share / Steam / ubuntu12_32 / steam-runtime / i386 / usr / lib /
i386-linux- gnu / libstdc++.so.6 &&
$ find

/ .steam / root / -name «libgpg-error.so*» -print -delete

Now, to start the manual procedure, input the following command with a non-root user. Know that, if the libraries formulate again after updating, then delete them with the above command.

This command allows the manual operation of Steam, but you can also run the application by launching it on the server.

Using Steam

Now, you can use the steam on your Arch Linux. You can start by launching the steam on the Arch Linux. Input the following command in your system.

Make an account on the Steam and log-in to that account to start it on your Arch Linux. It will show you the window asking for the verification of the owner. This setting is put in place to configure the email of the user. Click on the option of next, and you are good to explore the Steam.

Setting up the proton

Proton allows you access to window games on your Arch Linux. It acts as a credential element for stabilizing gaming on Steam. You first need to consult the list of proton compatibility with your server. Use yay helper to install proton on your system.

You can enable the proton key by opting for the settings. Now, search the steam play and enable it for all titles and then continue. You have the luxury to select the version of your proton. Restart the application after making desirable changes in the setting. Now you can install any game of your choice and enjoy the experience of gaming on Arch Linux.

Conclusion

Steam makes it very easy for programmers to play games without changing their operating system from Arch Linux to windows. This guide assists the Arch Linux user to install and start Steam on their server.

About the author

Younis Said

I am a freelancing software project developer, a software engineering graduate and a content writer. I love working with Linux and open-source software.

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