Steam

Steam is a digital distribution platform for video games, offering a vast library for purchase, download, and management. On NixOS, Steam is generally easy to install and use, often working "out-of-the-box". It supports running many Windows games on Linux through its compatibility layer, Proton.

Installation

Shell

To temporarily use Steam-related tools like steam-run (for FHS environments) or steamcmd (for server management or tools like steam-tui setup) in a shell environment, you can run:

nix-shell -p steam-run # For FHS environment
nix-shell -p steamcmd  # For steamcmd

This provides the tools in your current shell without adding them to your system configuration. For steamcmd to work correctly for some tasks (like initializing for steam-tui), you might need to run it once to generate necessary files, as shown in the `steam-tui` section.

System setup

To install the Steam package and enable all the system options necessary to allow it to run, add the following to your /etc/nixos/configuration.nix:

# Example for /etc/nixos/configuration.nix
programs.steam = {
  enable = true;
  remotePlay.openFirewall = true; # Open ports in the firewall for Steam Remote Play
  dedicatedServer.openFirewall = true; # Open ports in the firewall for Source Dedicated Server
};

# Optional: If you encounter amdgpu issues with newer kernels (e.g., 6.10+ reported issues),
# you might consider using the LTS kernel or a known stable version.
# boot.kernelPackages = pkgs.linuxPackages_lts; # Example for LTS

Anecdata on kernel 6.10 issues

Note: Enabling steam installs several unfree packages. If you are using allowUnfreePredicate you will need to ensure that your configurations permit all of them.

{
  nixpkgs.config.allowUnfreePredicate = pkg: builtins.elem (lib.getName pkg) [
    "steam"
    "steam-unwrapped"
  ];
}

Configuration

Basic Steam features can be enabled directly within the programs.steam attribute set:

programs.steam = {
  enable = true; # Master switch, already covered in installation
  remotePlay.openFirewall = true;  # For Steam Remote Play
  dedicatedServer.openFirewall = true; # For Source Dedicated Server hosting
  # Other general flags if available can be set here.
};
# Tip: For improved gaming performance, you can also enable GameMode:
# programs.gamemode.enable = true;

If you are using a Steam Controller or a Valve Index, ensure Steam hardware support is enabled. This is typically handled by programs.steam.enable = true; which sets hardware.steam-hardware.enable = true; implicitly. You can verify or explicitly set it if needed:

hardware.steam-hardware.enable = true;

Tips and tricks

Gamescope Compositor / "Boot to Steam Deck"

Gamescope can function as a minimal desktop environment, meaning you can launch it from a TTY and have an experience very similar to the Steam Deck hardware console.

# Clean Quiet Boot
boot.kernelParams = [ "quiet" "splash" "console=/dev/null" ];
boot.plymouth.enable = true;

programs.gamescope = {
  enable = true;
  capSysNice = true;
};
programs.steam.gamescopeSession.enable = true; # Integrates with programs.steam

# Gamescope Auto Boot from TTY (example)
services.xserver.enable = false; # Assuming no other Xserver needed
services.getty.autologinUser = "USERNAME_HERE";

services.greetd = {
  enable = true;
  settings = {
    default_session = {
      command = "${pkgs.gamescope}/bin/gamescope -W 1920 -H 1080 -f -e --xwayland-count 2 --hdr-enabled --hdr-itm-enabled -- steam -pipewire-dmabuf -gamepadui -steamdeck -steamos3 > /dev/null 2>&1";
      user = "USERNAME_HERE";
    };
  };
};

steam-tui

If you want the steam-tui client, you'll have to install it. It relies on steamcmd being set up, so you'll need to run steamcmd once to generate the necessary configuration files. First, ensure steamcmd is available (e.g., via nix-shell -p steamcmd or by adding it to environment.systemPackages), then run:

steamcmd +quit # This initializes steamcmd's directory structure

Then install and run `steam-tui`. You may need to log in within `steamcmd` first if `steam-tui` has issues:

# (Inside steamcmd prompt, if needed for full login before steam-tui)
# login <username> <password> <steam_2fa_code>
# quit

After setup, steam-tui (if installed e.g. via home.packages or environment.systemPackages) should start fine.

FHS environment only

To run proprietary games or software downloaded from the internet that expect a typical Linux Filesystem Hierarchy Standard (FHS), you can use steam-run. This provides an FHS-like environment without needing to patch the software. Note that this is not necessary for clients installed from Nixpkgs (like Minigalaxy or Itch), which already use the FHS environment as needed. There are two options to make steam-run available: 1. Install steam-run system-wide or user-specifically:

# In /etc/nixos/configuration.nix
environment.systemPackages = with pkgs; [
  steam-run
];

2. If you need more flexibility or want to use an overridden Steam package's FHS environment:

# In /etc/nixos/configuration.nix
environment.systemPackages = with pkgs; [
  (steam.override { /* Your overrides here */ }).run
];

Proton

You should be able to play most Windows games using Proton. If a game has a native Linux version that causes issues on NixOS, you can force the use of Proton by selecting a specific Proton version in the game's compatibility settings in Steam. By default, Steam also looks for custom Proton versions in ~/.steam/root/compatibilitytools.d. The environment variable STEAM_EXTRA_COMPAT_TOOLS_PATHS can be set to add other search paths. Declarative install of custom Proton versions (e.g. GE-Proton):

programs.steam.extraCompatPackages = with pkgs; [
  proton-ge-bin
];

Manual management of multiple Proton versions can be done with ProtonUp-Qt:

environment.systemPackages = with pkgs; [
  protonup-qt
];

Overriding the Steam package

In some cases, you may need to override the default Steam package to provide missing dependencies or modify its build. Use the programs.steam.package option for this. Steam on NixOS runs many games in an FHS environment, but the Steam client itself or certain tools might need extra libraries. Example: Adding Bumblebee and Primus (for NVIDIA Optimus):

programs.steam.package = pkgs.steam.override {
  extraPkgs = pkgs': with pkgs'; [ bumblebee primus ];
};

# For 32-bit applications with Steam, if using steamFull:
# programs.steam.package = pkgs.steamFull.override { extraPkgs = pkgs': with pkgs'; [ bumblebee primus ]; };

Example: Adding Xorg libraries for Gamescope (when used within Steam):

programs.steam.package = pkgs.steam.override {
  extraPkgs = pkgs': with pkgs'; [
    xorg.libXcursor
    xorg.libXi
    xorg.libXinerama
    xorg.libXScrnSaver
    libpng
    libpulseaudio
    libvorbis
    stdenv.cc.cc.lib # Provides libstdc++.so.6
    libkrb5
    keyutils
    # Add other libraries as needed
  ];
};

Fix missing icons for games in GNOME dock and activities overview

GNOME uses the window class to determine the icon associated with a window. Steam currently doesn't set the required key for this in its .desktop files, but you can fix this manually by editing the StartupWMClass key for each game's .desktop file, found under ~/.local/share/applications/.

For games running through Proton, the value should be steam_app_<game_id> (where <game_id> matches the value after steam://rungameid/ on the Exec line).

For games running natively, the value should match the game's main executable.

For example, the modified .desktop file for Valheim looks like this:

[Desktop Entry]
Name=Valheim
Comment=Play this game on Steam
Exec=steam steam://rungameid/892970
Icon=steam_icon_892970
Terminal=false
Type=Application
Categories=Game;
StartupWMClass=valheim.x86_64

Troubleshooting

For all issues: first run steam -dev -console through the terminal and read the output.

Steam fails to start. What do I do?

Run strace steam -dev -console 2> steam.logs in the terminal. If strace is not installed, temporarily install it using nix-shell -p strace or nix run nixpkgs#strace -- steam -dev -console 2> steam.logs (if using Flakes). After that, create a bug report.

Steam is not updated

When you restart Steam after an update, it starts the old version. (#181904) A workaround is to remove the user files in /home/<USER>/.local/share/Steam/userdata. This can be done with rm -rf /home/<USER>/.local/share/Steam/userdata in the terminal or with your file manager. After that, Steam can be set up again by restarting.

Game fails to start

Games may fail to start because they lack dependencies (this should be added to the script, for now), or because they cannot be patched. The steps to launch a game directly are:

• Patch the script/binary if you can
• Add a file named steam_appid.txt in the binary folder, with the appid as contents (it can be found in the stdout from steam)
• Using the LD_LIBRARY_PATH from the nix/store steam script, with some additions, launch the game binary

LD_LIBRARY_PATH=~/.steam/bin32:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH:/nix/store/pfsa... blabla ...curl-7.29.0/lib:. ./Osmos.bin32 (if you could not patchelf the game, call ld.so directly with the binary as parameter)

Note: If a game gets stuck on Installing scripts, check for a DXSETUP.EXE process and run it manually, then restart the game launch.

Changing the driver on AMD GPUs

Note: This is not recommended because radv drivers tend to perform better and are generally more stable than amdvlk.

Sometimes, changing the driver on AMD GPUs helps. To try this, first, install multiple drivers such as radv and amdvlk:

hardware.graphics = {
  ## radv: an open-source Vulkan driver from freedesktop
  enable32Bit = true;

  ## amdvlk: an open-source Vulkan driver from AMD
  extraPackages = [ pkgs.amdvlk ];
  extraPackages32 = [ pkgs.driversi686Linux.amdvlk ];
};

In the presence of both drivers, Steam will default to amdvlk. The amdvlk driver can be considered more correct regarding Vulkan specification implementation, but less performant than radv. However, this tradeoff between correctness and performance can sometimes make or break the gaming experience. To "reset" your driver to radv when both radv and amdvlk are installed, set either AMD_VULKAN_ICD = "RADV" or VK_ICD_FILENAMES = "/run/opengl-driver/share/vulkan/icd.d/radeon_icd.x86_64.json" environment variable. For example, if you start Steam from the shell, you can enable radv for the current session by running AMD_VULKAN_ICD="RADV" steam. If you are unsure which driver you currently use, you can launch a game with MangoHud enabled, which has the capability to show what driver is currently in use.

SteamVR

The setcap issue at SteamVR start can be fixed with: sudo setcap CAP_SYS_NICE+ep ~/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/SteamVR/bin/linux64/vrcompositor-launcher

Gamescope fails to launch when used within Steam

Gamescope may fail to start due to missing Xorg libraries. (#214275) To resolve this override the steam package to add them:

programs.steam.package = pkgs.steam.override {
  extraPkgs = pkgs': with pkgs'; [
    xorg.libXcursor
    xorg.libXi
    xorg.libXinerama
    xorg.libXScrnSaver
    libpng
    libpulseaudio
    libvorbis
    stdenv.cc.cc.lib # Provides libstdc++.so.6
    libkrb5
    keyutils
    # Add other libraries as needed
  ];
};

Udev rules for additional Gamepads

In specific scenarios gamepads, might require some additional configuration in order to function properly in the form of udev rules. This can be achieved with services.udev.extraRules. The following example is for the 8bitdo Ultimate Bluetooth controller, different controllers will require knowledge of the vendor and product ID for the device:

  services.udev.extraRules = ''
    SUBSYSTEM=="input", ATTRS{idVendor}=="2dc8", ATTRS{idProduct}=="3106", MODE="0660", GROUP="input"
  '';

To find the vendor and product ID of a device usbutils might be useful

Known issues

"Project Zomboid" may report "couldn't determine 32/64 bit of java". This is not related to java at all, it carries its own outdated java binary that refuses to start if path contains non-Latin characters. Check for errors by directly starting local java binary within steam-run bash.

Resetting your password through the Steam app may fail at the CAPTCHA step repeatedly, with Steam itself reporting that the CAPTCHA was not correct, even though the CAPTCHA UI shows success. Resetting password through the Steam website should work around that.