flathub / flathub/com.valvesoftware.Steam

Flatpak Steam does not recreate ~/.steam symlinks after apt Steam uninstall — all games fail silently

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Dominant language
Python
Stars
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Forks
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PR merge metrics
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Description

Steps to reproduce:
1. Install Steam via apt (sudo apt install steam)
2. Install Steam via Flatpak (flatpak install flathub com.valvesoftware.Steam)
3. Uninstall apt Steam (sudo apt remove steam / apt purge)
→ apt's postrm scripts delete ~/.steam and ~/.local/share/Steam
4. Continue using Flatpak Steam — it never recreates the symlinks
5. All games fail to launch (exit code 255, silent to user)

Root cause:
steam-runtime-steam-remote inside pressure-vessel cannot find
the Steam IPC socket without ~/.steam/root → actual install path.
Flatpak Steam only creates these symlinks on first install, not on
subsequent launches if they go missing.

Environment:
- OS: Debian 13 (trixie), kernel 6.12.90+deb13-amd64
- Flatpak: 1.16.6
- Steam Flatpak: 1.0.0.85 (stable, flathub)
- GPU: AMD RX 6950 XT, Mesa 25.0.7-2

Fix: manually recreate symlinks pointing to Flatpak data dir

Contributor guide

No contributing guide indexed for this repository

Research direction

Start by reproducing the apt uninstall followed by Flatpak Steam launch, checking ~/.steam/root and ~/.local/share/Steam and the Flatpak data directory. Trace the Flatpak Steam startup or initialization logic that creates these links; done means missing links are recreated automatically and games launch instead of failing silently with exit code 255.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
linux
Domain
desktop, game-dev, operating-systems
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
52/100

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