flathub / flathub/com.valvesoftware.Steam
Flatpak Steam does not recreate ~/.steam symlinks after apt Steam uninstall — all games fail silently
- Dominant language
- Python
- Stars
- 421
- Forks
- 78
- PR merge metrics
- No merged PRs in 30d
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