How to steam on freebsd?

L

lizzias

i followed the instructions for installing steam according to Ai

Code: 
AI Overview
Installing Steam on FreeBSD is achieved by
using the linux-steam-utils package, which leverages FreeBSD's Linux binary compatibility (Linuxulator) to run the Linux version of Steam. The process involves enabling Linux support, installing the utility, setting up a dedicated user, and running a bootstrap script to install Steam. 
Prerequisites

    Enable Linuxulator: Ensure Linux emulation is enabled and running.
    Graphics Drivers: Properly configured GPU drivers (NVIDIA or Mesa/Intel/AMD) are essential. 

Installation Steps

    Install linux-steam-utils
    Run the following command to install the necessary tools:
    bash

    pkg install games/linux-steam-utils

    This package sets up the necessary Linux environment, including /compat/linux.
    Configure System
    Ensure your user is not part of the wheel group for better security, or create a dedicated user for gaming, as recommended by some users on The FreeBSD Forums.
    Run the Steam Setup
    As a non-root user, execute the bootstrap script to download and install the actual Steam client:
    bash

    /opt/steam-utils/bin/lsu-bootstrap

    This script will download the latest Steam bootstrap and set it up.
    Launch Steam
    Launch Steam using the provided command:
    bash

    /opt/steam-utils/bin/steam

    Note: If Steam fails to launch or crashes immediately, you may need to run it with --no-cef-sandbox or check for hanging processes, as suggested by a user on The FreeBSD Forums and in a YouTube video. 

Troubleshooting

    Browser Crashes: Disabling GPU-accelerated rendering in web views within Steam settings can help stabilize the application, according to a user on Reddit.
    Library Setup: You can link existing Steam libraries from other Linux installations by manipulating the SteamApps folder.


and so i got this



Code: 
steamuser@chobsd:/home/alltll/Desktop $ /usr/local/steam-utils/bin/lsu-bootstrap
You can run /usr/local/steam-utils/bin/steam now.
steamuser@chobsd:/home/alltll/Desktop $ /usr/local/steam-utils/bin/steam now.
/usr/local/steam-utils/bin/steam:57:in `undump': invalid dumped string; not wrapped with '"' nor '"...".force_encoding("...")' form (RuntimeError)
    from /usr/local/steam-utils/bin/steam:57:in `block in check_requirements'
    from /usr/local/steam-utils/bin/steam:55:in `each_line'
    from /usr/local/steam-utils/bin/steam:55:in `check_requirements'
    from /usr/local/steam-utils/bin/steam:104:in `<main>'
steamuser@chobsd:/home/alltll/Desktop $ /usr/local/steam-utils/bin/steam


my /etc/rc.conf

Code: 
clear_tmp_enable="YES"
kld_list="if_iwlwifi iwmbtfw"
kld_list="/boot/modules/amdgpu.ko"
hostname="chobsd"
ifconfig_re0="DHCP"
ifconfig_re0_ipv6="inet6 accept_rtadv"
sshd_enable="YES"
ntpd_enable="YES"
ntpd_sync_on_start="YES"
local_unbound_enable="YES"
powerd_enable="YES"
moused_nondefault_enable="NO"
dumpdev="AUTO"
zfs_enable="YES"
kld_list="amdgpu"
dbus_enable="YES"
lightdm_enable="YES"
linux_enable="YES"
ubuntu_enable="YES"

my /etc/fstab

Code: 
# Device        Mountpoint    FStype    Options        Dump    Pass#
/dev/gpt/efiboot0        /boot/efi    msdosfs    rw        2    2
/dev/nda0p3        none    swap    sw        0    0
fdesc   /dev/fd             fdescfs     rw          0   0
proc    /proc               procfs      rw          0   0
linproc /compat/linux/proc  linprocfs   rw          0   0
linsys  /compat/linux/sys   linsysfs    rw          0   0
tmpfs   /compat/linux/dev/shm  tmpfs    rw,mode=1777 0  0

please advise
 
Sorry i can not be helpfull. Wanted to warn about issues you could possibly run into.
However if someone can make it work, i like to know.
 
Do you knowingly need Steam's regular GUI client? I used SteamCMD from Wine :D (I play stuff offline, but DRM'd/online games might need regular Steam client that might work from Wine too)
 
Espionage724 said:
Do you knowingly need Steam's regular GUI client? I used SteamCMD from Wine :D (I play stuff offline, but DRM'd/online games might need regular Steam client that might work from Wine too)
Click to expand...
Anything with achievements (a Steam feature) needs a working client, which is the vast majority of games. You can work around that with a "Steam emulator", but meh.
 
shkhln said:
It's not buggy. At least not by the emulation standards.


Frankly, I've never seen you to post anything useful. I'm entirely unsure what you do on this forum at all.
Click to expand...
I'm just here to waste your time.
& Yes linux emulator is buggy compared to qemu ; virtualbox ; bhyve. I remember even simple ping problems.
If you can run idea editor ; rider editor ; vscode F# plugin on linuxlater i'm offering you a free pizza. But i'm 100% sure you won''t. On linux all editors work perfectly fine, & that's why i have switch to mint linux (must have look to bhyve)
 
Ok so FINALLY i'm back with a fresh install of freebsd on a spinning drive b/c i had to sell my nvme drive and i just installed freebsd today and got mate and sound working and installed steam afresh with ai. This is how that went:

steamuser@chodc:~ $ /usr/local/steam-utils/bin/steam
/home/steamuser/.steam/steam/ubuntu12_32/steam-runtime/run.sh: line 85: steam-runtime-identify-library-abi: command not found
run.sh[16272]: steam-runtime-identify-library-abi --ldconfig-paths failed, falling back to ldconfig
tid(16288) burning pthread_key_t == 0 so we never use it
[2026-04-13 11:53:20] Startup - updater built Jan 13 2024 00:51:43
[2026-04-13 11:53:20] Startup - Steam Client launched with: '/home/steamuser/.steam/steam/ubuntu12_32/steam'
ILocalize::AddFile() failed to load file "public/steambootstrapper_english.txt".
04/13 11:53:20 Init: Installing breakpad exception handler for appid(steam)/version(0)/tid(16288)
src/steamexe/updateui_xwin.cpp (339) : Could not open connection to X
src/steamexe/updateui_xwin.cpp (339) : Could not open connection to X
04/13 11:53:20 Init: Installing breakpad exception handler for appid(steam)/version(1.0)/tid(16288)
ExceptionHandler::GenerateDump waitpid failed:No child processes
04/13 11:53:20 Failed writing minidump, nothing to upload.
src/steamexe/main.cpp (1223) : failed to initialize update status ui, or create initial window
src/steamexe/main.cpp (1223) : failed to initialize update status ui, or create initial window

(zenity:16290): Gtk-WARNING **: 11:53:20.219: cannot open display:
lsu-kill: Steam is not running
 
shkhln said:
You know that this is not a replacement for the actual docs, right?


What cat `sysctl -qn compat.linux.emul_path`/etc/os-release gives you?
Click to expand...
steamuser@chodc:~ $ cat `sysctl -qn compat.linux.emul_path`/etc/os-release gives
NAME="Rocky Linux"
VERSION="9.7 (Blue Onyx)"
ID="rocky"
ID_LIKE="rhel centos fedora"
VERSION_ID="9.7"
PLATFORM_ID="platform:el9"
PRETTY_NAME="Rocky Linux 9.7 (Blue Onyx)"
ANSI_COLOR="0;32"
LOGO="fedora-logo-icon"
CPE_NAME="cpe:/o:rocky:rocky:9::baseos"
HOME_URL="https://rockylinux.org/"
VENDOR_NAME="RESF"
VENDOR_URL="https://resf.org/"
BUG_REPORT_URL="https://bugs.rockylinux.org/"
SUPPORT_END="2032-05-31"
ROCKY_SUPPORT_PRODUCT="Rocky-Linux-9"
ROCKY_SUPPORT_PRODUCT_VERSION="9.7"
REDHAT_SUPPORT_PRODUCT="Rocky Linux"
REDHAT_SUPPORT_PRODUCT_VERSION="9.7"
cat: gives: No such file or directory
steamuser@chodc:~ $
 
1. Give steamuser Permission to use X
On your main user account (the one with the desktop open), run:
bash

xhost +local:steamuser

Use code with caution.
This tells the X server to allow connections from the steamuser account.
2. Set the DISPLAY Variable
When you switch to steamuser, you need to tell it which screen to use. Run these as steamuser:
bash

export DISPLAY=:0
/usr/local/steam-utils/bin/steam

this has me updating steam i think it might work?
 
Alain De Vos said:
Yes linux emulator is buggy compared to qemu ; virtualbox ; bhyve. I remember even simple ping problems.
If you can run idea editor ; rider editor ; vscode F# plugin on linuxlater i'm offering you a free pizza. But i'm 100% sure you won''t. On linux all editors work perfectly fine, & that's why i have switch to mint linux (must have look to bhyve)
Click to expand...

Buggy doesn't mean what you think it does.
Linuxulator chases a moving target, and it's always behind. The problems you had with Linux software are due to incomplete state of emulation, not bugs.
 
I've mentioned this before when people bring up gaming on FreeBSD, though I'm not sure if you're more interested in getting Steam to run or just having the ability to play modern games but Nvidia GeForce Now actually works pretty well.
 
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