lhns--steam-frame-nix/docs/launcher-menu.md

Launcher menu

launcherMenu.*: the VR dashboard's "+" menu (non-Steam programs), with hidden apps and icon fallbacks. Options: README, Options.

Problem

The "+" menu is in random order with "Desktop" somewhere in a scrolling list, and a click shows no feedback until the window appears, so programs often get started twice.

What you get

Patches of Steam's UI, each on its own option:

• sort: programs sorted by name (case-insensitive), Desktop included.
• pinDesktop = "top" / "bottom": Desktop pinned above/below the list, always visible.
• closeOnLaunch: the menu closes on click.
• launchDebounceSeconds = <seconds>: a repeat launch of the same command within that time is ignored (and logged); a program that exits right away can only be restarted once the time is up.
• grid.enable: the programs section becomes a grid of tiles (icon, name below); "Add desktop window" stays a list. The popup is 300 px wide, so grid.columns sets the tile size (3 ≈ 92 px, 4 ≈ 68 px, 5 ≈ 53 px); grid.maxRows limits visible rows, the rest scrolls.
• showAllApps: every program, see below.

All revert when turned off (next switch).

Configuration

steamFrame.launcherMenu = {
  sort = true;
  pinDesktop = "bottom";
  closeOnLaunch = true;
  launchDebounceSeconds = 10;
  grid = { enable = true; columns = 4; maxRows = 4; };
  showAllApps = true;
  hiddenApps = [ "lxterminal" "cmake-gui" "firewall-config" "renderdoc" ];
};

All programs and Developer Mode

Without Developer Mode Steam hides konsole, systemsettings, dolphin, plasma-discover, vlc, firewall-config, cmake-gui, qrenderdoc, lxterminal and sh. Steam Developer Mode (a Steam setting, not managed here) makes the "+" menu list every desktop entry; showAllApps lifts that filter only, so Developer Mode (sshd, xrdp, LAN DevTools forwards) can stay off. No feature needs Developer Mode; keep it off (see DevTools on the LAN). Hide single programs with hiddenApps.

Limitations

• The pinned Desktop works with the laser but not with thumbstick / D-pad navigation.
• Tested with Steam client 1790377368. A Steam update can break the patches; the menu then stays stock (after a Steam update).

How it works

UI patches in Steam's SharedJSContext (modules/launcher-menu/, module launcher-menu), each registered only when its option is set and reverted by its unpatch when unset:

• order/: sorts ScanForInstalledNonSteamApps() by name (Steam lists the programs in GLib hash-table order);
• pinned-desktop/: hides Desktop in the list and pins a proxy above/below it;
• launch/: wraps LaunchNonSteamApp (menu-only) to close the menu and/or debounce repeated launches;
• grid/: restyles Steam's own items as tiles, which is why launching, sounds and controller navigation keep working;
• show-all/: empties the list Steam hides without Developer Mode.

Their anchors (APIs, React props, CSS) are in modules/steam-ui-patches/lib/signatures.json and verified by the offline checker.

Hidden apps

launcherMenu.hiddenApps, module hidden-apps.

Problem: with Developer Mode or showAllApps, the "+" menu lists every desktop entry, including system tools.

What you get: the listed desktop entry ids (no .desktop) are hidden from the "+" menu and the KDE menu. The "+" menu always hides steam and vrurlhandler; for Konsole in VR use showAllApps.

How it works: a Home Manager-linked desktop entry with Hidden=true per id in ~/.local/share/applications, which masks the system entry of the same id for Steam and KDE alike.

Icon fallbacks

launcherMenu.iconFallbacks.*. On by default.

Problem: Steam resolves Icon= only in the hicolor theme (and pixmaps), so Konsole and KDE System Settings, whose icons only Breeze has, show without icon.

What you get: Breeze's utilities-terminal and preferences-system icons (plus extra) in hicolor, so the "+" menu shows them. A running Steam picks up changes without a restart. Each switch also prints hints: icons of programs Steam can't find that Breeze has (add them to extra), and fallbacks hicolor has anyway.

Configuration: extra adds Breeze icon names; a name Breeze doesn't have fails the build, enable = false provides none.

steamFrame.launcherMenu.iconFallbacks.extra = [ "system-file-manager" ];

iconFallbacks used to be a list; a list now fails with a hint (use extra, or enable = false for [ ]).

How it works: Home Manager links nixpkgs' Breeze SVGs into ~/.local/share/icons/hicolor/scalable/apps/. When the set of links changes, the switch bumps the mtime of ~/.local/share/icons/hicolor, so a running Steam rescans (GTK only rereads a theme whose directory changed). The switch's hints come from icon-fallbacks.sh.

Migration: until 2026-09 a script made these links on switch and listed them in ~/.local/state/steam-frame-nix/icon-fallbacks; the first switch replaces them with Home Manager's and steam-frame-nix-cleanup removes the rest.