lhns--steam-frame-nix/README.md

steam-frame-nix

Home Manager modules for the Valve Steam Frame (SteamOS, aarch64-linux, standalone home-manager). They work around quirks of the Frame's two graphical sessions (portal, keyboard layout, clipboard, Firefox) and extend Steam's and SteamVR's UIs at runtime (VR keyboard, "+" menu, dashboard windows, Steam close button, window curvature, window controls). Everything is declarative and reverts by activating an older generation.

All options live under steamFrame.*. The portal fix and clipboard sync are on by default; everything else is opt-in.

• Install · Two sessions · Usage · Options
• UI patches: finders and signatures, after a Steam update
• Fixes in detail: session, portal, keyboard layout, Steam keyboard, swipe and suggestions, launcher menu, dashboard windows, Steam close button, window curvature, window control bar, SteamVR debugger, hidden apps, clipboard sync, Firefox
• Rollback

Install

On the Frame (or a Steam Deck), in a terminal (Konsole in desktop mode or the nested desktop):

curl -fsSL https://steam-frame-nix.lhns.de | bash -s -- install

The short link redirects to install.sh on main. sudo needs a password: run passwd first if you never set one.

The installer:

1. installs Nix with the NixOS nix-installer (steam-deck planner: store in /home/nix, survives SteamOS updates; flakes on), unlocking the read-only root only for the install. Skipped if Nix already works;
2. uses ~/.config/home-manager or --flake <dir-or-flakeref>; if there is none, creates ~/nix-config (a git repo, linked to ~/.config/home-manager) from the template with your user name;
3. runs home-manager switch; conflicting dotfiles are renamed to *.hm-backup-<time>.

Re-running it just switches again. Afterwards edit ~/nix-config/home.nix and run home-manager switch from a terminal in the nested desktop.

curl -fsSL https://steam-frame-nix.lhns.de | bash -s -- status      # Nix, generation, services
curl -fsSL https://steam-frame-nix.lhns.de | bash -s -- uninstall   # --keep-nix keeps Nix

Uninstall stops the Home Manager user services (reverting the Steam keyboard patch), runs home-manager uninstall, then removes Nix and per-user Nix state. Your configuration, *.hm-backup-* files, app data and Flatpaks stay.

Manual setup: nix flake init -t github:lhns/steam-frame-nix.

Two sessions

The Frame runs two graphical sessions at once; most workarounds exist because of their differences:

	Steam / VR session	Nested Plasma desktop
Compositor	gamescope	KWin (nested, shown as a VR window)
Displays	X display :0 (apps show as floating VR windows)	own Wayland + Xwayland :2
D-Bus	the outer session bus, /run/user/1000/bus	a private bus
XDG_RUNTIME_DIR	/run/user/1000	its own
systemd user manager	yes	not reachable

• Wallet: there should be one kwalletd6, on the outer bus; apps started from the desktop would otherwise start a second one whose secrets VR can't see. Prefix launchers' Exec= with steamFrame.session.busEnv.
• User services: home-manager skips reloadSystemd when switching from the desktop terminal, so steamFrame.session.services talks to the outer user manager directly.
• Launchers: the "+" menu only sees ~/.local/share/applications (not ~/.nix-profile/share), so entries are written there, shadowing Flatpak/package entries with the same ID.

Usage

Requirements: Nix with flakes and standalone home-manager (see Install). nix flake init -t github:lhns/steam-frame-nix creates a commented version of these two files (template/):

# flake.nix
{
  inputs = {
    nixpkgs.url = "github:NixOS/nixpkgs/nixos-unstable";
    home-manager = {
      url = "github:nix-community/home-manager";
      inputs.nixpkgs.follows = "nixpkgs";
    };
    steam-frame-nix = {
      url = "github:lhns/steam-frame-nix";
      inputs.nixpkgs.follows = "nixpkgs";
    };
  };

  outputs = { nixpkgs, home-manager, steam-frame-nix, ... }: {
    homeConfigurations.steamos = home-manager.lib.homeManagerConfiguration {
      pkgs = nixpkgs.legacyPackages.aarch64-linux;
      modules = [ steam-frame-nix.homeManagerModules.default ./home.nix ];
    };
  };
}

# home.nix
{ config, ... }: {
  home.username = "steamos";
  home.homeDirectory = "/home/steamos";
  home.stateVersion = "26.05";
  targets.genericLinux.enable = true;

  steamFrame = {
    keyboard.layout = "de";
    keyboard.vr.extraKeys.enable = true;
    keyboard.vr.enable = true;   # swipe typing, suggestions, Backspace drag
    launcherMenu = {
      sort = true;
      pinDesktop = "bottom";
      closeOnLaunch = true;
      launchDebounceSeconds = 10;
      grid = { enable = true; columns = 4; maxRows = 4; };
      showAllApps = true;
      # Listed in the "+" menu only with showAllApps or Steam Developer Mode.
      hiddenApps = [ "lxterminal" "cmake-gui" "firewall-config" "renderdoc" ];
    };
    dashboard = {
      windows.maxScale = 4.0;
      windows.distance.world.max = 10.0;
      windows.distance.theater.max = 12.0;
      steamCloseButton.enable = true;
      windowCurvature.enable = true;
      frameControls.enable = true;
    };
    firefox.enable = true;
  };

  # Example: an app that must use the single wallet on the outer bus.
  # xdg.dataFile."applications/org.example.App.desktop".text = ''
  #   [Desktop Entry]
  #   Type=Application
  #   Name=Example
  #   Exec=${config.steamFrame.session.busEnv} flatpak run org.example.App %U
  # '';
}

Switch from a terminal in the nested desktop (so clipboard-sync restarts with the desktop's environment):

home-manager switch --flake .#steamos

Individual modules: homeManagerModules.{session,portal,keyboard-layout,steam-keyboard-patch,vr-keyboard,hidden-apps,steam-ui-patches,launcher-menu,steamvr-debugger,dashboard-windows,steam-close-button,window-curvature,frame-controls,clipboard-sync,firefox}; default imports all.

Steam Developer Mode (a Steam setting, not managed here) makes the "+" menu list every desktop entry; launcherMenu.showAllApps does the same without it.

Options

Option	Type	Default	Description
steamFrame.session.runtimeDir	str	"/run/user/1000"	XDG_RUNTIME_DIR of the outer (Steam/VR) session.
steamFrame.session.bus	str	"unix:path=${runtimeDir}/bus"	Outer session D-Bus (user manager, kwalletd6).
steamFrame.session.busEnv	str, read-only	"env DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS=${bus}"	Prefix for launchers that must use the outer bus.
steamFrame.session.services.start	list of str	[ ]	User units started on switch if not running.
steamFrame.session.services.restart	list of str	[ ]	User units restarted on every switch.
steamFrame.session.services.stop	list of str	[ ]	User units stopped on switch if running (e.g. of a disabled feature).
steamFrame.session.portalFix.enable	bool	true	Working portal config (OpenURI) for the Steam session.
steamFrame.keyboard.layout	null or str	null	XKB layout for the Steam session, e.g. "de"; null: US.
steamFrame.keyboard.variant	null or str	null	XKB variant for the Steam session, e.g. "nodeadkeys"; see Keyboard layout.
steamFrame.keyboard.vr.extraKeys.enable	bool	false	VR keyboard with Esc/Ctrl/Alt, arrows, real chords, AltGr/non-ASCII.
steamFrame.keyboard.vr.enable	bool	false	Swipe typing, suggestions and Backspace drag on the VR keyboard; the sub-features below are on by default, see VR keyboard.
steamFrame.keyboard.vr.swipe.enable	bool	true	Swipe typing.
steamFrame.keyboard.vr.dictionary.languages	list of submodules	layout language + English	{ language; hunspell; words; frequencyOffset; keepFrequentAbove; }: wordfreq language, pkgs.hunspellDicts name (or null), most frequent words taken, zipf offset, keep words Hunspell rejects from this zipf on (default 4.0). Default: the keyboard.layout language (de, fr, es, it, nl, pt, sv; 60000) + English (40000, -0.3), else English (60000).
steamFrame.keyboard.vr.dictionary.contractions	bool	true	Words with apostrophes (couldn't, geht's), swiped by their letters.
steamFrame.keyboard.vr.dictionary.extraWords	list of str	[ ]	Words always included, casing as given.
steamFrame.keyboard.vr.dictionary.extraWordsFrequency	number	5.0	Zipf frequency of extra words.
steamFrame.keyboard.vr.dictionary.extraWordFiles	list of paths	[ ]	Word lists, word or word<TAB>zipf per line.
steamFrame.keyboard.vr.dictionary.excludeWords	list of str	[ ]	Words never suggested.
steamFrame.keyboard.vr.text.bufferChars	int	128	Characters of typed text the keyboard remembers.
steamFrame.keyboard.vr.text.resetAfterIdleSeconds	int	30	Forget it after this long without typing (0: never).
steamFrame.keyboard.vr.text.autoSpace	bool	true	Space before a swiped word after a known non-space character.
steamFrame.keyboard.vr.suggestions.position	"below", "above", "inside"	"above"	Suggestion strip: SteamVR panel below/above the keyboard, or over its number row.
steamFrame.keyboard.vr.suggestions.count	int	6	Suggestions shown.
steamFrame.keyboard.vr.autocorrect.enable	bool	true	Correction suggestions for finished tapped words not in the dictionary.
steamFrame.keyboard.vr.autocorrect.maxEditDistance	int	2	Largest edit distance (neighbouring keys and swaps count 0.5).
steamFrame.keyboard.vr.completions.enable	bool	true	Completions of the tapped word.
steamFrame.keyboard.vr.completions.minPrefix	int	2	Letters typed before completions show.
steamFrame.keyboard.vr.backspaceDrag.enable	bool	true	Backspace drag: left deletes, back right retypes.
steamFrame.keyboard.vr.backspaceDrag.pixelsPerChar	int	25	Travel per character (keyboard px; a key is ~60).
steamFrame.keyboard.vr.backspaceDrag.wordDetentPixels	int	90	Extra travel across a word border (0: none).
steamFrame.keyboard.vr.haptics	bool	true	Haptic ticks for drag steps, word detents and picks.
steamFrame.keyboard.vr.checks	package, read-only		The tests, built with the configured dictionary.
steamFrame.uiPatches.patches	list of submodules	[ ]	Runtime patches of Steam's web UIs, see UI patches.
steamFrame.uiPatches.lib	attrs, read-only		Patch helpers (mkPatch), see Finders and signatures.
steamFrame.launcherMenu.sort	bool	false	Sort the "+" menu alphabetically.
steamFrame.launcherMenu.pinDesktop	null or "top" / "bottom"	null	Pin "Desktop" above/below the "+" menu's list; null: normal entry.
steamFrame.launcherMenu.closeOnLaunch	bool	false	Close the "+" menu when a program is clicked.
steamFrame.launcherMenu.launchDebounceSeconds	unsigned int (s)	0	Ignore repeat launches of a program within this time; 0: off.
steamFrame.launcherMenu.grid.enable	bool	false	Show the "+" menu's programs as a grid of tiles.
steamFrame.launcherMenu.grid.columns	int, 1-8	4	Tiles per row (3 ≈ 92 px, 4 ≈ 68 px, 5 ≈ 53 px).
steamFrame.launcherMenu.grid.maxRows	null or positive int	null	Visible rows, the rest scrolls; null: up to 600 px.
steamFrame.launcherMenu.showAllApps	bool	false	List all programs without Developer Mode, see Launcher menu.
steamFrame.launcherMenu.iconFallbacks.enable	bool	true	Link Breeze icons into hicolor for entries Steam shows without icon, see Icon fallbacks.
steamFrame.launcherMenu.iconFallbacks.extra	list of str	[ ]	Extra icon names to provide.
steamFrame.launcherMenu.hiddenApps	list of str	[ ]	Desktop entry ids (no .desktop) hidden from the "+" and KDE menus.
steamFrame.dashboard.windows.maxScale	null or positive number	null	Max resize scale of dashboard windows; null: stock (2), see Dashboard windows.
steamFrame.dashboard.windows.distance.{world,theater,dashboard}.{min,max}	null or positive number (m)	null	Pull-in / push-back limits of grabbed windows; null: stock (world 0.25-5, theater 1-6, dashboard 0.3-4 m).
steamFrame.dashboard.steamCloseButton.enable	bool	false	X button on the dashboard's Steam window, see Steam close button.
steamFrame.dashboard.windowCurvature.enable	bool	false	Adjustable curvature per window, see Window curvature.
steamFrame.dashboard.windowCurvature.initial	non-negative number	1.0	Curvature of curved world/hand windows without own value (1 = stock, 0 = flat).
steamFrame.dashboard.windowCurvature.max	positive number	3.0	Largest curvature.
steamFrame.dashboard.windowCurvature.step	positive number	0.05	Rounding step while dragging (at most max).
steamFrame.dashboard.windowCurvature.detentPixels	unsigned int (px)	24	Detent at each detent point in drag pixels: the value holds there, then continues (nothing skipped); 0: none.
steamFrame.dashboard.windowCurvature.detentPoints	list of non-negative numbers	[ 0 1.0 ]	Detent points (flat, stock), at most max.
steamFrame.dashboard.windowCurvature.dragThresholdPixels	unsigned int (px)	8	Vertical travel before a press becomes a drag.
steamFrame.dashboard.windowCurvature.dragPixelsPerUnit	positive number (px)	120	Drag distance per 1.0 in the menu (6 px per 0.05 step).
steamFrame.dashboard.windowCurvature.barDragPixelsPerUnit	positive number (px)	60	Drag distance per 1.0 on the bar button.
steamFrame.dashboard.windowCurvature.haptics	bool	true	Controller haptics while dragging (steps, detents, edges); the dashboard's hover clicks are muted during a drag.
steamFrame.dashboard.frameControls.enable	bool	false	Move window controls between bar and three-dot menu, see Window control bar.
steamFrame.dashboard.frameControls.longPressMs	int, 300-10000 (ms)	1500	Long-press duration.
steamFrame.dashboard.frameControls.inBar	list of control names	[ ]	Controls that start in the bar: keyboard, float, dashboard, theater, dockLeft, dockRight, close, curvature, "icon:<n>".
steamFrame.dashboard.frameControls.inMenu	list of control names	[ ]	Controls that start in the three-dot menu.
steamFrame.dashboard.frameControls.floatInTheater	bool	false	"Float" control on theater windows.
steamFrame.steamvrDebugger.enable	bool	automatic	SteamVR dashboard DevTools on 127.0.0.1:8087; on when a dashboard patch is, see SteamVR debugger.
steamFrame.clipboardSync.enable	bool	true	Clipboard bridge between the Steam session and the nested desktop.
steamFrame.clipboardSync.package	package	built from dnut/clipboard-sync	The clipboard-sync package.
steamFrame.firefox.enable	bool	false	Launcher for the Flathub Firefox Flatpak with the fixes below.
steamFrame.firefox.vrFullscreenFix	bool	true	Link a user.js with full-screen-api.ignore-widgets into profiles.
steamFrame.firefox.desktopProfile	null or str	"desktop"	Separate profile for the nested desktop; null: none.

Renamed options still work under their old names, with a warning:

Old	New
keyboardLayout, keyboardVariant	keyboard.layout, keyboard.variant
steamKeyboardPatch.enable	keyboard.vr.extraKeys.enable
hiddenApps	launcherMenu.hiddenApps
launcherMenu.launchDebounce	launcherMenu.launchDebounceSeconds
runtimeDir, userBus, outerBusEnv	session.runtimeDir, session.bus, session.busEnv
userServices.{start,restart,stop}	session.services.{start,restart,stop}
portalFix.enable	session.portalFix.enable
dashboard.windowMaxScale	dashboard.windows.maxScale
dashboard.windowDistance.*	dashboard.windows.distance.*
dashboard.windowCurvature.default	dashboard.windowCurvature.initial
dashboard.windowCurvature.snapPixels, snapPoints	detentPixels, detentPoints
dashboard.windowCurvature.dragThreshold	dragThresholdPixels

UI patches (uiPatches.patches)

Steam's UI and SteamVR's dashboard (vrwebhelper) are CEF web pages with a local DevTools port: 127.0.0.1:8080 for Steam (SteamOS passes -cef-enable-debugging), 127.0.0.1:8087 for SteamVR once its debugger is on. The steam-ui-patches user service (injector.mjs) patches the running pages through them; Steam's files are never modified. The launcher menu and dashboard features are such patches, and you can add your own:

Attribute	Default	Description
name		Unique name (log).
endpoint	"http://127.0.0.1:8080"	DevTools base URL; /json/list is polled every 5 s.
target.title / target.titleRegex / target.urlRegex	null	Pages to patch; all given criteria must match (JS regexes).
patch		JS file evaluated in every matching page (awaited).
unpatch	null	JS file evaluated when the service stops.

steamFrame.uiPatches.patches = [ {
  name = "my-patch";
  target.title = "SharedJSContext";   # Steam's main JS context
  patch = ./my-patch/patch.js;
  unpatch = ./my-patch/unpatch.js;
} ];

Patches are evaluated on attach, after new JS contexts (reloads) and every 15 s, so they must be idempotent: return e.g. "patched" once, then "unchanged" (not logged); other results are logged when they change (journalctl --user -u steam-ui-patches). On stop, unpatch restores the stock UI without a Steam restart. The service exists only while the list is non-empty and is restarted on every switch.

DevTools on the LAN: Steam's Developer Mode enables steam-web-debug-portforward (0.0.0.0:8081 → 8080) and steamvr-web-debug-portforward (0.0.0.0:8088 → 8087), and firewalld allows ports 1024-65535, so anyone on the network could run code in Steam's UI. No patch needs Developer Mode, so keep it off. If it was on while those units were masked, they may stay enabled: check with systemctl is-enabled steam-web-debug-portforward steamvr-web-debug-portforward and sudo systemctl disable them.

Caveat: patches depend on Steam UI internals and can break with an update; find modules by signature, not id (below).

Finders and signatures

Webpack module ids and export names change with every Steam UI build, so patches never use them. modules/lib/finders.js (like Decky Loader's findModule/findInReactTree or Vencord's find) locates by signature:

• a module by strings/regexes in its factory source;
• an export by shape: type, function source, arity, data properties, prototype methods or getters;
• React fibers by props (findFiberUp, findFiberDown, findInReactTree).

Every signature must match exactly once, otherwise the patch changes nothing and reports it (e.g. signature not found, Steam left unpatched: layouts.currentLayout (module 40222): ambiguous export, candidates r_, xy). Results are cached per page.

Signatures live in modules/lib/signatures.json, shared by patches and the offline checker. An entry can also list expects (strings the patch relies on, checked offline only) or be checkOnly (anchors not used through the finder, checked offline only; with stylesheet instead of module it is matched against the bundle's CSS).

steamFrame.uiPatches.lib.mkPatch wraps a patch file — a function expression (find, sigs, opts, hooks) => … returning a status string — with the finder library, its signatures, options and the shared hooks (details in modules/lib/default.nix):

steamFrame.uiPatches.patches = [ {
  name = "my-patch";
  target.title = "SharedJSContext";
  patch = config.steamFrame.uiPatches.lib.mkPatch {
    name = "my-patch";
    src = ./my-patch/patch.js;          # ((find, sigs, opts, hooks) => { … })
    signatures.thing = {
      module.includes = [ "SomeUniqueString" ];
      exports.Thing = { type = "class"; protoMethods = [ "DoIt" ]; };
    };
    opts.factor = 2;
  };
  unpatch = ./my-patch/unpatch.js;
} ];

((find, sigs, opts, hooks) => {
  let mods;
  try { mods = find.resolveAll(find.getWebpackRequire('webpackChunksteamui'), sigs); }
  catch (e) { return `not patched: ${e.message}`; }
  const Thing = mods.thing.exports.Thing;   // SteamVR dashboard: 'webpackChunkvrwebui'
  …
})

Shared method hooks (modules/lib/hooks.js, argument hooks, also window.__sfuiHooks): patches intercepting the same method (e.g. the dashboard mailbox's SendMessage, used by Dashboard windows and Window curvature) register named hooks; one wrapper per method runs them in registration order, so patches can be injected, upgraded and reverted in any order.

hooks.before(Mailbox.prototype, 'SendMessage', 'my-patch', (args) => {
  if (args[1]?.type === 'update_scene_graph') rewrite(args[1].scene_graph);
});
hooks.remove(Mailbox.prototype, 'SendMessage', 'my-patch');   // in unpatch

After a Steam update

Check the signatures offline (Steam need not run) from a checkout:

nix shell nixpkgs#nodejs -c node scripts/check-signatures.mjs

It loads Steam's UI bundle (~/.local/share/Steam/steamui) and SteamVR's dashboard (/opt/steamvr/resources/webinterface/dashboard/systemui.html), evaluates every signature with the patches' finder code (exports in an inert sandbox) and prints per patch found (module id, export name), ambiguous or missing, plus warnings for missing expects; exit status 1 if anything is missing or ambiguous:

bundle steamui: 2827 modules in /home/deck/.local/share/Steam/steamui (build 11041156)

steam-keyboard-patch (steamui)
  layouts                found      module 40222 (chunk~2dcc5aaf7.js)
    .currentLayout        found      export r_
    …
OK: all signatures match exactly once

To fix a signature, inspect the new module sources (scripts/webpack-modules.mjs), adjust signatures.json and bump the patch's VERSION if its code changes. Flags: --signatures FILE (your own, bundles steamui / vrwebui-systemui), --dir steamui=DIR, --patch NAME, --strict (fail on warnings), --json. Live: journalctl --user -u steam-keyboard-patch -u steam-ui-patches.

Fixes in detail

Session settings and background services (session.nix)

Used by the other modules; normally nothing to set.

• session.runtimeDir / session.bus point at the Steam session's runtime dir and bus (services, KDE wallet), which the nested desktop can't see; session.busEnv is a launcher prefix to reach them (Exec=${config.steamFrame.session.busEnv} flatpak run …).
• Switching from the nested desktop, Home Manager can't reach the service manager ("User systemd daemon not running"). So after every switch this module reloads the Steam session's user manager and applies session.services.start / stop / restart, which other modules fill.

Portal (session.portalFix)

Problem: the Frame image (SteamOS 0.3.0, build 20260922) points the Steam session's xdg-desktop-portal at /usr/share/xdg-desktop-portal/gamescope-portals, which lacks gamescope-portals.conf: no backend, no OpenURI, so no app in the Steam session can open links.

Fix: a portal dir in ~/.local/share linking Valve's .portal files plus a config (default=holo;gamescope), and a drop-in on xdg-desktop-portal.service. The desktop's portal is unaffected.

Remove when SteamOS ships gamescope-portals.conf.

Keyboard layout (keyboard.layout, keyboard.variant)

Problem: gamescope and its Xwayland displays use US unless XKB_DEFAULT_* is set; KDE's layout only affects the nested desktop, and ~/.config/environment.d isn't read on the Frame.

Fix: a drop-in on gamescope-session.service setting XKB_DEFAULT_LAYOUT/VARIANT; applies at the next Steam session start.

keyboard.variant picks a variant of the layout, e.g. for de: null (standard, with dead keys: ^, `, ´ wait for the next key), "nodeadkeys" (those are typed immediately), "mac", "neo", "e1", "us" (German letters on a US layout). List them with localectl list-x11-keymap-variants <layout>.

Remove when SteamOS applies a layout setting to gamescope.

Steam keyboard patch (keyboard.vr.extraKeys.enable)

Problem: Steam's VR keyboard has no Ctrl, Alt or Esc, can't press real keys, and its text emulation only maps plain ASCII: non-ASCII and AltGr/dead-key characters on the German keymap (| @ { [ ] } \ ~ ^, backtick, ä ö ü €) come out as 1.

Fix: the steam-keyboard-patch user service (helper.mjs) injects a patch over DevTools (127.0.0.1:8080) and re-injects it after Steam restarts; stopping it (or disabling the option) reverts the patch. No reboot or Steam restart needed.

• Bottom row: Esc Ctrl Alt [Space] AltGr ← ↑ ↓ → Close, stable with Shift or AltGr.
• AltGr + arrows: Home, End, Page Up, Page Down (hinted on the keys); Shift + arrows select text.
• AltGr + the key left of Backspace (´ on German, = on US): Delete, labelled like Steam's Delete key in its language (Entf; Del if that is longer), hinted on the key without AltGr; repeats while held. Layouts with an AltGr character on that key get none.
• Layouts without AltGr (US, Dvorak, Colemak, Bulgarian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean) get an Fn key right of the space bar: Steam's AltGr toggle (tap: once, tap twice: locked, hold), for Delete and Home/End/Page Up/Down.
• Ctrl/Alt chords and Esc are sent with xdotool key on :0 (focus follows the VR-selected window); a toggled Ctrl/Alt is held down while the keyboard is open (e.g. Ctrl+scroll).
• Problem characters are typed with xdotool type; everything else goes through Steam.
• Enter always types Return (stock Steam may send it to a Steam search box).

Layouts: the character routing targets the German keymap; on others it is harmless (those characters are typed by xdotool), and Esc/Ctrl/Alt/arrows work regardless.

Security: the helper only accepts single-key Ctrl/Alt chords, the extra keys, Ctrl/Alt hold/release and single non-ASCII/AltGr characters; it cannot type ASCII text or press Enter.

Caveat: found by signature (see Finders and signatures); if one stops matching, the keyboard stays stock and the journal says why (see After a Steam update). Tested with Steam client 1790377368 (UI build 11041156).

Remove when Steam's VR keyboard gets these keys.

VR keyboard: swipe and suggestions (keyboard.vr.*)

Problem: Steam's VR keyboard is tap-only: no swipe typing, no suggestions, and deleting more than a few characters means many Backspace taps.

Fix: a Steam UI patch (vr-keyboard, injected like the other UI patches); opt in with keyboard.vr.enable.

• Swipe: press the trigger on the first letter, sweep over the others, release on the last. The word is typed with a space before it if needed; alternatives show in the strip. Words are matched by shape (SHARK2-style template matching) against a dictionary built from wordfreq frequency lists and Hunspell, both from nixpkgs; ' and - are typed, not swiped.
• Suggestions never change text by themselves: a finished tapped word that isn't in the dictionary gets corrections (itself first), a word being tapped gets completions (the typed letters first). A pick replaces exactly what it typed and can be switched again.
• Backspace drag: drag Backspace left to delete one character per pixelsPerChar, with a detent (wordDetentPixels) at each word border and at the start of what the keyboard typed; drag back right to retype.
• Strip: a SteamVR dashboard panel below or above the keyboard (patch of SteamVR's systemui, with the vr-keyboard-relay user service carrying the strip between the two pages), or inside the keyboard over its number row. Its buttons take the keyboard's key style.
• Haptics: light ticks for drag steps and picks, a Snap at word detents.

The keyboard can't read the text field, so it remembers what it typed itself (text.bufferChars); anything it can't follow (Enter, arrows, extraKeys' xdotool keys, another field, text.resetAfterIdleSeconds) resets that, and suggestions only replace text the memory proves intact. Works with and without keyboard.vr.extraKeys (with it, non-ASCII words are typed via its xdotool helper).

Tests: nix flake check (checks vr-keyboard: text model, corrector, decoder accuracy on German + English) and keyboard.vr.checks for the configured dictionary. Debugging: window.__sfuiSwipeLog and __sfuiSwipePaths in Steam's SharedJSContext (replay swipes with scripts/vr-keyboard-replay.mjs).

Caveat: found by signature (entries vr-keyboard, vr-keyboard-panel); if one stops matching the keyboard stays stock. Accented words of other languages are in the dictionary but only swipable where the layout has the letters.

Remove when Steam's VR keyboard gets swipe typing and suggestions.

Launcher menu (launcherMenu.*)

Problem: the VR dashboard's "+" menu (non-Steam programs) 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.

Fix: UI patches in Steam's SharedJSContext:

• sort: programs sorted by name (case-insensitive), Desktop included.
• pinDesktop = "top" / "bottom": Desktop pinned above/below the list, always visible. Limitation: the pinned copy works with the laser but not with thumbstick / D-pad navigation.
• 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. Only restyles Steam's items, so launching, sounds and controller navigation keep working. The popup is 300 px wide, so columns sets the tile size (see Options); maxRows limits visible rows, the rest scrolls.
• showAllApps: without Developer Mode Steam hides konsole, systemsettings, dolphin, plasma-discover, vlc, firewall-config, cmake-gui, qrenderdoc, lxterminal and sh; this lifts that filter only, so Developer Mode (sshd, xrdp, LAN DevTools forwards) can stay off. Hide single programs with hiddenApps.

All revert when turned off (next switch). The anchors (APIs, React props, CSS) are verified by the offline checker. Tested with Steam client 1790377368.

Icon fallbacks (launcherMenu.iconFallbacks)

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.

Fix: on every switch, a script scans the desktop entries Steam sees and, for each icon name missing from hicolor but present in nixpkgs' Breeze app icons, links the Breeze SVG into ~/.local/share/icons/hicolor/scalable/apps/. extra adds names regardless of the scan. Links are tracked in ~/.local/state/steam-frame-nix/icon-fallbacks; stale ones are removed, enable = false removes all, and no other file is touched. A running Steam picks them up (the script bumps the icon dir's mtime). New programs get their fallback on the next switch.

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

Dashboard windows (dashboard.windows.*)

Problem: SteamVR dashboard windows can only be enlarged to 2x, and grabbed windows pushed back only to 5 m (6 m in theater), too close for a big screen.

Fix: a UI patch of SteamVR's dashboard (turns on the SteamVR debugger) raises these limits, which the dashboard sends to the compositor in its scene graph:

Option	Stock
maxScale	2 (relative to the window's default size; the theater screen's default is 2.8x larger)
distance.world.{min,max}	0.25-5 m
distance.theater.{min,max}	1-6 m
distance.dashboard.{min,max}	0.3-4 m

Distances limit pulling in / pushing back a grabbed window (thumbstick or scroll while dragging); null keeps stock. Changes apply immediately, and turning options off reverts on the next switch. The keyboard's range is not patched.

steamFrame.dashboard.windows = {
  maxScale = 4.0;              # resize up to 4x (theater: 11.2x)
  distance.world.max = 10.0;   # push windows back up to 10 m
  distance.theater.max = 12.0;
};

Caveats: found by signature (dashboard-windows in signatures.json); on mismatch the dashboard stays stock. Grab nodes are recognized by their exact stock values, so if SteamVR changes them the distance options silently do nothing. State: window.__sfuiDashboardWindows in the systemui page.

Steam close button (dashboard.steamCloseButton.enable)

Problem: every dashboard window has a close (X) button except Steam's own, and with no other window open the dashboard always shows it.

Fix: a UI patch of SteamVR's dashboard (turns on the SteamVR debugger) gives the Steam window an X that hides Steam: it docks the window back if it was in the world, theater or on a hand, then shows the most recently active other dashboard window, or just the dashboard bar if there is none.

Steam stays hidden until you bring it back (Steam tab, a Steam menu pick, SteamVR asking for it): closing the active window, or a theater window, then goes to the previous window or the bar instead of Steam. This survives dashboard reopens and patch-service restarts; a SteamVR restart starts with Steam. Debugging: window.__sfuiSteamClose.plan() / homePlan() and window.__sfuiSteamCloseState in the systemui page.

Limitations: SteamVR's rarer "go home" paths (Now Playing after a game quits, message overlays) still show Steam; no effect with a VRLink remote dashboard; turning the option off while bar-only leaves no active window until the next tab click or dashboard open.

Caveats: found by signature (steam-close-button in signatures.json); on mismatch the dashboard stays stock. Tested with SteamVR build 11008059.

Window curvature (dashboard.windowCurvature.*)

Problem: SteamVR dashboard windows are either curved (fixed radius) or flat, and world windows start flat.

Fix: a UI patch of SteamVR's dashboard (turns on the SteamVR debugger) turns the "Toggle Curvature" row of a window's three-dot menu into a control showing the window's value; the same control in the bottom bar (see window control bar) works without the value, with haptic steps.

• click: curved → flat, flat → stock (1);
• drag up/down with the laser: curvature from 0 (flat) to max, relative to stock (2 = half the radius), with a detent of detentPixels of drag at each of detentPoints (no values skipped), and haptics for detents, edges and steps.

A window without its own value is shown at initial once curved in the world or on a hand, at 1 in the dashboard or theater. Values are kept per window until SteamVR restarts. Debugging: window.__sfuiWindowCurvature.dump() (.log recent events).

Limitations:

• Laser only; with gamepad navigation the row is the stock toggle.
• No thumbstick scrolling (SteamVR sends no wheel events to the menu).
• The laser stops at the menu's edge (~190 px above the row): with the default 120 px per 1.0, 0 → 1 fits into one drag, 0 → 3 takes two. Lower dragPixelsPerUnit (≤ 60) for the full range in one drag.

For patch authors (other patches handling presses on these controls): every element the patch drives has class sfui-curv-ctl; when a press becomes a drag, a bubbling CustomEvent sfui-curv-dragstart (detail { frameID, where: 'menu' | 'bar' }) is dispatched on it, and sfui-curv-dragend when it ends; window.__sfuiWindowCurvature.cancelPress() ends a press without its click. A patch with its own gesture lets mousemove through while undecided, drops its gesture on sfui-curv-dragstart, and calls cancelPress() when it takes the press over.

Caveats: found by signature (window-curvature in signatures.json); on mismatch the dashboard stays stock. Tested with SteamVR build 11008059.

Window control bar (dashboard.frameControls.*)

Problem: the controls under a dashboard window are fixed: some in the bottom bar, others only in the three-dot menu (curvature, dock to a controller), and theater windows have no "Float".

Fix: a UI patch of SteamVR's dashboard (turns on the SteamVR debugger):

• long press a bar icon or menu row (longPressMs; a progress ring shows from half the time, at most after 1 s), then Show in bar in the popup moves that control between bar and menu for all windows. Placements survive SteamVR restarts.
• inBar / inMenu set where controls start; a popup choice wins until that control's entry changes.
• floatInTheater gives theater windows the "Float" control.

steamFrame.dashboard.frameControls = {
  enable = true;
  # longPressMs = 1500;
  # inBar = [ "curvature" ];  inMenu = [ "theater" ];
  # floatInTheater = true;
};

With window curvature, a drag before the ring shows adjusts curvature; once the ring shows, the long press wins. Debugging: window.__sfuiFrameControls.dump(), .placement(), .reset() (forget choices), .log.

Limitations: laser only (no right-click or thumbstick click reaches the dashboard; gamepad navigation sees stock controls); placements are per control type, not per window.

Caveats: found by signature (frame-controls in signatures.json); on mismatch the dashboard stays stock. Tested with SteamVR build 11008059.

SteamVR debugger (steamvrDebugger.enable)

Dashboard patches need SteamVR's DevTools port, opened only with VRWebHelper/DebuggerEnabled (port VRWebHelper/DebuggerPort, default 8087). It is enabled automatically when any patch in steamFrame.uiPatches.patches uses port 8087.

SteamVR rewrites ~/.config/openvr/config/steamvr.vrsettings itself, so a oneshot merges just that key (with jq) before every SteamVR start. The first time, restart SteamVR once (e.g. reboot); until then steam-ui-patches keeps polling. Disabling resets the key at the next SteamVR start, but only if this module set it.

Security: the port listens on 127.0.0.1 only; keep Developer Mode off (see "DevTools on the LAN" in UI patches).

Hidden apps (launcherMenu.hiddenApps)

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

Fix: a user entry with Hidden=true in ~/.local/share/applications masks the system one (also in the KDE menu). The "+" menu always hides steam and vrurlhandler; for Konsole in VR use launcherMenu.showAllApps.

Clipboard sync (clipboardSync.enable)

Problem: the Steam session's X displays and the nested desktop have separate clipboards.

Fix: clipboard-sync, built from source (its flake is x86-only), started via KDE autostart (the desktop can't reach the user manager, and :2 must exist first). Each switch restarts it if outdated, so switch from a desktop terminal.

Firefox (firefox.*)

For the Flathub Firefox Flatpak (org.mozilla.firefox, stable). The launcher shadows the Flatpak's own entry (same ID), so default-browser associations keep working.

• vrFullscreenFix: gamescope never shows fullscreen windows, so Firefox looks frozen. A user.js with full-screen-api.ignore-widgets makes fullscreen fill just the window; it is linked into every profile (existing non-symlink user.js files are left alone). Remove when gamescope shows fullscreen X11 windows in VR.
• desktopProfile: the sessions can't see each other's Firefox, so a second instance stops at the locked profile; in the nested desktop the launcher uses this separate profile.

Rollback

home-manager generations lists previous generations; run <store path>/activate of the one you want.

License

Apache License 2.0.