saphid--frame-control/docs/steam-games.md

Installing and buying Steam games from the Mac

Frame Control's Get games section lists the games you own with each one's Steam Frame rating, installs them on the Frame, and searches the Steam store. This page covers how it works underneath, so you can do the same from a shell.

For flat-to-VR mods and Beat Saber custom songs, see the per-game feasibility table. Mod support is separate from Steam's Frame rating; there is no mod installer yet.

How it works

The Frame's Steam client runs with -cef-enable-debugging. So its UI, a Chromium page, answers the Chrome DevTools protocol on the Frame's loopback, 127.0.0.1:8080. The page titled SharedJSContext holds the client's own state and API:

Object	What it gives you
appStore.allApps	Every app the account owns (868 games here), with local_per_client_data.installed, playtime, vr_supported/vr_only and steam_hw_compat_category_packed
downloadsStore.m_DownloadOverview	A Map keyed by client ID. "0" is this machine: current app, percent, ETA, bytes/s
SteamClient.Installs.*	The install wizard: GetInstallManagerInfo, ContinueInstall, CancelInstall, OpenInstallWizard
SteamClient.User.GetIPCountry()	The store country (AU here), which store search needs

ui/frame_steam.py is a stdlib-only WebSocket client for this page. It's piped over SSH like the other helpers:

ssh frame 'python3 - owned'          < ui/frame_steam.py   # owned games + download
ssh frame 'python3 - install 274190' < ui/frame_steam.py   # install Broforce
ssh frame 'python3 - store 1145360'  < ui/frame_steam.py   # store page in the headset

The debugger port only listens on the Frame's loopback, so it's reachable over SSH and not from the network.

Installing a game you own

steam steam://install/<appid>, run over SSH, hands the URL to the running client, which opens its install wizard. The wizard's state (GetInstallManagerInfo().eInstallState) then tells you what happens next:

State	Meaning	What frame_steam.py does
14 complete	Steam skipped the options dialog and queued the download	Reports "queued"
7 config	The options dialog is showing in the headset (library folder, compatibility note)	Calls ContinueInstall() when the game fits on disk, as the headset's Install button does
3, 4, 6, 8, 13	Free license, CD key, password, EULA, signup	Leaves them for you to answer in the headset
15 failed	Error	Reports errorDetail

Verified 2026-09-25 (SteamOS 0.3.0, build 20260922.6101926):

• Balatro (2379780, 67 MB) went straight to state 14 and installed in about 7 s, with nothing to answer in the headset.
• Broforce (274190, 0.6 GB) stopped at state 7. Calling ContinueInstall() over DevTools queued the download, and the game installed.
• Calling SteamClient.Installs.OpenInstallWizard([appid]) directly did nothing: the state stayed at 0. Go through the steam://install URL instead.

Inferred from the client's JS: Steam skips the options dialog when there's one library folder, the game fits, and there's no compatibility note to show. Broforce is Deck "Playable", which probably explains why it stopped.

Frame ratings

steam_hw_compat_category_packed holds two bits per device. The client decodes it like this (from steamui/chunk~2dcc5aaf7.js):

Device	Bits
Steam Deck	packed & 3
SteamOS	packed >> 4 & 3
Steam Machine	packed >> 6 & 3
Steam Frame	packed >> 8 & 3

The values are 0 unknown, 1 unsupported, 2 playable and 3 verified. On 2026-09-25 this library had 12 Frame Verified, 2 Playable, 6 Unsupported and 848 Unknown games.

For games you don't own, the store's public saleaction/ajaxgetdeckappcompatibilityreport?nAppID=<id> returns frame_resolved_category on the same scale, along with resolved_category (Deck), steamos_resolved_category and machine_resolved_category. No key or login is needed.

Buying

Frame Control doesn't buy anything. Purchases happen on Steam's own store page, signed in as you:

• Buy on Steam ↗ opens store.steampowered.com/app/<id>/ in the Mac's browser (the Electron app sends target=_blank links there).
• Store on Frame runs steam steam://store/<id>, which opens the page in the Steam client on the headset. Verified 2026-09-25: a "Hades on Steam" page appeared in the DevTools page list. It wasn't visible in the headset capture because an app was in the foreground; it opens in Steam's dashboard.

After buying, press Refresh in Get games. The game shows up as owned, and Install on Frame installs it.

Store search uses store.steampowered.com/api/storesearch/?term=…&cc=…. It returns nothing without cc, so Frame Control takes the country from SteamClient.User.GetIPCountry() on the Frame.

Not yet checked

• Free-to-play games: steam://install should stop at state 3 (free license) for you to accept in the headset. Not tried, because it adds a license to the account.
• Games with a EULA (state 8).
• Installing when there's more than one library folder, such as a microSD card.
• Uninstalling. steam://uninstall/<appid> should open a confirmation in the headset.

Optional VR software

The VR utilities list is separate from our controls and HUD. It checks software ownership as well as games; paid utilities are installable only when already in the loaded Frame account library. No purchase flow is added. Public reports, local results and ownership are shown separately, and untested tools remain untested.