Steam (runtime) not launching

4/2/25 (at the time of writing this)

A few days ago I did a system update but now the stream (runtime) does not launch at all. I usually update once a month. Even before doing the update steam did not open, which was weird.

I have tried launching steam from the terminal but it does not give any output message at all. I ran steam-runtime and just steam but nothing happens. I’m somewhat new to linux so I don’t want to just type in random commands, or install stuff without being sure if I need it or not. Can someone help?

4/19/25 UPDATE:

I ran steam-runtime again and this time it did display an output message, but Im still not sure what to do, please help

steam.sh[5300]: Running Steam on endeavouros rolling 64-bit
steam.sh[5300]: STEAM_RUNTIME is enabled automatically
setup.sh[5358]: Steam runtime environment up-to-date!
steam.sh[5300]: Log already open
steam.sh[5300]: Using supervisor /home/es/.local/share/Steam/ubuntu12_32/steam-runtime/amd64/usr/bin/steam
-runtime-supervisor
steam.sh[5300]: Steam client’s requirements are satisfied
CProcessEnvironmentManager is ready, 6 preallocated environment variables.
[2025-04-19 23:34:53] Startup - updater built Mar 11 2025 20:39:15
[2025-04-19 23:34:53] Startup - Steam Client launched with: '/home/es/.local/share/Steam/ubuntu12_32/steam
’ ‘-srt-logger-opened’
04/19 23:34:53 minidumps folder is set to /tmp/dumps
04/19 23:34:53 Init: Installing breakpad exception handler for appid(steam)/version(1741737356)/tid(5419)
glx: failed to create dri3 screen
failed to load driver: nouveau

From the start menu in game section select steam. Same issue i had yesterday after updating (112 updates) but it worked fine after that.

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Hi, i tried that but it still doesn’t work. When i click it, I see the little application icon load like it wants to open, but just refuses.

I just checked on the old notebook of mine, the runtime is broken yes.

  1. If you have a steam runtime desktop icon right click on it and open with kwriter
  2. Find Exec=/usr/bin/steam-runtime %U
  3. Rename it to Exec=/usr/bin/steam %U
  4. Save it
  5. Run steam from desktop

If you launch it from the start menu you can do the same, icon is located under /home/YOURUSERNAMEHERE/.local/share/applications or copy the newly .desktop file over there.

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It seems Steam is trying to use NVIDIA’s open-source driver (nouveau). This driver is still in its infancy and isn’t suitable for gaming. What GPU do you have, and how did you install the drivers?

My advice would be to remove the open-source drivers and reinstall NVIDIA’s proprietary drivers using:

nvidia-inst --32

I have an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super, and i followed LinuxNext’s tutorial on setting up the graphic drivers on Linux when I first installed Endeavour. He mentioned using that nvidia-inst command so i did use that. I ended up retyping that command yesterday.

But even after I did that steam still didn’t open, so i just uninstalled it and got the flatpak version. It was able to launch, and the games work now.

Thank you, when I get the chance I will try that. I did end up just installing the flatpak version, and everything is working now

I’d like to offer some clarification here.

nouveau is not Nvidia’s open-source driver. It is a community project (nouveau - "Do you get any support from Nvidia?). This driver will often lack support for certain features.

Nvidia’s own open-source driver ( nvidia-open ), is doing pretty well and in many cases when used with relatively modern GPUs, it’s ready for mainstream use. This driver is set to fully replace Nvidia’s closed source driver ( nvidia ).

You’re absolutely right. What I meant is that Nouveau is truly open source, while nvidia-open is only partially open source.

In any case, Nouveau isn’t what I’d recommend for gaming. It might be useful for other purposes, but in this scenario, I think the OP should stick with the default option provided by nvidia-inst or the Live ISO during installation and choose the Nvidia boot mode.

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Well i had the same issue as OP while i do have the nvidia open drivers proper installed. The fix is posted above

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This worked for me the other solution did not with a fresh install choosing nvidia on boot

Glad it worked!