Steam on Slackware Linux

Steam uses 32-bit libraries, but we're on a 64-bit system. Here is the absolute fastest guide to get you up and running in Slackware64. Three Step Guide for Installing Steam on Slackware Install Slackpkg+ and Enable Multilib slackpkg install multilib slackpkg install steamclient [If you do not want to install slackpkg+, then the multilib documentation can explain how to download and install the -compat32 packages (or build them yourself)] 1) To install slackpkg+ download and installpkg either from sourceforge or from alienbob. We make three changes to the config file /etc/slackpkg/slackpkgplus.conf (Note that we leave ALLOW32BIT=off) Uncomment the line PKGS_PRIORITY = (multilib) Add (or uncomment) the multilib repo location MIRRORPLUS['multilib']=https://slackware.nl/people/alien/multilib/current/ Add multilib to your REPOPLUS line: REPOPLUS=( slackpkgplus restricted multilib alienbob ) My config looks like this: PKGS_PRIORITY=( multilib restricted ) REPOPLUS=( slackpkgplus restricted multilib alienbob ) MIRRORPLUS['multilib']=https://slackware.nl/people/alien/multilib/current/ MIRRORPLUS['alienbob']=https://slackware.nl/people/alien/sbrepos/15.0/x86_64 MIRRORPLUS['restricted']=https://slackware.nl/people/alien/restricted_sbrepos/15.0/x86_64 MIRRORPLUS['slackpkgplus']=https://slackware.nl/slackpkgplus/ SBO['current']=https://github.com/Ponce/slackbuilds 2) Now that slackpkg+ has been configured we update and install multilib packages. slackpkg update slackpkg install multilib For me this was 273 packages. In my case one of them (LLVM, roughly a 200Mb file) kept timing out, so I downloaded and installed that one manually. 3) You could now build steam yourself from a SlackBuild, or just install a pre-made package courtesy of alienbob: slackpkg install steamclient You have now installed Steam. (I had to reboot for Steam to recognize my controller.) If you neglect to install the multilib -compat32 packages, instead of games you will enjoy some errors. Slackware warns that you may need 32-bit libraries, and Steam alerts that you are missing libGL.so.1 and libdrm.so.2. The terminal may emit some gory details: dlmopen /home/zapwai/.local/share/Steam/ubuntu12_32/steamui.so failed: libGL.so.1: wrong ELF class: ELFCLASS64 dlmopen steamui.so failed: libGL.so.1: wrong ELF class: ELFCLASS64 Failed to load steamui.so - dlerror(): (null) My Beloved Windows Game Refuses to Install? In that case you should right-click the game in your library, select properties, then click the Compatibility tab. Click "Force the use of a specific Steam Play compatibility tool". This turns on Proton Hotfix and almost always works. (For Risk of Rain 2 I had to explicitly turn on Proton 9.0) Help! Steam Can't See My Games! Normally when you go to Steam Settings > Storage you can click on the Local Drive button and add a new folder. Useful if you have a drive full of games. In my case I had them installed under another Linux distribution. The files owner was username:1000 instead of username:users, and in the terminal Steam was griping about permissions. So Steam client just ignored me if I added the location. kf.kio.widgets: Failed to convert QUrl("file:///media/hd1/home/zapwai/snap/steam/common/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/Steam.dll") to canonical path Couldn't write /boot/efi/.steam_exec_test.sh: Permission denied Couldn't write /media/hd0/.steam_exec_test.sh: Permission denied Couldn't write /media/hd1/.steam_exec_test.sh: Permission denied Digging around online, I found that one cause could be not having exec set for the drive in /etc/fstab. But my fstab settings were fine, containing the line: /dev/nvme0n1p2 /media/hd1 ext4 rw,auto,user,exec 0 0 I attempted to create and add myself to the group 1000, with no success. I could just chmod 777 on the path to my Steam games, but I looked for a better solution and discovered setfacl. This allowed me to give rwx permissions to only one extra user. setfacl -R -m u:zapwai:rwx /media/hd1/home/zapwai/snap/steam/common/.local/share/Steam I gave myself executable permissions on the rest of the path just in case sudo setfacl -m u:zapwai:x /media/hd1 sudo setfacl -m u:zapwai:x /media/hd1/home sudo setfacl -m u:zapwai:x /media/hd1/home/zapwai sudo setfacl -m u:zapwai:x /media/hd1/home/zapwai/snap [etc.] Et Voilà, Steam can now see my preinstalled games. A Few More Bugs This time Straima worked, but last year I needed this in the launch options: PROTON_USE_WINED3D=1 %command% Dungeons of Dredmor has crackling audio. Removing this file fixes it. ~/.steam/steam/steamapps/common/Dungeons\ of\ Dredmor/x86/libopenal.so.1

May 9, 2025 - 08:53

Steam uses 32-bit libraries, but we're on a 64-bit system. Here is the absolute fastest guide to get you up and running in Slackware64.

Three Step Guide for Installing Steam on Slackware

Install Slackpkg+ and Enable Multilib
slackpkg install multilib
slackpkg install steamclient

[If you do not want to install slackpkg+, then the multilib documentation can explain how to download and install the -compat32 packages (or build them yourself)]

1) To install slackpkg+ download and installpkg either from sourceforge or from alienbob.

We make three changes to the config file /etc/slackpkg/slackpkgplus.conf
(Note that we leave ALLOW32BIT=off)

Uncomment the line PKGS_PRIORITY = (multilib)
Add (or uncomment) the multilib repo location

MIRRORPLUS['multilib']=https://slackware.nl/people/alien/multilib/current/

Add multilib to your REPOPLUS line:

REPOPLUS=( slackpkgplus restricted multilib alienbob )

My config looks like this:
PKGS_PRIORITY=( multilib restricted ) REPOPLUS=( slackpkgplus restricted multilib alienbob ) MIRRORPLUS['multilib']=https://slackware.nl/people/alien/multilib/current/ MIRRORPLUS['alienbob']=https://slackware.nl/people/alien/sbrepos/15.0/x86_64 MIRRORPLUS['restricted']=https://slackware.nl/people/alien/restricted_sbrepos/15.0/x86_64 MIRRORPLUS['slackpkgplus']=https://slackware.nl/slackpkgplus/ SBO['current']=https://github.com/Ponce/slackbuilds

2) Now that slackpkg+ has been configured we update and install multilib packages.
slackpkg update
slackpkg install multilib
For me this was 273 packages. In my case one of them (LLVM, roughly a 200Mb file) kept timing out, so I downloaded and installed that one manually.

3) You could now build steam yourself from a SlackBuild, or just install a pre-made package courtesy of alienbob:
slackpkg install steamclient

You have now installed Steam. (I had to reboot for Steam to recognize my controller.)

If you neglect to install the multilib -compat32 packages, instead of games you will enjoy some errors.

Slackware warns that you may need 32-bit libraries, and Steam alerts that you are missing libGL.so.1 and libdrm.so.2. The terminal may emit some gory details:

dlmopen /home/zapwai/.local/share/Steam/ubuntu12_32/steamui.so failed: libGL.so.1: wrong ELF class: ELFCLASS64
dlmopen steamui.so failed: libGL.so.1: wrong ELF class: ELFCLASS64
Failed to load steamui.so - dlerror(): (null)

My Beloved Windows Game Refuses to Install?

In that case you should right-click the game in your library, select properties, then click the Compatibility tab. Click "Force the use of a specific Steam Play compatibility tool".

This turns on Proton Hotfix and almost always works. (For Risk of Rain 2 I had to explicitly turn on Proton 9.0)

Help! Steam Can't See My Games!

Normally when you go to Steam Settings > Storage you can click on the Local Drive button and add a new folder. Useful if you have a drive full of games.

In my case I had them installed under another Linux distribution. The files owner was username:1000 instead of username:users, and in the terminal Steam was griping about permissions. So Steam client just ignored me if I added the location.

kf.kio.widgets: Failed to convert QUrl("file:///media/hd1/home/zapwai/snap/steam/common/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/Steam.dll") to canonical path
Couldn't write /boot/efi/.steam_exec_test.sh: Permission denied
Couldn't write /media/hd0/.steam_exec_test.sh: Permission denied
Couldn't write /media/hd1/.steam_exec_test.sh: Permission denied

Digging around online, I found that one cause could be not having exec set for the drive in /etc/fstab. But my fstab settings were fine, containing the line:
/dev/nvme0n1p2 /media/hd1 ext4 rw,auto,user,exec 0 0

I attempted to create and add myself to the group 1000, with no success.

I could just chmod 777 on the path to my Steam games, but I looked for a better solution and discovered setfacl. This allowed me to give rwx permissions to only one extra user.

setfacl -R -m u:zapwai:rwx /media/hd1/home/zapwai/snap/steam/common/.local/share/Steam

I gave myself executable permissions on the rest of the path just in case

sudo setfacl -m u:zapwai:x /media/hd1
sudo setfacl -m u:zapwai:x /media/hd1/home
sudo setfacl -m u:zapwai:x /media/hd1/home/zapwai
sudo setfacl -m u:zapwai:x /media/hd1/home/zapwai/snap  [etc.]

Et Voilà, Steam can now see my preinstalled games.

A Few More Bugs

This time Straima worked, but last year I needed this in the launch options:
PROTON_USE_WINED3D=1 %command%

Dungeons of Dredmor has crackling audio. Removing this file fixes it.
~/.steam/steam/steamapps/common/Dungeons\ of\ Dredmor/x86/libopenal.so.1