If anyone else finds Steam’s desktop chat client a bit unreliable on Linux (sluggish UI, finicky context menus, emoji pickers that vanish when you try to click them) there’s a solid alternative worth knowing about.
You can use Steam’s web-based chat directly in your browser at:
https://steamcommunity.com/chat/
Just log in and everything works noticeably smoother: menus behave, emojis are clickable, and the interface feels much more responsive. The only catch is you’ll need to keep a browser tab open for it.
Hope this helps anyone else looking for a more stable Steam chat experience.
14 Comments
just_another_person@lemmy.world · 31 pts · 271d
Never had an issue. You may want to turn off all of the bells and whistles that cause it to spike CPU when idle though, that might help.
Settings > Library > Enable 'Low Performance Mode'
rustyricotta@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 6 pts · 270d
Nice tip! This just fixed all the sluggishness that I've had for ages.
swelter_spark@reddthat.com · 2 pts · 267d
I also use low performance, low bandwidth, and no graphical acceleration. No issues here.
KaRunChiy@fedia.io · 19 pts · 271d
Still find it strange that the steam linux client performs that badly, you'd think with steam os they'd focus on knocking these bugs out but I've had vanishing context menus for years now, even in alt tab view
LiveLM@lemmy.zip · 5 pts · 271d
Ikr?
Steam Big Picture still has a lot of navigation jank, especially in the Steam Input configuration screens.
While I'm sure the move to web tech brought advantages to development, I can't say it did the User Experience many wonders...
False@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 271d
I've never had any problems with it tbh
chronicledmonocle@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 271d
Sluggish UI? I've never had issues with the UI being sluggish ..... Steam Chat always just works for me in the Steam client.
maxxxxpower@lemmy.ca · 5 pts · 271d
I usually fall back to using the mobile app. Works well.
radiouser@crazypeople.online · 6 pts · 271d
Good call. I use it sometimes, but I find it has its own quirks: GIFs always fail to play for me.
CMDR_Horn@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 271d
I don't have any of these issues. My friends and I only use steam voice chat.
radiouser@crazypeople.online · 4 pts · 270d
Interesting - I'm surprised to hear so many don't experience this. I've used Steam chat on Arch and EndeavourOS for years, and I've always found the desktop client to feel a little sluggish, with menus and emoji pickers being particularly finicky. I wonder if it's related to certain desktop environments or specific setups?
de_lancre@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 270d
radiouser@crazypeople.online · 1 pts · 270d
Yup, that’s essentially been my experience with Steam and chat as well, though it sounds like you might be having an even rougher time than I am. I'm on LXQT, but it’s the only app I’ve used that consistently acts this poorly across different installs and distributions. I’d always assumed it was just a universal “Steam-on-Linux” quirk, but it’s interesting to hear it’s not quite the same for everyone.
nullPointer@programming.dev · 4 pts · 271d
cant say I've had any of these problems with the chat. the voice chat does get choppy at times.
Laavu@sopuli.xyz · 3 pts · 270d
Another option is using libpurple compatible chat app, and using steam plugin for it. These haven't had much developement effort lately, but worked last time I tried them.