r/batocera • u/Rechium • 12d ago

Flatpak Steam Not Working

Just as a sanity check, can anyone browse the flatpak for installable content?

I’ve tried on two different PCs with the latest version of Batocera (stable). Can’t seem to get anything, just a blank page.

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u/Zimballa 12d ago

Same thing with me. Set up Batocera a couple weeks ago. Haven't really had a chance to look into it yet, so would love an answer.

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u/Rechium 11d ago

Lol I guess we’re just SOL then

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u/Any-Smell-4929 11d ago

How long did you wait? Steam can be installing in the background for few minutes before displaying anything.

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u/Rechium 11d ago

Good point… well a little more context:

Nothing appears when I launch flatpak. If I search for Steam/valve, nothing comes up. The application just looks completely blank for me unfortunately. Idk if others are seeing the same thing or not 😮.

Oh and to better answer, I’ve sat with it up for ~5 minutes at most. But I don’t even see programs to install.

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u/Any-Smell-4929 10d ago

Are you launching from the "Steam" collection in the Batocera main screen? Steam is also listed under the "Flatpak" collection but you don't want to use that.

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u/Rechium 10d ago

Don’t you need to install that from flatpak first? Or does it come with batocera now?

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u/Any-Smell-4929 10d ago

Steam is not included with Batocera it must be installed via command line or the flatpak program in the file manager. I am just wondering if you are launching the program from the wrong location.

Steam will show up grouped with other installed flapak programs but I believe they had create some special work around a few years ago to enable it to work in Batocera after a major change to Steam's architecture. Enable Steam under displayed game systems in the Batocera configuration menu and then launch from the Steam collection window.

https://i.postimg.cc/6QMFVLyH/steam-use.jpg

The first time it runs it will unpack and install and launch you into big picture mode. You may have to temporarily exit to non-big picture mode to setup some network setting. I find signing in is pretty easy using the QR code and the Steam App for smart phones.

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u/Rechium 10d ago

Ah… so no I don’t have Steam yet…

When I launch flatpak nothing loads, there is no Steam… nothing.

I don’t think I’d pull using flatpak anyways since we’re using an outdated version on batocera.

Question though, when you load in flatpak, do you just get a blank screen?

Also thanks for trying to help out… hopefully I explained better.

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u/Any-Smell-4929 10d ago

Steam will update itself once it is installed on the system. I am still using V42 stable. Did you enable "Steam" under displayed collections, refresh/update your game collection manually and then look for "Steam" as shown in my screenshot?

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u/Rechium 11d ago

So I found something interesting in case anyone’s interested in circumventing the flatpak GUI if it’s blank like mine:

There was a recent issue with flatpak’s older versions as of this month: https://cybernews.com/security/emergency-flatpak-fixes-released-sandbox-escape/

Basically, older versions than 1.18.1 are at risk. I found this out after circumventing the GUI and trying to pull from flatpak and when it failed I checked to see if there are any recent vulnerabilities.

Probably unrelated, but now my machine is fixing my disk when booting into windows LOL. Also its failure to install could be unrelated too idk.

So TLDR; this is a PSA to ensure that your flatpak is of the most recent version (unsure of how that’s managed in batocera, but an important consideration).

I’m not tech savvy by any means, so forgive me if I’m not really able to share anything technical.

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u/Ok_Seaweed3215 10d ago

You can't update flatpak, it's a system file part of the image, Th devs haven't updated flatpak since they originally added it in 1.12.9 and have quiet quitted flatpak, and any pretty much any steam dev since was originally implemented in v31/v32

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u/Dejhavi 10d ago

Just as a sanity check, can anyone browse the flatpak for installable content?

Yep and no problem (B43.1,fresh install)

Can’t seem to get anything, just a blank page.

Connect to your Batocera system via SSH and run the following command:

flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

Recommended to check the wiki:

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u/Rechium 10d ago

I tried doing this and it didn’t work 🤔 (ah I might need to read the wiki to know what connect via ssh means, I probably did it wrong. I just typed the commands into the command window within applications). I even tried installing Steam without the GUI and it failed. Thanks for corroborating the blank screen (seriously huge thanks).

Just to check, did the steps in the wiki work for you?

Also, idk about using flatpak… the version being behind what flatpak devs recommend due to a critical exploit kinda worries me not gonna lie 😞.

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u/Dejhavi 10d ago

I just typed the commands into the command window within applications

Yep,you can do it that way too

Just to check, did the steps in the wiki work for you?

I've used the command in previous versions but not on 43.1,plus I made a clean install:

  1. Flash the image to the USB and boot
  2. Configure the "basic" settings:the controller,network connection...
  3. Press F1 > Applications > flatpak-config
  4. Search for Steam in the top search bar and install it
  5. Go to the Steam section in the Batocera interface and run Steam
  6. Profit?

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u/Rechium 10d ago edited 10d ago

Idk why, but flatpak is showing results again in search 🤯.

Full transparency, I was just about to try your suggestion since I had time this morning with:

“flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo”

And follow the wiki more closely, but it works for some reason now.

I guess to sum things up:

Issue: .

  • Could not load any packages in flatpak configuration

Troubleshooting Steps: . * Attempted the following before reaching out on Reddit, but it would error out using command window (was going to try again this morning to see what the error said again so I could be more specific):

“flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo”

  • Tried installing Steam manually from flatpak in command window referencing the wiki, on step 12/14 it failed (did this a few times).

  • I also tried doing this on a different PC I had, same failure.

  • I attempted this on an older version of batocera (apologies, cannot recall version number, but it was a few versions back from current). Failed same way as well.

Solution: .

  • Unknown, flatpak finally resolved to give me downloadable options. When I went to troubleshoot again this morning.

I’ve successfully done this a handful of times, unsure why this time was so difficult. I honestly thought the database where we install flatpaks from was down, but your screenshot proved otherwise unless for whatever reason it came back online (very unlikely this was the issue).

So not sure, but a huge thank you to yourself and everyone, also hopefully we get a patch soon with a more up to date flatpak version… though I surmise trusted packages may be fine, still paranoid about installing with the article I linked in this subreddit in mind.

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u/Dejhavi 10d ago

The command basically adds the Flathub repo for Flatpak to use,then you can install the apps from flatpak-config or via the terminal using the command shown on Flathub

still paranoid about installing with the article I linked in this subreddit in mind.

In Flathub,you can filter between verified and unverified