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bug (steamvr, linux): Unblocking driver fails to unblock due to incorrect paths on some distros

Open Meister1593 opened this issue 9 months ago • 8 comments

Seems like unblocking driver constantly has issues with trouble finding it.

When i was trying to debug it with one person, we found out it had used incorrect steam path (on linux mint)

it was /home/user/.local/share/Steam/config/steamvr.vrsettings (can't find file, this path doesn't exist) instead of /home/user/.steam/debian-installation/config/steamvr.vrsettings

This needs fixing, because it affects all steam installations on non-default paths (like debian-based, ubuntu-based)

Meister1593 avatar Mar 30 '25 10:03 Meister1593

For anyone who stumbles onto this before a permanent fix is added: I was able to get around this by creating a symlink between the actual and expected paths.

ln -s "[FULL ACTUAL PATH]" "$HOME/.local/share/Steam"

Where "[FULL ACTUAL PATH]" is the full path into the folder containing your steamvr.vrsettings file, but DO NOT put the steamvr.vrsettings file in the path - let ALVR find it.

Edit: amended my fix based on findings from Xeknos and others below - I stupidly assumed the correct path would be the same on all system configurations.

/facepalm

HAWK-6155 avatar May 13 '25 15:05 HAWK-6155

This issue is stale because it has been open 30 days with no activity. Remove stale label or comment or this will be closed in 5 days.

github-actions[bot] avatar Jul 13 '25 00:07 github-actions[bot]

For anyone who stumbles onto this before a permanent fix is added: I was able to get around this by creating a symlink between the actual and expected paths.

ln -s "$HOME/.steam/debian-installation" "$HOME/.local/share/Steam"

This didnt work for me on ZorinOS 17.3 with Steam installed via APT. I deleted the "Steam" folder in /.local/share and ran the command and while it created a symlink, alvr is still logging this error: Failed to unblock ALVR driver: /home/dürüm/.local/share/Steam/config/steamvr.vrsettings does not exist

dueruem avatar Aug 21 '25 15:08 dueruem

For anyone who stumbles onto this before a permanent fix is added: I was able to get around this by creating a symlink between the actual and expected paths. ln -s "$HOME/.steam/debian-installation" "$HOME/.local/share/Steam"

This didnt work for me on ZorinOS 17.3 with Steam installed via APT. I deleted the "Steam" folder in /.local/share and ran the command and while it created a symlink, alvr is still logging this error: Failed to unblock ALVR driver: /home/dürüm/.local/share/Steam/config/steamvr.vrsettings does not exist

This is happening to me as well

donnie58744 avatar Sep 05 '25 18:09 donnie58744

I got the workaround working. You need to make sure the symlink points exactly where ALVR is looking: /home/user/.local/share/Steam/config/steamvr.vrsettings. For me, this meant navigating to where that path ends (for me, there was no config folder in /.local/share/Steam) and creating a symlink to your /.steam/debian-installation/config/ folder there, which will let ALVR find what it needs.

I'm more of a visual person, so if you're like me, you can do this in some file explorers by holding CTRL+SHIFT while dragging your config folder from ~/.steam/debian-installation/ to ~/.local/share/Steam/, will create a symlink to the config folder within that directory.

Xeknos avatar Sep 14 '25 07:09 Xeknos

I got the workaround working. You need to make sure the symlink points exactly where ALVR is looking: /home/user/.local/share/Steam/config/steamvr.vrsettings. For me, this meant navigating to where that path ends (for me, there was no config folder in /.local/share/Steam) and creating a symlink to your /.steam/debian-installation/config/ folder there, which will let ALVR find what it needs.

I'm more of a visual person, so if you're like me, you can do this in some file explorers by holding CTRL+SHIFT while dragging your config folder from ~/.steam/debian-installation/ to ~/.local/share/Steam/, will create a symlink to the config folder within that directory.

i do and nothing happens

volcano2207 avatar Sep 17 '25 22:09 volcano2207

if the local files it wants do not exist where do i "symlink" too?

volcano2207 avatar Sep 17 '25 22:09 volcano2207

there is no "steam" under local for me other than the launch application

volcano2207 avatar Sep 17 '25 23:09 volcano2207