Non-library web pages aren't rendered if switch to another workspace/virtual desktop
I believe it may be related to the resize bug. Similar issue #10806, does it fix itself if you resize the steam window or minimize and restore the window?
As noted on the issue, it fix itself when minimized and restored. It does not fix itself when the window is resized however.
Issue still occurs, but I posted in another thread, gonna repost it here. May want to merge this two issues.
https://github.com/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/issues/6660#issuecomment-2174352030
Same issue here,, but I have a very simple workaround, hope this helps.
System: https://gist.github.com/ruinedraziel/9bba33b331d036d1538fe86ad6ff76fb
I3-WM on Arch Linux
I can simply cause the issue at will by simply changing the workspace, if the workspace is with steam opened on background when I switch back to the workspace where steam is, the current page stop rendering, it seems to keep working, cause when the workaround is applied whenever I clicked for testing is where i'm at.
Simply pressing my full-screen I3 hotkey and back to normal mode mode fix the issue.
Please try to disable "Enable GPU accelerated rendering in web views" in interface setting
Still happens.
Please try to disable "Enable GPU accelerated rendering in web views" in interface setting
This works on my case
Please try to disable "Enable GPU accelerated rendering in web views" in interface setting
This works on my case
@ruinedraziel Please note that the OP @braiam opened this issue while using Xfce, while you're using i3.
Somehow it seems that Valve has fixed this problem for several window managers including i3, but not for Xfce/Xfwm.
I've been having this issue on GNOME for the past few weeks. Maximizing the window allows it to redraw the web pages, but it’s still annoying...
I've been having this issue on GNOME for the past few weeks. Maximizing the window allows it to redraw the web pages, but it’s still annoying...
@Teatek
Got this from someone else. Thx for the guy who posted this btw.
I created launcher for steam on ~/.local/share/applications, regular copy from the steam commom launcher, then added the paramenter -system-composer to the Exec= line. like this:
Exec=/usr/bin/steam -system-composer %U
Can run fine with GPU acceleration, no issues, even reinstalled the system, since is on .local the config remained as part of my home folder. Pretty elegant.
Can you see if this also helps you?
@ruinedraziel This doesn't fix the issue 😞. Thanks anyway.
Can confirm this issue on GNOME 49, Wayland, Linux 6.18.9-arch1-2, RX 580, Mesa 25.3.5-arch1.1
The same thing happens to me on Gnome 49 Arch Linux, and everything is updated, including the latest stable version of the Steam client. It's incredibly annoying and practically unusable; in the middle of a purchase, if you switch to reply to a message, you have to redo the entire process and avoid switching workspaces.
Same here, Arch Linux, Gnome 49, Linux 6.19.10-arch1-1. GPU acceleration enabled. This is while on a framework 13 laptop with an AMD Ryzen 7040 series motherboard.
- Disabling GPU acceleration and restarting the steam client does not fix this issue
- Deleting the browser cache under Settings > In Game > Delete Web Browser Data and restarting the steam client does not fix this issue (This one was recommended to me by steam support)
- Repeating the above with the current steam-client-beta (Steam Beta Branch: Steam Beta Update, Steam Version: 1775175108) does not fix this isssue
- Resizing the window "fixes" this instance of the issue, as in, the blackscreen disappears and some actual content gets rendered. This feels like the browser is refusing to paint initially or something... reminds me of ancient safari bugs on certain css rules not triggering repaints correctly leading to brokenly rendered UI.
I am fairly certain I observed this before Gnome 49 as well.
Still present on GNOME 49/Wayland and from what I can tell it affects every GNOME/Wayland setup. Spent a while trying to fix it before finding this issue.
Tried the obvious stuff first, toggling "Enable GPU accelerated rendering in web views" in Steam settings, and various launch arguments via STEAM_CEF_ARGS:
--disable-gpu--disable-gpu-compositing--disable-software-rasterizer--use-gl=swiftshader--enable-begin-frame-scheduling--off-screen-rendering-enabled--ozone-platform=wayland--enable-features=UseOzonePlatform--disable-features=HardwareMediaKeyHandling,MediaSessionService--enable-features=VaapiVideoDecoder
None of it helped. After digging into the logs I found that STEAM_CEF_ARGS is not actually implemented in steam.sh on this build, it's silently ignored entirely. The webhelper flags are constructed internally by steamui.so and passed directly. Since none of the arguments ever showed up in the webhelper command line, I tried injecting them manually through ubuntu12_64/steamwebhelper_sniper_wrap.sh (the only real injection point). But Steam checksums its own files and self-repairs any modifications on next launch (BVerifyInstalledFiles: steamwebhelper_sniper_wrap.sh is 655 bytes, expected 623), so that's a dead end too.
Other things ruled out:
- GPU path issue: with GPU acceleration enabled,
--disable-gpuflags are absent from the webhelper command line, yet the black screen persists, so this is not GPU related - Wayland compositor issue:
GDK_BACKEND=x11does not resolve it, ruling out a pure Mutter repaint signaling issue - gamescope workaround: nested mode (
-e) falls back to headless backend under GNOME and never presents a window
Root cause appears to be CEF not receiving damage/expose events for its render surfaces when the window loses visibility across workspace switches, and not repainting on reactivation, independent of GPU acceleration state and display backend.
Workaround for GNOME users in the meantime: https://github.com/kodefabrik/steam-cef-repaint
Setup: Intel Iris Xe (ADL GT2), Mesa 26.0.2, GNOME 49, Wayland, openSUSE Tumbleweed 20260317, Steam build 1773426488
This issue still persist
OS: Fedora 44
DE: Gnome (50)
WS: Wayland
Kernel Version: Linux 7.0.3-cachyos1.fc44.x86_64
@olaanimo We're same
I can reproduce this issue as well, and it has been affecting me for a long time across Linux Mint versions. I am currently seeing it on Linux Mint 22.3, but it also occurred for me on Mint 21 and with older kernel versions.
One detail that may be useful: Unlike many of the other reports, I am not using Wayland. This happens for me on Cinnamon/Muffin under an X11 session.
System information
- Distribution: Linux Mint 22.3 “Zena”
- Base: Ubuntu 24.04 “noble”
- Kernel: 6.17.0-29-generic
- Architecture: x86_64
- Desktop environment: Cinnamon 6.6.7
- Window manager: Muffin 6.6.3
- Display manager: LightDM 1.30.0
- Toolkit: GTK 3.24.41
- Session type: X11
- Single monitor: Yes
- Monitor resolution: 5120x2160
- GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090
- NVIDIA driver: 595.58.03
- X.Org: 21.1.11
- OpenGL renderer: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090/PCIe/SSE2
- OpenGL version: 4.6.0
- Direct rendering: Yes
Steam information
- Steam branch: Stable Client
- Steam version: 1778281814
- Steam client build date: Fri, May 8, 2026 6:40 PM UTC -05:00
- Steam web build date: Fri, May 8, 2026 6:34 PM UTC -05:00
- Steam API version: SteamClient023
- Steam Beta: Issue occurs on both Stable and Beta
- GPU accelerated rendering in web views: Disabled
Behavior observed
When Steam is open to a web-rendered page, such as Store, Community, Profile, or other non-Library web content, switching to another workspace and then switching back causes the web content area to go black. The Steam window itself remains open and responsive, but the embedded web view no longer renders correctly.
The Library view is not affected in the same way. Switching to the Library fixes or recovers the rendering issue.
Steps to reproduce
- Open Steam.
- Navigate to a web-rendered Steam page, such as Store, Community, or Profile.
- Switch to another Cinnamon workspace.
- Switch back to the workspace containing Steam.
- Observe that the web-rendered content area is black or no longer rendering correctly.
- Switch to the Library.
- The web content rendering recovers.
Expected result
The Steam web content should continue rendering normally after switching away from and back to the workspace.
Actual result
The web-rendered portion of the Steam client becomes black after returning to the workspace. The rest of the Steam client remains usable, and switching to Library recovers the issue.
Notes
Since this occurs for me on Cinnamon/Muffin under X11, and not Wayland, this may not be specific to Wayland compositors. It may be related more generally to how Steam’s web views handle workspace changes, occlusion, repaint/recomposition events, or Chromium Embedded Framework rendering on Linux.
It is also worth noting that I see this with GPU accelerated rendering in web views disabled, so the issue is not avoided by that setting in my environment.
inxi -Gxx
Graphics:
Device-1: NVIDIA AD102 [GeForce RTX 4090] driver: nvidia v: 595.58.03
arch: Lovelace pcie: speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 16 ports: active: none off: DP-3
empty: DP-1,DP-2,HDMI-A-1 bus-ID: 01:00.0 chip-ID: 10de:2684
Display: x11 server: X.Org v: 21.1.11 with: Xwayland v: 23.2.6 driver: X:
loaded: nvidia unloaded: fbdev,modesetting,nouveau,vesa
gpu: nv_platform,nvidia,nvidia-nvswitch display-ID: :0 screens: 1
Screen-1: 0 s-res: 5120x2160 s-dpi: 125
Monitor-1: DP-3 mapped: DP-4 note: disabled model: LG (GoldStar)
ULTRAGEAR+ res: 5120x2160 dpi: 125 diag: 1131mm (44.5")
API: EGL v: 1.5 platforms: device: 0 drv: nvidia device: 2 drv: swrast
gbm: drv: nvidia surfaceless: drv: nvidia x11: drv: nvidia
inactive: wayland,device-1
API: OpenGL v: 4.6.0 compat-v: 4.5 vendor: nvidia mesa v: 595.58.03
glx-v: 1.4 direct-render: yes renderer: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090/PCIe/SSE2
API: Vulkan v: 1.3.275 surfaces: xcb,xlib device: 0 type: discrete-gpu
driver: N/A device-ID: 10de:2684 device: 1 type: cpu driver: N/A
device-ID: 10005:0000This is also happening to me on latest Arch running Cinnamon.
Anytime I switch workspaces, the store area goes completely blank.
OS: Arch Linux x86_64
Host: Laptop 13 (Intel Core Ultra Series 1) (A6)
Kernel: Linux 7.1.6-zen1-1-zen
Display (LG ULTRAGEAR): 2560x1440 in 31", 180 Hz [External]
DE: Cinnamon 6.6.9
WM: Muffin (X11)
CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) Ultra 7 165H (12+8+2) @ 5.00 GHz
GPU: Intel Arc Graphics @ 2.30 GHz [Integrated]
Memory: 22.99 GiB / 93.72 GiB (25%)
If I minimize then maximize the window, it is redrawn, but resizing does not cause a redraw.
Your system information
Please describe your issue in as much detail as possible:
If I'm on a webpage, like the store, and switch to another workspace in xfce, in a way that the window isn't presented anymore and switch back to the workspace that has the steam client window, the web page portion goes black after a split second. If I switch to the community or the profile tabs it stays that way. If I switch to the library or minimize the window, it fix itself.
Steps for reproducing this issue: