On my system, I can set the hero, background, logo and artwork without any issues.

For icons however, I can only set them for EXE files and they are only applied after a Steam restart. I cannot set icons for native Linux apps (and I should not need to set them in the first place when they can be fetched from desktop files).

Thanks for checking. What distro / desktop are you using?

It's still a problem on my system (Steam version: stable 1747701111). Tried a Linux native non-Steam application and EXE with Proton compatibility checked. Both don't save the custom background or logo, but the icon does after a client restart.

Thanks for checking. What distro / desktop are you using?

June 18th update of the Steam Client Beta, CachyOS (desktop and handheld), KDE.

Same problem. Cachyos steam clent.

I just tested on Steam Deck Beta Branch, version 1751930911, everything is working now, icons still need a Steam restart to register.

I can confirm that changing the icon for a non-Steam game (still) requires the client to be restarted, but I cannot testify what has been said above regarding the grid hero and more.

While using Steam downloaded from the latest Beta branch, I still am unable to choose any custom artwork on a game I have manually imported into my library.

Information

Steam Beta Branch: Steam Beta Update
Steam Version: 1753403107
Steam Client Build Date: Fri, Jul 25 1:28 AM UTC -08:00
Steam Web Build Date: Fri, Jul 25 2:13 AM UTC -08:00
Steam API Version: SteamClient022

I tried the Steps for reproducing this issue and that is not working.
Can you use images in your home directory instead?

Also, I'm using Wayland, but that should not have an effect on this.

Can you use images in your home directory instead?

Thanks for the heads-up. I can confirm that this issue only persists with images from a different partitions. I would still not classify this issue as fixed, because I would like to keep my custom assets on the game's folder.

I too have this problem on CachyOS (PC not Steam Deck). My Steam games download to a steam library on another drive. I tried to add the icons manually and via Steam ROM Manager. Steam Rom Manager is able to edit ANY asset (background, artwork etc.) except the icon.

For Elden Ring Coop mod I could fix it by using a symlink to the actual icon path:

The .exe and the icon are at: /mnt/LinuxGaming/Steam/steamapps/common/ELDEN RING/Game/ - I created a symlink (/home/your_name/.local/share/steam-icon-elden-ring/) and the icon worked.

I just tested it again, I can fix any app by symlinking:

Put the icon for Ubisoft Connect in /mnt/LinuxGaming/Lutris/ubisoft-connect/drive_c/Program Files (x86)/Ubisoft/Ubisoft Game Launcher/ where my .exe is.

Create symlink somewhere on the root drive where steam is installed via:

ln -s "/mnt/LinuxGaming/Lutris/ubisoft-connect/drive_c/Program Files (x86)/Ubisoft/Ubisoft Game Launcher/" ~/.local/share/steam-icon-ubisoft

Then add the icon manually in steam via /home/your_name/.local/share/steam-icon-ubisoft (using "~" does not work) and restart steam.

The game itself does not need to be symlinked, only the icon.

This issue should be changed to "unable to set custom artwork from outside user home directory".

Thanks. I can confirm (Client ver. 1751405894) that if the file is physically within the home folder, it works, unless the graphic file is a symlink pointing outside of the home directory. I've added additional to the first issue.

This issue should be changed to "unable to set custom artwork from outside user home directory".

Thanks for this. I always kept my SteamGridDB assets in a folder in my main games directory, which I keep on a separate drive.

Interestingly, storing these images on a drive that has a mount point within your home folder works as well.

I don't know if this helps anyone, but the game icon is stored as a path inside the shortcuts.vdf file which is probably why it needs a restart at first, unlike other artwork which is stored in a folder steam/userdata/[yourid]/config/grid.

I've found the reason of this issue. It is not a bug, it is a feature. Looks like Steam client uses its default "Pressure Vessel" rules, at least when you pick the file either for custom artwork or profile avatar picture.

In this article: https://github.com/ValveSoftware/steam-runtime/blob/master/doc/steamlinuxruntime-known-issues.md#sharing-directories-with-the-container

Look at default folders. I copied pictures to all these folders and picking them as custom artwork worked from every folder mentioned, except /media/

your home directory
the Steam library containing the actual game
the directory containing Proton, if used
the installation directory for Steam itself
the shader cache
/home
/media
/mnt
/opt
/run/media
/srv

Next, I added PRESSURE_VESSEL_FILESYSTEMS_RO variable to my Steam shortcut, and was able to pick artwork from new directories.
Look into that article for details. Maybe you can expose the whole filesystem tree to Steam, but I recommend to add only folders you actually need, and only as read only folders, to keep everything secure.

Here is example of my Steam shortcut in KDE Plasma. It also fixes picking avatar picture file, same issue.

Thank you @vic-bay. That's really useful to know and makes sense.

In that case, the "bug" might be simply the lack of UI feedback. A dialog message like "This file cannot be used as it is outside Steam's runtime folders. For details, see [help link]." or similar, would satisfy as a solution for me.