Steam client version (build number or date): June 4, 2026 (downloaded)
Distribution (e.g. Ubuntu): mint cinnamon (Debian)
Opted into Steam client beta?: [Yes/No] No
Have you checked for system updates?: [Yes/No] No
Steam Logs: [generate by running this command in a terminal tar -zcvf ~/Desktop/steam-logs.tar.gz ~/.steam/steam/logs]
GPU: Nvidia/Intel/AMD
(sorry, i'm not at that computer right now)
Please describe your issue in as much detail as possible:
i had steam installed on my old mint cinnamon laptop (asus tuf, if that helps), which i gave to my mom. i made her a new linux account on it. i tried to install steam for her (via the .deb file download), and it installs, but the steamwebhelper doesn't run properly.
it keeps reporting permissions error, because for some reason it believes the "realpath" is /home/user1 instead of /home/user2, which is inaccessible, of course.
steamwebhelper.sh[19227]: Starting steamwebhelper under bootstrap steamrt steam runtime via: /home/user2/.local/share/Steam/steamrt64/pv-runtime/steam-runtime-steamrt/_v2-entry-point steamwebhelper.sh[19227]: Starting steamwebhelper with steamrt steam runtime at /home/user2/.local/share/Steam/steamrt64/pv-runtime/steam-runtime-steamrt/_v2-entry-point
x86_64-linux-gnu-capsule-capture-libs: error: code 13: realpath("/home/user1/.steam"): Permission denied
pressure-vessel-wrap[19227]: E: Child process exited with code 1
this happens even if i remove steam from the user1 account.
expected: user2's steam to use /home/user2/.steam for everything.
actual: user2's steamwebhelper is stuck trying to use /home/user1/.steam
Your system information
tar -zcvf ~/Desktop/steam-logs.tar.gz ~/.steam/steam/logs](sorry, i'm not at that computer right now)
Please describe your issue in as much detail as possible:
i had steam installed on my old mint cinnamon laptop (asus tuf, if that helps), which i gave to my mom. i made her a new linux account on it. i tried to install steam for her (via the .deb file download), and it installs, but the steamwebhelper doesn't run properly.
it keeps reporting permissions error, because for some reason it believes the "realpath" is /home/user1 instead of /home/user2, which is inaccessible, of course.
steamwebhelper.sh[19227]: Starting steamwebhelper under bootstrap steamrt steam runtime via: /home/user2/.local/share/Steam/steamrt64/pv-runtime/steam-runtime-steamrt/_v2-entry-point
steamwebhelper.sh[19227]: Starting steamwebhelper with steamrt steam runtime at /home/user2/.local/share/Steam/steamrt64/pv-runtime/steam-runtime-steamrt/_v2-entry-point
x86_64-linux-gnu-capsule-capture-libs: error: code 13: realpath("/home/user1/.steam"): Permission denied
pressure-vessel-wrap[19227]: E: Child process exited with code 1
this happens even if i remove steam from the user1 account.
expected: user2's steam to use /home/user2/.steam for everything.
actual: user2's steamwebhelper is stuck trying to use /home/user1/.steam
Steps for reproducing this issue: