Okay, that works, but the functionality should still match the Windows client. The Windows client has this option in the GUI, so the Linux one should too.

Okay. I take it back. It worked for literally one reboot. Steam actually reset the ~/.config/autostart/steam.desktop launcher when it started up. I'd have to put the option back in every time before shutting down the computer for this to work, so this is not an effective workaround.

I edited the config one again just to see what would happen and it seems to be sticking now. I think the other one had to do with an issue I was experiencing with a malfunctioning game which prevented me from closing Steam, forcing me to reboot without letting Steam shut down properly. I guess the crash recovery routine resets everything - including the startup thing.

So the first workaround does work, but this still needs to be put as a proper option within the GUI.

@kisak-valve:

Hello @Yowlen, running steam -silent should give this behavior. Adjusting the Exec= line of ~/.config/autostart/steam.desktop to end with -silent should also give that behavior when Steam starts with the user session.

This is what I do, and I have the file in version control. But Steam keeps overwriting it:

-Exec=/usr/games/steam -silent %U                                       
+Exec=/usr/games/steam %U

/usr/share/applications/steam.desktop is not the right place to modify for user-specific configuration, either.

@kisak-valve:

1. Steam should stop messing with the Exec line of ~/.config/autostart/Steam.desktop
2. ... with the exception of adding/removing -silent, which should have an option in the GUI as @Yowlen pointed out.

Just to be clear, I figured out why it resets. Whenever a client update is released, the ~/.config/autostart/Steam.desktop file gets reset. And with me being in the beta program now, it updates every day, sometimes more than once. (I wasn't in the beta program 2 months ago when I wrote those other replies.)

This makes it impossible to use this workaround anymore unless I were to back out of the beta program and essentially forfeit my ability to test other issues I'm currently vested in getting fixed.

Yeah, either Steam or the user modifies that ~/.config/autostart/Steam.desktop, but clearly not both.

@kisak-valve: another angle for this:

1. Install /usr/share/applications/steam.desktop pristine as usual.
2. Allow people to manually copy this to ~/.local/share/applications/steam.desktop to override the system-wide configuration (to add -silent for example). This is the de facto way to overriding .desktop files, and I think for example update-desktop-database considers it.
3. Make ~/.config/autostart/Steam.desktop just a wrapper that starts steam.desktop, using the overridden file if it exists. I imagine there ought to be an existing command for this, but can't remember one.

Additionally maybe just add a toggleable GUI option that is used as default when no -silent is passed (for completeness, add -no-silent too).

There's no reason a user should have to do any of that, though. Any startup options should be toggleable in the GUI, barring an emergency debug command line option or whatever. No hacky workarounds, no command line unless absolutely necessary. We need to start holding Linux's user-friendliness to the same standards as Windows if we ever hope to have Linux not be an outlier in the desktop/laptop OS market. Steam is pushing their Linux-based SteamOS, so I would hope that they understand this necessity.

The Windows version has this option in the GUI, so the Linux version should have it too. That's all there is to it.

This still seems to be an open issue, a very much appreciated one! Please add it soon.

There should be a GUI option to start Steam minimised on startup, just like the Windows client.

Which is why this issue is still open. It's not that hard to add, either. They would only need to add logic to the autostart shortcut creation subroutine to add the -silent switch to it if the GUI option is checked, or remove it if it's not.

I have no idea how to do GUI stuff, but even with my own limited skillset, I can make a bash script that can toggle this at will, so unless the GUI change is really that hard, or there's another piece of Steam's code that's getting in the way somewhere, it's no more than a 5 minute fix.

Yeah, its pretty annoying to have to edit the ~/.config/autostart/steam.desktop file every time Steam updates to add the -silent flag. The Linux GUI should have the same options as the Windows one, especially simple features like this.

Is there any motion on this issue?

Is there any movement on this issue?

In case steam developers stay LAZY to add this, one might consider creating a CRON job that runs every min to check and add the option back to the USER CONFIG desktop file...

That cronjob could run a script that uses grep to check for the option and sed to modify it inline if needed 😉

Thanks for the suggestions how to work around this issue. Let me share the non-interactive command to apply the workaround (as suggested by @TriMoon).
sed -i '/Exec/ { /-silent/! s/steam\>/steam -silent/ }' ~/.config/autostart/steam.desktop
Make this into a cronjob or a script until the steam settings GUI provide support for this.

I want't to add to this that I have been monitoring the power consumption of my NVIDIA graphics card. When Steam is NOT minimized the card consumes about 31 Watt (as measured by the driver) and the clocks stay very active. When Steam minimizes power goes down to 8 Watt and the clock frequency drops to 400 Mhz on my card. To conclude, while you are working on your desktop it is best to keep Steam minimized to the tray on not have the window open.
But it clearly indicates that the Steam client is doing something which it ain't supposed to do. There is no reason why it should consume that amount of power from the GPU. As a side note, BigPicture mode also consumes a lot of power even when you don't interact with the screen.

@cminnoy That's because it has a browser window process active when shown, which ofcourse has javascript running...
More reason to start it minimized on startup :wink:

Maybe so.

Large Window Mode and Big Picture mode have similar power consumption issues, even you go to your games library, which is just a bunch of icons.
If you select just one game, then the power goes back to normal. So you may be right.

Small Window Mode doesn’t have the issue, neither when you minimise Steam or close it to tray.

As a side note there is another issue with big picture mode:

When I use a Windows client and open there big picture mode, then select a game to stream from my Linux host, Steam on the host stays in big picture mode even after closing the game on the client. And as Steam consumes quite a bit of power extra in big picture mode, your game machine might be not so power efficient when idle.

We may wonder why Steam on the host switches to big picture at all when you stream to a Windows/Linux client, as it serves no purpose at that time I think.

Only using SteamLink as client it has a purpose, as then you get to see the Steam screen of the host on the client.

Van: ©TriMoon™ [mailto:[email protected]]
Verzonden: dinsdag 28 januari 2020 11:16
Aan: ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux [email protected]
CC: cminnoy [email protected]; Mention [email protected]
Onderwerp: Re: [ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux] "Start Minimized on Boot" GUI option is missing (#5806)

@cminnoy https://github.com/cminnoy That's because it has a browser window process active when shown, which ofcourse has javascript running...
More reason to start it minimized on startup 😉

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Just to be clear, I figured out why it resets. Whenever a client update is released, the ~/.config/autostart/Steam.desktop file gets reset. And with me being in the beta program now, it updates every day, sometimes more than once. (I wasn't in the beta program 2 months ago when I wrote those other replies.)

This makes it impossible to use this workaround anymore unless I were to back out of the beta program and essentially forfeit my ability to test other issues I'm currently vested in getting fixed.

Can't you just copy the ~/.config/autostart/steam.desktop file to ~/.config/autostart/steam-at.desktop or something similar and not use the GUI as a workaround? This should stop the file from being overwritten with every update.

Why would I not use the GUI? I can't install new games from Firefox, and updating to the latest GloriousEggroll Proton version on each new release so that music and stuff works in Warframe (among other things that get messed up due to official Proton versions not compiling FAudio with ffmpeg support) requires going into the GUI to change it.

There's a multitude of reasons to want to use the GUI but not have it pop up when you boot up the system, so that workaround is likely only gonna work for a select few people.

We need proper "Start Minimized on Boot" support, including a GUI checkbox. There's no reason the Linux version shouldn't have the same features as the Windows version.

I meant, not use the GUI to set Steam to start on boot minimized. As a workaround. Until Valve has fixed this.
Of course you should use the GUI for everything else.

But that's the whole problem. There's no GUI option for any of this in the first place. Adding the -silent flag has to be done manually.

And honestly, devs that make Linux apps have a bad habit of taking any "workarounds" that actually work and making it the official "solution" just to avoid having to implement it properly in their own code.

So leave the workarounds out of it. I don't wanna risk another bug report getting closed because the workaround was deemed "good enough". I've had more than enough of that from the DXVK devs, among others.

Edit: Just to be clear, I'm not saying Steam's Linux devs are like that. I'm just saying I don't wanna risk it.

It's a hack but setting the .desktop owner to root might do the job making it non-writable.

I repeat, THIS IS A HACK but it fixed the problem for me!! :D

1. add the option inside the file /usr/share/applications/steam.desktop
2. open steam>settings disable start at boot
3. re-enable start at boot and check the file ~/.config/autostart/Steam.desktop

in my system it adds the options from /usr/share/applications/steam.desktop file and it keeps this setting for every boot after that consistently

I will say that adding the -silent option to the ~/.config/autostart/steam.desktop file, then making the file read-only to the user does work as a workaround, and is easier to accomplish than the rest of the workarounds that have been suggested, and unlike them, this doesn't require root to perform since chmod (or the GUI file manager equivalent) doesn't need root to work on the user's own files.

Still need the GUI option, ofc, but this has been working for me for a month or two now.

Disable the option within Steam "Run when my computer starts" then manually add the -silent option into a manually-made new/copied autostart.

Yes, Steam will also execute if you make a manual autostart and as far as I see, will not rewrite it if the option is disabled to continually monitor and remake it within Steam.

You can also be extra sure and just give the autostart a different name, like I did. I don't make sense of how Steam would detect such a 'rogue' autostart with a different name and delete it.

This is every annoying. It should just be added to the code rather than asking Linux users to manually run periodic jobs that update the desktop shortcut. There should be a preference that gets saved to disk, as well as code that reads it at startup and decides whether to show the main window or not.

Will this option ever be added to the Linux client? Its simple enough to add, the "-silent" argument just has to be included in the steam.desktop file when the option is enabled.

I repeat, THIS IS A HACK but it fixed the problem for me!! :D

1. add the option inside the file /usr/share/applications/steam.desktop
2. open steam>settings disable start at boot
3. re-enable start at boot and check the file ~/.config/autostart/Steam.desktop

in my system it adds the options from /usr/share/applications/steam.desktop file and it keeps this setting for every boot after that consistently

Works - Will have to wait and see if it persists after updates which it seems it should.

Shameful that this is still an issue in January 2021, years after it was initially raised given how simple of a fix it must be to implement.

using that hack as well, thanks qaron84, but it will be nice when there's a checkbox to add -silent

1. disable the autostart steam when system boots from the steam client

[Desktop Entry]
Name=Steam (Runtime)
Comment=Application for managing and playing games on Steam
Comment[pt_BR]=Aplicativo para jogar e gerenciar jogos no Steam
Comment[bg]=Приложение за ръководене и пускане на игри в Steam
Comment[cs]=Aplikace pro spravování a hraní her ve službě Steam
Comment[da]=Applikation til at håndtere og spille spil på Steam
Comment[nl]=Applicatie voor het beheer en het spelen van games op Steam
Comment[fi]=Steamin pelien hallintaan ja pelaamiseen tarkoitettu sovellus
Comment[fr]=Application de gestion et d'utilisation des jeux sur Steam
Comment[de]=Anwendung zum Verwalten und Spielen von Spielen auf Steam
Comment[el]=Εφαρμογή διαχείρισης παιχνιδιών στο Steam
Comment[hu]=Alkalmazás a Steames játékok futtatásához és kezeléséhez
Comment[it]=Applicazione per la gestione e l'esecuzione di giochi su Steam
Comment[ja]=Steam 上でゲームを管理＆プレイするためのアプリケーション
Comment[ko]=Steam에 있는 게임을 관리하고 플레이할 수 있는 응용 프로그램
Comment[no]=Program for å administrere og spille spill på Steam
Comment[pt_PT]=Aplicação para organizar e executar jogos no Steam
Comment[pl]=Aplikacja do zarządzania i uruchamiania gier na platformie Steam
Comment[ro]=Aplicație pentru administrarea și jucatul jocurilor pe Steam
Comment[ru]=Приложение для игр и управления играми в Steam
Comment[es]=Aplicación para administrar y ejecutar juegos en Steam
Comment[sv]=Ett program för att hantera samt spela spel på Steam
Comment[zh_CN]=管理和进行 Steam 游戏的应用程序
Comment[zh_TW]=管理並執行 Steam 遊戲的應用程式
Comment[th]=โปรแกรมสำหรับจัดการและเล่นเกมบน Steam
Comment[tr]=Steam üzerinden oyun oynama ve düzenleme uygulaması
Comment[uk]=Програма для керування іграми та запуску ігор у Steam
Comment[vi]=Ứng dụng để quản lý và chơi trò chơi trên Steam
Exec=/usr/bin/steam-runtime %U -silent
Icon=steam
Terminal=false
Type=Application
Categories=Network;FileTransfer;Game;
MimeType=x-scheme-handler/steam;
Actions=Store;Community;Library;Servers;Screenshots;News;Settings;BigPicture;Friends;

[Desktop Action Store]
Name=Store
Name[pt_BR]=Loja
Name[bg]=Магазин
Name[cs]=Obchod
Name[da]=Butik
Name[nl]=Winkel
Name[fi]=Kauppa
Name[fr]=Magasin
Name[de]=Shop
Name[el]=ΚΑΤΑΣΤΗΜΑ
Name[hu]=Áruház
Name[it]=Negozio
Name[ja]=ストア
Name[ko]=상점
Name[no]=Butikk
Name[pt_PT]=Loja
Name[pl]=Sklep
Name[ro]=Magazin
Name[ru]=Магазин
Name[es]=Tienda
Name[sv]=Butik
Name[zh_CN]=商店
Name[zh_TW]=商店
Name[th]=ร้านค้า
Name[tr]=Mağaza
Name[uk]=Крамниця
Name[vi]=Cửa hàng
Exec=steam steam://store

[Desktop Action Community]
Name=Community
Name[pt_BR]=Comunidade
Name[bg]=Общност
Name[cs]=Komunita
Name[da]=Fællesskab
Name[nl]=Community
Name[fi]=Yhteisö
Name[fr]=Communauté
Name[de]=Community
Name[el]=Κοινότητα
Name[hu]=Közösség
Name[it]=Comunità
Name[ja]=コミュニティ
Name[ko]=커뮤니티
Name[no]=Samfunn
Name[pt_PT]=Comunidade
Name[pl]=Społeczność
Name[ro]=Comunitate
Name[ru]=Сообщество
Name[es]=Comunidad
Name[sv]=Gemenskap
Name[zh_CN]=社区
Name[zh_TW]=社群
Name[th]=ชุมชน
Name[tr]=Topluluk
Name[uk]=Спільнота
Name[vi]=Cộng đồng
Exec=steam steam://url/SteamIDControlPage

[Desktop Action Library]
Name=Library
Name[pt_BR]=Biblioteca
Name[bg]=Библиотека
Name[cs]=Knihovna
Name[da]=Bibliotek
Name[nl]=Bibliotheek
Name[fi]=Kokoelma
Name[fr]=Bibliothèque
Name[de]=Bibliothek
Name[el]=Συλλογή
Name[hu]=Könyvtár
Name[it]=Libreria
Name[ja]=ライブラリ
Name[ko]=라이브러리
Name[no]=Bibliotek
Name[pt_PT]=Biblioteca
Name[pl]=Biblioteka
Name[ro]=Colecţie
Name[ru]=Библиотека
Name[es]=Biblioteca
Name[sv]=Bibliotek
Name[zh_CN]=库
Name[zh_TW]=收藏庫
Name[th]=คลัง
Name[tr]=Kütüphane
Name[uk]=Бібліотека
Name[vi]=Thư viện
Exec=steam steam://open/games

[Desktop Action Servers]
Name=Servers
Name[pt_BR]=Servidores
Name[bg]=Сървъри
Name[cs]=Servery
Name[da]=Servere
Name[nl]=Servers
Name[fi]=Palvelimet
Name[fr]=Serveurs
Name[de]=Server
Name[el]=Διακομιστές
Name[hu]=Szerverek
Name[it]=Server
Name[ja]=サーバー
Name[ko]=서버
Name[no]=Tjenere
Name[pt_PT]=Servidores
Name[pl]=Serwery
Name[ro]=Servere
Name[ru]=Серверы
Name[es]=Servidores
Name[sv]=Servrar
Name[zh_CN]=服务器
Name[zh_TW]=伺服器
Name[th]=เซิร์ฟเวอร์
Name[tr]=Sunucular
Name[uk]=Сервери
Name[vi]=Máy chủ
Exec=steam steam://open/servers

[Desktop Action Screenshots]
Name=Screenshots
Name[pt_BR]=Capturas de tela
Name[bg]=Снимки
Name[cs]=Snímky obrazovky
Name[da]=Skærmbilleder
Name[nl]=Screenshots
Name[fi]=Kuvankaappaukset
Name[fr]=Captures d'écran
Name[de]=Screenshots
Name[el]=Φωτογραφίες
Name[hu]=Képernyőmentések
Name[it]=Screenshot
Name[ja]=スクリーンショット
Name[ko]=스크린샷
Name[no]=Skjermbilder
Name[pt_PT]=Capturas de ecrã
Name[pl]=Zrzuty ekranu
Name[ro]=Capturi de ecran
Name[ru]=Скриншоты
Name[es]=Capturas
Name[sv]=Skärmdumpar
Name[zh_CN]=截图
Name[zh_TW]=螢幕擷圖
Name[th]=ภาพหน้าจอ
Name[tr]=Ekran Görüntüleri
Name[uk]=Скріншоти
Name[vi]=Ảnh chụp
Exec=steam steam://open/screenshots

[Desktop Action News]
Name=News
Name[pt_BR]=Notícias
Name[bg]=Новини
Name[cs]=Zprávy
Name[da]=Nyheder
Name[nl]=Nieuws
Name[fi]=Uutiset
Name[fr]=Actualités
Name[de]=Neuigkeiten
Name[el]=Νέα
Name[hu]=Hírek
Name[it]=Notizie
Name[ja]=ニュース
Name[ko]=뉴스
Name[no]=Nyheter
Name[pt_PT]=Novidades
Name[pl]=Aktualności
Name[ro]=Știri
Name[ru]=Новости
Name[es]=Noticias
Name[sv]=Nyheter
Name[zh_CN]=新闻
Name[zh_TW]=新聞
Name[th]=ข่าวสาร
Name[tr]=Haberler
Name[uk]=Новини
Name[vi]=Tin tức
Exec=steam steam://open/news

[Desktop Action Settings]
Name=Settings
Name[pt_BR]=Configurações
Name[bg]=Настройки
Name[cs]=Nastavení
Name[da]=Indstillinger
Name[nl]=Instellingen
Name[fi]=Asetukset
Name[fr]=Paramètres
Name[de]=Einstellungen
Name[el]=Ρυθμίσεις
Name[hu]=Beállítások
Name[it]=Impostazioni
Name[ja]=設定
Name[ko]=설정
Name[no]=Innstillinger
Name[pt_PT]=Definições
Name[pl]=Ustawienia
Name[ro]=Setări
Name[ru]=Настройки
Name[es]=Parámetros
Name[sv]=Inställningar
Name[zh_CN]=设置
Name[zh_TW]=設定
Name[th]=การตั้งค่า
Name[tr]=Ayarlar
Name[uk]=Налаштування
Name[vi]=Thiết lập
Exec=steam steam://open/settings

[Desktop Action BigPicture]
Name=Big Picture
Exec=steam steam://open/bigpicture

[Desktop Action Friends]
Name=Friends
Name[pt_BR]=Amigos
Name[bg]=Приятели
Name[cs]=Přátelé
Name[da]=Venner
Name[nl]=Vrienden
Name[fi]=Kaverit
Name[fr]=Amis
Name[de]=Freunde
Name[el]=Φίλοι
Name[hu]=Barátok
Name[it]=Amici
Name[ja]=フレンド
Name[ko]=친구
Name[no]=Venner
Name[pt_PT]=Amigos
Name[pl]=Znajomi
Name[ro]=Prieteni
Name[ru]=Друзья
Name[es]=Amigos
Name[sv]=Vänner
Name[zh_CN]=好友
Name[zh_TW]=好友
Name[th]=เพื่อน
Name[tr]=Arkadaşlar
Name[uk]=Друзі
Name[vi]=Bạn bè
Exec=steam steam://open/friends

1. reboot system... now steam is always opening in silent mode!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For me, adding the -silent flag to ~/.config/autostart/steam.desktop used to work, but now it no longer does. Even with the -silent flag added, steam still shows up on boot. Not sure what's going on with that.

For me, adding the -silent flag to ~/.config/autostart/steam.desktop used to work, but now it no longer does. Even with the -silent flag added, steam still shows up on boot. Not sure what's going on with that.

Works for me on Arch, the key is Line 30 in qaron84's contents of SteamSilent.desktop:

Exec=/usr/bin/steam-runtime %U -silent

Directly having that is the only change needed in the original steam.desktop file. Make sure it is not --silent with two hyphens. I tried that as a typo and it does not work.

Also worth re-mentioning that Steam can potentially overwrite ~/.config/autostart/steam.desktop on updates, so you may need to set it to read-only in order to keep Steam from removing the -silent argument. (It's worked for me, at least, since finding out it was an option checks the clock over a year ago.)

But again, all of this could be solved once and for all if Steam simply added a GUI option to set the flag for us. 3 years without such a simple fix for a feature parity issue is a very strange thing to see. If people up above can write scripts for it, it can't be that much harder to implement it into Steam itself. If Steam for Windows doesn't bother us with the window on bootup, neither should Steam for Linux. >.>

@Furvy

They don't fix these issues, I believe, because they are looking for new programmers to contribute to the free code rather than have a bunch of non-contributors demand essentially free customer service.

Ah, if only we got off our butts, learn programming and do it ourselves, eh? Maybe someday I will...

The Steam client is not open source and Valve does not take PRs to improve it. This repository is only for tracking issues, and contains no source code.

Steam is not exactly free either; Valve gets 30 % cut of sales, which can be used to support and develop the software that gets them paying customers in the first place.

This issue has a lot of subscribers, so let's stay on topic and focus on workarounds to this issue until it's properly fixed.

The UI option "[x] Run Steam when my computer starts" creates ~/.config/autostart/Steam.desktop, so to prevent it getting overwritten by Steam, a simple workaround is to:

1. cp ~/.config/autostart/Steam.desktop ~/.config/autostart/Steam_custom.desktop.
2. Change the Exec line of Steam_custom.desktop to: Exec=/usr/games/steam -silent %U
3. Uncheck Run Steam when my computer starts.

Why is this still an issue? It seems like this would take the absolute minimum effort for Valve to resolve. It has been 3 years!

@ kisak-valve
This works like a charm, thnx.

Add the GUI option!

There's a start steam in big picture mode option, but no start steam minimized option. What the heck?

It's 2022 now, the problem still exists.

Yes, please add a gui option for this, or at least a config parameter we can set somewhere without modifying the shortcut.

People have suggested a cron job but instead I just created a script (if you want to call these two lines a script) and added that to my startup processes so that steam can't tell there is an entry for it.

#!/bin/bash
steam -silent

I named it steam_silent.sh, made it executable, then added it to my Startup Application Preferences. Now Steam does not magically mark 'Run Steam when my computer starts' in settings upon detecting an entry for the command 'steam'.

Here you go Valve, I submit these two lines of code as a PR.

Replying to https://github.com/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/issues/5806#issuecomment-1096027594

This PR may also fix several other bugs related to starting on boot, and streamline the process.

Please fix this. It's such a trivial change and would be so pleasant for the users. Incorporate the -silent argument into the GUI options so it can persist please.

Tired of huge steam window popping up every boot. Nice to have it running in the background but I don't want to see it until I got to launch a game.

Also worth re-mentioning that Steam can potentially overwrite ~/.config/autostart/steam.desktop on updates, so you may need to set it to read-only in order to keep Steam from removing the -silent argument.

Can also just use a different name, e.g. steam_silent.desktop but probably best to not have the autostart box ticked in Steam's preferences or you'll end up with a duplicate.

I named it steam_silent.sh, made it executable, then added it to my Startup Application Preferences.

This is effectively the same as creating your own .desktop file in ~/.config/autostart (that's what your Startup Application Preferences does under the hood). Just set Exec=steam -silent. As long as the file isn't named steam.desktop, steam won't edit it.

You could achieve the same thing without a separate script by adding steam -silent directly to your Startup Applications, no script required. (Assuming Startup Applications doesn't decide to name the desktop entry steam.desktop)

UNCHECK "Run Steam when my computer starts" in the settings and put a shortcut of steam with -nochatui -nofriendsui -silent in run => shell:startup

UNCHECK "Run Steam when my computer starts" in the settings and put a shortcut of steam with -nochatui -nofriendsui -silent in run => shell:startup

Oddly enough, Steam still overwrites the new shortcut anyway. I'm seriously considering to mark it read-only but who knows what might break if I do

UNCHECK "Run Steam when my computer starts" in the settings and put a shortcut of steam with -nochatui -nofriendsui -silent in run => shell:startup

Oddly enough, Steam still overwrites the new shortcut anyway. I'm seriously considering to mark it read-only but who knows what might break if I do

i haven't been fooled by an overwriting steam, who replaces my shortcut, so far, but still my senses do fool me sometimes, this thread is about steam for linux and not steam for windows.

my solution works for steam for linux.

I've had mine marked as read-only since it was first suggested by someone a few months after I opened this issue. Specifically, I enable the autostart option within Steam, then manually add the -silent parameter, and then mark the file read-only.

I haven't run into any problems in the 3+ years since doing that. Steam doesn't overwrite it or anything, and it functions as expected. I consider it probably the easiest workaround in the bunch or at least one of the easiest.

I really wish Steam would fix this themselves, but at least I haven't needed to bother with it for most of the time since I opened this issue.

I've known about this option, and know all about the Linux filesystem, the prioritizing of folders etc of XDG. However, why does Steam requires the window to be the active window to start Big Picture Mode using the Guide button on my Logitech, that Steam considers Xbox controllers although the layout is more PS, just logical as 360s are very well supported.

Any way to use -silent and having a controller being able to launch Big Picture Mode. I mean BPM has improved A LOT now.

the silent flag no longer seems to do anything at all with the latest release.

any updates guys?

So many years and nothing...

6 years still no start minimized in settings...

This feature used to be present through a command flag (-silent), Valve removed this flag in an update years ago and gave no plans to bring the feature back.

This issue should be flagged as a "won't fix".

EDIT: It seems they silently reenabled the -silent flag earlier this year, joy!
Use -silent and start on boot to achieve this functionality.

They definitely have the ability to put this in the GUI, Valve just hasn't for many years for whatever reason.

It's 2025, and I STILL have to add the "-silent" parameter manually. WTF?

EDIT: If you want to know why this is annoying, I have the steam package installed from Arch Linux's repos. In order for Steam to launch minimized every time I run it, I have to add the -silent parameter to the /usr/bin/steam-runtime script. This works... until the next time the steam package gets an update. Whenever this package updates, it overwrites this file.

I could probably mitigate this with a pacman hook, but I wouldn't know how to write one to do it.

create your own .desktop file and put it in the folder that overrides them?

Replying to https://github.com/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/issues/5806#issuecomment-3567961628

It turns out I was blaming the wrong package. At the time I was using steam-native-runtime, which I ended up removing because it was causing issues with some multilib packages.

In any case, with just the normal steam package installed, adding -silent to the Exec line of the [Desktop Entry] section of the .desktop file works great. Still would be nice if they added a checkbox in the UI, but much simpler than what I was doing before.

wow... 8 years and they haven't made this option available in the UI, not even bothered to reply why

wow... 8 years and they haven't made this option available in the UI, not even bothered to reply why

at this point i think its better to just like, not care. it's become one of those things that i just do manually now.

I think this year is year of "Start Minimized on Boot", stay strong guys!

wow... 8 years and they haven't made this option available in the UI, not even bothered to reply why

at this point i think its better to just like, not care. it's become one of those things that i just do manually now.

I think it'd be better if there were an option for it in the GUI. If Valve cares at all about feature parity with Windows, they should implement this.

With windows now being reduced to AI slop this would be so much worth implementing

For anyone looking for a sum-up of a workaround without going through 8 years of this issue and for Linux-newbies like me, this is what appears to work for me:

1. Steam -> Settings -> Interface -> Activate "Run Steam when my computer starts"
2. In directory ~/.config/autostart
   2a) Create a copy of steam.desktop, name it whatever you like
   2b) Edit properties
   2c) Add -silent before %U in the Command-line
   e.g. Exec=sh -c 'STEAM_FRAME_FORCE_CLOSE=1 steam **-silent** %U'
3. Steam -> Settings -> Interface -> DEactivate "Run Steam when my computer starts"

This should create an autostart-entry for steam that doesn't get overwritten by updates.

It's easier than that, tbh. This has worked fine for me since I created the issue report.

1. Steam -> Settings -> Interface -> Activate "Run Steam when my computer starts"
2. Open ~/.config/autostart/steam.desktop in a text editor and add -silent between steam and %U in the Exec= line.
3. Set ~/.config/autostart/steam.desktop to read-only.

still would like an GUI option. That this issue is open nearly 8 years for something this small is crazy