Control: tags -1 + unreproducible moreinfo
On Sun, 01 Feb 2026 at 15:15:03 +0000, Simon McVittie wrote:
Package: steam-installer
Version: 1:1.0.0.78~ds-3
Control: submitter -1 [email protected]
On Fri, 23 Jan 2026 at 20:28:38 +0100, Ger Zeeman wrote:
I noticed in the changelog for steam-installer 1:1.0.0.78~ds-3 that
you removed /usr/share/pixmaps/steam_tray_mono.png with the message
"Remove dangling symlink".
Converting this into a proper bug report before I reply to it.
Yes, /usr/share/pixmaps/steam_tray_mono.png was removed in
1:1.0.0.78~ds-3. However, as I said in the changelog, it was a dangling
symlink: there was no actual icon in the package, only a symbolic link
pointing to the gap where an icon could have been. This was left over
from a previous packaging setup, which couldn't continue to be used
because it had licensing issues.
I'm writing to report that this file is actually required by Steam
for its system tray icon. On Linux Mint 22.3 (XFCE and Cinnamon), Steam
shows a generic/black tray icon when this file is missing.
This seems to be environment-dependent. In GNOME with
gnome-shell-extension-appindicator, it works normally: it uses an icon
looked up in the icon theme, which is downloaded as part of Steam
(normally ~/.local/share/icons/hicolor/48x48/apps/steam_tray_mono.png
which is made into a symbolic link to
~/.steam/root/deb-installer/steam-launcher/icons/48/steam_tray_mono.png).
This is also working as expected for me under XFCE, Cinnamon and MATE on
Debian unstable (tested xfce4-panel 4.20.6-1, cinnamon 6.4.13-1,
mate-panel 1.27.1-4.1+b1). Is there a desktop environment in Debian
where this issue can be reproduced?
It sounds as though on Linux Mint, Steam is using an older(?) tray icon
protocol that uses hard-coded paths in /usr/share/pixmaps, rather than
the icon theme mechanism. Debian is not responsible for derivatives like
Linux Mint, and doesn't provide support for them.
The file can be restored with:
sudo cp /usr/share/icons/Mint-Y/apps/24/steam.png
/usr/share/pixmaps/steam_tray_mono.png
The Mint-Y icon theme is not normally installed on Debian systems, but I
see what you mean. I see that several icon themes in Debian have an icon
of this name that has been drawn by someone other than Valve and
released under an open-source license, so perhaps one of those could be
copied into the steam-installer package.
However, to be able to test that this change is working as expected,
I'll need an example of a desktop environment where this issue can be
reproduced on a current Debian system. In all of the desktop
environments I've tried, the current steam-installer is already working,
and displays a tray icon as expected.
Unfortunately we cannot simply take the same icons that are in Valve's
steam-launcher package and copy them into Debian's packaging, because
that would be copyright-infringing: they have not given us a license
under which we can legally redistribute those icons (and if they did, it
would probably not be an open-source license suitable for inclusion in
Debian contrib).
(We also cannot make /usr/share/pixmaps/steam_tray_mono.png a symbolic
link to a file in your home directory, because that would only work for
one specific username.)
Thanks,
smcv
