Bug#1126795: steam-installer: tray icon not working in XFCE and Cinnamon due to removed steam_tray_mono.png

[Simon McVittie]

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 gzeeman at gmail.com
>
>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