[BUG] Installation says is "requires superuser access to finish setup", but doesn't ask for it, then displays an error that installation "is incomplete."

[jMyles]

So far I've installed Steam from both Snap and Flatpak and had the same outcome:

It displays a dialog box, saying "SteamVR requires superuser access to finish setup. Proceed?" The available options are "No" and "Yes."

Clicking Yes causes the dialogue to disappear, but it does not then go through the normal flow of asking for superuser access.

Subsequently, a dialogue box ("error" severity) appears, saying: "SteamVR setup is incomplete, some features might be missing. See Steam client logs folder for details."

A cursory look through the logs doesn't show me anything that immediately stands out, but there are quite a lot of logged messages and I'm not sure what to grep for.

After the error message, SteamVR launches, but my headset (Bigscreen Beyond) is not detected.

To Reproduce
Steps to reproduce the behavior:

1. Install SteamVR
2. Click "Yes"
3. See error

Expected behavior
For the installation to proceed normally.

System Information (please complete the following information):
Please use the latest Steam beta client and SteamVR beta for your bug reports!

• Steam client version (build number or date): 1726604483
• SteamVR version: beta 2.8.6
• Distribution (e.g. Ubuntu): Ubuntu 24.04
• Steam runtime diagnostics: https://gist.github.com/jMyles/74eb735e65aff04a17242d2cf1dff0b3

[jMyles]

Update:

I presume that ~/snap/steam/common/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/SteamVR/bin/vrsetup.sh is the shell script being run under the hood here.

If i run this command manually, it produces a dialogue with a different style (appears to be steam-styled, rather than OS default), again saying that it needs sudo to finish setup. This time, however, it does actually ask.

I give it the requested permission, and indeed the subsequent error goes away. However, it still doesn't detect my Bigscreen Beyond.

[caseif]

This occurs due to sandboxing in both Snap and Flatpak. The only real workaround is what you discovered - to set capabilities on the binary manually outside of the sandbox. See this issue for more info on this.

As for your headset not being detected, I would personally advise creating a separate issue since it's most likely unrelated to the setcap issue. Be sure to include your Steam/SteamVR logs as well.

[MissBC]

I had the same error behaviour and message, my headset was detected though (AMG GPU, Valve Index, Steam Client beta: yes, SteamVR beta: yes). What fixed it for me was the solution from this issue: flathub/com.valvesoftware.Steam#1334 (comment)

(set SteamVR launch option to

QT_QPA_PLATFORM=xcb ~/.var/app/com.valvesoftware.Steam/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/SteamVR/bin/vrmonitor.sh %command%

)

[cheezygt]

Replying to #750 (comment)

i have the same issue, unfortunately that didnt work for me. do you have anymore potential fixes?

[MissBC]

Replying to #750 (comment)

Sorry, no. I stopped looking for fixes after I found this.
Have you tried flatseal to manage permissions? I saw someone else mention it, but I didn’t try it because the launch option worked for me.