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I've just installed Steam, and I've noticed that Steam has created a lot of files and directories in my home directory: such as:

  • linux32
  • result
  • steamdeps.txt
  • steam_install_agreement.txt
  • steam_latest.deb
  • steam.sh
  • ubuntu12_32

Can I safely remove these files from my home directory? If not, what would you advice to clean up my home directory?

Is there any way to stop Steam from polluting my home directory in the future?

Exeleration-G
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2 Answers2

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if you create a .hidden file with each of those names in it (1 line each) they will not be displayed in nautilus (ubuntu's default file manager) unless you set it to show hidden files, i am sure you can delete the install ones but i am not sure about the rest
** does not work in thunar bug 110521

Community
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GM-Script-Writer-62850
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  • What would be the best way to do that in my case? Shoud I just write: `touch linux32.hidden`, for example? – Exeleration-G May 04 '13 at 09:15
  • `echo -e "linux32\nresult\nsteamdeps.txt\nsteam.sh\nubuntu12_32" > ~/.hidden` – GM-Script-Writer-62850 May 04 '13 at 12:39
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    Hey, thanks. That's a nice solution, and I'm using it right now. But as this solution _hides_ the pollution instead of really _removing_ it (for instance, `ls` still shows the files), I will not set this as the final answer for a while. I hope you can understand this. – Exeleration-G May 04 '13 at 13:23
  • I do, it is just a workaround, there is more than that in `~/` run `ls -a ~/` and you will see all the hidden files/folders, you can try moving the files and see if steam breaks/recreates them – GM-Script-Writer-62850 May 04 '13 at 14:42
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    It is important to note that the `.hidden` file currently is only read by Nautilus. All other file managers, not only Thunar, don't work with it. – Glutanimate May 04 '13 at 16:38
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After the Steam beta went public the Steam directory was changed from $HOME to $HOME/.local/share/Steam. You might want to try uninstalling your current Steam installation and re-installing from the USC.

Glutanimate
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  • Shouldn't this be a comment instead of an answer? – jobukkit May 04 '13 at 16:54
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    I'll try this. If this works, it's good as an answer. – Exeleration-G May 04 '13 at 19:37
  • I just removed the Steam version that I downloaded from [Valve's website](http://repo.steampowered.com/steam/archive/precise/steam_latest.deb), and installed Steam from the Ubuntu repositories by typing `sudo apt-get install steam`. No files showed up in my home directory. Thanks! – Exeleration-G May 04 '13 at 19:47