r/linux4noobs • u/xX_Just_A_Gamer_Xx • Jul 21 '25
storage How do I delete Steam off of Linux?
So I made the mistake of not considering that maybe I shouldn’t run steam on Linux since it’s not windows, and from the fact that this Linux laptop is not made to run games at all, so, if anyone could tell me how to remove applications off of this Linux I would be glad.
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u/iammoney45 Jul 22 '25
You can uninstall any package/program by using the package manager you installed it with, just add the correct flag to the command. For apt you just need to do "apt remove <package name>" in this case the package is steam. If you installed with a GUI package manager there should be an uninstall button in there.
Steam is great on Linux, the
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u/SmallMongoose5727 Jul 22 '25
Steam works great on Linux just don't use bootlegs
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u/Damglador Jul 23 '25
Tbh Steam on Linux is a bootleg by itself, because instead of letting package manager do the package managing it installs itself in your home directory. And uninstalling the package will do basically nothing, since the package is just an installer, probably a desktop file and a script for /bin.
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u/8null8 Jul 22 '25 edited Jul 23 '26
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This post was anonymized with Redact.dev
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u/PhoenixLandPirate Jul 22 '25
Valve recommends that you run Steam on Linux, and sell devices on with Linux pre-installed, so Idk where you get the idea that "maybe I shouldn’t run steam on Linux since it’s not windows"
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u/Corvus1412 Jul 22 '25
What do you mean? Steam works great on Linux and Linux can run games pretty well.
I mean, valve themselves ship Linux with their hardware.
But uninstalling is done with "sudo apt remove <package_name>" or "sudo apt purge <package_name>" if you also want to delete the config files.
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u/skyfishgoo Jul 22 '25
you would uninstall it the same way you installed it.... did you use the software store, did you download something from the internet, did you add a repository to your system?
you are the only one who knows how steam got there.
as for all the space it's using, that is likely due to the games you installed, which you can also uninstall using the steam application (see their support page for instructions if you can't figure it out).
even after uninstalling there still might be folders in your /home that need to be deleted, you sill just have to cruse the file system looking or anything "steam" or "valve" related.
you can also delete your ~/.cache folder as that can build up a "crust" sometimes.
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u/Sorry-Committee2069 Jul 22 '25
"apt remove steam" and then "apt autoremove" will remove the packages, but you also need to "rm -rf ~/.steam ~/.local/share/Steam" to get rid of the runtime and games and cache and whatnot.
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u/SHUTDOWN6 Jul 22 '25
Valve is literally one of the most linux supportive corpos out there. Steam works natively on Linux and even the games that are not linux native, work with their built-in Proton. Is this post a troll? It feels like one.
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u/bialyikar Jul 22 '25
You can do it through the application manager, and then manually delete the configuration files and the games themselves (like on Windows). But it's easier, like someone already said here, by running these commands in the terminal: sudo apt purge steam; sudo rm -rf $HOME/.steam $HOME/.local/share/Steam Additionally, if you had other Steam libraries, you need to run: sudo rm -rf path_to_the_library Be careful with the rm command – don’t delete something important!
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Jul 22 '25
sudo apt remove steam OR sudo pacman -R steam OR sudo dnf remove steam or whatever else people use these days
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u/Real-Abrocoma-2823 Jul 22 '25
Why would you think steam with game would run on 4gb pc? Even on phones it is hard to install any uptodate appsince 4gb is so not enough. Also even if you had more storage then ram cpu gpu and temps will not allow you to game on this.
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u/T47MB Jul 24 '25
Something to note here, if storage space is your main concern — this graph is showing space taken up by all files in the steam directory, not steam itself. That means it’ll include any games or other applications you have installed thru steam. Older games and more basic 2D indie titles should run fine even on very low end hardware, and you can circumvent any storage limitations by installing them to an SD card or usb drive - just set it up as a new library in steam settings.
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u/Shadow_Bisharp Jul 22 '25
if you installed usingapt