Port Manager for the Steam Frame

Installs and updates Steam Frame apps and ports straight from their GitHub releases, like Obtainium: add any repo, and Port Manager keeps it up to date. Works from the headset or a browser.

• Add any GitHub repo by typing owner/name (or pasting a link) on the headset's on-screen keyboard, from the browser page, or by picking a suggestion made for the Frame. The built-in ports (Ship of Harkinian, 2 Ship 2 Harkinian) are there from the start.
• Picks the right download: ARM64 Linux builds (aarch64/arm64, "steamframe"); checksums, Windows, macOS, Android and x86 files are passed over. You can choose another one when adding. Zips, tarballs (gz/xz/bz2/zst), AppImages and single programs all work.
• Two ways to install, picked from the download unless you choose:
  • Library app: unpacked into ~/devkit-game/<name>, given a run.sh (its own, or one that starts the ARM64 program it finds), added to the Steam library with art (the repo's GitHub card and the owner's avatar).
  • Its installer: when the download has install.sh (or contrib/install.sh, setup.sh), it's unpacked into ~/.local/share/port-manager/apps/<id> and that script runs, for tools such as SteamVR overlays. Removing the app runs its uninstaller when it has one.
• Install, update, update all, or pick any version. Pre-releases are skipped unless you turn them on for an app (they're on for apps that only have pre-releases).
• Keeps your stuff: saves live outside the install folder, ROMs placed next to run.sh are carried over, and the previous install is kept for a one-step rollback.
• Won't touch an app that's running. Only add apps you trust: their programs and installers run as your user.

Use it

• In the headset: open Port Manager in the library. D-pad to choose, A open an app (install/update, versions, previous version, pre-releases, remove), Y add an app, Select update all, Start check for updates, B back/close.
• From a phone or PC: http://<frame-ip>:8643 (add apps, edit name/install style/program, remove).

Updates are checked every 6 hours and on demand.

Files

• catalog.json: the built-in ports.
• suggestions.json: apps offered on the Add screen.
• ~/.config/port-manager/catalog.json on the Frame: the apps you added and changes to built-in ones ({"id": "soh", "hidden": true} hides one; adding its repo again brings it back).
• ~/.config/port-manager/installed.json: installed versions.

Private repos

GitHub only shows releases of private repos to signed-in users. Either make the port repos public (they contain no ROMs), or save a token in the web page's Settings: a fine-grained token limited to those repos with read-only Contents access is enough. It's stored in ~/.config/port-manager/config.json (mode 600) and never sent back to the page.

Install

From a computer that can SSH into the Frame:

app/build-arm64.sh       # cross-compiles the headset app into dist/app
./deploy.sh [host]       # host defaults to frame.local

Service only, on the Frame: copy this folder over and run sh install.sh. Uninstall: systemctl --user disable --now frame-port-manager.service and remove Port Manager from the library.

Notes

• The service listens on port 8643 on your network. Set password in ~/.config/port-manager/config.json to require one in the browser (the headset app connects locally and doesn't need it).
• Standard-library Python only. The headset app is C + SDL2 with the public-domain font8x8.
• Testing on another architecture: PORT_MANAGER_EXEC_WRAPPER=qemu-aarch64-static (with QEMU_LD_PREFIX) runs ARM64 AppImages for unpacking; PORT_MANAGER_GAMES changes the install folder.