How to Install
One of the most substantive parts of this project is actually the QuickPatcher application, which makes installing & uninstalling the patch as easy as clicking one button. I recommend this option for most users.
Go to the Releases page. Select a release (such as the latest) and download the QuickPatcher_Patch_vX.X.X.zip archive.
The QuickPatcher application includes the patch files. You do not need to download them separately.
Extract the zip archive somewhere, then launch the QuickPatcher.
Set the path to your Steam install if needed (it will be autofilled), choose a version of the patch to install, and click the Install FriendsUI Patch button.
If you currently have a previous version of the patch installed, it will be updated by the QuickPatcher.
Close the QuickPatcher, launch Steam, and get back to chatting with your friends.
If your Friends List is still broken, relaunch the QuickPatcher and try installing a different version of the patch. Not all versions of the Steam client are equal. Older versions of the Steam client may require older versions of the patch, and newer Steam clients may require newer versions.
This is the same procedure that the QuickPatcher application performs. If you are unable to use the QuickPatcher (e.g. you have Steam installed on Linux), you will have to follow these steps.
Go to the Releases page. Select a release (such as the latest) and download the zipped PatchPayload_vX.X.X-guid archive for that release. This archive contains all of the patch files that you will be adding to your Steam client.
Open explorer and browse to directory where Steam is installed. This is typically C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\.
If Steam is running, close it. Otherwise, you will need to use a utility to forcibly release the locks Steam may be holding on its program files.
Open the clientui directory. It contains a few files and folders, including friends.js. Rename friends.js to something different - the recommended name is friends.js.first-backup, which is what the QuickPatcher application uses.
You can create this backup somewhere else, if you prefer, or you can skip this step entirely. The patch does not depend on the original friends.js file.
Note on updating: If you are trying to manually update the version of the installed patch, skip this step! There is no reason to back-up a modified friends.js file. You already should have friends.js.first-backup from when you installed the earlier version of the patch.
This is only if you are updating from an old version of the patch to a newer version of the patch.
Delete the existing steam-chat.com-snapshot-mod-{guid} patch payload folder. This will remove the old patch version's files.
Extract the contents of the PatchPayload*.zip archive you downloaded to a temporary folder.
Browse to the extracted patch files in explorer, then open the clientui folder.
It contains two items:
- A
friends.jsfile - A
steam-chat.com-snapshot-mod-{guid}payload folder
Copy these two items into Steam's clientui directory. If you skipped Step 3, choose yes when prompted to overwrite friends.js.
The contents of Steam\clientui will now look like this:
The install is complete. Launch Steam and you are good to go.
Refer to the How to Uninstall article.