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SteamShell Wiki

Reader-friendly documentation for SteamShell 2.0.0 and its XFE companion. Short, focused pages — the sidebar has everything.

In Shell mode, SteamShell replaces the Windows shell. Test it on a machine you can restore. Ctrl+Alt+Shift+E registers Explorer as the shell again and closes SteamShell. Learn that key before you need it.

Alongside mode and the XFE companion never write that registry value and carry none of this risk.

What is SteamShell?

A Windows "boot to Steam Big Picture" shell replacement. It launches Big Picture, keeps the right window in front, and gives you a controller-driven pointer, a Quick Menu, and console-style control over display, audio and frame limiting — without a keyboard.

SteamShell runs in either of two modes. Shell mode is the takeover described above. Alongside mode is the same program as an ordinary application: Explorer keeps the desktop and the taskbar, nothing touches the shell registry, and you still get the Quick Menu, the controller pointer, RTSS control and Launcher Cleanup. Pick one at install and convert later from Settings — see Shell & Alongside modes.

SteamShell XFE is the same controller layer for people running Windows' Xbox Full Screen Experience instead. It changes nothing about your shell.

Both are version 2.0.0 and share most of their code.

Where to start

You want to…	Go to
Install it	Install
Decide which product	Which product?
Run it without replacing the shell	Shell & Alongside modes
Drive it from the couch	Quick Menu
Change a setting	Settings
See the settings editor	Settings Editor
Reach it from the desktop	Desktop & Tray
Remap a button	Controller Mappings
Use a controller it doesn't recognise	Controller Learner
Fix dead controller input	Input recovery
Understand why it focused that window	Focus & scoring
Cap frame rate	RTSS
Work out what went wrong	Debugging

What's in 2.0.0

• Smooth controller cursor. Movement is a velocity scaled by real elapsed time instead of a fixed step per poll, so it travels instead of ticking along.
• Mouse speed is a slider with its range visible.
• Second-monitor games are detected properly.
• Controller input recovers after sleep, and Ctrl+Alt+Shift+I re-arms it manually.
• Batched controller reports no longer get dropped.

Full detail in the changelog.

Deeper reference

The wiki is the friendly version. In the repository:

• SteamShell/README.md — full standalone reference
• SteamShell/README-XFE.md — full companion reference
• STEAMSHELL_PROJECT_OVERVIEW.md — design decisions and incident write-ups