A cinematic Ken Burns slideshow screensaver for your Steam game library, with a full web-based customizer UI.
- Go to Releases
- Download
PSS-Windows-vX.X.X.zip - Extract the ZIP anywhere (Desktop, Documents, wherever)
- Double-click
PSS.exe
That's it. No Python. No command line. No installs.
- A system tray icon appears in your taskbar (bottom-right, near the clock)
- Your browser opens to the setup page
- Enter your Steam Web API Key when prompted (get one here)
- Done — PSS is running
- Go to Releases
- Download
PSS-Linux-vX.X.X.tar.gz - Extract and run:
tar xzf PSS-Linux-*.tar.gz
./PSS/PSSNo Python install needed — everything is bundled.
Alternative (from source): If you prefer using your system Python:
wget https://github.com/Rayce185/PlexifiedSteamScreensaver/releases/latest/download/PSS-Source-vX.X.X.zip unzip PSS-Source-*.zip && cd PSS-Source bash pss.shRequires Python 3.11+ (
sudo apt install python3 python3-pip)
| Action | What happens |
|---|---|
| Double-click tray icon | Opens the Customizer in your default browser |
| Right-click tray icon | Start / Stop / Restart / Auto-start with OS / Check for Updates / Quit |
| First run | Browser opens setup page → enter Steam API key → library loads automatically |
| Requirement | Windows .exe | Linux binary | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Python 3.11+ | Bundled ✓ | Bundled ✓ | Install separately |
| Steam | ✓ Installed | ✓ Installed | ✓ Installed |
| Steam Web API Key | Prompted on first run | Prompted on first run | Prompted on first run |
| SteamGridDB Key (optional) | Settings UI | Settings UI | Settings UI |
Steam Web API Key: steamcommunity.com/dev/apikey — log in, enter "localhost" as domain, copy the key. SteamGridDB Key (optional, for better images): steamgriddb.com/profile/preferences/api
- Native fullscreen window — launches via system tray, not in a browser. Dismisses on any mouse/keyboard input (real screensaver behavior)
- Ken Burns slideshow — 8 animation variants with configurable intensity and timing
- Multi-row display elements — 14+ data badges across configurable rows with per-row sizing (SM/MD/LG) and color/mono modes
- WYSIWYG layout editor — drag game info and clock overlays anywhere on screen via the Display tab
- Image shuffle mode — random images per game appearance from screenshots, SteamGridDB, and headers
- Multi-account support — auto-detects all Steam accounts, hot-switches without restart
- Per-account API keys — each Steam account stores its own API key
- Complete library coverage — Steam API v1 + local manifest scan for tools/software not in API
- Presets, filters, sorting — type, genre, installed, played, enriched, NSFW, shovelware, Deck status
- Bulk include/exclude — with undo snapshots
- Shovelware detection — configurable 6-signal scoring
- NSFW auto-detection — auto-excludes explicit content from screensaver pool
- Steam Store — genres, developer, metacritic, controller/VR support, descriptions, screenshots
- SteamSpy — owner counts, global avg playtime, review counts
- Steam Deck + ProtonDB — Valve's official Deck compatibility + community Proton tier
- SteamGridDB image cache — hero images with 16:9 aspect ratio filtering
- Type correction — proper app classification from Steam's authoritative catalog
- Per-game image picker — choose from cached images, SGDB alternatives, screenshots, or upload custom
- Shuffle mode — random image each appearance, with batch pre-download option
- Cache management — size tracking, auto-cleanup at configurable limit
- Steam OpenID authentication — only your Steam accounts can access the customizer
- System tray app — start/stop/restart from taskbar, auto-start with OS
- WebSocket live updates — real-time progress for all enrichment workers
- Dynamic log level — DEBUG/INFO/WARNING/ERROR changeable at runtime
- Searchable log viewer — built into Settings UI
Right-click the tray icon → Check for Updates. If a new version is available, it opens the download page. Download the new ZIP, extract over the old folder — your data/ directory is preserved.
./update.sh # backs up data, downloads latest, restores datagit pull origin main
pip install -r requirements.txtOn first launch the server will:
- Create the SQLite database in
data/pss.db - Detect your Steam account(s) from
loginusers.vdf - Fetch your game library from Steam API
- Scan local manifests for installed tools/software
Open in browser:
- Customizer: http://localhost:8787/customizer (opens in your default browser)
- Screensaver: launched natively via tray menu (or http://localhost:8787/screensaver for browser preview)
In the customizer, go to Settings and run enrichment in order:
- Steam Store Enrichment — genres, developer, metacritic, controller/VR (~25 min / 1000 games)
- SteamSpy Enrichment — owner counts, playtime stats, reviews (~4 min / 1000 games)
- Deck & ProtonDB Enrichment — Deck compat, ProtonDB tier, type correction (~7 min / 1000 games)
- SteamGridDB Image Cache — hero image alternatives (requires SGDB API key)
PSS includes a system tray application that sits in your taskbar (Windows) or panel (Linux). Double-click the tray icon to open the Customizer. Right-click for the full menu.
# Windows (no console window — .pyw extension)
pythonw pss_tray.pyw
# Linux
python3 pss_tray.pyw- Open Customizer (double-click) — opens
http://localhost:8787/customizer - Open Screensaver — launches a native fullscreen window (not a browser). Dismisses on any input
- Start / Stop / Restart Server — manage the server process
- Start with OS — toggle auto-launch at login (Windows: Startup folder shortcut, Linux: XDG autostart)
- Check for Updates — checks GitHub for new releases, opens download page if available
- Quit — stops the server and exits the tray
| Icon Color | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Green | Server running |
| Yellow | Starting / Restarting |
| Gray | Stopped |
Launch with --no-server to start the tray without auto-starting the server:
pythonw pss_tray.pyw --no-serverPSS includes service managers for both platforms. These handle auto-start on boot, background execution, and clean start/stop lifecycle.
.\pss-service.ps1 install # Register auto-start at logon (uses pythonw, no console)
.\pss-service.ps1 start # Start now
.\pss-service.ps1 status # Show PID, uptime, memory
.\pss-service.ps1 stop # Stop the server
.\pss-service.ps1 restart # Stop + start
.\pss-service.ps1 uninstall # Remove auto-start and stopUses Task Scheduler with pythonw.exe (no console window). Restarts automatically
up to 3 times on failure with 1-minute intervals.
./pss-service.sh install # Create systemd unit, enable on boot
./pss-service.sh start # Start now
./pss-service.sh status # Show PID, uptime, memory
./pss-service.sh stop # Stop the server
./pss-service.sh restart # Stop + start
./pss-service.sh logs # Follow live journal output
./pss-service.sh uninstall # Remove service and stopCreates a hardened systemd service with Restart=on-failure, NoNewPrivileges,
PrivateTmp, and ProtectSystem=strict.
For debugging or development, use the interactive launchers:
.\Start-PSS.ps1 # Windows — console with colored output
./start.sh # Linux/macOS — terminal with browser auto-open| Method | Path | Description |
|---|---|---|
| GET | /api/games |
Full game library (merged with enrichment) |
| POST | /api/refresh-library |
Re-fetch from Steam API |
| GET | /api/excluded |
Excluded appid list |
| POST | /api/excluded |
Update exclusion list |
| POST | /api/toggle-exclusion |
Toggle single game |
| POST | /api/bulk-exclusion |
Bulk include/exclude |
| POST | /api/exclusion-snapshot |
Save exclusion state |
| GET | /api/exclusion-snapshots |
List saved states |
| POST | /api/exclusion-restore/{id} |
Restore saved state |
| GET | /api/filter-values |
Distinct filterable values |
| POST | /api/repair-types |
Re-run type correction |
| Method | Path | Description |
|---|---|---|
| GET | /api/accounts |
All detected accounts |
| GET | /api/accounts/active |
Current active account |
| GET | /api/accounts/detect |
Re-scan loginusers.vdf |
| POST | /api/accounts/switch |
Switch active account |
| POST | /api/accounts/{id}/api-key |
Set per-account API key |
| DELETE | /api/accounts/{id}/api-key |
Remove per-account API key |
| DELETE | /api/accounts/{id} |
Delete account and all data |
| GET | /api/auth/steam/login |
Steam OpenID login |
| GET | /api/auth/steam/callback |
OpenID callback |
| GET | /api/auth/status |
Session status |
| POST | /api/auth/logout |
Logout |
| Method | Path | Description |
|---|---|---|
| POST | /api/enrichment/start |
Start Store enrichment |
| GET | /api/enrichment/status |
Store enrichment progress |
| POST | /api/enrichment/stop |
Stop Store enrichment |
| POST | /api/steamspy/start |
Start SteamSpy enrichment |
| GET | /api/steamspy/status |
SteamSpy progress |
| POST | /api/steamspy/stop |
Stop SteamSpy |
| POST | /api/deck/start |
Start Deck/ProtonDB enrichment |
| GET | /api/deck/status |
Deck enrichment progress |
| POST | /api/deck/stop |
Stop Deck enrichment |
| POST | /api/cache/start |
Start SGDB image cache |
| GET | /api/cache/status |
Image cache progress |
| POST | /api/cache/stop |
Stop image cache |
| Method | Path | Description |
|---|---|---|
| GET | /api/image/{appid}/hero |
Serve hero image |
| GET | /api/image/{appid}/options |
All image alternatives |
| GET | /api/image/{appid}/random |
Random image (shuffle) |
| POST | /api/image/{appid}/select |
Select specific image |
| POST | /api/image/{appid}/upload |
Upload custom image |
| GET | /api/shuffle-cache/estimate |
Pre-download size estimate |
| POST | /api/shuffle-cache/start |
Start shuffle pre-download |
| GET | /api/shuffle-cache/status |
Pre-download progress |
| POST | /api/shuffle-cache/stop |
Stop pre-download |
| GET | /api/shuffle-cache/size |
Cache disk usage (heroes + variants) |
| POST | /api/shuffle-cache/clear |
Delete all shuffle variant files |
| Method | Path | Description |
|---|---|---|
| GET | /api/config |
Full configuration |
| POST | /api/config |
Update config keys |
| GET | /api/presets |
Saved filter presets |
| POST | /api/presets |
Create/update preset |
| DELETE | /api/presets/{id} |
Delete preset |
| GET | /api/logs |
Log viewer (tail/filter/search) |
| POST | /api/logs/level |
Change log level at runtime |
| WS | /ws |
WebSocket for real-time worker updates |
PSS/
├── pss/
│ ├── __init__.py
│ ├── database.py # SQLite schema v5 + migrations + queries
│ └── server.py # FastAPI server, workers, auth, all API
├── web/
│ ├── screensaver.html # Ken Burns slideshow (multi-row, shuffle)
│ ├── customizer.html # 3-tab config UI (Games/Display/Settings)
│ ├── login.html # Steam OpenID login page
│ └── setup.html # First-run account detection
├── data/ # SQLite database + image cache (gitignored)
├── logs/ # Server logs with archive (gitignored)
├── pss_tray.pyw # ⭐ Main app: system tray + server management
├── pss.spec # PyInstaller spec → builds PSS.exe
├── .github/workflows/ # GitHub Actions: auto-build .exe on release
├── PSS.bat # Windows source launcher (fallback if no .exe)
├── pss.sh # Linux/macOS source launcher
├── Install-PSS.ps1 # Windows manual setup (PowerShell)
├── Start-PSS.ps1 # Windows foreground/debug launcher
├── Update-PSS.ps1 # Windows source updater
├── pss-service.ps1 # Windows headless service (Task Scheduler)
├── install.sh # Linux/macOS manual setup
├── start.sh # Linux/macOS foreground/debug launcher
├── update.sh # Linux/macOS source updater
├── pss-service.sh # Linux headless service (systemd)
├── migrate_v2.py # One-time JSON → SQLite migration (v2 users)
├── requirements.txt
├── .env.example
├── VERSION # Version tag or commit hash
└── .gitignore
SQLite with 5 schema versions, auto-migrating on startup:
- accounts — Steam accounts with persona names and API keys
- games — core library (appid, name, type, playtime, installed status)
- enrichment — Store/SteamSpy/Deck data per game
- image_cache — SGDB image metadata with selection tracking
- display_elements — per-account element ordering with multi-row support
- config — key-value config with scoping (global, per-account)
- presets — saved filter/sort combinations
- exclusion_snapshots — undo history for bulk operations
MIT