‑ Do you use a version of the Steam client released May 2023 or earlier?
‑ Do you use the June or July 2023 client with the -vgui switch?
‑ Do you use the August 2023 client with steam://restartinuimode/vgui?

If you answered yes, then you probably see this when you launch Steam:

This is the result of the broken/incompatible changes Valve has made to the Steam chat service since September 21st 2023. Valve has abandoned the vgui-based Steam clients and no longer tests their services against these clients to make sure they actually work correctly. As a result, they have broken Steam friends & chat in the vgui-capable Steam clients and will not fix it.

So, I created a patch for the Steam client that works around the issue and restores modern friends/chat to working order. It's easy to install & remove and is VAC safe.

This guide will show you how to apply the patch and get back to chatting with your friends.

Originally, this Steam guide explained the patch and how to apply it to your Steam client.

However, Valve censored all my attempts to include that information here. Discussing parts of the Steam client and/or how to modify them results in very lengthy, time-wasting editing bans to your Steam guide. It's abhorrent.

So, I've relocated most of this guide to a place where speech is a little less censored:

All of the code for my patch is hosted at the following github repository:
https://github.com/TiberiumFusion/FixedSteamFriendsUI
Valve intermittently censors this link. As a backup, here is a picture of the link as well:


https://github.com/TiberiumFusion/FixedSteamFriendsUI/wiki
Backup picture:


I highly recommend that you bookmark the link to the repo, since there is no guarantee the information in this guide will remain available for the future. All the info here in this guide is also on the github repo's wiki pages.

After you install the patch, launch Steam and your friends list will be back to normal again.


You can chat, group chat, voice chat, add/remove friends, invite friends to games, set your status, show your game presence, etc etc and it's all working.

For more information on the circumstances that necessitated this patch, how it works, what its advantages are, how to remove it, and more, please refer to the Wiki pages on the github repo.

If you encounter any problems, please open an issue on the github repo!

Version 6.0.0 (June 29th, 2025) (link)[github.com]
‑ The patch has been rebased onto version 9686916 of steam-chat dot com (circa April 28 2025), which is the final version of steam-chat dot com which works in FriendsUI. This will probably be the final rebase and thus the final major version of this patch.

Version 5.0.0 (December 23rd, 2024) (link)[github.com]
‑ The patch has been rebased onto version 9431461 of steam-chat dot com (circa December 21 2024), which is the latest version as of writing this.

Version 4.0.0 (August 14th, 2024) (link)[github.com]
‑ The patch has been rebased onto version 9097133 of steam-chat dot com (circa August 8 2024), which is the latest version as of writing this.

Version 3.0.1 (May 2nd, 2024) (link)[github.com]
‑ Hotfix for the constant high CPU usage bug present in v3.0.0. The Friends List no longer maxes out a core while open.

Version 3.0.0 (April 21st, 2024) (link)[github.com]
‑ The patch has been rebased onto version 8825046 of steam-chat dot com (circa April 18 2024), which is the latest version as of writing this.
- Right-click friend > Watch Game now works again (again).

Version 2.0.2 (January 16th, 2024) (link)[github.com]
‑ Hotfix for the focus stealing bug present in v2.0.1. Popup windows no longer always steal focus when they first appear. Notably, this means you are no longer dragged out of games and back to your desktop when a friend first messages you (via the automatic chat window popup).

Version 2.0.1 (January 2nd, 2024) (link)[github.com]
‑ Compatibility with the Dec 2022 Steam client (and other older versions that 8601984 doesn't support) has been improved. The Friends List is no longer a black rectangle, and mini profiles no longer instantly close.

Version 2.0.0 (December 29th, 2023) (link)[github.com]
‑ The patch has been rebased onto version 8601984 of steam-chat dot com (circa Dec 22 2023), which is the latest version as of writing this. Previously, the patch was based on version 8200419 (circa late July 2023). Migrating to 8601984 has resolved some known problems, particularly issues that arose due to drift between 8200419 and the constantly changing Valve servers.
- On-hover mini profiles now work in all known intended scenarios.
- Right-click friend > Watch Game now works again.
- Unrelated to the rebase, the patch now uses your Steam client's actual country code, instead of always using "US".

Version 1.2.0 (October 22nd, 2023) (link)[github.com]
‑ Intermittent FriendsUI load failure (symptom of probable Valve race condition) has been mitigated with an automatic detect & retry. It's not a deterministic fix, but it will greatly improve the odds of the friends list properly loading on Steam launch for most affected users.
‑ The blue "Retry Connection" button has been upgraded to perform a stronger reload. This is useful for manually reloading FriendsUI to fix the aforementioned issue if needed, without needing to restart Steam entirely.
‑ Compatibility with the Dec 2022 Steam client (and other older versions that 8200419 doesn't support) has been improved. Bringing up the context menu now works without causing an error.

Version 1.1.0 (October 8th, 2023) (link)[github.com]
‑ Localized display text is now working and will use your chosen language set in your Steam client settings. In other words, it's not stuck in English anymore.

Version 1.0.0 (October 5th, 2023) (link)[github.com]
- Initial release.

My patch restores "modern" friends/chat to working order. This is the Discord clone version of Steam friends/chat that replaced classic friends/chat in the August 2018 Steam client update. If you like modern friends/chat, then I recommend you use the patch I created.

Otherwise, you can use...

Did you know that vgui-capable Steam clients still have the gold old vgui-based 2010-era friends & chat? Unfortunately, it is highly neglected by Valve and only functions on a basic level. But it is an alternate solution.

To enable it, you will need to:

1. Rename or delete C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\package\steam_client_win32.manifest
   
2. Launch Steam with the -nofriendsui argument (edit your Steam.lnk shortcut)

It's nostalgic and classic, but I really don't recommend it. Only basic features are working, a lot of things are broken, and Valve may kill the server infrastructure that it uses sooner than later. Also, modifying/hiding/deleting steam_client_win32.manifest might have implications currently unknown.

If you experiences problems or difficulties with the patch, please let me know and I will address them. I update the patch as needed to fix bugs, expand support for more versions of Steam, and keep it working for the foreseeable future.

To appease any bluepill Valve moderators that may attack this guide: Caveat emptor. This is a "try at your own risk" kind of project with no obligation or guarantee of results. However, you can try it with confidence because I have made every effort to make this patch as clean and safe as possible.