Cloude Steam Loader

Cloude Steam Loader is an experimental, local-first plugin loader for the desktop Steam client. It injects local JavaScript and CSS plugins into Steam UI while keeping remote installers, automatic updates, and native backend HTTP disabled.

This snapshot targets Windows x64 and was tested with Steam client build 1788291500 from September 2026. Steam updates can change internal APIs, so keep a backup before replacing loader files.

Highlights

• Loads plugins from <Steam>\cloude\plugins.
• Supports frontend-only JavaScript and CSS plugins.
• Keeps plugin and theme installation local.
• Blocks native remote installers, update downloads, and backend HTTP calls.
• Includes compatibility fixes for the current four-argument CreateSimpleProcess ABI and Steam's BFinishedInitBeforeLogin readiness API.

Runtime layout

Steam\
├── wsock32.dll                         # copy of cloude.bootstrap64.dll
└── cloude\
    ├── bin\
    │   ├── cloude.crashhandler64.exe
    │   └── cloude.luavm64.exe
    ├── config\
    ├── lib\
    │   ├── cloude.bootstrap64.dll
    │   ├── cloude.dll
    │   └── cloude.hhx64.dll
    ├── plugins\
    └── themes\

Build on Windows

Requirements:

• Visual Studio 2022 with the C++ desktop workload;
• CMake and Ninja;
• Bun, used by the TypeScript build.

From a Visual Studio 2022 Developer PowerShell:

cmake --preset windows-debug `
  -DCLOUDE_BUILD_TO_STEAM_PATH=OFF `
  -DCLOUDE_BUILD_TESTS=OFF `
  -DMZ_LZMA=OFF `
  -DMZ_ZSTD=OFF `
  -DCURL_ZSTD=OFF

cmake --build build --parallel 8

The five Windows runtime files are written to build/:

• cloude.dll
• cloude.bootstrap64.dll
• cloude.hhx64.dll
• cloude.luavm64.exe
• cloude.crashhandler64.exe

Manual installation

1. Exit Steam completely.
2. Back up an existing wsock32.dll and cloude directory from the Steam folder.
3. Create the runtime layout shown above.
4. Copy cloude.bootstrap64.dll both to cloude\lib and to the Steam root as wsock32.dll.
5. Copy the other four build artifacts to their matching bin or lib directories.
6. Place local plugins in cloude\plugins, then start Steam.

Do not install the proxy DLL over an unrelated wsock32.dll without identifying and backing it up first.

Project status

This is a source snapshot for local development, not an official Steam or Valve product. The loader relies on internal Steam interfaces and may require another compatibility update after a Steam client release.

The code is derived from the open-source SteamClientHomebrew/Millennium project and retains its MIT license and attribution.

License

MIT