Using SteamVR as OpenXR runtime without Steam

[whateVeR]

Hi,

I'd like to ask if there is any way to be able to run an OpenXR application with SteamVR as its runtime, but without the need to have Steam installed at its entirety. Something like this SteamVR for enterprise article but without using OpenVR, Unity or Unreal.

I tried isolating the SteamVR installation and ran it from vrstartup.exe, but then the Steam Link app in my Quest3 couldn't locate the host PC because it wasn't running Steam. Is there a solution to this? Thanks in advance!

[Rectus]

I believe Steam Link in particular needs Steam running. If you use another driver or streaming solution, it should work without Steam installed.

[whateVeR]

Something like e.g. Virtual Desktop? To generalize a little, what are some alternatives that are considered more appropriate/common choices for business/enhanced-security usage?

[Rectus]

You'd be limited to Virtual Desktop or ALVR. Not really sure about what's actually being used in security sensitive applications though. I'd imagine tethered headsets are more commonly used than all-in-one ones, since most of the latter ones require online accounts and phone home.

[whateVeR]

Thank you Rectus for that info, much appreciated. :)

[The19thFighter]

Hey there, running ALVR, I noticed, steamtours can run without Steam running (and on the downside you don't have all the workshop content available).
ALVR is my preferred method of having VR, because it runs on both Windows and Linux as well as on my Quest 1 model, that works well enough for streaming and development purposes.

[whateVeR]

Hey @The19thFighter , yeah it seems it can be run if you open SteamVR first manually after launching the ALVR streamer, which is very encouraging, but it can't be considered complete yet. For example you can't change settings that require a SteamVR restart (since ALVR will try to relaunch it via Steam) and some other issues. There's a recent relevant discussion in their github [github.com] . Hopefully it'll be improved soon.