Meet FrameDrop: Your sideloading client for Steam Frame! Built from what I’ve learned over the last 4 months of owning a Steam Frame (1/4)

FrameDrop is an easy to pair and use installer for Steam Frame, making it easy to sideload any application. EXE, APK, or ARM64 binaries, right from your windows PC. The goal was to make sideloading onto the Frame as simple as possible! (2/4)

FrameDrop is also easy for developers to use! developers can create an easy-to-use ‘Install with FrameDrop’ button right on their website! They can host their own build and make it as easy as possible for people to download and install on the Frame! (3/4)

FrameDrop is the first of three tools in a series I’m working on for the Frame/Developer community. I am very happy to get this in peoples hands, I want to make sure devs have the best tools for working on this new platform! Excited to see what people make! (4/4)

Windows support only right now! Linux and possibly Mac support in the future!

WHAAAAAAAAT

I would LOVE to see some sort of app store/hub powered by this. obviously devs can host their programs wherever, but a centralized repository would be very nice

Working on something to make easier, stay tuned!

Oh my gosh thank you. I was thinking about how much of a barrier SteamOS Devkit client was going to be for the average person. I was worried most people wouldn't even bother installing apks. this is so much better

Thanks man! I had the same thoughts on the devkit client, really wanted to make something straightforward and simple, glad I was able to get it where it is!

for a guide on how easy it is to pair your headset, check out here!

Too add a little info to clear up confusion! Yes, you can load applications onto the headset locally or without this app. The goal of FrameDrop was to make that process as easy as possible and auto set any translation layers or runtimes needed, so even non techy ppl can do it!

Frame isnt exactly like your average headset, you can just download something like an APK and run it, it needs to be properly set up, valve ships a tool called the SteamOS devkit client that can do this, but its not the easiest or most user friendly experience

There is a good bit more manual work, FrameDrop automatically does that manual work for you, making it as simple as a drag and drop

I thought sideloading was a term primarily for installing third party apps on an otherwise closed ecosystem/OS. How is an installer on SteamOS (which is basically Archlinux and fully open) sideloading?

Love this! Can’t wait to use with my frame :)

Will this sideload android aps like Netflix

end of the day it depends on if the frame runs it or not, it will definitely sideload it, may have to play around in device to get it to run!

i like it cade. nice job

everything is vibecoded these days

congrats on the release! this is rad!

🏆

That is one funny name for a sideloading client. Also comically enough what my frame will be doing a lot of the time when I try to run some bullshit on it.

cade doing good work over here

Spreading the word about this, keep up the awesome work!

Don't call it sideloading

trying to understand the usecase here, why would one use FrameDrop when you can install things directly in desktop mode?

"Download this random binary onto your Windows PC from a SquareSpace hosted website created 3 days ago - It's not bad - Promise ^_^"

Wait, I'm confused. I was under the impression that you could just install whatever you wanted, if the Frame could run it. What would be the reason for a side loader?

This looks so great!

Dude what the frick how do we already have a sideloader 🤩🤩

Was AI used in the making of this software

This looks amazing for something this early! Have you tested if it works under proton/wine for linux users?

thoughts about making this open source?

Does sideloading work with quest apks and flatscreen android apks?

While you can sideload any APK, and it will register, getting them to run is another thing, I have had some free to download quest games (like QuestCraft) launch on the Frame with no changes, other quest games may have meta-specific dependancies

Flat android APKs in my experience have not worked too often, FrameDrop will sideload them and get them configured to use lepton, but you may have to go into the lepton development app in-headset to configure them or get them to launch on device

i'm ok if they can just run as a regular window in desktop mode

Slick!

Does this make it possible to load "normal" 2D Android apps via APK? Like YouTube etc?

I have been thinking about the filesharing to Frame recently. But is this not possible? 1. You share a network folder on you PC. 2. In the Frame you mount that folder and make it permanent. I know with step 2 sometimes you have to go to fstab so it remounts every boot.

open source?

Thank you John Frame

Looking good, but i would like to see an option to do it locally on the headset

How will this work alongside Decky? They have plans for a frame build.

So, with this i could for example download the Teamfight Tactics APK and play it on the steam frame? Does it use lepton for it?