How to Fix Black Friend List Bug on Steam?

The friends list or chat window in Steam may turn completely black, making it impossible to see friends or send messages unless Steam is restarted. This happens because the part of Steam that handles chat and friends doesn’t load properly. Steam uses a built-in web interface for these features. 

The most common cause is a damaged “clientui” or “webcache” folder in Steam. Problems with graphics settings or recent graphics driver updates can also cause this issue.

1. Run Steam as an Administrator

Giving Steam admin rights helps it load all its interface files correctly, which can fix the black friends list problem. Without admin access, Windows may block some parts of the interface from showing.

1. Right-click on the Steam icon.
2. Select Run as administrator.

3. Check your friends list now to see if it appears correctly.

2. Delete the ClientUI Folder

Deleting the ClientUI folder makes Steam recreate the interface files, which can fix problems like a black friends list. Old or broken files in this folder often cause issues with the chat and friends windows.

1. Go to the Steam installation folder. To do this, right-click the Steam shortcut and select Open File Location. By default, it’s usually located at C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam.

2. Find and delete the ClientUI folder.

3. Restart Steam and check your friends list again.

3. Clear Steam Download Cache

Clearing the download cache updates Steam’s temporary files, which can fix problems with the friends list or chat not loading correctly. It also helps avoid issues caused by old or damaged cached files.

1. Open Steam and click the Steam logo or Steam in the top-left corner.
2. Select Settings.

3. Select the Downloads tab.
4. Click Clear Cache next to Clear Download Cache.

5. Choose OK when prompted, then log in to Steam again.

4. Delete the htmlcache Folder

Deleting the htmlcache folder removes saved web data used by Steam’s friends and chat system. This can fix problems like the interface not loading correctly or showing a black screen because of broken cache files.

1. Close Steam completely.
2. Open the File Manager and navigate to: %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Steam\htmlcache
3. Select and delete all files inside the htmlcache folder.

4. Restart Steam and see if the friends list displays properly.

5. Repair the Steam Service

Repairing the Steam service fixes background parts that control important features like chat, friends, and overlays. If these parts are broken or set up wrong, the friends list might not load properly.

1. Right-click on Steam’s desktop icon and select Open file location.
2. Copy the full file path. The default location is: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\bin\SteamService.exe
3. Type cmd in the Start menu.
4. Right-click and run Command Prompt as administrator.

5. With Command Prompt open, and your path copied, enter the following command and press Enter:

   "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\bin\SteamService.exe" /repair

6. Once finished, relaunch Steam. Your friends list should now appear as normal.

6. Re-login to Steam

Logging out and back into Steam refreshes your session and clears quick account issues. This can fix problems where the friends list won’t load because of a bad login or expired session.

1. Open Steam.
2. Click Steam in the top-left corner.
3. Choose Sign out and confirm when asked.

4. Open Steam again and log in to your account.

7. Update Steam

1. Open Steam.
2. Click the Steam logo or Steam at the top-left.
3. Select Check for Steam Client Updates.

4. If an update is available, Steam will automatically update itself.

If your Steam friends list is still blacked out after trying all these steps, contact Steam Support to report the issue. They may have additional solutions to help you get things working again.