Steam Workshop

This page is for people who already have the Steam edition. Workshop can change themes, lyric scenes, visualizers, EQ presets, and sandbox plugins.

One rule first:

Subscribe in Steam only downloads. Open Workshop → Installed in ECHO and click Use. It applies after validation.

ECHO never asks for your Steam password, Steam Guard, or cookies. Stop if a project or tool does.

Before you start

1. You installed ECHO from Steam, not the website package.
2. You start ECHO from Steam, and the Steam client is still running.
3. This account can open ECHO’s Workshop.
4. Steam downloads are not paused, and the disk has space.
5. Do not browse Workshop while stuck offline.

Thirty seconds

1. Start ECHO from Steam.
2. Open Workshop on the left.
3. Open Discover and find an item.
4. Click Subscribe and wait for Steam.
5. Open Installed and find that item.
6. Click Use.
7. Enabled or Current theme means it applied.

If it stays on “waiting for download”, wait, then Refresh. Check Steam’s download list for pauses.

The four tabs

Tab	What you do there
Discover	Browse, search, subscribe / unsubscribe, open the Steam page
Installed	Use, disable, or update downloaded or locally imported items
Create	For authors. Skip for daily listening → Workshop SDK tutorial
Arrange	Dependencies, rollback, cleanup, automation. Rarely needed for listening

Top status:

Status	Healthy	If it is not
Steam	Can read subscriptions and installs	Start from Steam and go online
Registry	Can record validated items	Do not spam Use if it is read-only
Folders	Theme / lyrics / visualizer folders are writable	Restart ECHO, then Safe repair
Repair	Last consistency check finished	Follow the on-page repair

Full flow

1. Discover

1. Workshop → Discover.
2. Search title or tags.
3. Sort by trending, votes, or newest.
4. Read the preview. Open “View on Steam” if unsure.
5. A pretty preview is not a compatibility or licensing guarantee. ECHO still checks files before use.

2. Subscribe and wait

1. Click Subscribe.
2. Steam queues the download. It may not start instantly.
3. If nothing moves, open Steam Downloads for pause, throttle, or disk space.
4. When it finishes, Refresh in ECHO.

Do not toggle subscribe to “hurry” it. Do not fake a Workshop install folder by hand.

3. Use

1. Open Installed.
2. Filter by type if the list is long.
3. Click Use.
4. Wait for download confirm, manifest, hash check, register, enable.
5. Confirm the effect with the section below.

If Use says it is still downloading, leave Steam and ECHO open.

What you can subscribe to

Type	What changes	How you know it worked
Theme	Colors, layout, UI art	Current theme and the chrome looks different
Lyric scene	Lyrics page layout and motion	Pick it in lyrics settings
Visualizer	Visualizer parameters	Open the visualizer while a track plays
DSP / EQ preset	A safe parameter set	You clicked Apply to DSP. Needs ECHO Pro DLC
Audio plug-in profile	Describes a VST3 already on your PC. No installer	Enabled means registered. Sound changes only when the local plug-in and adapter are present
Sandbox plugin	Commands, panels, source search, lyric sources	After you accept permissions, use Plugins at the bottom right

Most items are data. Only packages marked as plugins run checked HTML/JavaScript, and only in an isolated page. ECHO does not run Workshop exe, dll, Node addons, or shell scripts.

Buy and install VST software from the vendor. Workshop will not give you a cracked binary.

Confirm it applied

Theme

1. Enable and switch, or Switch theme.
2. Wait for Current theme.
3. Check sidebar, player, and cards.
4. Restore from theme settings with a built-in theme.

Lyric scene

1. Click Use.
2. Play a familiar track that has lyrics.
3. Choose the Workshop lyric theme, or switch back to built-in.
4. Plain text or missing lyrics may show almost no change.

Visualizer

1. Click Use.
2. Open the visualizer and play.
3. Mute or very low energy looks idle.

DSP / EQ

1. Turn volume down first.
2. Click Apply to DSP.
3. Compare a familiar track and the EQ numbers.
4. If it slams, switch back to a built-in or manual set.

Without Pro, this processing stays locked. See Using the Steam edition.

Audio plug-in profile

1. Read the required vendor, name, and Class ID.
2. Install the plug-in from a legitimate source.
3. Enable the profile in ECHO.
4. “Needs local plug-in” means the profile is registered, not that audio is processed yet.

Sandbox plugin

1. Click Use.
2. Read the permission box. Cancel if playback control, library writes, queue writes, network hosts, or upload share are unclear.
3. Open Plugins at the bottom right.
4. Commands run once. Panels open in a window ECHO owns. The close button is ECHO’s.
5. Searchable sources are not the official catalog. The first play of a host asks again.
6. Do not put passwords, cookies, tokens, or Steam Guard in plugin settings.

Disable removes its UI. It does not unsubscribe on Steam.

A Workshop source search is not official NetEase or Spotify integration. Only play URLs you have the right to use and have confirmed.

What Use actually does

1. Confirms Steam finished the install, or reads the local pack you chose.
2. Reads echo.workshop.json.
3. Checks paths, types, size, SHA-256.
4. Rejects shortcuts, executables, and reckless remote assets.
5. Registers and enables only what passed.

Subscribed ≠ applied.

Buttons

Button	Meaning
Subscribe	Steam download only
Unsubscribe	Stops Steam updates. ECHO’s record may linger until refresh
Use	Validate and enable
Update and keep using	Validate the new version and keep it on
Sync installed version	Re-check files. Does not enable a disabled item
Disable	Stop using it in ECHO. Subscription stays
Refresh	Re-read Steam and local state
Safe repair	Reconcile records. Does not bypass a failed check
Import local pack	For authors and testers. Does not upload

Status words

You see	Meaning	Do this
Waiting for download	Steam is not done	Wait, refresh
Downloading	Files are moving	Stay online
Waiting to import	Files are here, not in ECHO yet	Click Use
Disabled	Imported, not active	Click Use
Enabled	Available	Check the matching page
Current theme	This theme is live	Stop clicking
Update available	Newer files on Steam	Sync or Use after download
Isolated	Failed validation	Read the error. Do not edit the manifest to sneak it in
Error	Download or files broke	Refresh, then re-verify / re-download

Update, disable, remove

Update: finish any theme or DSP change, wait for Steam, refresh, then Update and keep using. If the new version is worse, disable and return to built-in.

Pause using it: Disable.

Remove it: disable → unsubscribe on Discover or the Steam page → refresh. Switch themes and DSP back to safe built-ins first.

Safe repair helps when Steam finished but ECHO still spins, statuses drift after an update, or an unsubscribed item still shows a name.

Symptoms

Symptom	Check	Then
Discover is empty	Started from Steam, online	Refresh; start Steam first
Subscribe never finishes	Steam download queue	Resume download, refresh
Downloaded, missing in Installed	Refresh	Do not copy folders by hand
Use fails validation	Fresh author update	Re-download, re-verify; send the item ID to the author
Theme enabled, UI unchanged	Is it Current theme	Switch theme again
DSP no change	Applied to DSP, and Pro owned	Compare a familiar track at low volume
No Plugins button	Item is Enabled	Wait and refresh; then disable

When you report, include the item ID, ECHO version, and a status screenshot. Do not send Steam tickets, full local paths, or logs that dump your library.

Next

• Using the Steam edition
• Plug-in permissions (Workshop sandbox is narrower than legacy main-process plug-ins)
• Workshop SDK tutorial — local tooling and publish flow for authors
• Plugin permission ideas: Plugin authoring (Workshop sandbox is narrower than old main-process plugins)