Steamer

Steamer is an open-source desktop tool for Windows that helps you:

• Inject game .lua files into Steam’s config folder in a clean, canonical format
• Track & update games by replacing the ManifestID when a newer one appears
• Check for updates automatically via the public data shown on steamdb.info

⚠️ Why Steamer? Many “Steam tools” circulating online are closed-source; community reports have raised concerns about telemetry and safety in some of them. We believe users deserve a transparent, auditable, open-source alternative. Steamer’s code is public so you can inspect, build, and trust what you run.

Educational use only. This project is provided for learning and research. You are solely responsible for how you use it. Respect Steam/Valve terms and applicable laws. The maintainers do not endorse misuse.

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Community & Support

• 💬 Discord: Join our server

Quick help, discussions, and previews happen on Discord. Come say hi!

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Features

• 🗂️ Drag & Drop or Browse to add .lua files

• 🧩 Canonical rewrite of each file to:

  addappid(APPID)
  addappid(DEPOT,1,"TOKEN")
  setManifestid(DEPOT,"MANIFEST_ID",0)

• 📦 Safe injection → moves the file into <Steam>\config\stplug-in (backs up existing files)

• 🗄️ Local archive → copies each injected file into a gamesAdded/ folder

• 🧾 SQLite logging → games.db (table gamesAdded) tracks filename, appid, depot, manifest_id, dest_path, moved_at

• 🔍 Update check → scrapes SteamDB’s “Previously seen manifests” (headless) and compares ManifestIDs

• 🔄 One-click apply → updates the .lua file and the database to the new ManifestID

• 🖥️ Modern dark UI (PyQt6 + qdarktheme), no browser window shown

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How it works (high-level)

1. Injection

   • You drop a game .lua file into the app (or select it via Browse → Add).
   • Steamer reads the file (and optionally a sidecar JSON) to obtain appid, depot, token, manifest_id.
   • If any of depot, token, or manifest_id is missing, the file is skipped (no hardcoded defaults).
   • The file is rewritten to the canonical 3-line format, moved to <Steam>\config\stplug-in, and archived locally.
   • An entry is recorded in games.db.

2. Update check

   • For each record in games.db, Steamer loads the corresponding SteamDB depot page headlessly and reads the latest ManifestID from the “Previously seen manifests” table.
   • If a newer ManifestID is found, Steamer shows a summary and asks to Apply.
   • On approval, Steamer edits the target .lua line setManifestid(DEPOT,"OLD",0) → setManifestid(DEPOT,"NEW",0) and updates the database.

Steamer does not ship with game files. You must provide your own .lua for each game. You do not need to provide a separate Manifest file—Steamer writes the ManifestID inside the .lua.

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Requirements

• Windows 10/11
• Python 3.10+ (dev/build environment). Tested on 3.10–3.13.
• Google Chrome installed (undetected-chromedriver will use it)
• Network access to steamdb.info

Python dependencies (installed automatically during dev/build):

PyQt6
qdarktheme
undetected-chromedriver
selenium
beautifulsoup4

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Installing (from source)

git clone https://github.com/SteamerLua/Steamer
cd Steamer

# Optional: use a virtual env
python -m venv .venv
.venv\Scripts\activate

pip install -r requirements.txt
python main.py

If you don’t use requirements.txt, install manually:

pip install PyQt6 qdarktheme undetected-chromedriver selenium beautifulsoup4

Note on Cloudflare: In most regions headless access works out of the box. If SteamDB shows a browser check, open the site once in your normal Chrome to warm up a session. Advanced users can set a valid cf_clearance cookie in the code (when building from source).

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Using Steamer

1. Launch the app.

2. Add your game .lua file via drag-and-drop (the panel says “Drag & drop .lua files here (or use Browse → Add)”) or click Browse → Add.

3. Click Inject / Move to Steam.

   • Steamer auto-detects your Steam path (via registry/fallbacks), writes the canonical content, moves the file to <Steam>\config\stplug-in, archives a copy in gamesAdded/, and logs to games.db.

4. Click Check Updates anytime to compare your ManifestIDs with SteamDB.

   • If updates exist, confirm Apply to patch files and the database.

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Building a Windows EXE

We recommend PyInstaller:

pip install pyinstaller
pyinstaller ^
  --name Steamer ^
  --onefile ^
  --windowed ^
  --icon steamer.ico ^
  --add-data "steamer.ico;." ^
  --collect-all selenium ^
  --collect-all undetected_chromedriver ^
  main.py

Artifacts will be produced under dist\Steamer.exe.

Notes

• --windowed hides the console.
• --icon steamer.ico uses your app icon (place steamer.ico next to main.py).
• --collect-all helps PyInstaller bundle Selenium/undetected-chromedriver resources reliably.
• First run may download a matching ChromeDriver automatically.

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Troubleshooting

• “Permission denied” when moving files → Run the app as Administrator or ensure you have write access to <Steam>\config\stplug-in.

• No update results / 403 from SteamDB → Try again later, ensure network access, or open SteamDB once in your normal Chrome. Advanced: embed a valid cf_clearance in the code when building from source.

• Nothing happens after “Check Updates” → Ensure you’ve injected at least one .lua so there are rows in games.db.

• Different Steam install path → Steamer auto-detects via registry; if Steam is portable or custom, make sure the standard folders exist.

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Security & Privacy

• Steamer stores only the minimum needed metadata in games.db (filename, appid, depot, manifest_id, dest_path, moved_at).
• No analytics or tracking are included.
• Not affiliated with Valve/Steam/SteamDB.

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Credits & Origins

• Project name: Steamer

• Maintainers:

  • alhelfi
  • VergilMorvx

• Idea & workflow (injection + updating): VergilMorvx

• SteamDB scraper, update engine & GUI: alhelfi

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License

This project is licensed under AGPL-3.0. See LICENSE for details.

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Disclaimer

This software is provided as is, for educational purposes only. The authors and maintainers are not responsible for misuse, data loss, account issues, or any violations of terms of service that may result from using this tool.

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Why not closed-source “Steam tools”?

We prefer open-source, auditable software. Various closed-source utilities circulating under “Steam tools” names have raised community concerns about telemetry and safety. Steamer provides a transparent alternative you can inspect and build yourself.