Steam Publish (Steamworks + SteamPipe)

Take a finished build to a live Steam store page. Two tracks run in parallel and both must be approved before release: the store page (presence) and the build (SteamPipe upload + the release checklists). This skill is the operational checklist; deep build-script, CI/CD, and troubleshooting detail lives in references/steampipe-build-scripts.md.

When to use

• Use when setting up a Steam app, building/editing the store page, configuring depots and packages, uploading a build via SteamPipe/steamcmd, managing beta branches, or releasing and updating a Steam title.
• Triggers: steam_appid.txt, the Steamworks SDK tools/ContentBuilder, app_build_*.vdf, steamcmd, "publish on Steam", "depot", "set build live".

When not to use: publishing on itch.io (use itch-publish); writing the Steamworks API in-game (achievements/cloud/overlay live in engine SDK integrations, not here); store/financial advice (pricing strategy, tax) — direct the user to Steamworks docs and their own counsel.

Prerequisites (do these once, in order)

1. Partner account + Steam Direct fee. Each new app requires the Steam Direct recoupable fee (USD $100 per app at time of writing). You receive an App ID — find it on your Steamworks homepage. Treat the App ID as the key to everything below. For your first few titles, Valve also enforces a 21-day wait between paying the app fee and releasing that game, so pay it well before the planned launch date.
2. A dedicated build account with least privilege. Builds require a Steam account in your partner group with Edit App Metadata and Publish App Changes To Steam. Create a separate build account with only those permissions (not your admin login). Releasing the app additionally needs Manage pricing and discounts.
3. Download the Steamworks SDK on the upload machine. The SteamPipe tools are under tools/ContentBuilder/.

Security note: never commit account passwords or the config.vdf login token to the repo. See the CI/CD section in the reference for the supported token workflow.

Core workflow

1. Configure the app (App Admin).
   • Set launch options (executable path + args per OS) under Installation. For a sub-folder exe, put the sub-folder in the Executable field — no leading slashes/dots.
   • Add depots on the Depots page (a depot is a bucket of files). Name each depot ("Base Content", "Windows Content"). Leave [All languages] / [All OSes] unless the depot is genuinely OS- or language-specific.
   • Grant yourself the depots: add them to your Developer Comp package on the Associated Packages & DLC page, or you won't own the content you upload.
   • Publish the configuration. Unpublished config is the most common cause of upload failures.
2. Build the store page (presence track). Fill graphical assets, description, tags, trailers, system requirements. When complete, click Mark as ready for review. Store review takes ~3-5 business days; submit at least 7 business days before you want it live. It must be in Coming Soon for at least 2 weeks before release.
3. Create your build scripts. Start with the simple app-build .vdf in Patterns below; for multi-depot/multi-platform apps use depot scripts (see the reference). The script maps local files into depots and names where build output/logs go.
4. Check the scripts, then bootstrap steamcmd and upload. Run python scripts/check_steam_build.py <app_build.vdf> before you upload (Pattern 3) and fix every ERROR; then run steamcmd once to self-update and run the build (Patterns). steamcmd chunks files (~1 MB), uploads only changed chunks, and registers a global BuildID.
5. Set the build live on a branch. Go to https://partner.steamgames.com/apps/builds/<AppID>, pick the build, Preview Change, then Set Build Live Now for a branch. Test on a beta branch first (see references/steampipe-build-scripts.md for branch setup).
6. Run the Game Build checklist and Mark as ready for review (store presence must be submitted before the build review). Both tracks must be approved.
7. Release manually. When approved and Coming Soon has run its time, use the green Release App button → Publish Now → Release Now. Approved titles do not release themselves.
8. Update later by uploading a new build and setting it live on default (manually) or shipping to a beta branch first. See references/steampipe-build-scripts.md.

Patterns

1. SteamPipe ContentBuilder layout (Steamworks SDK)

tools/ContentBuilder/
  builder/         steamcmd.exe (Windows)   <- run once to bootstrap
  builder_linux/   steamcmd (Linux)
  builder_osx/     steamcmd (macOS)
  content/         <- your final, runnable build goes here (the files players get)
  output/          build logs + chunk cache (safe to delete; speeds up re-uploads)
  scripts/         <- your *.vdf build scripts live here

2. Minimal app build script — app_build_1000.vdf

// AppID 1000 with one depot (1001): upload everything under ../content recursively.
// VDF is Valve KeyValues: "key" "value", braces for nesting. Adjust IDs to your app.
"AppBuild"
{
    "AppID"       "1000"                 // your App ID
    "Desc"        "1.0.0 launch build"   // internal only; visible in Your Builds

    "ContentRoot" "..\content\"          // root of files to upload (relative to this file)
    "BuildOutput" "..\output\"           // logs + chunk cache

    "Depots"
    {
        "1001"                           // your Depot ID
        {
            "FileMapping"
            {
                "LocalPath"  "*"         // all files from ContentRoot
                "DepotPath"  "."         // mapped to the depot root
                "recursive"  "1"         // include subfolders
            }
        }
    }
}

3. Check the build scripts before uploading (read-only, no login)

# Run before you upload. Parses the app script and every depot script, resolves
# ContentRoot/LocalPath exactly as SteamPipe documents, and counts what each depot would upload.
python scripts/check_steam_build.py tools/ContentBuilder/scripts/app_build_1000.vdf
python scripts/check_steam_build.py app_build_1000.vdf --json --strict   # CI gate

ERROR depot_build_1002.vdf:7: LocalPath "bin\*" matches no files under ../content
  fix: LocalPath is relative to the content root; check the folder names, ...
Depots:
  1001 [depot_build_1001.vdf]: 412 files, 1.8 GiB, 3 excluded, from ../content
Summary: 1 errors, 0 warnings in 3 files checked

Exit 0 = no errors, 1 = errors (or warnings with --strict), 2 = file missing or not an AppBuild script. Errors cover: unparseable VDF, missing/non-numeric AppID or DepotID, no depots, duplicate depots, missing depot script, ContentRoot or InstallScript, a LocalPath that matches nothing or names a bare folder, and a depot that would upload zero files. Warnings cover SetLive without Preview (goes live on that branch at once; default gets a louder warning), missing Desc, Local builds, BuildOutput inside ContentRoot, and misspelled keys. Read the per-depot file count and size before you upload. Run the script path relative to this skill directory, or resolve the installed skill path first. It needs Python 3.10+ and nothing else, and never logs in or uploads.

4. Upload the build (Windows; substitute the platform builder elsewhere)

REM Run from the SDK. Bootstrap once, then build. Use a build account, not your admin login.
tools\ContentBuilder\builder\steamcmd.exe ^
  +login <build_account> <password> ^
  +run_app_build ..\scripts\app_build_1000.vdf ^
  +quit

What happens: steamcmd self-updates -> logs in -> for each depot, hashes files into ~1 MB
chunks -> uploads only NEW chunks -> writes a depot manifest -> finishes with a global
BuildID. The build is NOT live yet; set it live per the workflow above.

5. Iterate safely with a preview build (uploads nothing)

// Add to the AppBuild block to validate file mappings without uploading:
"Preview" "1"     // outputs logs + a file manifest into BuildOutput only
// And to auto-set live on a BETA branch after a successful build (never 'default'):
"SetLive" "beta-qa"

Pitfalls

• The default branch cannot be set live automatically. SetLive only works for a beta branch; you must set the default (customer) build live by hand in App Admin. Plan releases around this.
• Store page must be approved before the build. You cannot submit the build for review until store presence is submitted; both must pass, and Coming Soon must run ~2 weeks.
• Titles never auto-release. Even after approval, a human must click Release App at the chosen moment.
• Mac/Linux install nothing. Almost always: the OS-specific depots aren't in the package. Add every depot to the package on Associated Packages & DLC.
• Unpublished app config. "Failed to get application info" / build errors usually mean depots, launch options, or the App ID config were never Published.
• status = 6 on build. The build account lacks permission for the App ID, or ContentRoot/LocalPath points at the wrong (empty) path.
• Committing the login token. The config.vdf Steam Guard token and account password are secrets. Keep them out of the repo; use the CI workflow in the reference.
• Released-app safety delay. Changing the build account's email/phone forces a 3-day wait before you can set a build live for a released app — don't reconfigure the account right before launch.

References

• For advanced multi-depot/multi-platform build scripts, FileExclusion/FileProperties, beta-branch setup, the CI/CD login-token workflow, and the SteamPipe troubleshooting table, read references/steampipe-build-scripts.md.
• scripts/check_steam_build.py — read-only check of an app build script, its depot scripts and content folders; --help lists every check and the exit codes.
• Primary docs: Steamworks "Uploading to Steam" (partner.steamgames.com/doc/sdk/uploading), "Release Process" (/doc/store/releasing), "Branches (Betas)" (/doc/store/application/branches), "Depots" (/doc/store/application/depots), "Onboarding" (/doc/gettingstarted/onboarding, first-title waiting periods), "Review Process" (/doc/store/review_process).

Related skills

• itch-publish — the same game shipped on itch.io with butler (often done alongside Steam).
• game-jam / prototype-fast — earlier stages of the same project's lifecycle.