Steam

npm version License: MIT

A feature-rich Model Context Protocol server that gives AI assistants full access to your Steam game library. Works on Linux, macOS, and Windows. 14 consolidated tools covering 66 actions — most work from local files with no API key needed. Optional Steam Web API key unlocks online data like achievements, friends, and full library access.

Works with Claude Desktop, Claude Code, or any MCP-compatible client.

What can it do?

Ask your AI assistant things like:

• "What games do I have installed?"
• "Search for ck3" → finds Crusader Kings III via abbreviation matching
• "How much disk space is Steam using?" → full breakdown by game
• "Find orphaned data I can clean up" → identifies leftover compatdata/shadercache
• "What Proton version should I use for this game?"
• "Install Hollow Knight" → looks up the appid and tells Steam to install it
• "Pick a random game for me to play"
• "Show my full play history" → all-time playtime across your entire library
• "Import my Lutris games as Steam shortcuts"
• "Show my achievements for Hades" → unlock status, completion %, global stats
• "Who's online right now?" → friends list with online status and current games
• "What's on my wishlist?"
• "Show me reviews for Elden Ring"
• "How long to beat Hollow Knight?"

Installation

npm (recommended)

npx @praeses/steam-mcp

No install needed — just add it to your MCP client config (see below).

Global install

npm install -g @praeses/steam-mcp

Then use steam-mcp as the command instead of npx @praeses/steam-mcp.

Configure with Claude Desktop

Add to your Claude Desktop config:

• Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "steam": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@praeses/steam-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "STEAM_API_KEY": "your-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Configure with Claude Code

Add a .mcp.json in your project root, or add to ~/.claude.json for system-wide access:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "steam": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@praeses/steam-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "STEAM_API_KEY": "your-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Note: The STEAM_API_KEY is optional. Most tools work without it. Only a few actions (achievements, friends, owned games, wishlist, profile) require it. Get your key at steamcommunity.com/dev/apikey.

Category filtering

To reduce context window usage further, enable only specific tool categories via the STEAM_TOOLS env var:

{
  "env": {
    "STEAM_TOOLS": "core,manage,compat"
  }
}

Available categories and their tools:

Category	Tools	Description
core	games, library, steam_status	Game browsing, library stats, Steam status
compat	proton, diagnostics	Proton/Wine compatibility, log parsing
manage	game_control, game_config, shortcuts	Install/launch/verify, launch options, non-Steam shortcuts
storage	storage	Disk usage, cleanup, shader cache, cloud saves, backups
api	player, workshop	Player profile/achievements/friends, workshop items
market	deals	Sale checks, wishlist, library valuation
insights	insights	Completion stats, timeline, year review, play history, export
content	game_info	Reviews, news, media, HLTB, PCGamingWiki fixes

When unset, all categories are enabled (14 tools, ~3,200 tokens of context).

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+
• Steam installed in the default location:
  • Linux: ~/.local/share/Steam/
  • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Steam/
  • Windows: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\

Proton/Wine tools (compatibility tracking, prefix inspection, crash logs) are Linux-only. All other tools work cross-platform.

Tools

Each tool uses an action parameter to select the operation. 14 tools cover 66 actions total.

games — Game discovery and browsing

Action	Description
list	List installed games with filtering, sorting, pagination
get	Get full details for a game by appid
search	Smart search with abbreviation matching (e.g. "ck3" → Crusader Kings III)
compare	Compare two games side-by-side
random	Pick a random installed game
unplayed	Find games you own but haven't played

library — Library folders and stats

Action	Description
list	List all Steam library folders with sizes and free space
stats	Aggregate stats: total games, playtime, disk usage

steam_status — Steam client status

Action	Description
status	Check if Steam is running
queue	View current download queue
progress	Check download progress for a game

proton — Proton/Wine compatibility (Linux)

Action	Description
list_games	List all games using Proton/Wine with versions and prefix sizes
info	Get compatibility details for a specific game
versions	List installed Proton versions and which games use them
db_rating	Fetch ProtonDB community rating
recommend	Get a Proton version recommendation for a game
prefix	Inspect Wine/Proton prefix (Windows version, file count, size)
crash_logs	Find and read crash dumps and logs

storage — Disk management

Action	Description
disk_report	Per-game disk usage breakdown (install + compat + shader + workshop)
orphaned	Find leftover data from uninstalled games
cleanup	Get cleanup recommendations with space savings
shader_cache	Shader cache size for a specific game
shader_stats	Shader cache overview across all games
saves_list	List local cloud save data per game
saves_stats	Cloud save aggregate stats
backup	Back up cloud saves to a directory

game_control — Game actions

Action	Description
install	Install a game via Steam
uninstall	Uninstall a game
launch	Launch a game
verify	Verify game file integrity
move	Move a game to another library folder
store_page	Open the Steam store page

game_config — Configuration and tweaks

Action	Description
get_launch_opts	Read current launch options
set_launch_opts	Set launch options
presets	List/apply launch option presets (MangoHud, GameMode, Vulkan, etc.)
mangohud	Show, set, or reset MangoHud configuration
steam_settings	View Steam client settings

player — Player data (most actions require API key)

Action	Description
summary	Player profile with online status and account info
level	Steam level, XP, and badges
bans	VAC and game ban status
friends	Friends list with online status and current games
achievements	Per-game achievement unlock status
global_achievements	Global achievement unlock percentages
schema	Achievement and stat definitions for a game
owned	Complete owned games list with playtime
recent	Recently played games

workshop — Steam Workshop

Action	Description
list	List installed workshop items for a game
stats	Workshop stats across all games
search	Search the Steam Workshop

shortcuts — Non-Steam game shortcuts

Action	Description
list	List all non-Steam shortcuts
add	Add a new shortcut
remove	Remove a shortcut
import_lutris	Import games from Lutris

deals — Pricing and wishlist

Action	Description
check_sale	Check if a game is on sale
wishlist_deals	Find discounted games on your wishlist
wishlist	View full wishlist with prices and reviews
library_value	Estimate total library value

insights — Analytics and history

Action	Description
completion	Achievement completion rates across top games
timeline	Month-by-month gaming activity
year_review	Annual gaming recap
play_history	Full playtime history (installed + uninstalled games)
export	Export library data as JSON or CSV

game_info — Game content and metadata

Action	Description
reviews	User reviews with scores
news	Latest news articles
media	Game artwork URLs and local overrides
hltb	HowLongToBeat completion time estimates
pcgamingwiki	PCGamingWiki fixes and tweaks

diagnostics — Log parsing

Action	Description
compat_log	Parse Proton/Wine compatibility logs
shader_log	Parse shader compilation logs

Key Highlights

• Minimal context footprint — 14 tools, ~3,200 tokens (down from 66 tools / ~8,000 tokens in v1)
• Cross-platform — Linux, macOS, and Windows (Proton tools are Linux-only)
• No API key needed for most actions — reads directly from Steam's local files
• Smart search — "ck3" finds "Crusader Kings III", "ror2" finds "Risk of Rain 2"
• Full play history — playtime for every game you've ever played, not just installed ones
• Storage analysis — shows exactly where disk space goes (installs + compatdata + shadercache + workshop)
• Orphan detection — finds GBs of leftover data from uninstalled games
• Multi-library — supports multiple Steam library folders including external drives
• Category filtering — enable only the tool groups you need via STEAM_TOOLS env var
• Custom VDF parsers — both text and binary formats, no external dependencies

Development

Install from source

git clone https://github.com/Praeses0/steam-mcp.git
cd steam-mcp
npm install
npm run build

Commands

npm run dev      # Run with tsx (auto-reload)
npm run build    # Compile TypeScript
npm test         # Run tests

Architecture

src/
├── index.ts                 # Server entry, category-based tool registration
├── vdf/
│   ├── parser.ts            # Text VDF recursive descent parser + serializer
│   ├── binary-parser.ts     # Binary VDF parser (shortcuts.vdf)
│   ├── binary-writer.ts     # Binary VDF writer (shortcut management)
│   └── types.ts             # VdfValue, VdfObject types
├── steam/
│   ├── paths.ts             # Cross-platform Steam dir resolution, user detection
│   ├── manifests.ts         # App manifest reading with mtime caching
│   ├── library.ts           # Library folder operations + disk info
│   ├── userdata.ts          # localconfig.vdf read/write
│   ├── compat.ts            # Proton/Wine compatibility tracking
│   ├── workshop.ts          # Workshop manifest reading
│   ├── shortcuts.ts         # Binary shortcuts.vdf read/write
│   ├── api.ts               # Steam Web API client
│   ├── api-types.ts         # Shared API response types
│   ├── wishlist.ts          # Wishlist data fetching
│   ├── logs.ts              # Steam log parsing
│   └── types.ts             # Domain types
├── tools/                   # 14 consolidated MCP tools (one file per tool)
└── util/
    ├── format.ts            # formatBytes, formatPlaytime, formatTimestamp
    ├── cache.ts             # FileCache<T> with mtime invalidation
    └── fs.ts                # Shared filesystem utilities

License

MIT