What is Steam CMD?

Answered by Jeremy Urbaniak

SteamCMD is a command line tool developed by Valve, the company behind the popular gaming platform Steam. It is designed to make it easy for users to download and install dedicated server applications for various Steam games. With SteamCMD, you can quickly set up and manage your own game server for titles like Valheim, Rust, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and many others.

One of the main advantages of SteamCMD is its simplicity and efficiency. It allows you to download and update game server files with just a few commands, making the process much faster compared to other methods. Additionally, SteamCMD provides a standardized way to manage dedicated servers, ensuring compatibility across different games and simplifying the setup process.

Installing SteamCMD on Windows:
1. Start by opening a web browser and navigating to the official SteamCMD website.
2. Download the SteamCMD installer for Windows.
3. Once the download is complete, locate the installer file and run it.
4. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation process. Choose a directory where you want to install SteamCMD (e.g., C:\SteamCMD).
5. After installation, navigate to the directory where SteamCMD is installed using the command prompt or PowerShell. For example, if you installed it in C:\SteamCMD, open the command prompt and type “cd C:\SteamCMD”.
6. Once you are in the SteamCMD directory, you can start using the tool to download and manage game server files.

Installing SteamCMD on Linux:
1. Open a terminal on your Linux machine.
2. Ensure that the necessary dependencies are installed by running the command “sudo apt-get install lib32gcc1” (for 64-bit systems) or “sudo apt-get install libgcc1” (for 32-bit systems).
3. Create a new directory where you want to install SteamCMD. For example, you can use the command “mkdir ~/steamcmd” to create a directory called “steamcmd” in your home directory.
4. Change to the newly created directory using the command “cd ~/steamcmd”.
5. Download the SteamCMD installer by running the command “wget https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/client/installer/steamcmd_linux.tar.gz”.
6. Extract the contents of the downloaded file using the command “tar -xvzf steamcmd_linux.tar.gz”.
7. Once the extraction is complete, you can start using SteamCMD by running the command “./steamcmd.sh”.

Using SteamCMD:
1. To log in to SteamCMD, type “login ” and press Enter. You will be prompted to enter your Steam account password.
2. After logging in, you can use the command “app_update validate” to download and update the dedicated server files for a specific game. Replace “” with the ID of the game you want to install. You can find the app ID for a game on the Steam website.
3. SteamCMD will download all the necessary files to run the game server. The process may take some time depending on your internet connection speed.
4. Once the download is complete, you can configure and manage the game server according to the instructions provided by the game’s developers.

SteamCMD is a powerful tool that simplifies the process of setting up and managing dedicated game servers. Whether you want to host a Valheim server for you and your friends or create a Rust server for a larger community, SteamCMD provides a streamlined way to download and update the necessary files, making the setup process much more convenient.