# Steam

> steamgames.com | Storage; 3 records: free tier, limits, identity cost and evidence.

HTML https://fshy.ajam.dev/p/steamgames/ | JSON https://fshy.ajam.dev/api/v1/entity/steamgames.json | how to read a record: https://fshy.ajam.dev/llms-full.txt

## Steam Cloud (developer-set per-app quota)

- `storage/steam-cloud` | qualifies-with-caveat | evidence reported | binding per-object-cap | category cloud-drive
- identity a placeholder: card and phone unknown | verified 2026-10-21 (inherited) | stale on 2026-11-05
- url https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/features/cloud
- free tier: Quota is set by each game's developer as 'Byte quota per user' and 'Number of files allowed per user', 'enforced on each Cloud-enabled game, on a per-user-per-game basis'. No Valve-imposed total. Community-observed ceilings: 93 GB per game, ~10,000 files. Defaults are frequently tiny (a few MB to 1 GB). | unit: objects | metered on: unstated | read on: 2026-10-21 | source: [1]
- per-object cap: 100 MB per File | bytes: 100000000 | source: [1] | note: not stated
- retention: per-object-cap: 100 MB per FileWrite call (256 MB 'may result in a non-optimal storage endpoint'); per-object-cap: ~10,000 files per cloud save; the game must be launchable/owned for the user, and impersonating it blocks normal play during sync. Retention: indefinite — no expiry documented, but a developer can change quota or delist and the data can be evicted. | source: [1] | note: not stated
- egress: Unmetered and anonymous on the download path via the Steam client / Steamworks SDK. No published per-GB charge. | metered: no
- identity: email
- interface: rest
- limits:
  - per-object-cap (binding): 100 MB per File [1]
- limits note: per-object-cap: 100 MB per FileWrite call (256 MB 'may result in a non-optimal storage endpoint'); per-object-cap: ~10,000 files per cloud save; the game must be launchable/owned for the user, and impersonating it blocks normal play during sync. Retention: indefinite — no expiry documented, but a developer can change quota or delist and the data can be evicted.
- interface detail: rest
- tooling: Steamworks SDK `ISteamRemoteStorage` (FileWrite, FileWriteStreamWriteChunk, FileReadAsync). Working wrapper exists: github.com/Fldicoahkiin/SteamCloudFileManager — 237 stars, Rust, Windows/macOS/Linux, '支持任意文件的上传、下载与删除' (arbitrary file upload/download/delete against any owned game's cloud). Design writeup: krutonium.ca/posts/using-steam-as-cloud-storage/.
- composes with: One Steam account x every owned Cloud-enabled game with a large quota. At 93 GB/game, 12 games = ~1.1 TB; 100 games = ~9 TB. Multiply again by accounts. The lever is picking titles whose developers set 93 GB, not buying storage.
- reliability: Entirely undocumented by Valve; a developer lowering their quota can strand data, and files are re-downloaded into the local save folder on game launch. No public bans recorded.
- notes: the same as the free tier
- evidence:
  - [1] 2026-10-21: 'you must set the Byte quota per user and Number of files allowed per user options ... This quota is enforced on each Cloud-enabled game, on a per-user-per-game basis'; file-size table '100MB Maximum size for a call to ISteamRemoteStorage::FileWrite'
  - [2] 2026-10-21: (published 2026-05-09) — '93GB Cloud Save Storage per Game, Maximum'; '100MB per File is an Ideal Limit, but above 250MB the back end for the API will start to hate you'; 'Possible Limit of 10,000 Files per Cloud Save'
  - [3] 2026-10-21: probe: GET (POST, no key) -> 200, returns file_size 4997533 for item 450814997 — Steam's public storage APIs answer anonymously
  - [4] 2026-10-21: (Sep 2025) — 'poly bridge 3 has 93GB available', user reports 23GB used in Factorio
- sources:
  - [1] https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/features/cloud
  - [2] https://krutonium.ca/posts/using-steam-as-cloud-storage/
  - [3] https://api.steampowered.com/ISteamRemoteStorage/GetPublishedFileDetails/v1/
  - [4] https://forums.factorio.com/viewtopic.php?t=130969

## Steam Workshop (per-app item storage)

- `storage/steam-workshop` | qualifies-with-caveat | evidence reported | binding write-gated | category media
- identity a placeholder: card and phone unknown | verified 2026-10-21 (inherited) | stale on 2026-11-05
- url https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/features/workshop
- disagrees on identity_kind: `storage/steam-workshop` says anonymous, `storage/steam-workshop-2` says email
- disagrees on verdict: `storage/steam-workshop` says qualifies-with-caveat, `storage/steam-workshop-2` says fails-quota
- free tier: Per-item size is set by the game developer, not by Valve, and some games are explicitly unlimited — Arma 3: 'Arma 3 Workshop now support items of unlimited size.' Others are tiny: House Flipper raised its cap from 12 MB to 20 MB in a patch. So the quota is per-app, and the number of published items per account is not documented as capped. | unit: unlimited | metered on: unstated | read on: 2026-10-21 | source: [1]
- per-object cap: not stated | source: [1] | note: not stated
- retention: not stated | source: [1] | note: not stated
- egress: Free and CDN-served by Valve's content network — same infrastructure as game downloads, genuinely unmetered. | metered: no
- identity: anonymous
- interface: rest
- limits:
  - write-gated (binding): review images go through a separate Steam Cloud quota [1]
- limits note: Requires ownership of the game and a Steam client to upload — there is no headless upload path, which is the practical blocker. Per-item caps range from 20 MB to unlimited depending on app; preview images go through a separate Steam Cloud quota.
- interface detail: rest
- tooling: `ISteamUGC` (CreateItem + SetItemContent + SubmitItemUpdate) via the Steamworks SDK, so uploads need a Steam client with the game installed. Downloads are scriptable anonymously: `steamcmd +login anonymous +workshop_download_item <appid> <publishedfileid>`. Third-party downloaders (polocaz/ws-downloader, workshopfetch.com) exist for the read path.
- composes with: One Steam account x every Workshop-enabled game it owns x unlimited items per game. This is the multiplier: 'unlimited items per published file ID' inside an app whose developer set no cap.
- reliability: Very durable — Workshop items have survived a decade, links do not expire, and downloads are anonymous. Enforcement risk is real but technical: items can be delisted by the app's developer.
- notes: the same as the free tier
- evidence:
  - [1] 2026-10-21: 'What is the maximum size of a mod? Arma 3 Workshop now support items of unlimited size.'
  - [2] 2026-10-21: 'Increased the maximum Steam Workshop item size limit from 12 MB to 20 MB. Increased the default Workshop item size from 10 MB to 12 MB.'
  - [3] 2026-10-21: 'The maximum size varies depending on what the developers set it as.'
  - [4] 2026-10-21: 'Steam Workshop is a system of back-end storage and front-end web pages that make it easy to store, organize, sort, rate, and download content'
- sources:
  - [1] https://arma3.com/workshop101
  - [2] https://steamcommunity.com/app/3710840/announcements/
  - [3] https://steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/1/1744480966997034452/
  - [4] https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/features/workshop

## steam workshop

- `storage/steam-workshop-2` | fails-quota | evidence reported | binding none | category rejected-provider
- identity a placeholder: card and phone unknown | verified 2026-10-21 (inherited) | stale on 2026-11-05
- url https://partner.steamgames.com/steamdirect
- disagrees on identity_kind: `storage/steam-workshop` says anonymous, `storage/steam-workshop-2` says email
- disagrees on verdict: `storage/steam-workshop` says qualifies-with-caveat, `storage/steam-workshop-2` says fails-quota
- free tier: Hard ceiling far below a user's unit size, plus a paid gate: uploads need a Steamworks partner app ($100 Steam Direct fee per product) and the ISteamUGC API is a C++ SDK, not HTTP.… | unit: none | metered on: none | read on: 2026-10-21 | source: [1]
- per-object cap: not recorded | source: [1] | note: not recorded
- retention: not recorded | source: [1]
- egress: not recorded | metered: no
- identity: email
- interface: unknown
- tooling: not recorded
- composes with: the same as tooling
- reliability: the same as the free tier
- notes: the same as the free tier
- extras:
  - dead_end.failure_class: quota
  - dead_end.why: Hard ceiling far below a user's unit size, plus a paid gate: uploads need a Steamworks partner app ($100 Steam Direct fee per product) and the ISteamUGC API is a C++ SDK, not HTTP.…
  - dead_end.first_recorded: 2026-10-21
- evidence:
  - [1] 2026-10-21: Hard ceiling far below a user's unit size, plus a paid gate: uploads need a Steamworks partner app ($100 Steam Direct fee per product) and the ISteamUGC API is a C++ SDK, not HTTP. Pract
  - [2] 2026-10-21: cited as the basis of the rejection: Hard ceiling far below a user's unit size, plus a paid gate: uploads need a Steamworks partner app ($100 Steam Direct fee per product) and the ISteamUGC API is a C++ SDK, not HTTP. Pract
  - [3] 2026-10-21: cited as the basis of the rejection: Hard ceiling far below a user's unit size, plus a paid gate: uploads need a Steamworks partner app ($100 Steam Direct fee per product) and the ISteamUGC API is a C++ SDK, not HTTP. Pract
- sources:
  - [1] https://partner.steamgames.com/steamdirect
  - [2] https://steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/10/4202490864588145731/
  - [3] https://steamcommunity.com/app/4000/discussions/5/1734343065615467703/