Proxy and Network Strategy

steam-go models proxy usage as a selector instead of a single static proxy URL.

This makes proxy behavior composable, testable, and suitable for different Steam traffic types.

Why ProxySelector Exists

Different Steam traffic may need different network routes:

• Official Web API traffic
• Steam Community OpenID verification
• Public Store page traffic
• Region-sensitive requests
• Session-like browser flows
• Internal testing or debugging traffic

Proxy Types

Selector	Use Case
Static Proxy	Send all requests through one proxy
Round-Robin Proxy	Rotate across multiple proxies
Health-Checked Proxy	Temporarily avoid failing proxies
Sticky Proxy	Keep one session on the same proxy
Routing Proxy	Route by host and path

Static Proxy

selector, err := steam.NewStaticProxySelector("http://127.0.0.1:7897")

client, err := steam.NewClient(
    steam.WithProxySelector(selector),
)

Round-Robin Proxy

selector, err := steam.NewRoundRobinProxySelector(
    "http://127.0.0.1:7897",
    "http://127.0.0.1:7898",
)

Health-Checked Proxy

selector, err := steam.NewHealthCheckedRoundRobinProxySelector(
    steam.DefaultProxyHealthConfig(),
    "http://127.0.0.1:7897",
    "http://127.0.0.1:7898",
)

metrics := selector.(steam.ProxyMetricsProvider).ProxyMetricsSnapshot()

Use this when proxies may fail independently.

Sticky Proxy

base, _ := steam.NewRoundRobinProxySelector(
    "http://127.0.0.1:7897",
    "http://127.0.0.1:7898",
)

selector := steam.NewStickyProxySelector(base)

ctx := steam.WithProxySessionKey(context.Background(), "session-1")

Use this when a browser-like or login-like flow should stay on one proxy.

Routing Proxy

selector, err := steam.NewRoutingProxySelector(
    steam.ProxyRoute{
        Host:       "api.steampowered.com",
        PathPrefix: "/ISteamUser/",
        ProxyURL:   "http://127.0.0.1:7897",
    },
    steam.ProxyRoute{
        Host:       "steamcommunity.com",
        PathPrefix: "/openid/",
        ProxyURL:   "",
    },
)

An empty ProxyURL means direct connection.

Practical Advice

• Prefer one global proxy policy instead of scattered custom transports.
• Use sticky proxy only when session affinity matters.
• Use health checking when proxy availability is unstable.
• Use routing when official API traffic and OpenID / Store traffic need different network paths.
• Do not hide network failures by retrying forever.