Skip to content

Steam

Jump to bottom
meetsu edited this page Aug 5, 2026 · 5 revisions

Steam

Switch between Steam accounts you have already logged into on this computer. accshift drives Steam's own remember-me feature, so you never need to type your password again once an account is captured.

Supported on Windows, Linux, and macOS.

How it works

When you log into Steam with "Remember me" checked, Steam stores your credentials locally and exposes them through a file called loginusers.vdf. accshift reads that file to list your accounts and writes a small piece of Steam's saved settings to choose who logs in next:

  1. Pick a target account.
  2. accshift tells Steam "next time you start, sign in as this account".
  3. Steam is closed.
  4. Steam is reopened with your usual launch options. It signs in as the chosen account.

No passwords are stored or sent anywhere by accshift; Steam's existing login system does the actual sign-in.

Adding accounts

Two paths:

  1. Auto-detected: any account that has previously logged in on this PC is picked up automatically from loginusers.vdf.
  2. Add Account flow: kills Steam and relaunches it with a fresh login. After you sign in successfully, accshift captures the new entry from loginusers.vdf and links it.

Ban checking

Optional. Requires a Steam Web API key set in Settings > Steam. accshift queries the API for VAC and game-ban status, caches the result, and shows a badge on the account card.

The API key is encrypted at rest. Profile info (avatar, persona name) goes through the same cache.

Right-click menu

Each account card has a context menu with:

  • Launch online / Launch invisible: switch and start Steam in the chosen persona mode.
  • Switch & run game: pick an installed game from a submenu; accshift switches accounts and launches the game in one step. The last game you picked per account is remembered, so the next click on this entry runs that game directly. Clear default game resets it.
  • Copy: account name, SteamID64, friend code, or profile URL to the clipboard.
  • Open userdata folder: opens the per-account userdata/<id>/ directory.
  • Clear integrated browser cache (current account only): wipes the in-Steam web cache.
  • Copy game settings from this account: copies per-game settings (controller, launch options, etc.) from another account onto the currently signed-in account.
  • Forget: removes the account from accshift's list.

Bulk edit

A bulk-edit bar lets you select several Steam accounts and apply the same change at once. Select by clicking cards, or press on one and drag over the others to paint a selection (starting on an unselected card selects, starting on a selected one deselects).

The selection spans the whole platform, not the folder you are looking at. Opening a folder and using Select all adds its accounts to what was already picked at the root or in another folder instead of replacing it; Deselect all is the reset.

Actions:

  • Card color: applies one color, or clears it, on every selected card.
  • Game news popup and Do not disturb: the per-account Steam settings, set together. Each control has an Unchanged position so an action you do not touch is left alone.
  • Launch options per game: pick an installed game and set the options once for the whole selection.
  • Copy URLs: copies the profile URL of every selected account to the clipboard.

Settings that apply to the currently signed-in account warn before running, since applying them means writing to the live session.

Friend code, persona color labels, warnings

Each account card surfaces extra metadata:

  • Friend code derived from the SteamID64.
  • Persona color label so duplicated personas stay distinguishable.
  • Warning icons for known issues (missing config, suspicious files, etc.).

Windows

  • Install path: detected from the registry (HKCU\Software\Valve\Steam\SteamPath) or via the default install location.
  • Auto-login storage: the same registry key Steam itself writes.
  • Process names: steam.exe, steamwebhelper.exe.
  • Run as admin honours the GUI toggle and the CLI --admin / --no-admin flags. Elevated launch goes through the standard UAC prompt.
  • Path override (Settings > Steam): point at a custom install directory if auto-detection fails.

Linux

  • Install discovery covers native, Flatpak and Snap layouts; first match with config/loginusers.vdf wins. Full order on the Linux page.
  • Flatpak and Snap Steam are supported. Flatpak uses ~/.var/app/com.valvesoftware.Steam/.steam/registry.vdf; native and Snap installs use ~/.steam/registry.vdf.
  • Process names: steam, steamwebhelper.
  • Native installs launch via steam.sh from the resolved directory, falling back to steam on PATH. Flatpak launches with flatpak run com.valvesoftware.Steam; Snap uses the steam wrapper on PATH.
  • Run as admin is ignored. There is no UAC.
  • Folder picker for path overrides requires zenity or kdialog (see Linux).
  • Secrets (API key) live in the Secret Service via the keyring crate.

macOS

  • Install path: ~/Library/Application Support/Steam. Override in Settings > Steam if you keep Steam elsewhere.
  • Auto-login storage: ~/Library/Application Support/Steam/registry.vdf.
  • Process names: steam_osx, Steam Helper.
  • Run as admin is ignored.
  • Secrets (API key) live in the Keychain via the keyring crate.

Settings

  • Shutdown mode: force (default) or graceful.
  • Run as admin: Windows only.
  • Launch options: passed verbatim to Steam.
  • Steam path: manual override.
  • API key: for ban checking and profile lookups.
  • CS2 stats bridge: optional endpoint for CS2 level, XP and weekly care-package state. See CS2 Stats Bridge.

CLI

Steam is the most heavily wired-up platform in the CLI. See CLI for the full flag set; the Steam-specific options are --online, --invisible, --graceful, --force, --admin, --no-admin, --launch-options.

Clone this wiki locally