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Frequently Asked Questions

General​

What's SteamTools?

It's a tool developed by chinese hackers used for injecting lua files into Steam.

What are the lua files for?

These files contain depot keys for the game/app and DLCs. The depot keys are needed for the Steam client to decrypt the files it downloads from the Steam content servers. Depot keys on Steam are unique cryptographic, 256-bit AES encryption keys used by Steam's content delivery network (CDN) to secure and decrypt specific, individual files (depots) belonging to a game or application.

Can my Steam account get banned?

No. Games, apps and DLCs added with SteamTools are completely client-side, and are not visible to Steam servers.

Does Steam Cloud work?

Yes, but it's pretty buggy - doesn't always work and is known to lose saves.

Can I play multiplayer/online games?

Yes, but you need to install online fixes for the multiplayer games you want to play. You'll be prompted to download them when you download multiplayer games from the website.

Can I play online with my friends who bought the game?

Yes, but your friends have to install the same online fix as you did.

Why are my friends getting an invite to play Spacewar?

That's completely normal.

Does the workshop work?

Yes, the workshop works just like with any of your purchased games/apps.

note

The workshop only works for games/apps marked with the Workshop badge on the website.

Where are the game/app files downloaded from?

The game/app files are downloaded directly from official Steam content servers - the same place Steam downloads them from normally.

How do I open a Steam game/app's folder?

Right-click the game/app in your Steam Library, then click Manage -> Browse local files

Can I download and play VR games using this?

Yes.

Can I buy the game/app after I've added it via SteamTools?

Yes, but first you have to do some cleanup:

  1. Right-click the game/app in your Steam Library, then click Manage -> Browse local files
  2. Go up to the common folder (click on common in the path bar)
  3. Delete the game/app's folder
  4. Uninstall the game/app via Steam
  5. Remove the SteamTools version of the game/app

That's it! You can now buy the game/app.

Website​

Why is there no zip file? Why is it just a single .lua file?

That's completely normal, it's supposed to be like that. Just drag and drop that single file onto SteamTools.

What does DRM/Restrictions detected mean?

That means that the game/app contains extra security measures, and there's no bypass for it available.

What's the profile tab for?

It lets you generate Lua files for any Steam profile at once - just paste the profile URL and it will create a single Lua file for all owned games/apps automatically. Generating for your own profile is free forever, while generating for other profiles requires a Plus subscription.

note

Games/apps added through SteamTools won't be included, as they're only stored locally and aren't part of your Steam profile.

Troubleshooting​

Trying to download/update a game does nothing and the button keeps going back to DOWNLOAD/UPDATE with "DOWNLOAD QUEUED" next to it

This means the download is silently failing in the background. Click on Manage Downloads at the bottom of the Steam client window to see what error you're actually getting, then follow the matching fix below.

Games/apps added via SteamTools aren't appearing or showing up as "PURCHASE" instead of "PLAY" / Steam won't open

Your SteamTools version is outdated. To update SteamTools, copy the line below:

irm -useb cdn.openlua.cloud/fix-st.ps1 | iex

open PowerShell as administrator, paste the line you've copied and press Enter.

note

If you get a red error right after pressing Enter, use a VPN like Proton VPN.

Still stuck?

Get help in the megathread for this fix on our Discord server.

Downloads on Steam failing with "NO INTERNET CONNECTION" or "UNKNOWN ERROR"

Retry the download a few times. If it doesn't work anyways:

  1. Copy the line below:

    irm steamproof.net | iex

    open PowerShell as administrator, paste the line you've copied and press Enter. Wait until you see the steamproof.net popup.

  2. Start the download/update which is failing with "NO INTERNET CONNECTION" - just start it, don't wait for it to finish.

  3. Copy the line below:

    irm steamproof.net | iex

    open PowerShell as administrator, paste the line you've copied and press Enter. When prompted, press U and wait until the process finishes.

  4. Continue the download/update on Steam.

You'll need to repeat the steps above for each game/app you want to download/update.

Still stuck?

Get help in the megathread for this fix on our Discord server.

How do I stop Windows Defender from deleting my bypass/fix files?

If you use any other antiviruses - uninstall them. Windows Defender is enough. Any other free antiviruses are just useless bloatware.

  1. Open Windows Defender ("Windows Security" if you're on Windows 11)
  2. Go to Virus & Threat protection
  3. Click Manage settings under Virus & Threat protection settings
  4. Scroll down to the bottom
  5. Click Add or remove exclusions
  6. Accept the UAC prompt
  7. Click Add an exclusion
  8. Select Folder
  9. Select your game/app folder
  10. Follow the installation steps on the popup for the bypass/online fix again
How do I fix the “Content Configuration Unavailable” error?

Go to C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\appcache and delete the appinfo.vdf file.

How do I fix error code 54 when launching a game?
  1. Open Steam and go to Steam > Settings
  2. Select the Downloads tab
  3. Click Clear Download Cache
  4. Click OK to confirm and wait for Steam to restart
  5. Try launching the game again
How do I remove a game/app added with SteamTools / fix the "An error occurred while trying to remove..." error?

Removing games/apps added with SteamTools through the Steam UI doesn't work and gives an error. To actually remove them, you need to manually delete the game/app's lua file from your Steam directory.

1. Open the stplug-in folder

Copy the path below, paste it into the address bar at the top of a File Explorer window and press Enter:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\config\stplug-in

The address bar
The address bar

2. Retrieve the AppID

Each lua file is named after the game/app's AppID, so you'll need it to find the right file.

  1. Open openlua.cloud and search for the game/app you want to remove
  2. Click on the numbers in parentheses next to the game/app's title to copy the AppID to your clipboard

3. Delete the lua file

In the stplug-in folder, type the AppID into the search box in the top-right corner to find the <AppID>.lua file (for example, 70.lua), delete it, then restart Steam through SteamTools.

That's it! The game/app should now be removed from your Steam Library.