SteamShortcuts.md

Steam Shortcuts file and it's composition

Non-game Steam library entries are stored in a special file called shortcuts.vdf.

The file is located in the (steam folder)\userdata\(steamid)\config folder for each Steam user. It is encoded using ANSI formating.

Every file starts with the header \x00shortcuts\x00, followed by all shortcut entries.

After all entries, the file is terminated by \x08\x08. As all entry end with the same byte combination, the last 4 bytes of a file are always \x08\x08\x08\x08

Shortcut entry format

🔤 represents where to insert the value in the Format column. Bools are represented using \x00(False) or \x01(True).

Name	Description	Data Type	Format
EntryID	Represents numerical order of each entry	String	\x00🔤\x00
appid	Represents the unique Steam ID for the shortcut. See next section on how to obtain this value.	4 Byte String	\x02appid\x00🔤
AppName	Name for the shortcut	String	\x01AppName\x00🔤\x00
Exe	Full quoted path for the executable	String	\x01Exe\x00🔤\x00
StartDir	Target directory where the executable will start in. Does not need quotes.	String	\x01StartDir\x00🔤\x00
icon	Path to the App's icon. Does not need quotes.	String	\x01icon\x00🔤\x00
ShortcutPath	Represents the unique Steam ID for the shortcut. (can be empty)	String	\x01ShortcutPath\x00🔤\x00
LaunchOptions	Launch parameters for the executable.	String	\x01LaunchOptions\x00🔤\x00
IsHidden	If the shortcut is in the hidden library section.	Bool	\x02IsHidden\x00🔤\x00\x00\x00
AllowDesktopConfig	If Desktop Configuration is allowed via Steam UI.	Bool	\x02AllowDesktopConfig\x00🔤\x00\x00\x00
AllowOverlay	If the overlay can be drawn over the executable.	Bool	\x02AllowOverlay\x00🔤\x00\x00\x00
OpenVR	If the executable uses OpenVR.	Bool	\x02OpenVR\x00🔤\x00\x00\x00
Devkit	If it is a shortcut to a DevKit.	Bool	\x02Devkit\x00🔤\x00\x00\x00
DevkitGameID	ID for the game related to the DevKit (can be empty)	String	\x01DevkitGameID\x00🔤\x00
DevkitOverrideAppID	Represents the unique Steam ID for the shortcut.	Bool	\x02DevkitOverrideAppID\x00🔤\x00\x00\x00
LastPlayTime	Represents the timestamp of the last time the shortcut was executed.	4 byte String	\x02LastPlayTime\x00🔤
FlatpakAppID	The Flatpak ID for the executable (applies to Linux systems, can be empty)	String	\x01FlatpakAppID\x00🔤\x00
tags	Has information about the categories the shortcut is in.	String	\x00tags\x00🔤\x08\x08

Generating a Steam ID

1. Append the Executable path (quoted) and the Shortcut Name (Exe + AppName)
2. Get a hash using CRC32.
3. Get the result from a OR operaton between this value and 0x80000000 (crc32hash | 0x80000000)
4. Shift the result by 32 bits to the left (res3 << 32)
5. Do another OR operation, but this time using 0x02000000 (res4 | 0x02000000)

Grid Files

A shortcut can contain various assets. These assets are not specified in the file above but are found in the grid folder next to the shortcuts.vdf file and have the shortcut's steamID in their name.

🔤 == steamID

Name	File Name Scheme	Example
Hero	🔤_hero.png
Logo	🔤_logo.png
Banner	🔤p.png
Preview	🔤.png

Special Thanks

This documentation was based on some previous work found in the following links:

• CorporalQuesadilla's documentation
• Heroic Launcher source code

Implementation example

• Steam Shortcuts module (C# .NET)

This is contribution to Collapse Launcher, an open-source launcher by neon-nyan for all miHoYo/Hoyoverse games.