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Troubleshooting

This page lists common Steam Publishing Tool issues and the first things to check.

For file locations, see Logs and Generated Files.

Publish to Steam Button Is Disabled

The Publish to Steam button is available only when the required setup state is ready.

Check the dashboard:

  • SteamCMD must be ready.
  • Steam Account must be authorized.
  • Publishing Settings must be valid.
  • No other publishing operation can be running.

If one of these rows is not ready, fix that row first.

SteamCMD Is Not Ready

Click Install in the SteamCMD row.

If installation fails:

  • check the internet connection;
  • make sure the project Saved directory is writable;
  • close any running SteamCMD process;
  • try deleting the local SteamCMD folder and installing again.

SteamCMD is installed here:

<Project>/Saved/PloxTools/SteamPublishing/SteamCMD/

Steam Username Is Required

The Steam account cannot be authorized until a Steam username is set.

Open Publishing Configuration and enter Steam Username in the Account section.

After that, return to the dashboard and click Authorize.

Authorization Failed

Check that:

  • the Steam username is correct;
  • the password is correct;
  • the Steam Guard code is current;
  • the account has access to the Steamworks application;
  • the account has permission to upload builds for the configured depot.

If the saved SteamCMD authorization token is invalid, authorize again from the dashboard.

Steam Guard Code Is Rejected

Steam Guard codes expire quickly.

Wait for a fresh code and try again.

Also make sure that the Steam Guard code belongs to the same Steam account that is configured in Steam Username.

Publishing Settings Are Invalid

Open Publishing Configuration and check the required fields.

For both build modes, these values are required:

  • Steam Username
  • Steam App ID
  • Depot ID
  • Build Mode

For Package Project and Upload, also check:

  • Build Configuration
  • Package Directory

For Upload Existing Build Folder, also check:

  • Existing Build Folder

For details, see Settings.

Packaging Failed

This can happen only when Build Mode is set to Package Project and Upload.

If packaging fails, the Steam upload does not start.

Check the packaging output and fix the Unreal packaging error first. After the project can be packaged normally, run the publish operation again.

If you already have a valid packaged build, you can switch Build Mode to Upload Existing Build Folder and upload that folder instead.

Existing Build Folder Is Invalid

This can happen when Build Mode is set to Upload Existing Build Folder.

Make sure the selected folder is the packaged build folder, not the Unreal project source folder.

On Windows, the packaged build should contain the game .exe.

On macOS, the packaged build should contain the packaged .app bundle.

SteamCMD Upload Failed

Check the upload log and the live output.

Common causes are:

  • wrong Steam App ID;
  • wrong Depot ID;
  • the Steam account does not have upload permission;
  • SteamCMD authorization expired;
  • the selected build folder is invalid;
  • Steamworks rejected the target branch or build configuration.

After fixing the issue, run the publish operation again.

Target Branch Failed

If Target Branch is set, SteamCMD attempts to set the uploaded build live on that branch after upload.

Check that:

  • the branch name is correct;
  • the branch exists in Steamworks;
  • the Steam account has permission to manage the branch.

Do not use default as the Target Branch.

Leave Target Branch empty if you only want to upload the build without automatic branch promotion.

Upload Succeeded, but the Game Is Not Public

A successful upload means that SteamCMD accepted the build and Steamworks created a build entry.

It does not mean that the game is publicly released.

Public release, store visibility, packages, review, and release approvals are handled in Steamworks.

Open Steamworks, review the uploaded build, assign it to the correct branch if needed, test it through the Steam client, and continue with the normal Steamworks release process.

Open Steam Build Page Button Is Not Visible

The Open Steam Build Page button is shown only when the tool can build a Steamworks build page URL from the publish result.

If the button is not visible, open Steamworks manually and check the uploaded builds for the configured Steam App ID.