SteamCMD Docker Image

Lightweight, daily-built SteamCMD base image for game server automation.

Quick Start

Pull the latest image and open SteamCMD interactive prompt:

docker pull gameservermanagers/steamcmd:latest
docker run -it --rm gameservermanagers/steamcmd:latest

Download (update) a dedicated server into the current host directory (example: CS2 / app 730):

docker run -it --rm \
  -v "$PWD:/data" \
  gameservermanagers/steamcmd:latest \
  +force_install_dir /data +login anonymous +app_update 730 validate +quit

Persist Steam content in a named volume:

docker volume create steamcmd-data
docker run -it --rm -v steamcmd-data:/home/steam/Steam gameservermanagers/steamcmd:latest +login anonymous +quit

Tags & Platforms

Tag(s)	Ubuntu Release	Notes
latest, ubuntu	24.04 LTS (Noble)	Alias to most recent LTS
ubuntu-24.04	24.04 LTS	Current LTS
ubuntu-22.04	22.04 LTS	Previous LTS
ubuntu-20.04	20.04 LTS	Legacy (receives security updates)
ubuntu-18.04	18.04 LTS	Legacy / nearing EOL upstream

Currently built for: linux/amd64.

Features

• Daily scheduled build + build on Dockerfile changes
• Non-root steam user (security best practice)
• Minimal packages; apt caches cleaned
• HEALTHCHECK (lightweight SteamCMD invocation)
• Multi-version tag set for pinning

Usage Examples

Anonymous login and quit (cache initialization):

docker run --rm gameservermanagers/steamcmd:latest +login anonymous +quit

Install/Update Valheim dedicated server (app 896660) into a local folder:

mkdir -p valheim && \
docker run --rm -v "$PWD/valheim:/data" gameservermanagers/steamcmd:latest \
  +force_install_dir /data +login anonymous +app_update 896660 validate +quit

Run with a different timezone:

docker run --rm -e TZ=UTC gameservermanagers/steamcmd:latest +login anonymous +quit

Data Persistence

Steam content is stored under /home/steam/Steam (owned by the non-root steam user). Mount a volume there to persist downloads across runs.

docker run -v steamcmd-data:/home/steam/Steam gameservermanagers/steamcmd:latest +login anonymous +quit

Configuration

Common tunables (all optional):

Option	How	Purpose
Timezone	-e TZ=Europe/London	Control tzdata (if installed)
Working dir	-w /home/steam	Override working directory
User mapping	--user $(id -u):$(id -g)	Run with host UID/GID (if perms needed)

Steam credentials (if you need a non-anonymous app):

docker run -it --rm gameservermanagers/steamcmd:latest +login <username> <password> +app_update <appid> +quit

Consider using Steam Guard / login tokens; avoid embedding secrets in shell history. Use --env-file for larger sets of env variables if needed.

Healthcheck

The image defines a HEALTHCHECK that periodically performs a minimal anonymous login and metadata refresh. To disable at runtime, you can override with --no-healthcheck (Docker 25+) or build your own image FROM this one and use HEALTHCHECK NONE.

Security Notes

• Runs as non-root steam
• Network access only to Steam endpoints during operations
• Keep host Docker updated; image alone does not mitigate kernel CVEs

Contributing

Issues & PRs welcome. Before submitting:

1. Run formatters: prettier --write .
2. Run linters: super-linter workflow (or locally with the provided dev container)
3. Keep layers minimal; squash RUN chains where reasonable

Related Projects

• LinuxGSM – Game server management
• steamcmd/docker – Upstream reference

License

MIT – see LICENSE.

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Looking for additional architectures or features? Open an issue to discuss multi-arch builds or tag deprecation timelines.

Troubleshooting

Empty output directory:

• Ensure the order: +force_install_dir comes BEFORE +login (SteamCMD requirement – it warns otherwise). If reversed, files may go to the default Steam library inside the container instead of your mounted directory.
• Verify permissions: the container runs as user steam (UID 1000). If your host user ID differs and you see permission errors, try adding --user $(id -u):$(id -g) or pre-chown the host directory.
• Add validate only when necessary; it forces extra file checks and can slow installs.

Confirm installation path by adding +app_status <appid> before +quit to inspect state.