steamr is an R interface to the official Web API of the Steam game store. The package also provides access to Steam’s undocumented storefront API. The package aims to provide a way to easily perform data collection based on Steam data. It thus only implements API methods are can be used to retrieve data sets for data analysis.
Installation
You can install the development version of steamr like so:
pak::pkg_install("jslth/steamr")Overview
The Steam API is highly inconsistent and uses not only different ways of authentication but entirely different APIs.
The Steam Web API is Steam’s “documented” API introduced on its official developer website. Unfortunately, only a handful of API methods are documented on the Valve community wiki and the Team Fortress wiki. There is a considerable number of API methods that simply remain undocumented. SteamDB founder xPaw provides an automatically generated list of all API methods in the unofficial Steam Web API Documentation.
If that’s not enough, Steam also uses another API internally. This API (also known as the “storefront” API) is not documented at all, but avid Steam developers have gathered a sizable amount of information about the storefront API in the Internal Steam web API Documentation. The internal Steam API mirrors some methods from the Web API and also implements many complementary methods.
In terms of authentication, Steam’s APIs are also very much inconsistent. Many API methods can be used without providing any kind of authentication. Then again, some Web API methods require developers to request an API key. For more sensitive information, both Web and Storefront API can even require the session to be authenticated, i.e. logged in. steamr provides ways for both API key handling and session authentication.
The following table gives an overview of the package functions, the API they use, whether they need an API key, and whether they need authentication.
| Topic | Function | API | Needs key | Needs auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Profile | get_profile_items |
Web API | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Profile | get_profile_frame |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| Countries | get_country_list |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| Discovery | get_discovery_queue |
Web API | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Apps | get_most_played_games |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| Profile | get_profile_customization |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| News | get_news |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| Tags | get_frequent_tags |
Storefront | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Loyalty | query_loyalty_rewards |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| Userlevel | get_level_percentile |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| Search | search_apps |
Storefront | ❌ | ❌ |
| Profile | get_profile_background |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| Profile | get_profile_badges |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| User | get_game_playtime |
Web API | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Auth | get_access_token |
Storefront | ❌ | ❌ |
| Categories | get_store_categories |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| User | get_user_group_list |
Web API | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Query | query_by_recommended_tags |
Web API | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Bbcode | html_to_bbcode |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| User | get_player_bans |
Web API | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Auth | get_steam_qr |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| Marketing | get_marketing_message |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| Yearinreview | user_in_review |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| Weights | weight_app |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| Achievements | get_top_achievements |
Web API | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Details | appdetails |
Storefront | ❌ | ❌ |
| Events | get_event_details |
Storefront | ❌ | ❌ |
| Auth | get_password_rsa_public_key |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| Profile | get_profile_mini_background |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| Economy | get_asset_info |
Web API | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Authstats | get_badge |
Storefront | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Reviews | get_app_review |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| Profile | get_profile_avatar |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| Reviews | get_app_reviews |
Storefront | ❌ | ❌ |
| Browse | get_items |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| Profile | get_profile_themes |
Web API | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Yearinreview | screenshots_in_review |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| Categories | get_categories |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| Gamegroups | get_game_group |
Storefront | ❌ | ❌ |
| User | get_last_playtimes |
Web API | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Discovery | get_discovery_settings |
Web API | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Authinfo | get_logon_info |
Web API | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Stats | get_game_schema |
Web API | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Economy | get_asset_prices |
Web API | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Tags | get_most_popular_tags |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| Topsellers | get_weekly_top_sellers |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| Authinfo | get_client_info |
Web API | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Search | store_search |
Storefront | ❌ | ❌ |
| Reviews | get_review_histogram |
Storefront | ❌ | ❌ |
| Yearinreview | friends_in_review |
Web API | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Authstats | get_userdata |
Storefront | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Auth | update_with_mobile_confirmation |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| Profile | get_profile_reactions |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| Authstats | get_badge_info |
Storefront | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Yearinreview | achievements_in_review |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| Api | steam_stats |
Storefront | ❌ | ❌ |
| Wishlist | get_wishlist |
Storefront | ❌ | ❌ |
| Bundles | resolve_packages |
Storefront | ❌ | ❌ |
| User | get_owned_games |
Web API | ✔️ | ❌ |
| User | get_recently_played_games |
Web API | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Countries | query_locations |
Storefront | ❌ | ❌ |
| Authstats | get_app_user_details |
Storefront | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Apps | get_apps_in_category |
Storefront | ❌ | ❌ |
| Events | get_best_events |
Storefront | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Support | search_support |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| Categories | get_genres |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| Auth | poll_auth_session_status |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| Files | get_published_file |
Web API | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Economy | get_price_history |
Storefront | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Loyalty | get_loyalty_apps |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| Friends | get_friend_list |
Web API | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Tags | get_tags |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| Api | get_supported_api_list |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| Recommender | recommender |
Storefront | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Achievements | get_player_achievements |
Web API | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Files | query_files |
Web API | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Stats | get_user_stats_for_game |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| Query | query |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| Bundles | package_details |
Storefront | ❌ | ❌ |
| Browse | get_hardware_items |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| User | get_player_summary |
Web API | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Apps | get_app_list |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| Apps | get_games_by_ccu |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| Apps | get_apps_in_genre |
Storefront | ❌ | ❌ |
| Bundles | resolve_bundles |
Storefront | ❌ | ❌ |
| Events | query_events |
Storefront | ❌ | ❌ |
| Recommender | get_recommender_input |
Storefront | ❌ | ❌ |
| Economy | query_market_assets |
Storefront | ❌ | ❌ |
| Economy | get_item_histogram |
Storefront | ❌ | ❌ |
| Steamid | resolve_vanity_url |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| Authstats | get_owned_apps |
Storefront | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Apps | get_top_releases |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| Friends | get_friends_recommendations |
Web API | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Profile | get_equipped_profile_items |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| Discovery | get_discovery_skipped |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| Marketing | get_active_marketing_messages |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| Api | get_servertime |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| Query | search_suggestions |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| Achievements | get_game_achievements |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| Auth | update_with_steam_guard_code |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| Authstats | recommend_apps |
Storefront | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Weights | cluster_apps |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| Auth | begin_auth_session |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| Stats | get_game_stats |
Web API | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Authstats | get_library_stats |
Storefront | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Tags | get_recommended_tags |
Storefront | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Friends | get_friend_data |
Storefront | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Search | suggest |
Storefront | ❌ | ❌ |
| Friends | get_friends |
Storefront | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Api | get_servers |
Web API | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Userlevel | get_steam_level |
Web API | ❌ | ❌ |
| Friends | get_friends_playtimes |
Web API | ✔️ | ✔️ |
Example
steamr implements most important data collection functions from both the official Web API and the internal storefront API of Steam. Many functions operate around a so-called application ID or appid. One way to find the appID for a game is to search for it programmatically:
library(steamr)
apps <- stf_search_apps("team fortress")
apps
#> # A tibble: 4 × 3
#> term appid name
#> <chr> <chr> <chr>
#> 1 team fortress 440 Team Fortress 2
#> 2 team fortress 20 Team Fortress Classic
#> 3 team fortress 1551180 TF Visualizer
#> 4 team fortress 860080 lilGunBoisAs we can see, Team Fortress has the appID 440. We can use these IDs as input for many other functions, e.g. to retrieve review data for an application:
stf_app_reviews(440)
#> # A tibble: 20 × 21
#> recommendationid language review timestamp_created timestamp_updated
#> <chr> <chr> <chr> <dttm> <dttm>
#> 1 182526762 english "i mean it… 2024-12-11 23:27:30 2024-12-11 23:27:30
#> 2 182526747 english "GOOD" 2024-12-11 23:27:07 2024-12-11 23:27:07
#> 3 182526606 turkish "sigma" 2024-12-11 23:24:42 2024-12-11 23:24:42
#> 4 182525795 spanish "esepyroes… 2024-12-11 23:10:20 2024-12-11 23:10:20
#> 5 182523556 english "fried chi… 2024-12-11 22:31:10 2024-12-11 22:31:10
#> 6 182522589 russian "Игра отпа… 2024-12-11 22:13:35 2024-12-11 22:13:35
#> 7 182509550 russian "Весьма не… 2024-12-11 18:45:43 2024-12-11 18:45:43
#> 8 182507259 russian "шапк" 2024-12-11 18:09:39 2024-12-11 18:09:39
#> 9 182505575 russian "очень имб… 2024-12-11 17:43:15 2024-12-11 17:43:15
#> 10 182504123 russian "стал мге" 2024-12-11 17:21:33 2024-12-11 17:21:33
#> 11 182501132 english "It is a g… 2024-12-11 16:35:31 2024-12-11 16:35:31
#> 12 182496741 russian "Халяль" 2024-12-11 15:25:08 2024-12-11 15:25:08
#> 13 182493623 russian "ррррррррр… 2024-12-11 14:31:55 2024-12-11 14:31:55
#> 14 182490347 schinese "Classic G… 2024-12-11 13:34:53 2024-12-11 13:34:53
#> 15 182471756 english "Spend mon… 2024-12-11 05:52:38 2024-12-11 05:52:38
#> 16 182451652 russian "я огнено … 2024-12-10 23:27:20 2024-12-10 23:27:20
#> 17 182450164 english "i want he… 2024-12-10 23:02:24 2024-12-10 23:07:28
#> 18 182443951 english "THAT PYRO… 2024-12-10 21:27:54 2024-12-10 21:27:54
#> 19 182436856 russian "да патаму… 2024-12-10 19:44:36 2024-12-10 19:44:36
#> 20 182432506 russian "Вам пизда… 2024-12-10 18:43:29 2024-12-10 18:43:29
#> # ℹ 16 more variables: voted_up <lgl>, votes_up <int>, votes_funny <int>,
#> # weighted_vote_score <dbl>, comment_count <int>, steam_purchase <lgl>,
#> # received_for_free <lgl>, written_during_early_access <lgl>,
#> # primarily_steam_deck <lgl>, author.steamid <chr>,
#> # author.num_games_owned <int>, author.num_reviews <int>,
#> # author.playtime_forever <int>, author.playtime_last_two_weeks <int>,
#> # author.playtime_at_review <int>, author.last_played <dttm>Steam can also use the official Web API given a valid API key. One function offered by the Web API allows us to query details on a Steam application:
get_items(apps$appid)
#> # A tibble: 4 × 20
#> item_type id success visible name store_url_path appid type is_free
#> <int> <int> <int> <lgl> <chr> <chr> <int> <int> <lgl>
#> 1 0 440 1 TRUE Team Fo… app/440/Team_… 4.4 e2 0 TRUE
#> 2 0 20 1 TRUE Team Fo… app/20/Team_F… 2 e1 0 FALSE
#> 3 0 1551180 1 TRUE TF Visu… app/1551180/T… 1.55e6 6 TRUE
#> 4 0 860080 1 TRUE lilGunB… app/860080/li… 8.60e5 0 FALSE
#> # ℹ 11 more variables: content_descriptorids <list>,
#> # categories.supported_player_categoryids <list>,
#> # categories.feature_categoryids <list>,
#> # categories.controller_categoryids <list>,
#> # best_purchase_option.packageid <int>,
#> # best_purchase_option.purchase_option_name <chr>,
#> # best_purchase_option.final_price_in_cents <chr>, …
