Troubleshooting¶
Examples on this page use the PyPI command steam_monitor. If you installed the manual script, replace that command with the matching command prefix.
Doctor Preflight¶
Before monitoring anything, --doctor checks whether the setup is actually ready and reports what is not:
Doctor writes no files. It checks Environment, Configuration, Authentication, Connectivity, Target and Notifications. Results use [PASS], [WARN], [FAIL] or [SKIP]. Follow the To fix: actions and guide links for warnings and failures.
Configuration checks cover the selected files, secret sources, timing settings and TLS verification. Secret values are not displayed.
Doctor checks whether the log and CSV destinations are writable.
The Notifications section signs in to the configured SMTP server and validates webhook settings without sending anything. Each ready row lists the alert categories that channel would deliver.
In an interactive terminal, Doctor offers one real test message per ready channel. Each needs separate approval and defaults to No. Noninteractive runs send no test messages.
Follow the report's Next steps after correcting any failed checks. The printed start command uses the configuration and dotenv files you checked.
It exits 0 when every check passed and 1 when any check or approved delivery test failed, so it can be used as a container healthcheck or a CI smoke test:
steam_target can be a Steam64 ID, Steam3 identifier, vanity name or full profile URL. Running doctor without a target checks everything except the monitored profile. An explicitly selected dotenv path that does not exist is reported as a warning with the path and recovery command.
Common Problems¶
Every failure is reported in the same three-part shape: what went wrong, a To fix: action and a Guide: link to the page that covers it. The fix command matches how you installed the tool and carries the --config-file or --env-file you started with, so it can be pasted as it is. --debug appends a Technical detail: line for bug reports. Secrets are redacted from all three.
| Symptom | Likely cause | Where to look |
|---|---|---|
Steam rejected the configured Web API key |
The key is wrong or was revoked | Steam Web API key then run --set-steam-api-key |
| The profile shows no activity | The monitored account keeps its game details private | User Privacy Settings |
| Rate limit warnings | The polling intervals are too short | Check Intervals |
| The run stops naming a file and a line number | A configuration line is not a plain SETTING = value assignment |
Configuration File |
| Emails never arrive | Incomplete SMTP settings | SMTP Settings then run steam_monitor --send-test-email |
| Webhook alerts never arrive | Provider mismatch or a stale destination | Webhook Settings then run steam_monitor --send-test-webhook |
steam_monitor is not found after installation |
The shell has not picked up the new command | Installation and Command Problems |
Escape sequences such as [36m printed as text or no colour at all |
The terminal cannot display ANSI colour or colour was switched off | Terminal Colours Look Wrong |
The Steam Web API did not answer in time, The Steam Web API could not be reached or The Steam Web API is temporarily unavailable |
A network problem between this machine and Steam or a Steam outage | Connection Problems |
This process ran out of file descriptors |
The operating system limit on open files was reached | Too Many Open Files |
A continuing outage produces a * Monitoring degraded reminder once an hour, even when the liveness reminder is switched off. * Monitoring recovered marks recovery. Use --verbose to see the first failed check.
If a dotenv file cannot be opened or is not UTF-8, monitoring stops with the file path and the repair step for that cause. Doctor reports the failed load and continues the remaining checks.
Connection Problems¶
The Steam Web API did not answer in time and The Steam Web API could not be reached mean a check got no answer from Steam. The Steam Web API is temporarily unavailable means Steam answered with a server error. The report names the interval after which the check is retried, so a short outage needs no action. A failure that lasts produces the hourly Monitoring degraded reminder and Monitoring recovered when it clears.
If the failure continues, check the internet connection, DNS and any firewall or proxy between this machine and Steam. A certificate error points at TLS interception on the network, see TLS Verification. A server error that lasts is a Steam outage, so wait for it to end.
To confirm that Steam is reachable from this machine, run:
Too Many Open Files¶
This process ran out of file descriptors means the operating system limit on open files was reached. It is a local limit and not a Steam problem. Raise it with ulimit -n 4096 in the shell that starts the tool or set LimitNOFILE= in the systemd unit, then restart the tool.
Terminal Colours Look Wrong¶
If escape sequences such as [36m appear as literal text, the terminal does not understand ANSI colour. Start the tool with --no-color or set COLORED_OUTPUT = False in the configuration file. On Windows, pip install colorama fixes the classic Command Prompt.
If colour is missing where you expect it, check in this order: --no-color on the command line, COLORED_OUTPUT in the configuration file, a NO_COLOR environment variable and whether output is redirected or piped. Colour is switched off in all of those cases and also when TERM is unset or set to dumb.
Log files never contain colour by design. To colour a saved log while reading it, see Coloring Log Output with GRC.
To change which colours are used, see Terminal Colours.
Choosing the Right Logging Level¶
- Default mode reports activity changes and important errors
- Verbose mode (
--verbose) adds occasional state changes, a line naming where each delivered alert went and a complete startup summary without private values. SetDELIVERY_CONFIRMATIONS = Falseto keep verbose mode without those delivery lines - Debug mode (
--debug) adds sanitized request flow, scheduling details and internal diagnostics
Delivery confirmations name the recipient or webhook provider. DELIVERY_CONFIRMATIONS = False hides these optional success messages. Monitoring events, send attempts and errors remain visible.
Both --verbose and --debug show the complete startup summary, including notification settings and credential sources. Use it to check which configuration is active without displaying private values.
Start with --doctor. If the suggested fix does not resolve the issue, retry with --debug and include only sanitized output when opening a GitHub issue.
Verbose and Debug Output¶
--verbose adds the decisions a run made, in the same * lines as the rest of the output:
--debug traces what the tool is doing in timestamped [DEBUG HH:MM:SS] lines:
Lines with details read Operation: key=value, key=value. Fields depend on the operation. Some results report outcome=OK, failed or skipped.
Installation and Command Problems¶
If Python or pip is missing, use the Python install walkthrough.
If steam_monitor is not found after installation, close the terminal and open it again. On Windows with Python Install Manager, run py install --refresh to refresh command aliases. For a pipx installation, run pipx ensurepath then reopen the terminal. If you downloaded the script, use the manual command from its directory.
If pip reports an externally managed environment, follow the pipx steps in Installation. Use pipx upgrade steam_monitor for later upgrades.
If the tool cannot import a dependency, install the dependencies with the same Python interpreter that runs the script. On macOS or Linux use python3 -m pip install -r requirements.txt. On Windows use python -m pip install -r requirements.txt. Match the requirements file to your downloaded script.
If a new terminal cannot find your saved settings, return to the directory used during setup or pass both --config-file and --env-file explicitly. Run steam_monitor --doctor <steam_target> to see which settings are loaded.
Invalid saved settings and state¶
If setup fails while saving, the configuration may already have changed. Correct the reported destination problem, rerun --setup with the same --config-file and --env-file paths then run --doctor before monitoring. The configuration backup restores non-secret settings only.
Timing values must be finite and within the documented range. Normal startup checks effective timing settings before monitoring. A configuration syntax error reports its file, line number and parser message without echoing source text that may contain credentials.
If a saved status file has an invalid structure, monitoring stops before replacing it. Correct the named file or move it aside to start fresh. Keep a copy if you need the old history. Older valid records and extra trailing metadata remain accepted.
A games-library file the tool cannot use is reported as a warning instead. The run continues, the next lookup starts a fresh baseline and no library change is reported for it. Files written before 2.0 that recorded a game count differing from their list of game IDs still load, with the count taken from the IDs.
An incomplete or inaccessible Steam games response leaves the previous library snapshot intact. Achievement lookups stop on rate limits or connection failures and report how to retry, instead of continuing through the rest of the library.
Malformed path settings and color-theme values are reported by Doctor with the setting name. Invalid color values are ignored while rendering help so you can still find the configuration commands.
A saved timestamp more than five minutes ahead of the machine clock is not used as history, because the tool wrote that file itself and a clock moved backwards is the usual reason. Monitoring warns, keeps the saved entry and times it from the moment it starts, so the run continues. Check the system clock if the warning repeats.