However, this isn’t the only reason you’d want to disable auto-update on Steam. Maybe you’re afraid of game-breaking updates and want to control how and when your games are updated. Whatever the reason, in this guide we will discuss how you can disable auto-update on Steam.
Preventing Steam From Auto-Updating Games
At the time of writing this article, Steam only allowed users to disable the auto-update feature one game at a time. This may present an issue for gamers with large libraries. Fortunately, there are a few ways to get around this.
Disable Steam Auto-Update for a Game
This is the most time-consuming and traditional method. This approach is for those who have fewer games in their library or prefer to be more selective. Selecting this option won’t completely disable updates for your game. It will only search and install updates when the game is launched. If you want to view hidden remote play games on steam, we have you covered.
Editing Game Manifests
Steam saves each game’s properties on a file known as a manifest. You can manually edit these manifests without launching the Steam client. To disable auto-updates by editing the manifest, do the following: As you may have noticed, it’s far easier to edit game properties using Steam. However, the method above presents an opportunity to edit multiple game properties at once. Nevertheless, to achieve this, you’ll need an application that allows you to edit the content of multiple text files simultaneously. A few free and open-source software (FOSS) applications have this capability. Some of the best ones include: We’ve included two examples using Notepad++ and FNR. *Note: by default the Steam Apps folder is located in C:\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps. Steam app/game manifests are suffixed with the game’s ID (appmanifest_APPID.acf). This is how you identify which manifest belongs to which game. If you don’t know the ID of the game, you can use SteamDB to find it. The ID is usually presented as a string of numbers.
Editing Multiple Steam Game Manifests Using Notepad++
If you follow the above steps correctly, the Notepad++ Search and Replace window will display a short message near the bottom reflecting the number of replaced occurrences.
Editing Multiple Steam Game Manifests Using FNR
If you follow the above steps correctly, the application should display a result of all the altered manifest files under its Results section.
Other Ways to Manage Your Steam Auto-Downloads
If you feel that some of the methods in this guide are a little too complex for you, there are other ways to limit and restrict Steam auto-downloads. For instance, you can change the auto-update schedule, disable Steam’s auto start-up process, or throttle your bandwidth. We will explore each of these solutions in this section.
Applying Steam Download Restrictions
In the same way, you can increase and optimize download speeds on Steam, you can also control when Steam performs its updates using the following steps: Additionally, if you have a slow internet connection and you don’t want Steam feeding on precious bandwidth, you can throttle it by ticking the Limit bandwidth to option. You can decide how excessive the restriction should be. *Note: Setting the time frame between 0:00 and 0:00 is basically the same as having the Only auto-update games between options unticked. If you’re unsure what time frame you’d like to pick, we suggest 0:00 (AM) and 1:00 (AM) or during a time frame when you’re not playing games or have the Steam client closed.
Using Steam in Offline Mode
If you want to prevent Steam from initiating auto-updates temporarily, you can use it in Offline mode. While it will prevent Steam from downloading games, it will also block you from accessing some of Steam’s online features. It will also restrict you from playing some of the games in your Library. The easiest way to use Steam in offline mode is by disconnecting from the internet completely or using a firewall to block the Steam client. If the Steam client can’t connect to the internet, it will display a correction error dialog with a message reading: Could not connect to the Steam network. To run the Steam client in offline mode, click on the button marked START IN OFFLINE MODE. If you already have Steam opened in its online mode, you can switch to the offline mode by doing the following:
Preventing the Steam Client From Running On Windows Start-Up
If you want to stop the Steam client from running and updating when Windows starts up, do the following:
How to Stop the Steam Client From Auto-Updating
Adding a Steam Configuration File
You can also prevent the Steam client from updating itself by adding a configuration file. To accomplish this, do the following:
Summary
In the above guide, we explored various ways you can disable auto-updates in Steam. We also discussed a few ways in which you could control how and when Steam initiates auto-updates for both its client and the games it hosts. Nevertheless, we hope that you’ve found this guide to be helpful. If you have any corrections, critiques, or complaints, please leave them down in the comment section. As always, thank you for reading.
