Steam Bridge

Steamworks for Node.js and Electron, with typed APIs and prebuilt native addons.

Add authentication, achievements, cloud saves, friends, inventory, matchmaking, Workshop, and Steam Input to your game. For Electron games, Steam Bridge also provides native Steam-overlay presentation, context-isolated renderer input, and packaging helpers.

The package includes the native addon and matching Valve runtime libraries. Installing the published package does not require Rust or a separate Steamworks SDK download. Building Steam Bridge itself does.

Quick start

npm install steam-bridge

Start Steam, save this as steam-check.cjs, and run node steam-check.cjs:

const { startSteam } = require("steam-bridge");

const steam = startSteam({ appId: 480 });

try {
  console.log({
    appId: steam.appId,
    bridgeVersion: steam.packageVersion,
    steamDeck: steam.isSteamDeck,
    bigPicture: steam.isBigPicture
  });
} finally {
  steam.close();
}

This checks native loading and Steam initialization. It does not create a game window or prove that the Steam overlay works. App ID 480 is Valve's SpaceWar sample; use your own App ID and an entitled account for your game's features.

For a running game, keep the returned application alive until shutdown. startSteam() owns callback dispatch and permits one active application per process. Do not initialize Steamworks again in a renderer or worker.

Pick your next step

| You want to… | Start here | | --- | --- | | Connect a Node game, use Steam services, or understand lifecycle | Getting started | | Add Steam to an Electron game | Electron integration | | Read controllers, bind actions, or display button glyphs | Steam Input and renderer input | | Ship an Electron game on Steam | Packaging your game | | Diagnose initialization, input, overlay, or frame-delivery problems | Troubleshooting | | Find a lower-level Steamworks API | API coverage | | Work on this library | Contributing | | Publish a new Steam Bridge package | Maintainer release procedure |

These guides describe the 0.4 API. The release history records published versions; main may contain unreleased documentation or code.

Platform Targets

The npm package supports Node.js 18+ and declares Electron 24+ as an optional peer. That peer floor is not a promise that every modern shared-texture feature exists in Electron 24. Use a stable Electron version and qualify the exact runtime and packaged application you ship.

| Platform | Native target | Electron game-window model | | --- | --- | --- | | Windows x64 | x86_64-pc-windows-msvc | Standalone native D3D11 window, fed by offscreen Electron | | Linux x64 / Steam Deck | x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu | Native X11/GLX application host | | macOS Apple Silicon | aarch64-apple-darwin | Managed Metal child attached to an Electron window |

Windows ARM, Linux ARM, Intel macOS, Rosetta, and universal macOS packages are not supported. A browser page alone cannot initialize the native Steam client.

General non-Deck Linux remains a separate physical X11/Wayland qualification lane. General non-Deck Linux desktop is a separate release-evidence lane and is not green without its own physical-host receipt. Deck Desktop/Game Mode and CI results do not qualify every Linux distribution, compositor, and driver.

macOS Apple Silicon Only

Build and run macOS test apps only on native darwin/arm64 Apple Silicon hosts. Do not package, launch, or verify macOS smoke apps through Rosetta. Shipping applications must be signed and notarized. Keep the same managed attachment through resize, minimize, maximize, and fullscreen transitions.

Where each API runs

| Import | Process | Purpose | | --- | --- | --- | | steam-bridge | Node main thread / Electron main | startSteam(), Steam services, managed actions and game hosts | | steam-bridge/electron | Electron main | configureSteamElectron(), preload registration and input connections | | steam-bridge/renderer | Game renderer | getRendererInput(), normalized input snapshots | | steam-bridge/server | Trusted backend only | createSteamPublisherApi(), publisher Web API calls | | steam-bridge/electron-builder | Build process | createSteamBuildHooks(): afterPack and afterSign | | steam-bridge/steam-input/layouts | Tooling / Node | Device-specific legacy layout generation |

Start with these APIs. Use steam-bridge/steamworks or the electron/advanced, renderer/advanced, server/advanced, and electron-builder/advanced subpaths only when you need a lower-level feature.

Important integration rules

Electron startup has an order. Configure Steam Electron before app.whenReady(), initialize Steam before creating graphics devices, register the input preload before loading the page, and connect action input before navigation. The Electron guide shows the sequence.

Input has one frame owner. Read input from your existing game loop. For a main-thread game, call the managed action session's update() once per game frame. For renderer-owned gameplay, let connectActionInput() service renderer requests. Do not add a second polling loop.

Windows textures have an ownership contract. Prefer host.updateSharedTextureAsync(descriptor). A resolved promise permits release of that event's Electron producer; false means the frame was rejected before submission, not that it should be retried. Two asynchronous copies may remain in flight; rejected frames are never replayed later. If a NativeOverlaySharedTextureCopyError reports producerReleaseSafe: false, retain the exact producer without texture.release() for the remainder of the application process, then terminate and relaunch. Closing the native host/session or reconstructing the device in the same process is not a proven release boundary. The synchronous compatibility method has the same unsafe-error rule. See texture ownership before writing a paint handler.

Publisher credentials stay on your server. Never ship a publisher key in Electron main, preload, renderer, browser code, or a game package. An overlay authorization callback alone does not finalize a purchase.

A successful build is not live proof. Test the installed package through Steam, including focus, resize, overlay, input, and shutdown. The advanced QA harness is a qualification tool, not a minimal application template.

Windows signing and privacy

The Windows native addon is unsigned. Valve libraries retain their original bytes and signatures; signing a consuming application is the distributor's responsibility. Microsoft Security Intelligence submission is reputation review, not code signing or a guarantee of Smart App Control approval.

Steam Bridge does not send telemetry to its maintainers. Your application owns its diagnostics, collection policy, and retention. Read the code signing policy and privacy policy.

Migrating from 0.3

The 0.4 import boundary is intentionally breaking:

| Old import | 0.4 equivalent | | --- | --- | | steam-bridge low-level SDK mirror | steam-bridge/steamworks | | steam-bridge/electron primitives | steam-bridge/electron/advanced | | steam-bridge/input | steam-bridge/renderer for ordinary input; renderer/advanced for primitives | | steam-bridge/server primitives | steam-bridge/server/advanced | | steam-bridge/electron-builder primitives | steam-bridge/electron-builder/advanced | | steam-bridge/steam-input-layouts | steam-bridge/steam-input/layouts |

Prefer the managed APIs for new code rather than mechanically moving every import to an advanced path. A narrow dormant legacy preload adapter exists for cached older clients; it is not a public npm API or a migration target.

License

MIT. Steamworks use remains subject to Valve's terms.