Steam Dock Extension

A PowerToys Command Palette extension with two Dock experiences:

Repository: https://github.com/ScymicX/Steam-Dock-Extension

• Steam Library: a searchable alphabetical list of locally installed games.
• Online Steam Friends: a live Dock band showing online friends and the game they are playing.

Data sources

The library is read locally from Steam's libraryfolders.vdf and appmanifest_*.acf files. Artwork is loaded from Steam's local appcache/librarycache when available.

Online friends use Valve's ISteamUser/GetFriendList and ISteamUser/GetPlayerSummaries Web API methods.

The Steam profile used for the Dock band must have Friends List set to Public under Edit Profile > Privacy Settings. Valve returns HTTP 401 for GetFriendList when that setting is private, even when the API key is valid.

Configuration

Open the extension settings in Command Palette and configure:

• Steam Web API key: create one at https://steamcommunity.com/dev/apikey. A key entered in the settings is stored in Windows Credential Manager. Leave the field blank to keep the stored key, enter CLEAR to remove it, or set the STEAM_WEB_API_KEY environment variable instead.
• SteamID64: optional. The extension automatically selects the most recent user from Steam's config/loginusers.vdf.
• Steam installation folder: optional override.
• Maximum online friends and refresh interval.

Other settings are stored in the package's local application data. Existing plain-text API keys from development builds are migrated to Windows Credential Manager when the extension starts.

Requirements

• Windows 10 version 2004 or newer
• Microsoft PowerToys with Command Palette and Dock support
• A local Steam installation for the library
• An optional Steam Web API key for online friends

Build and test

1. Open SteamDockExtension.sln in Visual Studio. Do not open only the .csproj; the solution contains the deployment mappings used by Visual Studio.
2. Select the SteamDockExtension (Package) profile.
3. Use Build > Deploy SteamDockExtension.
4. In Command Palette, run Reload Command Palette extensions.
5. Enable the Dock and add the Steam Library and Online Steam Friends bands.

The user controls whether each band appears in the Start, Center, or End Dock region.

The project has an explicit Deploy target. It builds the project, copies the package assets into the loose MSIX layout, and registers that layout with Windows. Repeated deployments first stop and unregister the running development build so its files are not locked. Windows Developer Mode must be enabled for development package registration.

For a local parser check without deploying the extension:

dotnet run --project SteamDockExtension.Diagnostics

Create a Store package

On Windows with the .NET 10 SDK and Windows SDK installed:

.\Publishing\Build-StorePackage.ps1

The unsigned x64/ARM64 bundle is written to artifacts/store for Partner Center. See the release checklist for Store and WinGet publication.

For independent WinGet publication, use the GitHub Release WinGet installers workflow and follow the WinGet submission guide.

Privacy and license

Steam Dock Extension has no developer-owned server, analytics, or telemetry. See PRIVACY.md, SECURITY.md, and LICENSE.

Steam and the Steam logo are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Valve Corporation. This independent project is not affiliated with or endorsed by Valve Corporation or Microsoft.