specification: API Commons Rate Limits
specificationVersion: '0.1'
schema: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/interface-research/main/schema/api-commons.yml#/$defs/RateLimits
provider: Steam
providerId: steam
created: '2026-05-08'
# Provenance stamped 2026-08-11: this artifact was written by the API Evangelist
# bulk sweep dated 2026-05-08, not harvested from the provider. See roadmap#35.
method: generated
modified: '2026-05-08'
reconciled: true
tags:
  - Gaming
  - Valve
  - Steamworks
  - Rate Limiting
  - Quotas
  - Throttling
description: >-
  Valve does not publish a precise per-second cap on Steam Web API calls in the public Steamworks docs. The widely documented behavior, confirmed by the Steam Web API Terms of Use, is a soft daily quota of approximately 100,000 calls per Web API key, and a per-IP burst limit that returns HTTP 429 (or HTTP 403 for repeated abuse) once exceeded. Some interfaces (ISteamUser/GetPlayerSummaries) accept up to 100 SteamIDs per request — clients should batch to reduce call volume. The unofficial Storefront API (store.steampowered.com/api/) is more aggressively rate-limited and returns 429 well below the Web API quota. Partner microtransaction interfaces are not subject to the same key-level quota; per the Steamworks documentation they are governed by the per-product Steamworks agreement.
notes: >-
  Limits below are commonly observed and consistent with Valve's published Web API Terms; exact thresholds may shift without notice. Always inspect HTTP status and back off on 429/403. For Storefront API consumers, target sustained <1 request/second.
sources:
  - https://steamcommunity.com/dev/apiterms
  - https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/webapi
  - https://steamcommunity.com/dev
responseCodes:
  throttled: 429
  forbidden: 403
  unauthorized: 401
limits:
  - name: Steam Web API Daily Quota
    scope: api-key
    metric: calls
    limit: 100000
    timeFrame: day
    notes: >-
      Soft daily quota per Web API key as referenced by community documentation and Valve's Web API Terms. Excessive use can result in temporary 429 or 403 responses.
  - name: Steam Web API Burst (per IP)
    scope: ip
    metric: requests-per-second
    limit: -1
    timeFrame: second
    notes: >-
      Undocumented per-IP burst limit. Sustained high concurrency from a single IP returns 429.
  - name: Storefront API
    scope: ip
    metric: requests-per-second
    limit: 1
    timeFrame: second
    notes: >-
      Unofficial https://store.steampowered.com/api/* endpoints — common safe ceiling is approximately 1 request/second from a single IP; exceeding triggers 429 quickly.
  - name: GetPlayerSummaries Batch Size
    scope: request
    metric: steamids
    limit: 100
    timeFrame: per-request
    notes: >-
      ISteamUser/GetPlayerSummaries v0002 accepts up to 100 SteamIDs per call — batch lookups to reduce request volume.
  - name: Web API Key Quantity
    scope: account
    metric: api-keys
    limit: 1
    timeFrame: simultaneous
    notes: >-
      Each Steam account can hold one active Web API key; key rotation invalidates the previous key.
policies:
  - name: Backoff Strategy
    description: >-
      Implement exponential backoff with jitter on 429 / 403 responses; throttle to well below observed throughput before retrying.
  - name: Batch and Cache
    description: >-
      Batch Steam ID lookups (up to 100 per request); cache catalog/news/schema responses for hours/days as Valve data changes infrequently.
  - name: Use Web API not Storefront
    description: >-
      Where the same data is available via Web API and Storefront, prefer the Web API — it has a more permissive quota and is supported.
  - name: Respect Terms of Use
    description: >-
      The Steam Web API Terms of Use prohibit reselling Web API data and require attribution. Long-term commercial scraping of the Storefront API risks key revocation.
maintainers:
  - FN: Kin Lane
    email: kin@apievangelist.com