22 Free Steamworks and PC Distribution Integration Resources (2026 Depot Owner + October setlive Refresh)

Official integration reference for APIs, onboarding, and shipping checklists across Steam features.
Start here: map milestone order to official docs.
Pro tip: verify depot owner before first October upload night — pair SteamGuard + depot owner tools.

Partner admin and app permission matrix for who may edit depots, packages, and setLive.
July 2026 depot-owner refresh: DepotOwnedByOtherAccount almost always means steamcmd authenticated as the wrong Steamworks identity—not a queue delay (Help #27 forward).
Use for: contractor laptop audits before fest upload night.

Account authenticator hygiene for steamcmd machines and shared upload hosts.
July 2026 refresh: stale Guard codes on a QA laptop re-bind steamcmd to a personal Steam login while Steamworks UI still looks correct.
Pair with: depot owner validation list.

CLI login and +run_app_build reference for scripted depot uploads.
July 2026 refresh: print steamcmd whoami / logged-in account beside BUILD_RECEIPT partner columns before first setlive.
Pair with: SteamPipe queue observability when the wait is real wall-clock, not ownership.

Low-level API details for callbacks, interfaces, and implementation behavior by subsystem.
Use for: resolving callback and handle lifecycle bugs.

Controller abstraction docs for action sets, glyph handling, and custom layouts.
2026 October Next Fest: the fest_demo depot must ship controller_base/ VDF beside the game binary—upload rejections for STEAM_INPUT_DEFAULT_CONFIG_MISSING are branch-scoped.
Pair with: Next Fest demo Input metadata fix and the October checklist resource.

Cloud save rules and quota guidance for safe sync behavior across multiple machines.
Critical for: avoiding save conflicts on branch switching.

Depot structure and content update guidance for patch delivery and branch-specific files.
July 2026 depot-owner refresh: note which Steamworks publisher app admin created each depot ID—mismatched ownership fails setlive after a green SteamPipe queue.
October refresh: write a one-line manifest owner (default vs fest_demo vs playtest) in the release ticket.

Build records and library asset regeneration after controller-folder or depot manifest changes on the demo branch.
2026 October Next Fest refresh: regen library assets on the branch players download before re-enabling the fest visibility toggle.
Pro tip: same PR as depot promotion + capsule diff.

CLI upload workflow docs for deterministic build script automation via SteamCMD.
Ownership first: if setlive cites DepotOwnedByOtherAccount, do not raise retry caps—re-auth the partner (bookmark list below).
Queue truth: pair wall-clock observability tools and Wednesday demo smoke.

Partner-identity bookmark stack—SteamPipe docs, SteamCMD, Guard FAQs, Users & Permissions, jq/JSON Schema receipts, GameMaker partner preflight, Lesson 262.
Use when: uploads “succeed” then setlive fails on ownership—not Help #14 queue delay.

Wall-clock and queue-truth tools for October peak nights when the wait is real—not mislabeled ownership failures.
Sibling: this Steamworks hub owns partner/depot identity; that list owns timing + observability CLIs.

Narrative checklist for October fest branch promotion—owner, Guard, VDF, dry-run, and smoke order.
Use for: founder time-box nights when Discord confuses queue delay with wrong partner login.

Ninety-second account gate before first depot upload—Steamworks partner context, Guard hygiene, BUILD_RECEIPT partner columns.
Course cousin: Lesson 262 partner receipt.

Branch strategy docs for canary builds, private QA, and rollback-safe release channels.
2026 October Next Fest refresh: freeze promotion order is internal → fest_demo → default with a named approver per hop; never promote playtest and fest_public the same afternoon without isolation runbooks.

Official festival calendar and visibility rules for Next Fest submission windows and when the public fest toggle may flip.
Treat fest visibility as a release gate tied to green Input metadata—not a marketing checkbox before depot promotion finishes.

Package and subscription references for mapping DLC App IDs to the exact grants your QA accounts need.
Critical for: ownership failures where base app checks pass but package grants drift after demo App ID experiments.

Official testing workflow docs for granting access and validating ownership paths before launch windows.
Use for: entitlement audits across internal QA, external testers, and review accounts.

Deck verification requirements for controller UX, text readability, and performance guardrails.
2026 October Next Fest refresh: schedule Deck glyph + Input checks after demo-branch metadata is green.

Capsule, library, and hero asset specifications tied to readable-at-small-size requirements.
Pair with: Steam store page ninety-minute QA.

Fest-upload checklist lane—festival docs, VDF layout, SteamPipe promotion, library regen, and BUILD_RECEIPT smoke for fest_demo only.
Start here: step-by-step October gates; this list is the broader Steamworks distribution spine.

Official release-sequencing guidance covering review steps and launch readiness gates.
2026 July/October refresh: go/no-go includes partner whoami → depot owner receipt → entitlement retest → depot promotion → library regen → metadata green → fest visibility → store publish.
Pair with: 7-day metadata sprint.