Getting Started

Table of contents

1. Installation
   1. From PyPI (recommended)
   2. From source
      1. Build requirements
      2. Build configuration
2. Prerequisites
   1. steam_appid.txt
   2. Steam client
3. Minimal example
4. Integration with Panda3D
5. Async callbacks
6. Broadcast events
7. Next steps

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Installation

From PyPI (recommended)

pip install panda3d-steamworks

Pre-built wheels include the compiled extension and the Steamworks shared library — no build tools required.

From source

git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/DigitalDescent/panda3d-steamworks.git
cd panda3d-steamworks
pip install .

Build requirements

Requirement	Notes
Panda3D SDK	With headers — the pip panda3d package alone is not sufficient
CMake ≥ 3.16
C++ compiler	Visual Studio (Windows), GCC/Clang (Linux/macOS)
panda3d-interrogate	Generates Python bindings

Build configuration

Options are constants at the top of setup.py:

Constant	Default	Description
GENERATE_PDB	True	Emit .pdb debug symbols (Windows)
OPTIMIZE	3	Optimisation level — must match your Panda3D build
VERBOSE_IGATE	0	Interrogate verbosity (0 = quiet, 2 = very verbose)
REQUIRE_LIB_BULLET	False	Require Bullet physics library
REQUIRE_LIB_FREETYPE	False	Require Freetype library

You can also pass options on the command line:

python setup.py build_ext --optimize=2
python setup.py build_ext --clean-build   # force clean rebuild

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Prerequisites

steam_appid.txt

Create a file called steam_appid.txt in your working directory containing your Steam App ID:

480

App ID 480 is Valve’s “Spacewar” test app. Replace it with your own App ID for production.

Steam client

The Steam client must be running for the API to initialise. During development you can use the Spacewar test app without owning a real app.

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Minimal example

from panda3d_steamworks import SteamApps

if SteamApps.init():
    print("Steam initialised!")
    print("Language:", SteamApps.get_current_game_language())
    print("Build ID:", SteamApps.get_app_build_id())
    SteamApps.shutdown()
else:
    print("Steam failed to initialise. Is the Steam client running?")

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Integration with Panda3D

In a real game you’ll want to pump Steam callbacks every frame and use Panda3D’s messenger for broadcast events:

from direct.showbase.ShowBase import ShowBase
from panda3d_steamworks import SteamApps, SteamCallbackManager, SteamFriends

class MyGame(ShowBase):
    def __init__(self):
        super().__init__()

        if not SteamApps.init():
            raise RuntimeError("Steam failed to initialise")

        print(f"Hello, {SteamFriends.get_persona_name()}!")

        # Pump callbacks every frame
        self.taskMgr.add(self.steam_update, "steam_callbacks")

    def steam_update(self, task):
        SteamCallbackManager.run_callbacks()
        return task.cont

app = MyGame()
app.run()

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Async callbacks

Many Steamworks operations are asynchronous. Pass a Python callable as the last argument; it will receive a dict with the result:

from panda3d_steamworks import SteamMatchmaking

def on_lobby_list(result):
    print(f"Found {result.get('num_lobbies_matching', 0)} lobbies")

SteamMatchmaking.add_request_lobby_list_result_count_filter(10)
SteamMatchmaking.request_lobby_list(on_lobby_list)

You must call SteamCallbackManager.run_callbacks() every frame for async callbacks to fire. Without it, no callbacks will be dispatched.

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Broadcast events

Some Steam events are delivered as Panda3D messenger events (broadcast callbacks). Use self.accept() in a DirectObject subclass to listen for them:

class MyGame(ShowBase):
    def __init__(self):
        super().__init__()
        SteamApps.init()
        self.taskMgr.add(self.steam_update, "steam_callbacks")

        # Listen for overlay activation
        self.accept("steam-overlay-activated", self.on_overlay)

    def on_overlay(self, active):
        if active:
            print("Overlay opened — consider pausing")
        else:
            print("Overlay closed — resume")

    def steam_update(self, task):
        SteamCallbackManager.run_callbacks()
        return task.cont

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Next steps

• Browse the API Reference for detailed class documentation
• Check out the Guides for common patterns
• Look at the examples/ directory for runnable scripts