Start Steam Silently on System Startup, Simply Stated

[Levvine]

Hi guys,

Steam likes to warn users about the dangers of being antisocial, so it will throw up a warning when you try to open Steam again, after closing it in offline mode. If you prefer Steam to open in the background, or like me, don't want your friends to know how much of a degenerate you are (wayyy too many hours of Skyrim), then this tutorial is for you.

9 hours in 5 years? We both know that's a lie. :wink:

Step 1
Go to your Steam installation directory (typically C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam) and create a new text file that you'll rename to a .bat file. I called mine SteamOffline.bat. Open your new batch file with notepad and paste these lines:

 

@echo off
setlocal disableDelayedExpansion

:Variables
set InputFile=config\loginusers.vdf
set OutputFile=config\loginusers-temp.vdf
set "_strFind0=		"WantsOfflineMode"		"0""
set "_strReplace0=		"WantsOfflineMode"		"1""
set "_strFind1=		"SkipOfflineModeWarning"		"0""
set "_strReplace1=		"SkipOfflineModeWarning"		"1""

:Replace
>"%OutputFile%" (
  for /f "usebackq delims=" %%A in ("%InputFile%") do (
    if "%%A" equ "%_strFind0%" (echo %_strReplace0%) else if "%%A" equ "%_strFind1%" (echo %_strReplace1%) else (echo %%A)
  )
)

MOVE "%OutputFile%" "%InputFile%"
@start steam.exe -silent

 

These commands change two lines in a file called loginusers.vdf, which tells Steam to (1)start offline and (2)skip the offline message. In addition, the steam client will start in your system tray without opening.
Save your batch file and make sure it works by exiting Steam (shouldn't be running in Task Manager) and double-clicking the batch file to run it. Make everything neat by right-clicking your batch file and clicking Create shortcut. You can change the icon and rename the shortcut to look like the original Steam application.

Step 2
You might notice that a terminal opens up briefly before Steam runs, then disappears. We can address this by making the program start minimized. Then, right-click your new shortcut and click Properties. In the drop-down menu labeled Run:, select Minimized, then click okay to close the properties window. You can now use this shortcut to replace all your Steam shortcuts to always start Steam offline.

Step 3
Now we'll replace Steam's startup entry with a modified offline entry. In the upper left hand corner of the Steam menu, go to Steam > Settings > Interface and uncheck Run Steam when my computer starts.

Step 4
Execute the Run command by pressing Windows Key + R and type shell:startup. The windows startup folder should open. Cut and paste your modded shortcut into the startup folder.

Step 5
Open Command Prompt with Ctrl + Shift + Esc and navigate to the Startup tab. Verify that Steam is not there, and SteamOffline.bat, or whatever you named your batch file, appears on the list.

Step 6
Reboot your computer and enjoy Offline Steam as it was intended!

btw, does anyone know how to make image thumbnails in Nexus Forums without resizing the actual image? This forum uses some really weird bbcode for images.

 

Edit

If it randomly stops working and the Offline Mode warning popup starts appearing again, open steam normally and see if it requests your username and password. If so, you need to sign in to steam again and remember to check the "Remember my password" box. Windows version updates, e.g. 1902 to 20H2 can cause apps to sign you out, resulting in some things breaking.

Edited February 26, 2021 by Levvine

[Deleted48940373User]

hello!

 

just found your guide. thank you very much!

 

have a nice day!

[Arts1000]

Steam opening and advertising and taking over my life. Honestly they want to own me it seems .I finally snapped ..... Thanks a BILLION for this tutorial .... I had to really to search for it as it seem most gamers are ok with all the intrusive windows . Good to know I can pop in now when I please and take a look at steam and not have it crammed down my throat every minute .

[DryBones12]

*2021 update*

 

sorry for the late reply, but I just wanna add that if like me, you want to launch steam ONLINE automatically in the background when you power up your computer, since I don't know s*** about coding, I've done a bit of testing and you have to follow these exact steps, EXCEPT KEEP ONLY THE LAST CODE LINE in the .bat file. Get rid of everything else. that's it!

Edited February 24, 2021 by DryBones12

[Levvine]

*2021 update*

 

sorry for the late reply, but I just wanna add that if like me, you want to launch steam ONLINE automatically in the background when you power up your computer, since I don't know s*** about coding, I've done a bit of testing and you have to follow these exact steps, EXCEPT KEEP ONLY THE LAST CODE LINE in the .bat file. Get rid of everything else. that's it!

 

Can't you already achieve this by enabling "Run Steam when my computer starts" in Settings > Interface ?

[xrayy]

i use C:\Steam\steam.exe -no-browser and get no advertisements entering offline mode

[ITRASHBOATI]

btw, does anyone know how to make image thumbnails in Nexus Forums without resizing the actual image? This forum uses some really weird bbcode for images.

Super helpful guide! I wish I can help you with your problem in return but I don't use forums too much nor am I tech savvy with them. I will say though that I'm assuming you need help with the coding? And i see you know how to code batch files, but the only people that will come and read this thread are likely people that don't know how to code. idk if you fixed that issue by now, but if not maybe you can ask somewhere else.

[AeRoTR]

SIR YOU ARE GOLDEN, after some 2023 steam update, it was so annoying when I start steam, it will block my screen and take over my mouse, was very annoying.

 

This is a perfect solution and startup time is very quick, thank you very much.