When you create a Steam account, you are assigned a unique identifier known as a SteamID. This identifier never changes, which means you can change your Steam profile name as much as you want without the SteamID changing.

What Are SteamIDs For?

SteamIDs identify individual users on Steam. Since Steam users can change their profile names at any time, SteamID is the best way to tell whether a user is who they claim to be.

Here are some of the reasons why you would need to have a SteamID on hand:

  • To find the community profile associated with a given user.To access web forums that require or allow SteamIDs.To contest a ban or some other account action with Steam or Valve.To report cheating or inappropriate behavior to Steam, Valve, or another company.

Ways to Find a Steam ID

There are three main ways to find your SteamID or the SteamID of a friend:

  • Look in the Steam client: This is an easy way to find your own SteamID.
  • Use an online lookup tool: This is the best way to find a SteamID if the ID owner has a custom universal resource locator (URL).
  • Use the console in a Valve game: This is the best way to find the SteamID of someone while playing a game, but it only works for people playing with you.

How to Find Your SteamID in the Steam Client

The easiest way to find your own SteamID is to look at your profile or main community hub page in the Steam client. You can find your SteamID in the web address of your Steam community profile.

You do have to change a setting in Steam for your SteamID to be displayed up, but that’s the most challenging part.

  • Open your Steam client and log in.
  • Select View > Settings.
  • Select Interface, then make sure the checkbox for Display Steam URL address bar when available is checked.
  • Select your username.
  • Examine the URL bar.
  • If you see your username in the URL instead of a number, then you have a custom URL set, and you will need to use a different method to obtain your SteamID.

How to Use a SteamID Lookup Tool to Find a SteamID

If you have a custom URL for your Steam profile, the easiest way to figure out your SteamID is to use a lookup tool. These tools can obtain a SteamID from a custom Steam URL or the username from a custom Steam URL.

If you have created a custom Steam URL, this option won’t work. You will need to use a lookup tool. If you’re not sure whether or not you have a custom URL, complete the following steps to find out.

Open your Steam client and log in.

Select View > Settings.

Select Interface, then make sure the checkbox for Display Steam URL address bar when available is checked.

Select your username.

Examine the URL bar.

If you see your username in the URL instead of a number, then you have a custom URL set, and you will need to use a different method to obtain your SteamID.

Most of these tools also allow you to enter a SteamID to obtain the SteamID3 and SteamID64 associated with that account.

Here’s how to find a SteamID using a lookup tool:

  • Open your web browser and navigate to steamidfinder.com.
  • This website is not operated by Valve, but Valve does recommend it.
  • Enter the username you use for your custom Steam URL into the text field and select Get SteamID.
  • You can also enter your entire custom URL.
  • Examine the results to determine your SteamID.
  • This tool provides your ID in three different forms. The SteamID64 is the one you will need most often, but some situations will require you to know your SteamID or SteamID3 instead.

How to Find a User’s SteamID in Team Fortress 2 and Other Games

The last way to find a SteamID is to use a game like Team Fortress 2 or Counter-Strike that uses either the GoldSrc or Source engine. Valve makes these games, and Valve makes Steam, so user names often overlap.

Open your web browser and navigate to steamidfinder.com.

This website is not operated by Valve, but Valve does recommend it.

Enter the username you use for your custom Steam URL into the text field and select Get SteamID.

You can also enter your entire custom URL.

Examine the results to determine your SteamID.

This tool provides your ID in three different forms. The SteamID64 is the one you will need most often, but some situations will require you to know your SteamID or SteamID3 instead.

This method allows you to see your own SteamID and the SteamIDs of other players connected to the same server. If you’re looking for the SteamID of someone you played with previously, this method will not work.

Here’s how to find a SteamID in a game like Team Fortress 2:

  • Launch a Valve game that runs on the GoldSrc or Source engine.
  • Games that work include Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike, and Half-Life.
  • Enable the developer console.
  • 
  • Press the ~ (tilde) key to open the console.
  • Type “status,” then select Submit.
  • Locate the player you are interested in, and you will find their SteamID in the console window.
  • Use a tool like steamidfinder.com if you need to convert the SteamID into a SteamID3 or SteamID64.

Launch a Valve game that runs on the GoldSrc or Source engine.

Games that work include Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike, and Half-Life.

Enable the developer console.



Press the ~ (tilde) key to open the console.

Type “status,” then select Submit.

Locate the player you are interested in, and you will find their SteamID in the console window.

Use a tool like steamidfinder.com if you need to convert the SteamID into a SteamID3 or SteamID64.

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