The free Steam idler Your Steam library,
on autopilot.

Q: What is a Steam idler?

A Steam idler makes Steam think you're playing a game without you actually playing it. That earns the game's trading card drops and adds hours to your playtime. Steam Game Idler idles up to 32 games at once, and adds achievement tools, inventory selling and free-game claiming on top.

Q: Is Steam Game Idler safe? Can I get banned?

Steam Game Idler is legitimate software, and tools like it have been around for more than 10 years. Historically, Steam hasn't banned accounts just for using them. SGI talks to Steam through the official Steam API and SDK, the same way many games do, and its full source code is public on GitHub. As with any third-party tool, use it at your own discretion.

Q: Is Steam Game Idler free?

Yes. The app and every core feature, including card farming, the achievement tools and the playtime booster, are free. An optional Pro subscription adds a few extras for people who want to support development.

Q: Do I need to give SGI my username or password?

Only if you choose "Steam Sign-in", the recommended method. Your credentials go directly to Steam's own servers, the same as signing in through the official Steam client, and SGI never sees or stores your password. You can also scan a QR code with the Steam mobile app instead. If you'd rather not sign in through SGI at all, use "Legacy Sign-in" on Windows, which uses the account already signed in to your running Steam client.

Q: Do I need the Steam client installed?

Not with "Steam Sign-in", the recommended method: you sign in with your Steam username and password or a QR code, and no local Steam client is needed. "Legacy Sign-in" is the Windows-only fallback for anyone who'd rather not enter Steam credentials into SGI. It requires the Steam client to be installed, running and already signed in.

Q: How does SGI farm trading cards?

SGI runs each game in a lightweight idle process that Steam recognizes as a running game. Cards drop at the same rate as they would during normal play. It works through every game in your library that still has drops, up to 32 at a time. Sell the cards on the Community Market, or craft them into badges to level up your Steam profile.

Q: Can SGI farm Steam hours?

Yes. The Playtime Booster idles up to 32 games at once, the most Steam allows. Each one adds hours to your playtime just as if you were playing it. The Automatic Idler can also start your chosen games every time SGI launches.

Q: How is SGI different from Idle Master, ArchiSteamFarm or SAM?

Idle Master focuses on card farming and Steam Achievement Manager on achievements, and neither is actively developed anymore. ArchiSteamFarm covers a lot, but you set it up through configuration files. SGI puts card farming, achievements, playtime, inventory selling and free games in one actively maintained desktop app that you set up by signing in.

Q: Which operating systems are supported?

Windows 10 and 11 (installer or portable zip) and Linux (.deb, .rpm or AppImage). Steam Sign-in works on both. Legacy Sign-in is Windows-only.

Q: How does SGI unlock achievements for games?

SGI uses the official Steamworks SDK to update a game's achievement states. This is the same method lots of legitimate games use internally to manage their own achievements.

Steam Game Idler is a Steam idler for Windows and Linux. It farms trading cards, builds up playtime hours and unlocks achievements across your whole library while you do something else.

Download for free

100K+ downloads400 starsFree & public source

Live demo

That's a working replica of SGI. Pick a feature, or just click around the app.

Your whole Steam library in one place, with idling and achievements one click away from every game.

How it works

Farms the trading card drops left in your library automatically, up to 32 games at once. Sell the cards or craft them into badges.

How it works

Works through a queue of games, waiting a random, human-like delay between every unlock.

How it works

Unlock, lock and edit stats for any game you own, then apply every change in one go.

How it works

Farm Steam hours on up to 32 games at once, grouped by whichever feature started them.

How it works

Browse your Steam inventory and list items on the Community Market without opening a browser.

How it works

Get notified the moment a game goes free on Steam, and claim it in one click.

How it works

Features

Cards, hours and achievements, handled.

Card Farming

Farms the trading card drops left in your library, one game at a time or up to 32 at once. Sell the cards on the Community Market, or craft them into badges to level up your profile.

Docs

Achievement Unlocker

Unlocks queued achievements with random, human-like delays, or only during the hours you choose.

Docs

Achievement Manager

Unlock, lock and edit stats for any game you own, then apply every change in one go.

Docs

Playtime Booster

Farm Steam hours on up to 32 games at once, and get new games eligible for card drops sooner.

Docs

Free Games

Get told the moment a game goes free on Steam, and claim it in one click.

Docs

Inventory Manager

List items on the Community Market straight from the app, priced from live buy or sell orders.

Docs

Custom Themes

Switch between built-in colour themes, pick your own font, or set a custom background.

Automatic Idler

Starts your chosen games every time SGI launches.

Multiple Accounts

Run automation for several Steam accounts side by side.

Windows & Linux

Installer or portable zip on Windows; .deb, .rpm or AppImage on Linux.

Get started

Start idling in three steps.

Download it, sign in with Steam and choose what to run. There are no config files to edit.

Download & install

Windows 10 or 11: one small installer, or a portable zip. Linux: a .deb, .rpm or AppImage package.

Learn more

Sign in

Sign in with your Steam username and password, or scan a QR code with the Steam mobile app. Your credentials go straight to Steam, and you don’t need the Steam client installed.

Recommended Windows & Linux

Learn more

Pick what to automate

Switch on what you want running, minimise SGI to the tray, and get on with your day.

Learn more

Compare

Everything the others do. In one app.

Looking for an alternative to Idle Master, ArchiSteamFarm or Steam Achievement Manager? Here’s how SGI compares, feature by feature.

Steam Game Idler

ArchiSteamFarm Steam Achievement Manager Idle Master

No Local Steam Client Required

Multiple Account Support

Automated Card Farming

Simultaneous Account Farming

Custom Queue Order

Achievement Manager

Plugin required

Automated Achievement Unlocker

Inventory Manager

Playtime Boosting

Marketplace Integration

Automatic Free Game Claiming

Plugin required

Modern GUI

Easy Setup

Public Source Code

Active Development

Community

Built with, and for, gamers.

A free, community-backed project - shaped by the people who use it every day.

100K+

Downloads

0K+

Supported games

GitHub stars

Free & public source

All the other idlers cost more — monthly and yearly — while SGI is free and includes features that others either don't offer or lock behind paywalls.

Proxii· Discord

I supported with PRO purely just to auto-claim free games.

Zayne· Discord

Steam Game Idler is perfect if you want to customize your profile or be that one person with thousands of hours on a joke game. Runs smoothly in the background. Simple, convenient, and works great.

dlyay· Discord

I have 2,903 games and farmed 1,600 of them in 2 weeks — made around $150 from card sales and grabbed Stellar Blade Complete Edition for free. Better than nothing!

Mazewaliztli47· steamgifts.com

Thanks for the tool. Being able to simultaneously idle up to 32 games is great; only took a few days to get through all my remaining card drops.

BarbaricGenie· steamgifts.com

All the other idlers cost more — monthly and yearly — while SGI is free and includes features that others either don't offer or lock behind paywalls.

Proxii· Discord

I supported with PRO purely just to auto-claim free games.

Zayne· Discord

Steam Game Idler is perfect if you want to customize your profile or be that one person with thousands of hours on a joke game. Runs smoothly in the background. Simple, convenient, and works great.

dlyay· Discord

I have 2,903 games and farmed 1,600 of them in 2 weeks — made around $150 from card sales and grabbed Stellar Blade Complete Edition for free. Better than nothing!

Mazewaliztli47· steamgifts.com

Thanks for the tool. Being able to simultaneously idle up to 32 games is great; only took a few days to get through all my remaining card drops.

BarbaricGenie· steamgifts.com

Just hopping in to say that @zevnda ... you are doing the lord's work!

DrSadistic· Discord

Thanks for this app — well done, it's brilliant work

B N Y· Discord

Switched from Idle Master Extended after it broke with newer titles, and I was always put off by the setup process of ArchiSteamFarm — I love your app, it looks really modern and is working for the newer games.

Deathwalker· Discord

This is a great utility. It makes the nightmare of managing steam cards actually managable.

Nogift4u· steamgifts.com

Thank you very much! A very good alternative with a ton of useful features.

rashka· steamgifts.com

Just hopping in to say that @zevnda ... you are doing the lord's work!

DrSadistic· Discord

Thanks for this app — well done, it's brilliant work

B N Y· Discord

Switched from Idle Master Extended after it broke with newer titles, and I was always put off by the setup process of ArchiSteamFarm — I love your app, it looks really modern and is working for the newer games.

Deathwalker· Discord

This is a great utility. It makes the nightmare of managing steam cards actually managable.

Nogift4u· steamgifts.com

Thank you very much! A very good alternative with a ton of useful features.

rashka· steamgifts.com

I am always looking forward to any and all new features being added. SGI is great btw.

Spectro· Discord

Thank you to all the developers (or just one) and contributors that have made SGI into a reality. SO many people appreciate what you guys do <3

*✦bunnish· Discord

Thank you so much! So far, I've found the Trading Card Manager to be very useful. Thank you for working on this all-in-one software. It's an amazing tool, all the better for being open source.

Raggart· steamgifts.com

Downloaded and idling cards with this for about 24 hours so far. I've used ASF in the past, but this is friendlier and I like it so far.

DrR0Ck· steamgifts.com

I am always looking forward to any and all new features being added. SGI is great btw.

Spectro· Discord

Thank you to all the developers (or just one) and contributors that have made SGI into a reality. SO many people appreciate what you guys do <3

*✦bunnish· Discord

Thank you so much! So far, I've found the Trading Card Manager to be very useful. Thank you for working on this all-in-one software. It's an amazing tool, all the better for being open source.

Raggart· steamgifts.com

Downloaded and idling cards with this for about 24 hours so far. I've used ASF in the past, but this is friendlier and I like it so far.

DrR0Ck· steamgifts.com

Open & secure

Is it safe? See for yourself.

Steam Game Idler has been built in the open by zevnda since 2024. Every line that touches your Steam account is on GitHub for anyone to read.

Every line is public

The whole app lives on GitHub. Read it, audit it, or build it yourself.

Secrets stay in your OS

Steam session cookies and credentials live in your operating system’s credential manager - never in plaintext, never in the cloud.

Your data stays on your device

Your settings, caches and logs are stored locally on your machine. Nothing syncs to the cloud.

zevnda / steam-game-idler

Automate your Steam library: farm trading cards, manage achievements, boost playtime and manage your inventory - from one desktop app for Windows and Linux.

FAQ

Questions about SGI, answered.

The things people ask most before downloading.

All FAQs Ask on Discord