https://github.com/luminary-cloud/steam-tracer-cleaner
Steam userdata cleaner, tracer scrubber, and autoexec installer for Windows.
https://github.com/luminary-cloud/steam-tracer-cleaner
cleanup counter-strike-2 cpp cs2 gui imgui privacy steam steam-cleaner windows
Last synced: 28 days ago
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Steam userdata cleaner, tracer scrubber, and autoexec installer for Windows.
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/luminary-cloud/steam-tracer-cleaner
- Owner: luminary-cloud
- License: mit
- Created: 2026-05-08T19:29:38.000Z (about 2 months ago)
- Default Branch: main
- Last Pushed: 2026-05-18T19:31:07.000Z (about 1 month ago)
- Last Synced: 2026-05-18T21:43:15.861Z (about 1 month ago)
- Topics: cleanup, counter-strike-2, cpp, cs2, gui, imgui, privacy, steam, steam-cleaner, windows
- Language: C++
- Homepage:
- Size: 45.7 MB
- Stars: 1
- Watchers: 0
- Forks: 0
- Open Issues: 0
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
- License: LICENSE
Awesome Lists containing this project
README
# steam-tracer-cleaner
Cleans Steam account residue and installs autoexec / video configs. Single-file Windows executable, no installer, no telemetry.
## Download
Grab the latest `steam-tracer-cleaner.exe` from the [Releases](../../releases) page. The binary is statically linked, so it runs on any 64-bit Windows 10 or 11 install with no Visual C++ Redistributable required.
On first launch Windows SmartScreen may show "Windows protected your PC" because the binary is unsigned. Click **More info** then **Run anyway**. Code-signing certificates are not free; this is normal for small open-source Windows tools.
## What it does
Three things, picked one at a time from the left-nav.
**Cleaner.** Walks a known catalog of Steam artifacts and removes the ones not on your preserve list:
- `loginusers.vdf` entries, `ssfn*` files, `HKCU\Software\Valve\Steam\Users\` subkeys
- `AutoLoginUser` — redirected to a preserved account when the active account is being wiped, so Steam reopens to a saved login instead of the blank login form. The matching `mostrecent` / `Timestamp` in `loginusers.vdf` are flipped onto the new target so Steam actually picks it. Left untouched if no preserved account is available.
- `htmlcache/` (Chromium cache for the in-client web view, leaks logged-in cookies)
- `dumps/`, `logs/`, `appcache/`, `depotcache/`, `shadercache/` on every Steam library drive
- Cached avatars in `config/avatarcache/` — files named `.png` belonging to a preserved account are kept in place, the rest go (Steam re-caches them on next launch anyway)
- `userdata//` per game or wholesale, depending on the profile
- Steam-related minidumps in `C:\Windows\Minidump`, `%LOCALAPPDATA%\CrashDumps`
- Steam web sessions in Chrome / Edge / Brave / Firefox cookie databases
**Configs.** Two modes:
- *Autoexec*: pick a `.cfg`, the tool writes it to the game's cfg directory (default CS2 path: `steamapps/common/Counter-Strike Global Offensive/game/csgo/cfg/autoexec.cfg`). Existing file is backed up first. The destination filename is editable — handy if you want to chain configs via `exec a.cfg` from another file.
- *Video config*: pick a `cs2_video.txt`, multi-select target accounts, the tool writes it to each `userdata//730/local/cfg/cs2_video.txt`.
Imported `.cfg` and `cs2_video.txt` files are kept in a per-user library at `%APPDATA%/steam-tracer-cleaner/configs/`, so you can re-pick the same config across runs without re-browsing. Installing a config closes only the target game (e.g. `cs2.exe`) — Steam stays running.
**Audit.** Read-only. Inventories what's on disk, lists every Steam account it sees, displays MachineGuid / MachineId / HwProfileGuid, exports a text report. No writes, no registry changes.
**Update check.** On launch the app fetches `https://api.github.com/repos/luminary-cloud/steam-tracer-cleaner/releases/latest`. If the tag is newer than the version baked into the .exe, a modal pops up with **Open releases**, **Skip this version**, and **Remind me later**. Skipping persists the tag in `settings.json` so the same release stops nagging. The check runs once per launch on a background thread and stays out of the way if the network is down or GitHub is unreachable. Can be turned off entirely in Settings.
## What it doesn't do
- No HWID spoofing. The audit page shows the values, that's it.
- No bypassing of VAC, Easy Anti-Cheat, BattlEye, or any anti-cheat. This is a file cleaner.
- No bundled cheats, configs, or scripts beyond what you supply.
- One outbound HTTPS call on launch to `api.github.com` to check for a newer release tag — nothing else. No analytics, no telemetry. Untick *Check for updates on launch* in Settings if you'd rather it stay silent.
## First run
The app requests UAC elevation on launch — registry edits under `HKCU\Software\Valve\Steam` and writes to per-account `userdata` need it on some setups.
1. Launch `steam-tracer-cleaner.exe`. The window opens on the **Cleaner** screen.
2. Open **Settings** in the left-nav. Add any SteamID64s you want to keep across cleanups under *Preserved account ids*. Tick *Preserve all ssfn (Steam Guard sentry) files* if you want to skip the 2FA prompt on next login. Tick *Register scheduled clean on logon* if you want Quick Clean to run automatically at user sign-in — this creates a `SteamTracerCleaner-LogonClean` task in Task Scheduler. Untick *Check for updates on launch* if you'd rather the app not talk to GitHub. Click **Save settings**.
3. Back on **Cleaner**, pick a profile from the dropdown:
- **Quick Clean**: caches, logs, dumps. Safe daily use.
- **Account Reset**: Quick + account residue (loginusers, AutoLogin, ssfn, htmlcache, browser cookies). Preserved accounts survive.
- **Full Wipe**: Account Reset + userdata folders + controller bindings. Preserved accounts still survive.
- **Game Reset**: pick AppIDs to wipe just those games' userdata.
4. Click **Dry run** to see the list of files / registry values that would be touched. Nothing is deleted.
5. Click **Backup and clean** when you're ready. Steam is auto-closed first; affected files and registry keys are mirrored to `%LOCALAPPDATA%/steam-tracer-cleaner/backups//`; then the deletes run.
6. If something went wrong, open the **Backups** screen and click **Restore** on the most recent timestamped entry.
## Why an ignore list
If you keep more than one Steam account on a machine and only want to scrub some of them, a wholesale wipe of `HKCU\Software\Valve\Steam\Users` and `AutoLoginUser` will log you out of the accounts you wanted to keep. The cleaner reads `ignore.json` first and only acts on entries whose SteamID64 is not on the preserve list.
`ignore.json` lives at `%APPDATA%/steam-tracer-cleaner/ignore.json` (or next to the .exe in portable mode):
```json
{
"preserved_account_ids": ["76561198000000000"],
"preserved_ssfn_files": true,
"preserved_paths": [],
"preserved_registry_values": []
}
```
A SteamID64 in `preserved_account_ids` survives across:
- The matching `loginusers.vdf` entry
- The `userdata\\` folder
- The `HKCU\Software\Valve\Steam\Users\` registry subtree
- Controller bindings in that account's userdata
- The cached avatar at `config\avatarcache\.png`
- `AutoLoginUser`, `RememberPassword`, and `LastGameNameUsed` — kept pointing at this account when it's the current AutoLoginUser, or redirected here from a wiped account when another preserved account is the active one. The matching `mostrecent` / `Timestamp` in `loginusers.vdf` get flipped too, so Steam actually auto-logs in instead of falling back to the login form.
- `remoteclients.vdf` and `coplay_*` files (preserved when any account is in the list, since they can't be cleanly split per-account)
## Build from source
The project is self-contained. Every dependency is vendored under `third_party/`, so there's no vcpkg, Conan, or git submodule to set up.
### Visual Studio (recommended)
1. Install Visual Studio 2022 17.x or 2026 18.x with the **Desktop development with C++** workload.
2. Open `steam-tracer-cleaner.sln`.
3. Set the configuration to `Release | x64` and hit Build (F7).
The binary lands at `build/Release/steam-tracer-cleaner.exe`.
### CMake / Ninja
For headless / CI builds:
```
cmake --preset release
cmake --build --preset release
```
The binary lands at `build/release/bin/steam-tracer-cleaner.exe`. The CMake build also compiles the `tests/` directory; run `ctest --preset debug` to execute the unit tests.
## Project layout
```
app/ WinMain, D3D11 device, message loop
core/ cleaning logic, profiles, ignore list, VDF helpers, autoexec, update check
platform/ Win32 wrappers (registry, fs, process)
ui/ ImGui screens, widgets, embedded GitHub footer icon
tests/ doctest unit tests (CMake only)
third_party/ vendored deps: imgui, spdlog, nlohmann_json, sqlite, doctest
assets/ app icon (compiled into the .exe via app.rc)
cmake/ shared compile options
```
The `core/ <-> platform/` split means cleaning rules can be unit-tested without a Win32 message pump.
## Safety
Every destructive action is gated by:
1. A dry-run preview that shows the exact list of files / keys / values it would touch.
2. A backup step that mirrors the affected paths to `%LOCALAPPDATA%/steam-tracer-cleaner/backups//` before deleting. One-click restore from the Backups screen. Old backups beyond the configured keep-count are auto-pruned after each successful run.
3. An auto-close step. The **Cleaner** sends WM_CLOSE to Steam and every known game executable before any write (TerminateProcess fallback after a 5-second timeout) — it has to, because Steam rewrites `loginusers.vdf` and `localconfig.vdf` when it exits. The **Configs** screen closes only the target game (`cs2.exe` for video configs, the matching exe for autoexec) so installing a config while Steam is running doesn't drop you out of the client.
4. A rotating log at `%LOCALAPPDATA%/steam-tracer-cleaner/logs/.log` recording every action with timestamp, target id, result, and Win32 error code if applicable.
## Portable mode
Drop a file named `portable.flag` next to the .exe. Settings, profiles, ignore list, backups, and logs all live in the same folder as the binary instead of `%APPDATA%` and `%LOCALAPPDATA%`. Useful from a USB stick or a sandbox.
## Vendored libraries
| Library | License | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| [Dear ImGui](https://github.com/ocornut/imgui) (docking) | MIT | UI |
| [spdlog](https://github.com/gabime/spdlog) | MIT | logging (header-only mode) |
| [nlohmann/json](https://github.com/nlohmann/json) | MIT | config files |
| [SQLite amalgamation](https://www.sqlite.org/) | Public domain | browser cookie DBs |
| [doctest](https://github.com/doctest/doctest) | MIT | unit tests |
## License
[MIT](LICENSE).
## Contributing
Pull requests welcome. Code style: `clang-format` config is at the repo root, `clang-tidy` is set up for `bugprone-*` / `cert-*` / `cppcoreguidelines-*` / `modernize-*`. Tests run via `ctest` after a CMake build.