Steam keeps shader caches and downloads long after the game is gone
Games are the obvious part. Workshop content, shader caches and half finished downloads sit in library folders on drives you forgot you had.
Games are honest about their size, which makes Steam an easy folder to deal with. What is less obvious is that uninstalling a game leaves several things behind, and that the library folder holds more than the games.
Where it all is
$steam = "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam"
Get-ChildItem "$steam\steamapps" -Directory -EA SilentlyContinue | ForEach-Object {
$s = (Get-ChildItem $_.FullName -Recurse -Force -File -EA SilentlyContinue | Measure-Object Length -Sum).Sum
[PSCustomObject]@{ GB = [math]::Round($s/1GB,2); Folder = $_.Name }
} | Sort-Object GB -Descending| Folder | What it is | After uninstalling |
|---|---|---|
steamapps\common | Installed games | Removed |
steamapps\downloading | Partial and interrupted downloads | Often left behind |
steamapps\shadercache | Compiled shaders per game | Often left behind |
steamapps\workshop | Mods and workshop content | Left behind |
userdata | Saves and settings per account | Left behind, and you want it |
The three to check after a clear out
Shader caches and interrupted downloads are pure debris once a game is gone, and workshop content can be several gigabytes for a game you stopped playing two years ago. All three are safe to remove: the game redownloads what it needs.
Moving a library instead of deleting
Windows makes this easier than most platforms. Steam, Settings, Storage lets you add a library folder on another drive and move installed games to it without redownloading. On a machine with a small SSD and a large second drive, that is the answer rather than uninstalling.
What not to delete
userdata holds local saves and settings for games that do not use cloud saves. It is small and it is the one folder here that cannot be recreated. Check that what you play syncs saves before touching it.
Uninstall properly
Use Steam's own uninstall from the library, right click, Manage, Uninstall. Deleting a folder from common leaves Steam believing the game is installed and showing it as broken. The same applies to the other launchers, which each keep their own caches.
Common questions
Where does Steam install games on Windows?
In steamapps\common under the Steam folder, which defaults to Program Files (x86). Shader caches, workshop content and partial downloads sit in sibling folders, and saves are under userdata.
Does uninstalling a Steam game remove everything?
No. The game folder goes, but shader caches, workshop content and interrupted downloads are frequently left behind, along with save data under userdata.
How do I move Steam games to another drive?
Steam, Settings, Storage, add a library folder on the other drive and move installed games to it. They are moved rather than redownloaded, which is the fastest way to free a small SSD.
Is it safe to delete the Steam shader cache?
Yes. Shaders are recompiled the next time you play, costing a little loading time on the first run. For uninstalled games the cache is pure waste.