web stats
navigation

SteamCMD Update Failed

Tags: steamcmd, update, stale build, 3.0 experimental, troubleshooting, server

SteamCMD update problems split into two kinds: hard failures (disk space, permissions, an interrupted appmanifest) and the sneakier one where SteamCMD reports success but the server stays on the old build. The second kind is causing a wave of version mismatches right now because of the V3.0 Dead Hot Summer branch flips. Both fixes are below.

The fix for "Success, No Error" but the old build: app_info_update

If SteamCMD prints "Success! App already up to date" (or "Success, No Error") and yet your server is still on the previous build, you are hitting a stale Steam PICS (product info) cache. SteamCMD trusts a cached copy of the app's metadata and never sees that a newer build exists, so it keeps the old files. Force a fresh product-info refresh with +app_info_update 1:

steamcmd +login anonymous +app_info_update 1 +app_update 294420 validate +quit
  • Without +app_info_update 1, SteamCMD can report success while silently staying on the old build - this is the exact cause of the "I updated but players still get a version mismatch" problem.
  • Use appid 294420. That is the 7 Days to Die dedicated server. Do not use 251570; that is the game's store appid and a different application. The dedicated server is always updated with 294420.

Why this is happening during the V3.0 launch

V3.0 Dead Hot Summer is the experimental branch (opt in via the Steam beta branch latest_experimental); V2.6 is stable. When a server flips between stable and experimental, the new branch points at a different build than the one SteamCMD has cached. Without a forced product-info refresh, SteamCMD keeps the cached branch info and reports success on a stale build, so clients on the new branch are rejected with an incompatible version. Add +app_info_update 1 to clear the cache, and add the beta flag when moving branches:

steamcmd +login anonymous +app_info_update 1 +app_update 294420 -beta latest_experimental validate +quit

To return to stable, run the update with no -beta flag (or -beta ""). On managed hosts with auto-update enabled, the server runs its Steam update on every start or restart, so the practical fix is usually to confirm the branch and restart - the update runs before the server boots.

Clean update command (general failures)

steamcmd +login anonymous +force_install_dir /path/to/7d2d +app_update 294420 validate +quit

Fix checklist for hard failures

  • Ensure the install directory has free disk space.
  • Run SteamCMD as the same user that owns the server files.
  • Stop the server before updating to avoid file locks.
  • If updates fail repeatedly, remove appmanifest_294420.acf and retry.
  • If it reports success but nothing changed, re-run with +app_info_update 1 (see above).

Related Articles