Steam Collage API

An API to generate a collage of games from a Steam profile. Python is used to generate the image, which is served via an HTTP server using Flask. Hosted using Kamatera.

Give it a go! --> https://alifeee.co.uk/steam_mosaic/

Blog post --> https://blog.alifeee.co.uk/steam-collage-api/

URLs

Service	URL
Docker Hub	alifeee/steamcollageapi
GitHub	alifeee/steam_collage
Kamatera Console	alifeee
Kamatera Server	http://server.alifeee.co.uk

Environment

A .env file is used to store environment variables. The following variables are used:

Name	Description
API_KEY	Steam API key - see below.
DO_CACHE	Whether to cache the game thumbnails. Note that this increases the memory usage of the server.

# .env
API_KEY=8917981789178
DO_CACHE=True

API Key

A steam API key must be placed in the .env file in the root directory, or exposed to the environment via the terminal. Keys can be obtained from Steam.

Commands

Use python virtual environment

python -m venv env

Install modules from requirements.txt

pip install -r requirements.txt

Save modules to requirements.txt

pip freeze > requirements.txt

Run tests

ptw -- --cov=api

Run server locally

python ./api/api.py debug

Build and run docker image

docker build -t alifeee/steamcollageapi .
docker run -d --restart unless-stopped -p 5000:5000 -e API_KEY=8917981789178 alifeee/steamcollageapi

Push docker image to Docker Hub

docker push alifeee/steamcollageapi

Thunder Client

Thunder client is a VS Code extension which allows you to make HTTP requests. It is useful for testing the API.

Testing

Some tests are included in the tests collection. These can be run by using the Run All button in the top right of collection.

Deploying to Kamatera (remote)

Connect to Kamatera

ssh root@server.alifeee.co.uk
> enter password

Pull the latest image from Docker Hub

docker pull alifeee/steamcollageapi

Remove existing container

docker ps -a
> get container id
docker rm <container id>

Run image

docker create -d --restart unless-stopped -p 5000:5000 -e API_KEY=8917981789178 --name steamcollageapi alifeee/steamcollageapi
> get container id
docker start <container id>

Docker compose

First, create the user:

sudo useradd -r -s /bin/false steamcollage
echo "user id: "$(cat /etc/passwd | grep "^steamcollage:" | awk -F':' '{print $3}')

name: steam collage api
services:
    steamcollageapi:
        environment:
            - API_KEY=1B74FD1DD42E130B9C066CE658CB0270
        container_name: steamcollageapi
        ports:
            - 5000:5000/tcp
        restart: unless-stopped
        image: alifeee/steamcollageapi
# when user doesn't exist in container, user UID
#        user: steamcollage
        user: "994"
        command: python ./api.py

GitHub actions

python-app.yml: Python testing

This workflow:

1. Checks out the repository
2. Sets up Python 3.10
3. Installs dependencies
4. Runs linting
5. Runs tests

Secrets

None.

docker-image.yml: Docker

This workflow:

1. Checks out the repository
2. Builds the Docker image
3. Pushes the Docker image to Docker Hub
4. Deploys the Docker image to Kamatera

Secrets used for Docker and Kamatera

Name	Description
API_KEY	Steam API key - see above.
DOCKERHUB_USERNAME	Docker Hub username.
DOCKERHUB_TOKEN	Docker Hub access token.
HOST	IP address of the Kamatera server
USERNAME	Username for the Kamatera server
KEY	RSA key* for the Kamatera server

*RSA key

See rsa_ssh_key_setup.md for details on setting up the RSA key.

API

All APIs are served on the port 5000.

GET /steamcollage/games

Returns a list of games for a given steam ID.

Query Parameters {1}

Name	Type	Description
id	string	Steam ID or vanity URL of the user, e.g., alifeee
cols	int	Number of columns in the collage
rows	int	Number of rows in the collage
sort	name, recent, or playtime	Sort order of the games

wget http://localhost:5000/steamcollage/games?id=alifeee&cols=5&rows=5&sort=recent

GET /steamcollage/verifyuser

Returns a boolean indicating whether a given steam account exists, and whether it is private.

Query Parameters {#2}

Name	Type	Description
id	string	Steam ID or vanity URL of the user, e.g., alifeee

wget http://localhost:5000/steamcollage/verifyuser?id=alifeee

{
  "exists": true,
  "private": false
}

GET /steamcollage/alive

Returns "Alive" if the server is running.

wget http://localhost:5000/steamcollage/alive

"Alive"

GET /steamcollage/alive_img

Returns an image if the server is running.

wget http://localhost:5000/steamcollage/alive_img

Alive check

To check the API is alive, I use Testfully to poll the /steamcollage/alive endpoint every hour.