How to Free Up and Manage Storage on Steam Machine

Valve's Steam Machine page lists 512GB and 2TB models, and Valve's support guide documents the machine's microSD and external-storage paths.

The 512GB model has less usable space after SteamOS and recovery data, so large installs can consume it quickly. The exact free space depends on the current system image and the games you keep installed.

Start with Steam's own tools. Almost everything below that is optional.

Start here: Steam's storage screen

Open Settings, then Storage. Steam's storage screen shows attached drives, installed games, and a category breakdown; it is the safest place to start.

Three things you can do from this screen without touching a terminal:

Uninstall games. The drive-level view makes it easier to spot a large game you have finished. Check that its saves are synced or separately backed up before uninstalling; game files can be downloaded again, but unsynced progress may not be recoverable.

Move games between drives. Select a game, move it to the microSD card or an external drive. No re-download.

Read the category breakdown. Games and DLC are self-explanatory. The category worth understanding is everything else, covered next.

What "Other" actually is

The non-game category can include shader cache, Proton files, desktop apps, downloads, and other data outside recognized game installs. Check what is taking space before assuming it is disposable cache.

This category can become large because it includes data that is not the game download itself. The exact total varies by installed games, compatibility tools, and how often you move or remove titles.

Two Steam folders worth understanding are:

``` ~/.steam/steam/steamapps/shadercache ~/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata ```

Shader cache

Precompiled shaders help games avoid compiling everything during play. Steam downloads them per game and hardware configuration; CryoUtilities' storage documentation describes the same shader-cache layout used by SteamOS cleanup tools.

For an installed game, shader cache can normally regenerate. Rebuilding it may mean another download or stutter during play, so clearing an active game's cache is not the first choice for routine cleanup.

Worth clearing when your drive is nearly full and you have uninstalled a lot of games recently, since cache for games you no longer own can linger.

The safer version of this is deleting cache only for games you have actually uninstalled, rather than everything. A cleanup tool does that in one click, covered further down.

Compatibility data

`compatdata` holds Proton prefixes, one folder per game, named by App ID. Each is a small synthetic Windows environment.

Treat this folder with more care than shader cache. Some games store save files inside their prefix rather than in Steam Cloud. Deleting a prefix is normally recoverable only when Steam Cloud is confirmed or you have a separate backup. Without either, it can cost you your progress.

Before deleting anything here:

• Confirm the saves you need have finished syncing to Steam Cloud, or
• With the game closed, copy its prefix folder to a separate backup location

The Proton Experimental guide covers this in more detail, since switching Proton versions can regenerate prefixes for the same reason.

Uninstalling a game normally removes its prefix. Orphaned prefixes from games you removed long ago are the ones worth hunting.

Using the microSD slot

A microSD card adds capacity without opening the case. Compare its capacity and speed with a USB SSD before choosing one.

The slot is UHS-I, so it is meaningfully slower than the internal NVMe. That difference is the whole strategy: what you put where matters more than how much you move.

Keep on internal storage: games whose loading or asset streaming becomes noticeably worse on the card. Test a title before moving a large library.

Move to microSD: titles you have tested successfully there, plus finished games you want to keep installed. Genre or art style alone does not establish storage performance.

Formatting erases the card's existing contents, so copy anything you need elsewhere first. Valve's support guide explains removable storage. Use Steam's Storage screen to format the intended card and check its identity before confirming.

Moving a game later is non-destructive, so treat this as adjustable rather than permanent.

External USB drives

An external drive can hold another Steam library. Check that SteamOS recognizes its filesystem and mount, then add it through the Storage screen.

Two things to know:

The drive, enclosure, and USB port all affect speed. An SSD can offer better game-loading and random-access performance than a hard drive or microSD card, but the connection can limit it. Test the games you intend to move.

If you share a drive with a Windows PC, the filesystem matters. Steam libraries on SteamOS want a Linux-friendly filesystem, and NTFS support brings complications that are not worth fighting for a games library.

What about replacing the internal drive

PC Gamer's hardware report describes Steam Machine's accessible M.2 storage design. Treat that report as hardware context, not a replacement for the current Valve service or warranty guidance.

Check the documented form factor and capacity before buying a replacement, and understand the warranty implications before opening the case. A community report of one successful swap does not establish support for every drive.

For capacity without opening the case, compare a microSD card with an external USB SSD. Both avoid the compatibility and warranty questions of an internal hardware change.

Cleanup tools

Optional, and genuinely useful once the manual options are exhausted.

CryoUtilities' Storage Manager can delete shader cache and compatibility data for selected games and clean orphaned data. It is a convenience layer over filesystem operations, not a Valve-supported storage service.

If you use any tool that relocates cache or prefixes, understand where the data lives before moving a game. A missing or unmounted target can prevent a title from launching.

Review the selected games and data before accepting a bulk cleanup. The same save and backup checks apply whether you remove a folder yourself or through a utility.

The symlink trick, and why to skip it

An older community approach moves `shadercache` and `compatdata` to a memory card and symlinks them back to their original location, so SteamOS keeps finding them while the space is freed.

A symlink can make an entire library depend on a removable device and is harder to troubleshoot than Steam's own move operation. Unless you have a tested recovery plan, use Steam's move tools or a documented cleanup utility instead.

A sensible order

1. Check save backups, then uninstall games you have finished. Reinstalling restores game files, not unbacked-up progress.
2. Add a microSD card and move games after checking their loading behavior.
3. Clear shader cache for uninstalled games.
4. Clean orphaned compatibility data only after confirming saves are synced or separately backed up.
5. Consider an external USB SSD if you want speed as well as space.
6. Only then think about the internal drive.

SteamOS storage limits

Valve documents the Steam Machine storage options and the built-in storage workflow. The cache paths and cleanup guidance above are based on SteamOS conventions and the CryoUtilities project. Exact free-space totals, game-specific shader sizes, and warranty outcomes after internal-drive work depend on the current system build and your hardware configuration.