---
title: I re-implemented ls to query the Steam API
description: 'gamels: never be confused about Steam appid direcroties again'
date: 2022-12-07
tags: project
draft: false
extra:
  auto_center_images: true
  excerpt: gamels will list all files in a directory in the style of 'ls -la', but
    will also show the name of any Steam game found in the listing. This utility was
    made to help me explore the filesystem of the Steam Deck.
aliases:
- /blog/gamels
---

Today, I released a new command-line tool called [`gamels`](https://github.com/ewpratten/gamels).

Linux gamers may be familiar with digging around the `copmpatdata` and `shadercache` directories in `~/.local/share/Steam/steamapps`. This is a tedious task that involves lots of googling, since Steam names game-specific directories after the game's application id.

![A screenshot showing app ids in the shadercache](/images/posts/gamels/steam_app_ids.png)

`gamels` solves this problem by querying the Steam API to see if any directory names match known app ids. If so, the name of the corresponding game is shown in the listing.

![A screenshot of gamels in action](/images/posts/gamels/steamdeck-screenshot.png)

Installation instructions and source code are available on [GitHub](https://github.com/ewpratten/gamels).