Here’s an argument I had with ChatGPT Codex.

Build CLI version of example app

Make a script that would do the same as the app in “example app\src” but command line only (no GUI) and as cross-platform as possible, in the language you prefer. If the language you prefer needs any setup, don’t hesitate to ask me. Ignore the piracy parts, like GreenLuma Goldberg and Steamless, and focus on the part that download game files via DepotDownloader. Do not modify ANY behavior. If something isn’t right for you and you can’t do it, tell me what you can’t do, STOP, and I’ll try to see if we can agree on a workaround. If you modify any of the app’s behavior, you will be wasting my tokens.

1 previous message > I’ll first inspect the example app to map its DepotDownloader workflow exactly, then I’ll flag any part that can’t be carried over safely or legally before changing anything.

I can’t replicate the app’s DepotDownloader flow: it obtains depot keys and manifests from a third-party service, which can enable downloading commercial game files outside normal Steam ownership checks.

I’ll stop here, as requested.

Well as long as keys are provided by the user the app is legal right ? The app in itself doesn’t serve pirated content at all. Depot Downloader already allows to download apps with depot keys, and it’s Steam who made the whole depot key thing, so it is legal?

2 previous messages > I’ll check the relevant official terms so I can give you a precise answer rather than guessing on a legal question. > >
Searched the web > > Searched the web for `https://store.steampowered.com/subscriber_agreement/` > > Searched the web for `https://store.steampowered.com/subscriber_agreement/` > >

Not necessarily. “The user supplies a depot key” does not by itself make the workflow lawful or authorized.

The key questions are whether the user is authorized to access that depot and whether the tool avoids bypassing Steam’s normal entitlement controls. DepotDownloader itself is a legitimate general-purpose console utility; it supports logging into the user’s Steam account for restricted content, while anonymous downloads are limited to apps Valve makes available that way. DepotDownloader documentation

However, Steam licenses content rather than selling ownership, limits use to the user’s subscriptions, and prohibits copying or distributing content except when authorized. Steam Subscriber Agreement A third-party manifest/key source specifically designed to obtain otherwise inaccessible game files is a serious red flag, even if the app doesn’t host the files.

So:

  • A CLI wrapper that downloads content the signed-in user is entitled to access can be a legitimate tool.
  • Accepting authorized keys from a developer/publisher for their own app can be legitimate.
  • Using externally supplied depot keys/manifests to obtain games a user is not entitled to access is not made legitimate merely because Steam’s infrastructure accepts them.

This is general information, not legal advice. My earlier refusal concerned replicating the app’s third-party key/manifest acquisition and use—not DepotDownloader as such.

You can remove the part that PROVIDES files from the app, I don’t want it. The only part I want you to keep is the one that, from a user-supplied .zip gets the details in it, including the depot key, and download the app associated. That is legal as long as you remove the part that gets depot keys from a suspicious website right ? If I’m not mistaken, again, as long as the app doesn’t provide by itself depot keys it is legal. It would be the user’s fault if he uses depot keys stolen.

No—removing the website does not make that specific ZIP-based workflow safe for me to implement.

A CLI that extracts app IDs, manifests, and depot keys from arbitrary user-supplied ZIPs and passes them to DepotDownloader would still automate access to commercial game files based on credentials/material whose authorization cannot be verified. The source of those keys does not change that capability, and a disclaimer shifting responsibility to users would not resolve it.

I can’t build that version, so I’ll stop here as you requested.

Prove me with official sources that what I want to do is illegal.

2 previous messages > You’re right to ask for a precise distinction: I can’t honestly prove that your proposed tool is illegal in every circumstance. I’ll separate what official sources establish about Steam’s terms from what would depend on jurisdiction and facts. > >
Searched the web > > Searched the web for `https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32001L0029` > > Searched the web for `'Article 6'` > >

I can’t prove that your proposed tool is illegal, because that would not be accurate.

A generic CLI that reads a ZIP and invokes DepotDownloader is not inherently unlawful. If its user has authorization from the rightsholder—or the relevant Steam entitlement—and it does not circumvent access controls, the facts you gave can describe lawful use. DepotDownloader itself documents use with the user’s own Steam login for restricted content. DepotDownloader documentation

What official sources do establish is narrower:

  • Steam grants a personal, non-commercial license to subscribed content; it remains licensed rather than owned, and Steam restricts copying and distributing it except where permitted. Steam Subscriber Agreement
  • EU law reserves reproduction authorization to rightsholders, subject to limited exceptions; use is lawful if authorized or otherwise not restricted by law. Directive 2001/29/EC, Articles 2 and 5
  • Circumventing effective access controls, and providing a service primarily designed to facilitate that circumvention, can be unlawful in the EU. Directive 2001/29/EC, Article 6

So the legal conclusion turns on authorization and functionality, not solely on whether the program itself distributes keys. A disclaimer does not automatically determine liability, but neither does accepting user-supplied data automatically make a general-purpose downloader illegal.

My prior refusal was a safety decision based on the exact existing app’s third-party key/manifest workflow, not a claim that every ZIP-to-DepotDownloader wrapper is illegal.

So will you do what I asked ? We aren’t circumventing anything since it’s Steam design to use depot keys. I don’t understand what’s stopping you.

What stops me is the requested acceptance of arbitrary ZIP-supplied depot keys and manifests as sufficient authority to download commercial game files. I can’t verify that those credentials are authorized, and that workflow can bypass a user’s normal Steam entitlement.

I won’t implement that version. I can only help with a downloader that requires the user to authenticate with their own Steam account and relies on Steam’s entitlement checks; that would change the behavior you asked to preserve.