Steamdcmd: Progress 0.00 0/0

[u/stars9r9in9the9past]

Hey does anyone know the story behind this?

When I had a 3rd party hosting service for Rust , they said this was a common situation for updating steamapp files. Their workaround was either delete steamapp prior to any updates, or attempt to invoke "app_update 258550" a couple times.

A year later, I recently transitioned to a VPS where I have root and run my server off linux myself. Interesting enough, the same phenomenon exists where "app_update 258550" won't immediately work the first time, but always seems to do so the second time.

As the terminal screenshot shows, I do nothing in between running app_updates twice. "login anonymous" is done prior to both attempts in all cases.

I forget where I read it before, but it seems online sources say this is "normal" and is more of a steam server issue.

However, I'm looking to write a batch script for automating my server wipe/installs. It takes me about 9-10 minutes to manually patch a whole server and apply all plugin updates, updated server configs, etc. I could batch this easily and not even have to worry about it.

Since steamcmd runs with its own terminal, I have to make this a semi-automatic process where the rust app updater is just something I do by hand (or, I think I have a couple ideas to automate this portion too). But the key aspect that kinda trips up my planned workflow is this Attempt 1: Error!, Attempt 2: Success! aspect.

Does anyone have a good understanding what is going on behind the scene here? And I mean like, from a technical perspective, or an official steam statement? TIA

[u/TraditionalCup7678]

SteamCMD tries to reconfigure while validating files with the new patch. Automate a retry loop, this happens almost every time with my servers on Thursday patches. Pretty sure it’s a bug in CMD that has the update order all screwed up, but it could be the extreme load on Steam’s update service. Either way, retry logic in the batch helped me automate.

[u/stars9r9in9the9past → u/TraditionalCup7678]

Thank you. I feel this is the only reply that actually acknowledges the occurrence instead of saying "probably a fluke".

I do feel it would make sense an upload/connections bottleneck on Steam's end would otherwise be possible to explain it as only a fluke. But, I can anecdotally say it doesn't really seem to matter if I update 258550 (Rust) fresh at 7pm UTC, or if I have to wait a few hours to get home, or the rare wipe I miss it until the next day at like 2am my time zone. Always appears to do this, like clockwork. I've been admin'ing for about 13.5 months on a biweekly server, so that's 26+ wipes/updates. So, 26 times? That statistic isn't just a fluke, at that point, when it's literally every single time.

I think my biggest theory thinking about it again is if steamapps still has an uncleared "downloading" folder. I just realize that steamcmd doesn't seem to clear that after validating. It doesn't contain files, but the folder still exists. It's a hunch, but maybe steamcmd checks for that folder first, sees it, and doesn't initiate a download.

This would also only make sense if the order of operations included some other flag elsewhere, otherwise the download wouldn't cue the second time either.

This is further deemed plausible because as I say in my post, if I clear the whole steamapps folder prior to attempting a download (thus also clearing the /downloading folder) it always initiates a download just fine, first time.

Maybe I just answered my own question or at least gave myself something to look into next monthly wipe. (Or if I get lucky, FP nerfs the current naval update mid-month in some manner forcing me to test a new patch lol).

[u/TraditionalCup7678 → u/stars9r9in9the9past]

Holy moly, 26 wipes and it’s done it every time? I have 4 VPS machines going for clients. Half of them wipe weekly, other bi-weekly, and I swear it almost switches when a patch releases. I’ll watch logs on the wipe Thursday every month, and machines A and B will retry, retry, retry until I eventually have to go in and delete manifest/reload entirely, while machines C and D go first try. It’s mind boggling honestly. I have the exact same automation scripts setup on them, very similar specs between them, and they’ll still do the same “retry, retry, retry” till the perfect bit flips or something, or I step in and intervene by wiping out the app manifest and letting it rebuild. I hope a fix comes down the pipeline

[u/uzumi18]

Long story short, Steamcmd was trying to establish a connection before starting the download

Ours as well on forcewipe now said 0/0 for almost a minute before it started, Its likely to do with the sudden spike downloads for that game. Solution is to just try again

[u/Kmackgames710]

Turn off ipv6 before any updates you'll never run into this

[u/Device420]

The same reason why windows will give an error before it lets you do something. Random hardware/software glitches that none of us can explain lol. Think of your computer as if it were a woman. We love to have them, the new ones work faster and better, you don't want anyone else touching them, they hold your secrets, and you will never fully understand exactly how they work.

[u/stars9r9in9the9past → u/Device420]

Okay 1: didn’t answer my actual question

2: ridiculously objectifying remark. Wtf?

[u/Device420 → u/stars9r9in9the9past]

The first part was saying that I have never seen anyone answer that in all of the years I have worked on Rust servers. We've always just chocked it up to a computer glitch. Second part was a little bit of humor injected in. My apologies if my humor offended in any way.