steam-backlog-enforcer/README.md

Steam Backlog Enforcer

Forces you to play one Steam game at a time: earn at least one new achievement in the assigned game before moving on to the next.

Requiring 100% completion kept you locked onto one game for weeks, which proved ineffective. A game released after one new achievement stays in the backlog (it is not counted as finished) and comes round again later.

Features

• Achievement tracking: Picks the least-recently-assigned game next, then the shortest HLTB completionist time; a released game sits out a 7-day cooldown
• Store blocking: Blocks store.steampowered.com via /etc/hosts
• Game uninstalling: Removes all installed games except the assigned one
• Process enforcement: Kills unauthorized game processes
• Tampering detection: Detects achievement unlocks on non-assigned games
• HLTB integration: Estimates completion time with persistent cache

Setup

python -m python_pkg.steam_backlog_enforcer.main setup

Commands

Command	Description
scan	Scan library, fetch HLTB data, assign game
check	Check assigned game for a new achievement
status	Show current assignment and blocking
list	List incomplete games from snapshot
skip	Skip the currently assigned game
enforce	Run enforcer (block, uninstall, kill)
unblock [minutes]	Unblock the store for a window (default 15, max 30); the daemon keeps it open and re-blocks after
buy-dlc	Same 15-minute store window, to buy a game or DLC
reset	Reset all state
installed	List currently installed Steam games
uninstall	Interactively uninstall non-assigned games
setup	First-time configuration

Enforce mode

sudo python -m python_pkg.steam_backlog_enforcer.main enforce

This will:

1. Block Steam store in /etc/hosts
2. Uninstall all games except the assigned one
3. Continuously kill any unauthorized game processes

Game Uninstall

Directly removes appmanifest files and game directories from ~/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/. Preserves Proton versions and Steam Linux Runtime.

python -m python_pkg.steam_backlog_enforcer.main uninstall

MCP server (Claude Code integration)

The enforcer exposes an MCP server (steam_backlog_enforcer._mcp) so Claude Code and its subagents can query the backlog and drive it through typed tools.

• Read tools: get_dataset, get_status, get_stats, list_backlog.
• Gated write tools: pick_manual, block_gaming — each defaults to a dry-run preview; pass confirm=true to actually apply. These write tools must never be added to a permission allowlist (a subagent could otherwise bypass the human confirmation).

The mcp SDK is an optional dependency (pip install -e '.[mcp]'), kept out of the CLI/systemd system-python path. One-time setup of the dedicated venv that Claude Code spawns:

./scripts/setup_mcp.sh

Registration lives in the checked-in .mcp.json (project scope). Restart Claude Code in this repo and approve the project MCP-server prompt for it to load. Verify with claude mcp list.