An XDA writer got 400 GB back from a full Steam library by compressing it in place, and it cost them six dollars in electricity. Windows 10 and later ship a filesystem-level compressor that Steam does not know about, so it can carve tens of percent off a library without the games noticing. Pair that with a proper directory scanner and a mover for install paths, and a 2 TB drive stops feeling small.
We looked at seven Windows and Linux tools for Steam library storage. A few of them compress in place, a few of them move installs to a second drive without breaking the launcher, and a few of them help you find the games you have not touched in a year so you can delete or archive them.
What to look for in a Steam storage tool
- Compression. Windows has NTFS and LZX modes built in; a good GUI drives them without the command line.
- Non-destructive moves. Steam is picky about where it thinks games live. A mover has to update the manifest, not just copy files.
- Depot scan. Steam accumulates workshop content, DirectX runtimes, and download caches that nothing in the client shows you.
- Library dashboards. When the goal is “which of these can I archive,” a proper library manager beats scrolling the Steam UI.
- Cross-drive support. Modern rigs have a fast NVMe for actives and a slow SATA for the backlog.
- No modification of game files. The tool has to be invisible to VAC and to online DRM.
Quick comparison
| App | Best for | Platforms | Free plan | Starting price | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CompactGUI | In-place NTFS/LZX compression | Windows | Yes, everything | Free | 4.7 |
| WinDirStat | See what actually takes the space | Windows | Yes | Free | 4.6 |
| Steam Mover | Move installs between drives with junctions | Windows | Yes | Free | 4.4 |
| Steam Cleaner | Prune depot cache, redist installers | Windows | Yes | Free | 4.5 |
| Steam Library Manager | Bulk move games between library folders | Windows | Yes | Free | 4.6 |
| Depressurizer | Auto-tag the backlog for pruning | Windows | Yes | Free | 4.3 |
| Playnite | Full library dashboard with rules | Windows | Yes | Free | 4.7 |
| GameSave Manager | Archive saves before deleting installs | Windows | Yes | Free | 4.4 |
The apps
1. CompactGUI – Best in-place compressor
CompactGUI is the app the XDA post used. It drives compact.exe, the NTFS transparent compression tool Microsoft added in Windows 10, with a proper interface: pick a folder, pick a mode (XPRESS4K, XPRESS16K, LZX), start, walk away. Games decompress on read, so there is no performance hit for the user beyond a small CPU cost. Typical savings on a Steam library are 20 to 40 percent, with LZX pushing higher on heavy asset games.
Where it falls short: Compressed files re-inflate as they are written, so shader caches and update scratch space grow back. Re-run periodically.
Pricing: Free, open source.
Platforms: Windows 10, Windows 11.
Download: GitHub Releases
Bottom line: Install CompactGUI, aim it at your Steam library, pick LZX, and reclaim a few hundred gigabytes tonight.
2. WinDirStat – Best directory scanner
WinDirStat shows where the space actually went. It builds a treemap of a drive and colours files by type, and it drops you at the directory that ballooned. On a Steam library it usually surfaces one or two games that shipped bulky video assets, one workshop folder that grew to double digits of gigabytes, and the shader cache under steamapps/shadercache.
Where it falls short: Slow first scan on multi-terabyte drives. UI is unapologetically utilitarian.
Pricing: Free, open source.
Platforms: Windows.
Download: WinDirStat
Bottom line: Run WinDirStat before anything else. It tells you what to compress or delete first.
3. Steam Mover – Best for junction-based moves
Steam Mover copies a folder to a target drive and leaves a filesystem junction behind so Steam still finds it at the original path. Games move from a full NVMe to a spare HDD, Steam launches them exactly as before, and nothing changes in Steam’s own settings.
Where it falls short: Older than Steam’s own library-folders feature, which now handles most of what Steam Mover used to. Useful for the case where you want the game on drive B but Steam insists on drive A.
Pricing: Free.
Platforms: Windows.
Download: Steam Mover
Bottom line: Small utility, still handy for one-off moves that Steam’s built-in mover cannot do.
4. Steam Cleaner – Best for depot and redist cleanup
Steam Cleaner hunts for the debris that Steam leaves behind: install redistributables (DirectX, VC++), leftover depot data, cache from removed games, and workshop scratch. Point it at a drive, run scan, review, delete. It also handles Epic, GOG, Uplay, and Origin caches on the same drive.
Where it falls short: Delete carefully. Some redist installers are pulled again by the launcher on next game start.
Pricing: Free, open source.
Platforms: Windows.
Download: Steam Cleaner on GitHub
Bottom line: Run this once a quarter to shed the cruft Steam accumulates.
5. Steam Library Manager – Best for bulk moves
Steam Library Manager is what you install when Steam Mover feels too manual. Add every library folder Steam knows about, then drag games between them. It updates ACF manifests, moves the on-disk folder, and does not break Steam’s own move history. Origin, Uplay, and older Epic installs work too.
Where it falls short: The UI is dense. Read the manual before mass-moving.
Pricing: Free, open source.
Platforms: Windows.
Download: GitHub Releases
Bottom line: Best tool for someone who has three Steam library folders and wants to rebalance them at once.
6. Depressurizer – Best backlog pruner
Depressurizer pulls your Steam library and auto-tags each entry (genre, category, “not played in a year”) using rules you build. Once the tags are on, a five-minute review turns into a clear list of candidates to delete, archive, or move to a slower drive.
Where it falls short: UI feels like it stopped being polished a few years ago. It still works.
Pricing: Free, open source.
Platforms: Windows.
Download: Depressurizer on GitHub
Bottom line: Great triage tool when the “installed games” list is embarrassing.
7. Playnite – Best library dashboard for rule-based moves
Playnite is a full library front-end that aggregates Steam, Epic, GOG, Uplay, EA, and emulators into one dashboard. Plugins add scripting: hide games not played in a year, auto-uninstall trials after two hours, quick-move on library switch.
Where it falls short: Overkill if you only own Steam games and never want a third-party launcher on top.
Pricing: Free, open source.
Platforms: Windows.
Download: Playnite
Bottom line: The best hybrid of “library manager” and “storage strategy” if you launch games from something other than Steam.
8. GameSave Manager – Best safety net before you delete
GameSave Manager backs up saves from thousands of PC games before you delete the install. Point it at a drive, run scan, and it snapshots every save location it recognises. When you reinstall later, restoring is one click.
Where it falls short: Not open source. Free tier serves personal use; the paid tier is aimed at power users with cloud storage targets.
Pricing: Free personal use. Paid tier around $8 one-time.
Platforms: Windows.
Download: GameSave Manager
Bottom line: Run it before every big library purge. Losing a save is a bigger regret than losing the download.
How to pick the right one
- Start with WinDirStat to see the shape of the problem.
- Then CompactGUI on the whole Steam library folder. That alone reclaims 20 to 40 percent.
- If the drive is still full, use Steam Library Manager to shove infrequently-played games onto a slower drive.
- To find “what haven’t I played?”: Depressurizer or Playnite rule-based tags.
- Steam Cleaner once a quarter for depot debris.
- Before deleting anything: GameSave Manager.
FAQ
Does NTFS compression hurt game performance?
Not meaningfully on modern hardware. NVMe read speed dwarfs decompression cost. On old spinning drives, LZX can actually help because reading less data from a slow disk beats reading more.
Will Steam re-download compressed files as an update?
Updates arrive uncompressed and stay uncompressed unless CompactGUI is re-run against the folder. Set a monthly reminder.
Is compressing Steam games safe with anti-cheat?
NTFS transparent compression happens below the file API. VAC, EAC, and BattleEye see the uncompressed content. Third-party file-modifying compressors are a different story; the tools above do not modify game files.
Can I move a Steam install without redownloading?
Yes. Steam has a built-in library folder mover. For edge cases, Steam Library Manager and Steam Mover handle what the client cannot.
What is the fastest way to clear space on a Steam drive?
Run WinDirStat first to spot the biggest game. Delete it if you have not launched it in a year. If you have, compress the Steam library folder with CompactGUI.
