FiveM server requires Steam: fix the missing Steam identifier

You try to join and the server turns you away, with a message that Steam is required or that no Steam identifier was found. The cause is one of two things: your Steam client is not running, or the server asks for something you cannot give. Both have a simple fix.

#What the server is checking

When you connect, FiveM sends the server a list of identifiers for your player. They look like this:

license:xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
steam:11000010xxxxxxx
discord:123456789012345678

A server that uses steam: for its database, whitelist or admin list needs that line to exist. If Steam is not running, there is no steam: identifier and the server blocks you.

#Players: how to fix it

1. Close FiveM.
2. Start Steam and log in. Steam must be open and signed in, in the same Windows user, before FiveM starts. Check the Steam window or tray icon.
3. Start FiveM and connect again.
4. If you play GTA V from Epic or Rockstar, the server may still ask for Steam. In that case you need the Steam client running and logged in with your account, or you need to play on a server that uses license instead.
5. Do not run FiveM as administrator while Steam is not. The two must run at the same privilege level, or FiveM cannot see Steam. Start both normally.
6. If it still fails, close both, restart Steam, then FiveM. Clearing the cache with How to clear the FiveM cache helps in some cases.

Steam in offline mode can also give no identifier. Go online.

Tip: if you play on several servers, keep Steam running whenever you play FiveM. It costs nothing and avoids this error on every server that uses Steam.

#Server owners: the Steam Web API key

For the server to use Steam authentication, give it a Steam Web API key. You get a key from your Steam account, on Steam's web API key page.

Add it to server.cfg:

set steam_webApiKey "YOUR_STEAM_WEB_API_KEY"

Use set, not setr, so the key is never replicated to clients. Never share the key, never post server.cfg publicly with the key in it, and reset the key from your Steam account if it leaks.

Restart the server after the change. Some frameworks and whitelist scripts have their own setting for the identifier type, so check the script's config too.

#Check for a missing Steam identifier in your scripts

If you only want to block players without Steam, read their identifier at connection time and defer:

AddEventHandler('playerConnecting', function(name, setKickReason, deferrals)
    local src = source
    deferrals.defer()
    Wait(0)

    local steam = GetPlayerIdentifierByType(src, 'steam')
    if not steam then
        deferrals.done('Steam is required. Start Steam, log in, then restart FiveM.')
        return
    end

    deferrals.done()
end)

A clear message saves your players from guessing. See playerConnecting and deferrals for the full pattern.

#Why many servers use license or Discord instead

Steam as the main identifier has drawbacks:

• Players need Steam running, and many do not play GTA V on Steam, so they get the error above.
• Steam being offline or in a bad state removes the identifier mid session.
• A Steam Web API key is one more secret for the owner to manage.

The license: identifier comes from the player's Rockstar account. It is always there, and it needs no extra key, so many modern frameworks use it by default for the character database. Discord identifiers are popular for whitelists and roles, because staff can manage them from a Discord server. See Discord whitelist for FiveM.

Changing the identifier type on an existing server is a data migration: characters saved under steam: will not match license:. Back up the database and plan it before you switch.

#Checklist