Is it possible to move Steamwork Common Redistributables to external library?

Question

I have 2 computers that both of have Steam installed. I am using an external HDD for a game library to make it easier. Can I move Steamwork Common Redistributables like other games, so I don't need to update it twice every time there is new update?

Answer 1

Of course. This will only work if both require the same installers that support the same platform and bitness though, e.g. Windows 64-bit.

They are in Your Steam Library/steamapps/common/Steamworks\ Shared/_CommonRedist in folders by name (e.g. DirectX, DotNet, PhysX), but this includes Common Redistributables for all your installed apps, not just what you've downloaded recently.

If you want to look for the specific ones required for an app open the appinfo_#.acf, where # is the unique Steam appid for the given app, in the steamapps folder. Look inside for a SharedDepots list like the following from Payday 2:

        "228982"        "228980"
        "228985"        "228980"
        "228986"        "228980"
        "228990"        "228980"
        "229031"        "228980"

The number 228980 is the "appid" of Steamworks Common Redistributables, and the numbers on the left are the Depot IDs for specific common redistributable installers. Depots are "... a logical grouping of files which are all delivered to a customer as a single group." (from Steamworks documentation).

The depots attached to Steamworks Common Redist, and any other app, can be viewed on SteamDB by going to the depots page, and generally include a unique human-friendly name. In this example the SteamDB page says exactly which installer is downloaded for each depot, and they're all easily found in the local folder.