Troubleshooting

Common issues

Symptom	Likely cause	Resolution
401 invalid_token	Expired or malformed credential	Refresh OAuth token or rotate API key.
403 insufficient_scope	Token lacks action scope	Reauthorize with the named scope.
400 invalid_parameter	Missing/invalid region	Use an uppercase ISO region code.
429 rate_limited	Per-key or per-user quota exhausted	Honor Retry-After; add caching and backoff.
WebSocket 4001	Authentication or heartbeat expired	Authenticate first; answer ping within 10 seconds.
Missing price	No active offer in requested region	Check /stores regions and offer availability.

API and authentication diagnosis

Capture the response X-Request-Id, status, endpoint, and timestamp. Do not send credentials to support. Confirm sandbox keys use sandbox URL, production tokens have the correct audience, and the system clock is accurate.

WebSocket diagnosis

Wait for auth.ok before subscribing. Keep a resume checkpoint per channel and use REST reconciliation when the server reports resume_unavailable. Proxy configuration must allow WebSocket upgrades and an idle timeout above 35 seconds.

FAQ

Why does an offer differ from checkout? Store inventory, tax, eligibility, and merchant updates can change after an observation. Display observed_at and treat purchase_url as authoritative.

Can I scrape SteamDeals? Use the API within your plan and published rate limits. The website is not a bulk data interface.