Steamapi Writeminidump

A mini-dump file is a compact representation of a process's memory state at a specific point in time. It contains information about the process's:

Mini-dump files are useful for:

Example (pseudocode; adapt to SDK and language): SteamAPI WriteMiniDump

#include <windows.h>
// Include Steamworks SDK headers that declare SteamAPI_WriteMiniDump
LONG WINAPI TopLevelExceptionHandler(EXCEPTION_POINTERS* pep) 
    // Build a filename
    char path[MAX_PATH];
    SYSTEMTIME st;
    GetLocalTime(&st);
    sprintf_s(path, "crash_%04d%02d%02d_%02d%02d%02d.dmp",
              st.wYear, st.wMonth, st.wDay, st.wHour, st.wMinute, st.wSecond);
// Steamworks helper to write a minidump; signature varies by SDK
    // SteamAPI_WriteMiniDump(exception_info_ptr, path, extra_context_string)
    SteamAPI_WriteMiniDump(pep, path, "Unhandled exception in main thread");
// Optionally inform the user, upload, etc.
    return EXCEPTION_EXECUTE_HANDLER;
int main() 
    SetUnhandledExceptionFilter(TopLevelExceptionHandler);
    // ... normal app code ...

Notes:

Some games mishandle memory permissions when running at non-default DPI scaling. A mini-dump file is a compact representation of

The SteamAPI relies on steam_api.dll (or steam_api64.dll). If this file is missing, out-of-date, or corrupted, any call to SteamAPI_WriteMiniDump will itself crash, generating a secondary error. However, the user often sees a dialog referencing “SteamAPI WriteMiniDump” before the crash handler itself fails.

Steam’s built-in verification repairs missing or corrupted files, including the critical steam_api.dll. Mini-dump files are useful for: Example (pseudocode; adapt

A minidump is more useful when paired with annotation: user actions, in-game level, player ID (anonymized), and console log excerpt. Provide a short string or small file alongside the dump.

Pseudo-example:

struct CrashContext 
    int currentLevelId;
    float playerX, playerY, playerZ;
    char lastConsoleLines[1024];
;
CrashContext ctx =  levelId, px, py, pz, GetLastConsoleLines() ;
SteamAPI_WriteMiniDump(pep, path, (const char*)&ctx);

When writing raw binary context, ensure your crash-analysis tools know how to parse it.