Clearing download cache causes logout

[Cyber Mudkip]

Issue - Clearing download cache makes Steam ask for an account

This is despite explicitly disabling Ask which Steam account to use each time Steam starts in the Settings dialogue

OS settings
Latest Steam Beta update
Windows 10 updated as of July 28 2023
Enable GPU accelerated rendering enabled

Reproduction steps
1. Go to Settings > Downloads > Clear cache
2. Steam forces an app soft restart. Wait for restart to finish
3. Steam immediately asks to choose avatar of user
4. Afterwhich, Steam asks for user:password credentials

Impact
Discourages me from clearing download cache

Expected result
Shouldn't log me out especially after I disabled Ask which Steam account to use each time Steam starts

[DAMAGED☮]

+1 It's really annoying!

[philipla]

First question: Why are you pushing that button so much?

Second question: Are you sure? The bug you're describing should be fixed in the current client beta. You'll still see the user chooser after the restart (even if you have "ask which Steam account to use" deselected), but you shouldn't need to re-enter your credentials. The first login after clearing the cache will take longer as we have to reacquire a bunch of stuff we just deleted with the cache.

[Cyber Mudkip]

Hi philipla,

Why are you pushing that button so much? - Manila had 2 typhoons in the past week. The PC I use as Remote Play server ungracefully shut off multiple times. For consistency's sake I cleared Download Cache.

Are you sure? - Yes, but I confirmed this can't be reproduced on my Remote Play client laptop. I did see that the laptop passed the credential prompt for a few seconds, afterwhich it continued to Steam. So something was causing the login workflow to stop at the credential prompt in my Remote Play server.

If you could point me to a stack trace or log file somewhere that might help you, I could put it in a Pastebin if you'd like.