Disk activty / network monitoring is not really required.

[mmotti]

I'm not sure whether you are aware but it's actually possible to monitor registry keys instead of relying on disk / network usage.

https://gist.github.com/mmotti/bfc697d03c5c5b03d09806abdc6c107f

This exert uses PowerShell but I imagine it's possible to adapt to fit:

$STEAM_APPS_REG_PATH = "HKCU:\Software\Valve\Steam\Apps\*"

function Get-ActiveDownload {
    return Get-ItemProperty -Path $STEAM_APPS_REG_PATH -Name "Updating" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Where-Object {$_.Updating -eq 1}
}

If the above returns any value then Steam is still downloading.

Example reg entries:

When Steam is downloading, the value of the "Updating" key will be 1. The value in not affected by drops in internet connectivity and only seems to return to 0 when the user manually pauses / cancels the download or the download completes.

[diogomartino]

I had absolutely no idea that was possible. I'll probably implement something like that and keep the old system so it still works with other apps. Thanks 💪