You do not need to manually pause the download before closing Steam or rebooting; the download is paused automatically and resumed next time you start Steam. When you turn off your computer and close Steam, it's smart enough to pause the download in a place it can immediately resume again, even if you did not pause it.

Does Steam download pause?

Steam automatically pauses your downloads when a game is launched in order to prioritize the network activity for the game itself. box. If the download is affecting the network performance of the game, you can also consider setting a bandwidth limit from the download settings.

Why is my Steam game downloading again?

Restarting steam should fix the problem. If you still face the same issue, one you can try pausing the downloads and restarting steam to see if it helps (this was an earlier bug in steam). Check your settings to see if the correct game folders are included.