Vpk.exe

VPK ("Valve Pak") files are uncompressed archives used to package content (never code). They are the successors to GCFs, and when passed to the addoninstaller tool are also used to distribute add-ons like custom campaigns.

VPK tool

VPKs can be created with the command line tool vpk.exe, found at <game>\bin\. It is available in all newer Source engine games since Left 4 Dead.

When you create a VPK, some executable and archive files will be discarded. Files with following extensions are affected: .zip, .reg, .rar, .msi, .exe, .dll, .com, .cmd and .bat.

Commands

<dirname>

Creates a new VPK in the directory given, containing the contents of that directory. Must be an existing location. Alternatively, drag a folder onto the tool in Explorer to trigger this command.

Bug:If the location is outside the game's folder, the file will just be called ".vpk".  [todo tested in ?]

x <vpkfile> <filename1> <filename2> ...

Extract file(s).

a <vpkfile> <filename1> <filename2> ...

Add file(s).

a <vpkfile> @<filename>

k vpkfile <filename>

Add files listed in a response file ('a' - note the @) or a keyvalues file ('k').

Bug:They will appear inside the VPK with their full path (C:\etc\) intact - is there a way to avoid this?  [todo tested in ?]

l <vpkfile>

L <vpkfile>

List contents of VPK. Uppercase 'L' means more detail.

-v

Verbose output.

-M

Produce a multi-chunk VPK that is split across several files and has an index. To inspect a multi-chunk VPK look at the '_dir' file.

See also

• VPK File Format (technical details)
• L4D Campaign Add-on Tutorial
• L4D2 Campaign Add-on Tutorial
• Swarm Campaign Add-on Tutorial