script

script is a console command available in all Source games since Left 4 Dead 2.

It is available in all games that have a Squirrel implementation of VScript, namely these.

Syntax

script <code>

Description

It executes Squirrel code from the root table. The code can contain spaces even without using quotation marks ".

Limitations

Semicolons ; cannot be used for scripting needs because the developer console treats them as a delimiter for console commands.

• for statements are impossible but not foreach statements: To print the numbers 0 to 9, one can do foreach (i,n in array(10)) printl(i), where array(10) is an array with 10 null entries.
• Multiple script commands separated by semicolons will fail to parse correctly if there is a space between them due to Squirrel attempting to use the semicolon as a separator. For example, script printl("print1"); script printl("print2") will throw a script error, but script printl("print1");script printl("print2") will not.

Quotes " may cause problems.

• In games on the modern SDK 2013 branch since 2025 (), the RunScriptCode input will automatically convert backticks ` in its parameter to quotes ". Older VScript implementations don't have this () but can still escape quotes instead e. g. \"string\". This way of escaping quotes is only possible in scripts and not in Hammer or ent_fire.

Code referencing activator, caller or self may cause an exception. These pre-defined variables normally don't exist and are only created if code is executed from an entity's script scope or in response to I/O.

• One can use RunScriptCode inputs to target these variables, e. g. ent_fire player runscriptcode "printl(self)"
• One can define the variables as needed temporarily, e. g. script ::activator <- Entities.FindByClassname(null, "player").

Examples

script printl( GetMapName() )

Prints the name of the current map in the console.

script player <- Entities.FindByClassname(null, "player");
script player.SetMaxHealth( 200 )

Using a variable, find the player with the lowest entity index then set their max health to 200.

script { player <- Entities.FindByClassname(null, "player") } { player.SetMaxHealth(200) }

The same code, but as a single console command, achieved by using curly braces to bypass semicolons. Note that in this example, one pair of curly braces would suffice; if there is no nesting, putting every other statement in curly braces is sufficient. Note also that the statement player <- ... despite the curly braces, creates a table slot in the root table that persists after the closing brace. If the player variable should be a local variable, its assignment statement must not stand alone inside curly braces, since its scope ends with the closing curly brace.

When executing multiple complicated commands repeatedly using the up ↑ and down ↓ arrow keys in the console it may even be useful to add a comment in the command, for example the following.

script /* SET MAX HEALTH 200 */ { player <- Entities.FindByClassname(null, "player") } { player.SetMaxHealth(200) } // SET MAX HEALTH 200

Squirrel will never see line comments starting with // because the developer console sees and removes them first. Block comments /* */ can also be used because Squirrel supports them!

See also

• Scripts
• VScript
• Squirrel