cfg
.cfg files can be found everywhere and are not specific to Source. It is an abbreviation of configuration.
In Source games, a configuration file can be executed to perform a list of console commands. CFG files can be written in any other plain text editor. To create one, right-click the blank space in a cfg folder, and go to New>Text file. Rename it to myconfig.cfg or whatever you want, as long as it ends in .cfg and is placed in the cfg folder. You can then open it in your text editor and put commands in. Normally, the file autoexec.cfg is run when the game starts up, so you can easily put any commands that you don't want to enter each time into that. They can also be ran from the console using "exec <cfgname>" where filename is the name of the configuration file, with or without the extension. Sometimes people put exec lines into the autoexec.cfg, so that other cfg files are executed when the game starts up. Configuration files can be placed in subdirectories of the cfg folder. The exec command would require you to include the subdirectories in the command.
Tip:You can add comments to .cfg files by using // .Common CFGs
This is a table listing common .cfg files found in mods and games alike.
| CFG | Description |
|---|---|
| autoexec.cfg | Ran on game start up. |
| modsettings.cfg | Ran on game start up. |
| config.cfg | Ran on game start up, this is created automatically when the player runs the game/mod for the first time. |
| config_default.cfg | Ran when no config.cfg is present or the player clicks the 'Use Defaults' button in the keyboard tab in the options panel, see Customizing Options: Keyboard. |
| chapter#.cfg | Ran when the player picks the chapter, with # being the chapter number, see Adding chapters to your mod. |
| game.cfg | Ran every time a map is loaded. |
| sourcevr_modfoldername.cfg | (New with Source 2013) Ran when the player enables VR, replace modfoldername with the name of your folder that gameinfo.txt is in. |
| skill_manifest.cfg | Ran on game start up, used to list the skill.cfgs to execute. |
| 360controller.cfg | Used for players using XBox 360 controllers, lists the controls for the controller. To do: Find out when this is executed. |
| 360controller-linux.cfg | Used for players using XBox 360 controllers on Linux systems, lists the controls for the controller.  Confirm:executed after 360controller.cfg. |
| undo360controller.cfg | Used for players using XBox 360 controllers when they want to undo the effects of the controller. To do: Find out when this is executed. |
| listenserver.cfg | Ran when a listen server is being started, and runs every time the map is changed. |
| server.cfg | Ran when a dedicated server is being started, and runs every time the map is changed. |
| valve.rc | Special cfg file with the .rc extension, it's ran on game start up and executes autoexec.cfg along with a few other commands. |
See also
- Mini-mod tutorial
- vtest - Alternative to cfg files.
