Installing and Launching Tools

Half-Life SDK is a optional free downloadable SDK, available when you own Half-Life or any first-party GoldSrc games (such as Counter-Strike, Team Fortress Classic, etc...). If you want to create mods, you must install the SDK first.

Warning:The Half-Life SDK are only available for Windows systems.

Downloading the Source code

To get the latest GoldSrc engine code (SDK 2.5), see Half-Life GitHub page.

Installing content and tools

You can install the Half-Life SDK by clicking here (it will either ask you to install or launch the tools, or possibly launch Hammer),
or you can following the methods below:

1. Open the Steam window.
2. Go to the Library.
3. Change the list to Tools.
4. Find and double-click on the Half-Life SDK item, or you can click on it, then click Install.
5. Read over the dialog box and make sure you have enough space, then click Download and Install / Next to continue
6. The Half-Life SDK will then be downloaded to your computer via Steam.

Launching the Tools

• To launch the tools, press the "Play" button when you select the Half-Life SDK (or right-click the game in your library and choose Play).

Congratulations, you have installed the Half-Life SDK!

Create a First level

Now that you're in the tools, it's time to design your first level and much more.