Getting Started

Getting started

1. Download

Get the file for your system from the latest release:

System	File	Notes
Windows 10/11	…-windows-x64.exe	If SmartScreen warns you, click More info → Run anyway. The build isn't signed yet.
Linux, Steam Deck	…-linux-x86_64.AppImage	Run chmod +x on it, then run it. It needs libfuse2, or run it with --appimage-extract-and-run.
macOS 11+	…-macos-universal.zip	Unzip it. The first time, right-click the app and choose Open.

Nothing gets installed. The app is one file, and your settings are kept in your user profile.

2. Point it at TF2

On first launch the studio looks through your Steam libraries for Team Fortress 2. If it can't find it, open Settings (the sliders icon, bottom left) and choose the tf folder, for example C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Team Fortress 2\tf.

With TF2 found, the studio can:

• show TF2's own fonts and icons (read directly from the game's VPK files);
• fall back to TF2's default HUD files for anything your HUD doesn't override;
• install your HUD into tf/custom.

3. Open or create a HUD

• Open: choose the HUD's root folder, the one containing info.vdf, resource/ and scripts/.
• New: pick a name and a starting point:
  • Start from TF2's default HUD: copies the default scheme, hudlayout.res and the main element files (health, ammo, class, über, damage, target ID) so you can restyle them.
  • Empty HUD: just info.vdf and an animation file. Everything looks like TF2's default HUD until you edit an element; its file is copied in the first time you do.
• Command line: pass a folder to open it at startup, e.g. TF2-HUD-Studio.exe "D:\huds\myhud".

4. Find your way around

Area	What it's for
Left bar	Files, Elements, Search, Problems, Images. Tools and Settings are at the bottom.
Tabs	Each open file. Right-click a tab to close it or open it in your own editor.
View switch	Design, Scheme or Timeline (depending on the file), and Source.
Canvas	The live preview. The toolbar picks the resolution, zoom, grid and snapping.
Inspector	Every property of the selected element, and where each value comes from.

Open scripts/hudlayout.res to see the whole HUD the way the game puts it together. The Playing … dropdown picks which class the preview shows.

5. Save and try it

Press Ctrl+S to save every changed file. A backup is made first. Then click Install (top right), and in TF2 either restart or run hud_reloadscheme in the console. See Installing and Sharing.