CSDK 12

The community Source 2 tools for Deadlock: download, first launch, which binary to pick, addons, compiling, and optional full game files.

Intermediate

CSDK 12Unofficial

Community Source Development Kit 12: Valve's Counter-Strike 2 tools, adapted for Deadlock.

FreeWindows onlyReduced CSDK 12Updated 2026-08-10

Community download page

CSDK 12 compiles your edited files into files Deadlock can read. Every current guide uses it for materials, sounds, UI images, and models. The first install is in Set up your creator tools. This page is the reference for everything after that.

CSDK 12 is an unofficial community tool

Valve did not make CSDK 12 and does not support it. Community members built it from Valve's Counter-Strike 2 Workshop Tools, Deadlock files, and their own fixes. It has no named maintainer and no license. Download it only through its community page.

What you need

Source 2 Viewer

Windows PC

Steam

running

Source 2 Viewer gets files out of the game. CSDK 12 runs on Windows only. Keep Steam running whenever you use the tools.

At a glance

Detail	CSDK 12
Full name	Community Source Development Kit 12
Version to get	Reduced CSDK 12. It leaves out the full game files and still edits models, sounds, textures, UI, and vdata.
Built for	The "6 Heroes" update of 2025-08-19. The page was last updated 2026-08-10.

CSDK 12 is pinned to an older game build. Newer formats, such as AnimGraph 2 animation clips, compile in an outdated form. Hero model swaps use the CS2 Workshop Tools for that part.

Get started

Download and unzip

Open the CSDK 12 page on Deadlock Modding Notes, with the button at the top of this page.
Use the Download link in its Installation section. The archive holds a Reduced_CSDK_12 folder.
Unzip it to a short path, such as C:\Reduced_CSDK_12.

Do not unzip it on the Desktop or in Documents. OneDrive often syncs those folders, and that breaks the tools. Keep it out of the Deadlock game folder too.

Windows may show a SmartScreen warning for the CSDK 12 programs. Continue only if you got the archive from the community page.

The CSDK 12 page on the Deadlock Modding Notes site, dated Aug 10, 2026, with the Download link under Installation

Open the launcher

Start Steam.
Open csdkcfg.exe in the Reduced_CSDK_12 folder. This is the launcher, also called the Configuration Tool.
Select an addon and click Launch Tools. A VConsole window opens first, then the Asset Browser.

Older CSDK 12 downloads start from game\bin\win64\Deadlock_with_tools.exe instead. Some guides call it the "Project8 CFG Tool".

The launcher has these launch options:

Name	Description
VConsole	Opens the VConsole window, where compile errors show up. Keep it on.
No Addon	Only for editing the tools' own files. It can overwrite base files in game/citadel. Keep it off.
Fix Models	One guide says ModelDoc needs it on. A greyed-out box means you started the wrong program. Your launcher may not have it.

Pick a binary

The binary picker sits in the top left of the launcher. Each choice starts a different build of the tools.

Binary	Use it for	Watch out
`bin`	Almost everything. Start here.	Can crash when it previews some projected particles.
`bin_tools`	Previewing projected particle effects	Crashes when it compiles AnimGraph 1 models.
`bin_server`	Starting Deadlock in server mode to preview mods. Compiles VData and Panorama.	Needs the full game files. Will not start without them.
`bin_cs2`	The GUI Map Compiler, for map lighting	Maps only.

Addons and templates

An addon is one mod project. CSDK 12 gives each addon two folders, and your paths must match the game's paths.

An addon's content folder holds the source file example_sound.wav. Recompile Full writes example_sound.vsnd_c to the same path in the game folder. You copy the compiled file from there into your VPK.

Click Create New Addon in the launcher. Name it in lowercase with no spaces or special characters, or the launcher hides it.
Right-click an addon for its menu: Explore Content Folder, Explore Game Folder, Duplicate, Compile All Assets, Create VPK, and Delete.
CSDK 12 ships template addons: hero_image_template for portraits and icons, and the Billy Audio Template for sounds. Duplicate a template to start from it.

We do not use Create VPK yet. The packing guide in Next steps explains why.

Compile

You have three ways to compile:

While the tools run, they watch the content folder and compile new files into the game folder.

In the Asset Browser, right-click the file and choose Recompile, then Full.

In the launcher, right-click the addon and choose Compile All Assets.

To find the result, right-click the asset and choose File '...', then Open Folder, or use Explore Game Folder. Compiled files end in _c.

To see only your files, click the "x/y mods" counter in the Asset Browser. Pick Only next to your addon.

When a compile fails, read the VConsole window. Compile errors show up there.

From the command line

Every compile runs resourcecompiler.exe. Build scripts call it from game\bin_tools\win64\:

Code

resourcecompiler.exe -i "<full path to your source file>"

Name	Description
-i	Sets the input file.
-r	With a wildcard, compiles a whole folder.
-f	Forces a compile even if nothing changed.
-game <path to gameinfo.gi>	For files outside the content folder.

The tools inside

Tool	What Deadlock creators use it for
Asset Browser	The hub. Browse, preview, open editors, and recompile.
Material Editor	Make and fix `.vmat` materials. A purple checkerboard means a missing texture.
ModelDoc	Build hero and prop models from your exported meshes.
Particle Editor	Recolor ability particles.
VConsole	Read compile errors and logs.
Resource Compiler	Compiles everything. The Asset Browser uses it for you.
CS2 Workshop Manager	A packing trick. The packing guide in Next steps shows it.
Multichunk Workshop Manager	Packs mods over 2 GB in parts.
Hammer, S2FM	Maps, posing, and renders. Both need the full game files.

No AnimGraph editor exists for Deadlock yet. CSDK 12 cannot author animation graphs.

Full game files (advanced, optional)

Skip this if you are new. You need the full game files only for bin_server, Hammer, and S2FM. Want only to study how heroes are built? Use the lighter option.

The CSDK 12 community page, linked at the top, has the steps. They use DepotDownloader to fetch an older Deadlock build, then Source 2 Viewer to unpack it into the CSDK folder.
A 401 error means Valve blocks that old build for your account, which happens if you got Deadlock later. The page offers a workaround. If that fails too, skip the full game files.

Export only the hero model folders into CSDK 12. You get hero models for reference.

In Source 2 Viewer, open pak01_dir.vpk and go to models.
Right-click heroes_staging and choose Export as is.
Pick Reduced_CSDK_12\game\citadel as the target folder.
Repeat for heroes_wip.
Open CSDK 12 and filter the Asset Browser for vmdl. The heroes now show with their materials.

Both folders together take about 4 to 5 GB, and CSDK 12 starts slower with more files.

Common problems

More fixes are in Errors when making mods.

Next steps

Pack your mod into a VPK

Beginner

Turn your compiled files into one mod file the game loads.

Credits

This guide is based on the work of these creators. Check out their original guides.

Guide: CSDK 12 from Deadlock Modding Notes.
Guide: Packing an Addon from Deadlock Modding Notes.
Video: Deadlock - Compiled Models In CSDK by Pugzilla.
Guide: From Start to Finish (Fuji's Asset Replacement Guide) by Fuji (FellOffFuji).
Guide: Neutral's General Guide for Modding Deadlock by Neutraldrift.
Reference: Resource Compiler on Source2Wiki.

Éditer sur GitHub

CSDK 12

Your addon is missing from the launcher

The tools do not start

CSDK 12 crashes when it opens a decompiled hero model

Hero materials are missing in the tools

The game will not find a match

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