Quick and easy guide for setting up the CS:GO Authoring Tools on Linux using Valve’s Proton compatibility layer. Also includes how to set up Hammer++, an unofficial community-updated version of the Hammer level editor.
 
 

Prerequisites

You will need:
 

• The native version of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive already installed
• A CS:GO Prime Status Upgraded account – [steampowered.com] 

 
 
 

Installing Windows Binaries

Out of the box, the CS:GO SDK will not work with Proton, since the game’s install is missing some Windows-specific binaries that are needed for it to run properly. To install these binaries, we must first enable the Steam Console.
 

1. Exit Steam
2. Run the following in your terminal:
    
    
    

   steam -console

    
    
    
   If using the Flatpak version of Steam, run this instead:
    
    
    
    
    

   com.valvesoftware.Steam -console

3. You should now see a new “Console” tab in the Steam UI alongside Store, Library, etc.
    
    
    
   If you have Family View enabled, the tab will be greyed out until it is disabled.
4. Enter this command in the Steam Console to download the Windows Binaries for CS:GO:
    
    
    

   download_depot 730 732

5. Finally, we will copy the downloaded binaries into the main CS:GO install folder. In your terminal, run:
    
    
    

   cp -r ~/.steam/steam/ubuntu12_32/steamapps/content/app_730/depot_732/* "~/.steam/steam/steamapps/common/Counter-Strike Global Offensive"

    
    
    
   If using the Flatpak version of Steam, run this instead:
    
    
    
    
    

   cp -r ~/.var/app/com.valvesoftware.Steam/.steam/steam/ubuntu12_32/steamapps/content/app_730/depot_732/* - []  "~/.var/app/com.valvesoftware.Steam/.steam/steam/steamapps/common/Counter-Strike - []  Global Offensive"

 
 
 

Installing the CS:GO SDK

The hardest part is over, now all that’s left is to install the SDK itself.
 

1. Right-click on the SDK in your Library and click “Properties”
2. In the Compatibility tab, select “Proton Experimental”
    
    
    
    
    
   Some NVIDIA users may have problems when running the latest version of Proton, as explained later in this guide. If this is the case, use “Proton 4.11-13”
    
    
    
    
    
   
3. Click Install to download the SDK if it hasn’t been already
4. You should now be able to launch the CS:GO SDK and use Hammer

 
 
 

Installing Hammer++ (Optional)

Originally posted by Hammer++'s official website:
Hammer++ is a free, extensive modification of Valve's Hammer editor for the Source engine, with the premise of being a more stable, up-to-date version, with many bugfixes and several improvements present in modern level editors. 

 

 

1. Download the latest release of Hammer++ for CS:GO here – [github.io] 
2. Right-click CS:GO in your Library and click “Properties”
3. In the “Local Files” tab, click “Browse…”
4. Extract the contents of the bin folder from the Hammer++ download into the bin folder in the “Counter-Strike Global Offensive” directory
5. In Counter-Strike Global Offensive/bin, rename hammer.exe to something else (i.e. hammer_old.exe) and rename hammerplusplus.exe to hammer.exe
6. Running Hammer from the CS:GO SDK menu should now launch Hammer++

 
 
 

Fixing “Expert” Compilation Options

By default, the “Expert” compilation configurations will not work under Proton. Luckily, there is a pretty simple fix.
 
 

 

1. Select the configuration you want to use
2. Edit each Compile/run command and change every instance of $file to $file.vmf

 
 
 

Troubleshooting

NVIDIA “Failed to initialize NVAPI with error 0xFFFFFFFE” Error

 
If you get an error trying to run Hammer on NVIDIA cards, you may need to change your Proton version to Proton 4.11-13
 
I am looking into better ways of solving this and will update this guide when I find something. For now, this fix works fine.
 
 

Graphical issues

 
Some users report major graphical bugs in the UI when running Hammer Editor under Proton. To fix, add this to the CS:GO SDK’s Launch Options in Steam:
 

PROTON_USE_WINED3D=1 %command%

 
 
 

Conclusion

I hope this guide was able to help you. If it did, a rating would be very appreciated! If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment.
 
 

Special Thanks

 
tony is coding – [andrealmeid.com]  – Guide inspiration
 
ProtonDB – [protondb.com]  – Logo used in the guide’s thumbnail
 
ficool2 – [github.io]  – Lead programmer of Hammer++
 
Valve – [github.com]  – for their continued work on Proton
 
You – [steamcommunity.com]  – for reading my guide!
 
 

 
 
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