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Getting Started

This page walks you through getting HLPatcher downloaded and running on your Mac for the first time.

Step 1: Download HLPatcher

Go to the GitHub Releases page and download the latest release archive.

Once downloaded, unzip the archive to a location of your choice (e.g. your Desktop or Downloads folder).

Step 2: Install Xcode Command Line Tools

HLPatcher builds native 64-bit engine binaries from source. This requires the Xcode Command Line Tools to be installed.

Open Terminal and run:

xcode-select --install

A system prompt will appear asking you to confirm the installation. Click Install and wait for it to finish.

Step 3: Run the Patcher

In Terminal, navigate to the folder where you unzipped HLPatcher, then run:

chmod +x ./patcher.sh && ./patcher.sh

The patcher.sh bootstrap script will automatically verify prerequisites, set up a Python virtual environment, install dependencies, and launch HLPatcher.

Tip

You only need to run chmod +x ./patcher.sh once. On subsequent runs, just use ./patcher.sh.

Step 4: Follow the UI

Once HLPatcher opens, it will guide you through the rest of the process:

  1. Select your games folder – point HLPatcher to your Steam common folder (pre-filled automatically if using the default Steam path).
  2. Select games to patch – unpatched games are pre-selected. You'll see live estimates for time and disk space.
  3. Choose patching options – select Latest or Stable engine builds and whether to create a backup.
  4. Switch Steam branches (Source Engine games only) – if you're patching Half-Life 2, Portal or similar games, HLPatcher will ask you to switch them to their legacy Steam branch before continuing.
  5. Wait for patching to complete – a progress bar will track each component as it's being patched.

Note

After patching, macOS may block SDL2.framework on first launch. If this happens, go to System Settings, then Privacy & Security and click Open Anyway.

Once done, close HLPatcher and launch your games from Steam as usual.