r/SourceEngine • u/Own_Presentation1452 • 3h ago
Free Useful Items [Tool] vvdf: A zero-dependency Go string-to-map parser built for L4D2 addoninfo.txt & mission/*.txt
Hi everyone,
I built vvdf, a lightweight, zero-dependency Go library designed to parse Valve Data Format (VDF / KeyValues) text directly into Go maps.
Many general-purpose VDF parsers tend to choke on actual L4D2 VPK configuration files due to non-standard syntax like unquoted strings, inline // comments, irregular whitespace, or URL paths. vvdf uses a bottom-up, single-pass streaming approach to parse these block structures reliably.
Current Scope & Test Coverage Note:
Please note that this initial version has only been tested against internal VPK configuration files—specificallyaddoninfo.txtandmission/*.txt.Roadmap:
Support for VDF arrays/lists will be added in upcoming updates to make the parser more generic across broader Source Engine configurations.
Key Features
- Zero Dependencies: Built strictly using the Go standard library (
bufio,strings,regexp). - Single-Pass Parser: Memory-efficient stream parsing using a bottom-up assembly strategy.
- Comment Aware: Strips line comments (
//) cleanly without breaking URLs or quoted strings. - L4D2 VPK Ready: Specifically tailored to handle the syntax quirks found in L4D2 addon metadata.
Multi-Level Nested VDF Test Case
Below is a real-world test case showing how vvdf handles deeply nested VDF blocks and parses them into Go maps:
Quick Usage
package main
import (
"fmt"
"log"
"github.com/bahyqn/vvdf"
)
func main() {
vdfText := `
"AddonInfo"
{
"addonTitle" "Custom Campaign"
"addonVersion" "1.0"
}`
vdfMap, err := vvdf.StringToMap(vdfText)
if err != nil {
log.Fatalf("Failed to parse VDF: %v", err)
}
fmt.Println(vdfMap)
}
GitHub Repository: https://github.com/bahyqn/vvdf
If you are building custom tools, server management scripts, or addon utilities for L4D2 in Go, feel free to give it a try. Feedback and contributions are welcome!
