How to install a TF2 HUD (Windows, Linux, Steam Deck, Mac)

A custom HUD is a folder of files that replaces how Team Fortress 2 draws your health, ammo, menus and scoreboard. Installing one means putting that folder in the right place. It takes about two minutes and works the same way for every HUD.

Install a HUD in five steps

1. Download the HUD and unzip it. Every HUD on tf2hud has a Download button that gives you a .zip file.
2. Open your custom folder. In your Steam library, right-click Team Fortress 2, choose Manage, then Browse local files. Open tf, then custom. If there is no custom folder inside tf, create it.
3. Remove any HUD that is already there. TF2 can only use one HUD at a time. Two HUD folders in custom mix their files and break each other.
4. Copy the HUD folder into custom. The right folder is the one that directly contains resource and scripts. It is often the top folder of the zip, and sometimes one level further in.
5. Restart TF2. If the game is already running, open the console and run hud_reloadscheme. New fonts only load after a restart.

When it is done, the path looks like this: tf/custom/rayshud/resource. If it reads tf/custom/rayshud-master/rayshud/resource, the HUD is one folder too deep and TF2 will not find it.

Where the custom folder is

Browse local files always takes you there. These are the default locations:

• Windows: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Team Fortress 2\tf\custom
• Linux and Steam Deck: ~/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/Team Fortress 2/tf/custom
• Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/Steam/steamapps/common/Team Fortress 2/tf/custom

If you installed TF2 to another drive or Steam library, the path starts in that library instead.

Linux, Steam Deck and Mac: install the fonts

On Windows, TF2 loads a HUD's fonts straight from the HUD folder. On Linux and macOS it usually does not, and the HUD shows a fallback font with text in the wrong size or place. To fix it, open the HUD's resource/fonts folder and install the font files on your system. On Linux, copy them to ~/.local/share/fonts. On a Mac, open them with Font Book. Then restart TF2.

Linux also treats upper and lower case in file names as different, so a HUD made only for Windows can have missing parts. The HUDs for Linux list shows the HUDs whose authors support it.

If the HUD does not work

• Nothing changed. The folder is nested too deep, or it is not inside tf/custom. Check that resource and scripts sit directly inside the HUD folder.
• Parts are missing or overlap. Either a second HUD is still in custom, or the HUD is older than a TF2 update that changed the interface. Try a HUD with a more recent release.
• Things are cut off at the edges. The HUD does not support your aspect ratio. Pick one that does: 16:9, 4:3, 16:10 or 21:9 ultrawide.
• The font looks wrong. Install the HUD's fonts as described above, then restart the game.

Remove a HUD and get the default HUD back

To uninstall a HUD, delete its folder from tf/custom and restart TF2. The default HUD comes back; no game files were changed, so there is nothing else to undo.

Pick a HUD

Start with minimal HUDs for a clean screen, competitive HUDs for large, readable numbers, or customizable HUDs if you like to tweak. The full list is on all HUDs A–Z. To put together your own, open the HUD builder: it gives you a zip that installs the same way. To change your crosshair as well, read the TF2 crosshair guide or make one in the crosshair maker. For game settings and key binds, the TF2 config maker writes an autoexec.cfg for you.