Counter-Strike: Source Bot Profile Generator

A small Go command-line tool that generates a botprofile.db for Counter-Strike: Source, so every match is full of bots with fresh, human-looking names and slightly different skill levels. Names are built from word lists you control, and a seed makes any result reproducible.

Features

• Generates bots for all four difficulties (Easy, Normal, Hard, Expert) and all six weapon groups (Rifles, Autos, SMGs, Scoped, Shotguns, Snipers)
• Random but sane stats per bot (skill, aggression, reaction time, attack delay), kept in range and ordered by difficulty
• Names built from a CSV of words, nouns, adjectives and optional clan tags, with random numbers and casing
• Every name is unique (case-insensitive) and fits the Source engine's name limit, clan tag included
• Reproducible output with -seed
• JSON config that rejects typos and clamps out-of-range values, with a note about each change
• Unit tests, end-to-end tests, and CI on every push

Quick start

You need Go 1.22 or newer. make is optional.

git clone https://github.com/joshdevelopsIRL/botprofiles-cs-source.git
cd botprofiles-cs-source
cp example.AppConfig.json AppConfig.json
make run

Without make:

go run .

The tool prints where it wrote the file and which seed it used:

wrote 288 bot profiles to ./release/botprofile.db (seed 20241)

A ready-made release/botprofile.db is also included if you just want to try it.

Install into the game

Copy botprofile.db to the custom/cstrike/ folder inside your Counter-Strike: Source install. Create the cstrike folder inside custom if it does not exist.

• Linux: ~/.steam/steam/steamapps/common/Counter-Strike Source/cstrike/custom/cstrike/
• Windows: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Counter-Strike Source\cstrike\custom\cstrike\

Restart the game or load a new map for the bots to pick up the file.

Usage

css-botprofiles [-config PATH] [-seed N] [-version]

Flag	Description	Default
-config	Path to the JSON config file	./AppConfig.json
-seed	Random seed. The same seed and config give the same bots. 0 picks a new one each run	0
-version	Print the version and exit

If the default config file is missing, the built-in defaults are used. If you pass -config explicitly and the file is missing, the tool exits with an error.

To recreate a profile you liked, run again with the seed it printed:

go run . -seed 20241

Only the timestamp in the file header differs between runs with the same seed.

Configuration

Copy example.AppConfig.json to AppConfig.json and edit it. Unknown keys are an error, so a misspelled option never silently does nothing. Values outside the allowed range are clamped and the tool tells you what it changed.

Key	Meaning	Default	Allowed
csv_namelist_path	Word list CSV	./mainlists.csv
db_output_path	Where to write the profile (folders are created)	./release/botprofile.db
use_words, use_nouns, use_adjectives	Which word lists to draw from	true
use_clans	Prefix some bots with a clan tag (better bots are more likely to have one)	false
use_numbers	Sometimes append a number	true
use_uppercase, use_lowercase	Sometimes force upper or lower case	true
max_name_length	Longest name, clan tag included. The engine cuts names near 31	31	3 to 60
max_words_in_name	Most words in one name	3	1 to 9
max_list_length	Candidate words drawn per name	10	1 to 49
rand_pool_size	Each extra (number, upper, lower) happens about 1 in N times	20	1 to 99
max_rifles, max_autos, max_smgs, max_scoped, max_shotguns, max_snipers	Bots of that weapon group, per difficulty	9, 3, 3, 6, 1, 6	0 to 99

At least one bot must be requested overall, and there must be enough distinct words to produce that many unique names, otherwise the tool stops with a clear error instead of looping forever.

Word lists

mainlists.csv has one column per list, and the header row picks the list. Recognised headers are Words, Nouns, Adjectives and Clans. Column order does not matter, extra columns are ignored, and empty cells or short rows are fine. Add your own words and tags there.

Output

The file starts with a header, then a template per difficulty and per weapon group, then every bot in shuffled order:

// BotProfiles - CS:Source - v1.1.0
...
Template Default
	Skill = 50
	...
HardMode+Rifles "3th0 POET King LEAD"
EasyMode+Autos "well-to-do lab"

Development

make check     # gofmt check, go vet, go test
make test      # tests only
make fmt       # format the code
make release   # cross-compile to dist/ (linux, macOS, windows)
make clean

Layout:

• main.go, config.go, names.go: the command, config loading and validation, and unique name generation
• pkg/bots: bot stats, difficulties, weapon groups and the profile file format
• pkg/namegen: word list loading and name building
• pkg/rng: a small seeded random number helper, passed around so output is reproducible

The tests cover the stat ranges, name length limits (including multi-byte characters), CSV edge cases, config validation, and full runs that check the generated file end to end. CI runs formatting, vet and go test -race on every push.

License

MIT, see LICENSE.