Extract text from Valve Source lighting files (VHV)
To convert VHV lighting files to another format, you need Source SDK or other Game software.
To convert other file formats to the "Game Asset Data" file type, you need software like Source SDK or a similar tool.
The .vhv file is a Valve Hardware Vertex lighting file. It stores pre-calculated vertex lighting data for 3D models running on the Source Engine. Game developers and modders encounter these files when extracting or inspecting assets from popular PC games like Half-Life 2, Left 4 Dead, or Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.
These lighting files are compiled using tools like the Source SDK and are typically paired with MDL (model geometry) and VVD (vertex data) files. The primary disadvantage of the .vhv format is its extreme specificity. A .vhv file is essentially useless on its own because it contains no actual 3D geometry or textures - only mathematical lighting values mapped to specific vertices. Modders aiming to port game assets to modern environments like Unity or Unreal Engine usually find these files frustrating and obsolete outside of the Source ecosystem.
Target conversion formats for standalone .vhv files do not exist in a practical sense. Instead, users usually rely on decompilers like Crowbar to extract the associated MDL files into SMD or DMX targets for editing in Blender, while the .vhv lighting data is discarded to allow new lighting to be baked in the target engine.
Because it is a closed, proprietary game format, standard online 3D converters fail to read .vhv files. They expect self-contained geometry, not isolated vertex lighting arrays. We can identify the file format, inspect the hexadecimal structure, and show text or internal content. If our analysis detects a supported underlying or embedded format, viewing or conversion may still be possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your VHV file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
If you want to convert VHV file to , you can use Source SDK or similar software from the "Vertex Lighting Data Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert files to VHV, try Source SDK or another comparable tool in the "Vertex Lighting Data Storage" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our VHV converter.