Half-Life in a browser: choose WebXash or Pixelsuft

Choose a Half-Life frontend

Choose WebXash when you have a legitimate Half-Life installation and want a browser frontend with folder selection and downloadable saves. Pixelsuft’s em-xash exposes older data-loading and filesystem options; it is a more manual choice. Both are Xash-based projects for the original Half-Life generation, not Half-Life 2 or a promise that every GoldSrc mod works.

Swipe or scroll to compare all columns →

For immediate Counter-Strike server browsing, use the separate CSJS setup guide. WebXash’s Counter-Strike option and CSJS’s curated server client share a lineage, but have different preparation and networking.

Prepare the game and mod folders

In WebXash, select Open game folder and choose the parent containing valve, then select the game directory. With Open ZIP, preserve valve at the archive root. For a supported expansion or mod, keep its directory beside valve and set the matching option, such as -game bshift, before loading.

Your files determine the content available. The engine and launcher do not supply a retail license or turn a demo into the full campaign. Check the engine’s incompatible-mod list before preparing an expansion or total conversion: custom engine features, client libraries and missing source can prevent support.

Keep WebXash saves recoverable

WebXash reads the selected installation; it does not write saves back into it. Its save manager keeps progress in IndexedDB, grouped by game/mod, and lets you download selected saves. ZIP-loaded games use the same mechanism. Export before clearing site data. The manager is disabled for Counter-Strike 1.6. These details are in the WebXash save instructions.

Keep your original installation separately from exported saves. Reopen the same game/mod when continuing; the file selector remembering a folder is not a backup of either its contents or your progress. The save and backup guide explains this distinction.

Pixelsuft: data and storage choices

Pixelsuft’s detailed launcher separates game data source from filesystem. Choose Local ZIP file for a compatible archive you already have. For progress you want to retain, choose IndexedDB and follow the instruction to exit correctly; None (in RAM) makes the session temporary. LocalStorage is explicitly marked as potentially too small.

The server-package option can cache data, while the server-ZIP option is labelled uncached. Those choices concern loading, not a promise of persistent saves. This older frontend’s sparse project documentation does not provide WebXash’s folder/import walkthrough. Choose WebXash if that preparation is the part you need help with; do not transfer its save-manager instructions to Pixelsuft.

Controls, servers and native fallback

WebXash requires keyboard and mouse for proper play. Use fullscreen and check in-game bindings: the browser can intercept Ctrl+W and close a tab. The creator directs phone players toward native Xash ports. A working phone launcher alone is not a usable touch-control scheme.

For WebXash multiplayer, enter a compatible server’s WebSocket address before launch, then use Multiplayer → LAN Game, even over the internet. Automatic internet discovery is unavailable. Use the client’s server instructions rather than a native server address alone.

If the browser client fails on your game or mod, retain the files and use the original native installation. Valve’s Half-Life is the original game product; browser-specific mod limitations should not be treated as a fault in that installation. Preserve exported progress separately, since selecting a different engine is not a guaranteed save conversion.