FAQ
The answers, before you pay
Including the awkward ones. What it installs, what Windows will say about it, what the trial takes from you and what Studio actually costs to run.
01What it is
What is LibertyHUD?
One Windows app for the whole broadcast: one-click league match import, a broadcast-grade HUD, animated pre/post-match screens, freezetime cinematics. And Jeff, the AI observer, running the camera. It all reaches OBS as a single browser source.
Which games are supported?
Counter-Strike 2. That focus is why the observer, HUD and screens go deeper than general-purpose tools.
Does the AI observer really run on my PC?
Yes. Jeff v2.0 is a 2.72-million-parameter neural network that runs locally on your CPU, next to the game. Your camera never waits on someone else's cloud. And we never meter it.
Can I take over from Jeff mid-match?
Anytime. Grab the wheel and he keeps working under you; hand it back whenever. Every decision he makes lands in his shift log, so you always know why the camera moved.
Can it look like my league?
Yes. Team logos, sponsor and league branding slots are built in. And Studio, the AI customizer, rebuilds the HUD and screens from a plain-language description into your own pack.
02Will it run on my setup
What do I need to run it?
64-bit Windows 10 or 11, on the same PC that runs CS2. OBS, or anything else that takes a browser source. And an internet connection: your packs and broadcast assets are downloaded from your account rather than shipped inside the installer, so the app needs to reach libertyhud.com to have anything to serve to OBS. LibertyHUD configures the observer setup itself, so there are no cfg files and no launch options. It installs to your user folder, with no administrator prompt, and it installs one other thing: HLAE, which is the next answer.
Does it install anything else?
Yes, one thing: HLAE (advancedfx), the open-source tool the cinematic camera, the in-game x-ray glow and the observer hooks are all built on. LibertyHUD does not run without it, so it fetches it for you: a 9 MB download from the official advancedfx release on GitHub, checked against a pinned checksum before anything is written, into LibertyHUD's own folder under your user profile. It starts on its own shortly after the app does, and it waits while you are recording or live. Nothing is installed into Windows itself, and you can drop the files in by hand instead if you would rather.
My antivirus quarantined something. What happened?
Almost certainly HLAE. It injects a DLL into CS2, which is exactly the shape of thing heuristics flag, so some antivirus tools remove it even though it is the unmodified official build. The fix is an exclusion for LibertyHUD's folder, and it has to go in first: without it the file is simply removed again on the next attempt. The app tells you the exact folder path and stops re-downloading into the same trap. If HLAE goes missing while you are on air, the broadcast you are already running keeps going.
Can HLAE get my account VAC banned?
Used the way LibertyHUD uses it, no. VAC only scans and bans on VAC-secured servers, and broadcast production never touches those: you work from demo files, GOTV and LAN or observer sessions. LibertyHUD launches CS2 the way the HLAE project itself recommends, with -insecure and +sv_lan 1, which turns VAC off for that session and keeps the client off secured servers. That is how observers and content creators have run HLAE for years. The one real hazard is manually joining a VAC-secured or official matchmaking server while HLAE is loaded, which the advancedfx project says plainly will probably get you banned. To remove all doubt, use a dedicated Steam account for production and never queue for matchmaking on it. A VAC ban is permanent and covers the whole game, but it does not block watching demos or GOTV, so it never touches your production workflow.
Windows says it doesn't recognise the publisher. Is that normal?
Yes, and it happens every time until our code-signing certificate lands. LibertyHUD isn't signed yet, so Windows doesn't know who published it and shows “Windows protected your PC” the first time you run the installer. Click More info, then Run anyway. Edge may also ask you to keep the download. That dialog is a reputation check rather than a virus check, and a brand-new publisher has no reputation by definition. The certificate is in progress and the warning goes away once it clears.
How many machines can I use it on?
Two at a time. Signing the app in takes a seat for about 14 hours, so a reboot in the middle of a production changes nothing, and starting a third machine offers to take a seat over from one of the other two rather than refusing you. A broadcast PC plus a caster laptop is the normal setup. It's a limit on simultaneous use, not a lock to particular hardware.
03Trial, price and credit
How does the free trial work, and do I need a card?
7 days, the full product, and yes: checkout asks for a card up front so the subscription can convert without you having to do anything. Nothing is charged during the trial. Cancel before day 7 from Account, then Manage billing, and you pay nothing at all. One trial per account, and your trial end date sits on your account page so the first charge is never a surprise.
What does it cost?
$20 a month or $200 a year, in US dollars. One plan: every feature and every update while you're subscribed, with no hour packs and nothing metered. Tax is added at checkout where it applies. The one thing sold separately is Studio credit, below.
Is there an hour limit on auto-observing?
No. Because Jeff runs on your hardware, we don't sell observer hours. Stream one game a month or a hundred, same flat subscription. Metered hour packs are the other guys' business model.
What is Studio credit, and why isn't it included?
Studio credit is a prepaid balance that pays for Studio, and only Studio. Everything else is flat: the HUD, the screens, the cinematics, league sync and unlimited observing with Jeff are all covered by the subscription with nothing metered. Studio is the exception because it calls AI models and runs a cloud sandbox on our account, and both cost real money every time you run a job. You top up in $10, $25 or $50 packs and get the same amount of credit, one for one, and every model call and every second of sandbox time is written to a ledger you can read in your account. A Pro subscription and a positive balance are both needed to use Studio; neither replaces the other. Credit doesn't expire while your account exists.
Can I get a refund?
Yes. Ask within 14 days of a charge and we refund it in full: no deduction for the days you used, and no proof required. Unspent Studio credit is refundable within 14 days of the top-up that bought it. Credit you've already spent is not, because it has already paid for AI inference and compute we bought from someone else. The full policy, including chargebacks and business customers, is on the refund page.
Still stuck
The video walkthroughs cover setup end to end, and the terms, privacy policy and refund policy are the long-form versions of everything above. Anything else, write to us.