Where Are Portal 2 Save Files Located?
Portal 2 SAVE folder on Windows, macOS and Linux, why it lives in the install directory, and how Steam Cloud affects copies.
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Portal 2 keeps chapter saves in a SAVE folder inside its own install directory under portal2, grouped by Steam ID. That placement dates to an era before userdata sync standardized everything. Config files sit nearby in cfg with the same per machine flavor.
Copying between machines works fine with the game closed. Let Steam Cloud finish syncing first, then pause it during the swap so the cloud copy does not overwrite your restore. Coop progress unlocks per account, so each player keeps a separate ID folder.
Where Portal 2 stores this, by platform
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\portal 2\portal2\SAVE
Each numbered subfolder is one Steam account. Replace the Steam root if your library moved. Copy the ID folder whole with the game closed.
~/Library/Application Support/Steam/steamapps/common/portal 2/portal2/SAVE
Same install relative layout as Windows. Use Go > Go to Folder in Finder. Workshop maps cache apart from these chapter saves.
~/.steam/steam/steamapps/common/Portal 2/portal2/SAVE
Native Linux build shares the layout. Mind the capital P in Portal 2 on case sensitive filesystems when typing the path.
Frequently asked questions
Does Portal 2 use Steam Cloud?
Yes for saves. Wait for sync to finish, close the game, make your move with Cloud paused, then launch once to confirm before re-enabling sync on both machines.
Where are Portal 2 custom maps?
Workshop subscriptions download apart from SAVE, managed by Steam. Chapter progress in SAVE references them, so resubscribe on the new machine first.
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