How do I extract Source Engine .vpk files?

Solution 1:

Yes, and it's included with the game itself. (This method was tested on Windows using Team Fortress 2.)

• Go to the folder Steam is held in. This varies depending on your OS.
  
• Next, go to the steamapps/<username>/<game_here>/ folder. I will be using Team Fortress 2 (under the team fortress 2 folder.)
  
  • might also be called "common" instead of your username.
• Under the tf folder (or hl2 for Half-Life 2/Portal), find the file ending in _dir.vpk. I'm using tf2_sound_vo_dir.vpk (the characters' voices), but any .vpk file will work.
  
• Drag all of the .vpks onto the "vpk.exe" file. You should do this with two windows to make things easier.
• Once this finishes, go to a folder named tf2_sound_vo_dir in bin/ (the folder where vpk.exe is stored).
  
• Inside is a bunch of folders. Those are the files that were inside the .vpk.
  
• To compile into a .vpk, drag a folder filled with your files (for example, test_vpk) down to vpk.exe. This should compile into a file named test_vpk.vpk.
  
  

If this is wrong, or you have a method for another OS, either edit it or leave a comment.