The Ultimate Portal Speedrun Guide

This guide will provide you with all the knowledge required to start speedrunning
Portal in a category of your choice, and showcase routes to improve your time. Use
the navigation panel to the left to select which category you would like to learn. It is
mostly designed to be used with the ​Source Unpack​ but can partially be used with
the plain Steam version of the game. ​This guide is a constant WIP.

The routes are mostly in order from slowest to fastest and additionally color coded
to identify the most commonly used ones easily.
Beginners follow the green highlighted routes.
Intermediate players follow the yellow highlighted routes.
Advanced players follow the red highlighted routes.

Portal Speedrunning Discord: ​https://discord.gg/Tvk9zP3

Portal Leaderboards:​ ​https://www.speedrun.com/Portal

Si vous préférez un tutoriel inbounds en français, Biiwix en a fait un

(légèrement obsolète):​ ​[Playlist]

Abbreviations and glossary of terms:

ABH / AFH / ASH Accelerated ​Ba

​ ckwards/​F​orwards/​S​ideways Hopping

SG Saveglitch

BSG Button Saveglitch

ISG Item Saveglitch

IL Individual Level

AAG / LAG / VAG A​cute/​L​arge/​Ve

​ rtical Angle Glitch

PQR Portal Quick Reentry

VWW Vertical Wall Warp

QC/QQC Quantum Crouch/Quick Quantum Crouch

Steampipe Steam version (more specifically, the name of a 2013 update

to all source games that made some glitches harder)
 Setup

Video explaining the Setup process

Resources
All resources (except livesplit) are also available from the leaderboard’s ​resources​ section.

Source Unpack​ (required for oob/inbounds/no sla, recommended for glitchless)

An older version of the game where certain glitches are easier and load times are shorter.

Demo Auto-recorder plugin​ (required for top 10 runs, recommended otherwise)

A plugin that automatically records demos for your runs.
Download the ​2007​ version for unpack, or the ​2013​ version for the steam version.
Installation instructions are available on the ​github page​, or below in the installation section.

Livesplit​ (required)
A timer with an autosplitter included.

Vault Save​ (recommended)

A save file and a demo file that you ​need​ to use if you want to skip the intro waiting time.

Pre-made Splits​ (optional)

An empty splits file for the autosplitter.

Portal Demo Timer​ (optional)

Times demos, giving you an (almost) exact time for your runs.
Note: Livesplit time is more accurate and is normally a second or two faster. Use that when
submitting runs.

Source Pause Tool​ (optional)

Has a number of useful features, including a saveglitch overlay (to see where you’re actually
aiming your portals during a saveglitch).

Listdemo+​ (optional)
Times single demos with ticks for ILs.
Installation

After downloading the ​Source Unpack​, install it to a location of your choice. This is
not​ required to be in a Steam related folder, and it’s probably a good idea to keep it
separate from any steam installation of the game. You don’t need the steam version
of portal installed, but you ​do,​ however, need to own Portal on Steam for it to be
usable. This is not a way to pirate the game!

After installation, make sure you can run the game by navigating to your Source
Unpack folder and executing the “Portal.bat” file. The correct version of Portal should
now start, assuming you have steam running.

To install the demo recorder, close Portal and navigate to your Source Unpack/portal
folder. Drag ​speedrun_demorecord-2007.dll​ (download link provided in resources
section above) into this folder , then go to your portal/cfg folder. Create a new text
file here, and paste the following line into it:
plugin_load speedrun_demorecord-2007.dll
Now save it as autoexec.cfg. Make sure it is saved as a .cfg file, not a .txt file, or this
won’t work! When you next load source unpack, you should see some green text in
the developer console saying ‘Speedrun_demorecord Loaded’.

Should you decide to use the ​Vault Save​, download it and unzip it into Source
Unpack/portal/SAVE. ​Be aware that if you want to skip the Vault, you are
required to use ​this​ file, making your own file is not acceptable.

Next, download, install, and launch ​LiveSplit​ if you have not done so already.
Though there are other speedrun timers out there, Livesplit is the only one that
removes the loading screens.
Should you have opted to download the ​Pre-made Splits​, unzip its contents into
livesplit/splits. Now all you have to do is right click into the LiveSplit window and
select “Open Splits” and they should appear as a selection.

If you want to make your own splits, select “Edit Splits”, type Portal as the game
name and select the game from the list. Set the category accordingly from the
dropdown beneath the game and make sure that “Game Time and Auto Splitting” are
set active (it will say Deactivate if it is enabled).
Make sure to add a split for ​every ​loading zone in the game, or your timer will stop
early! You should have 18 splits in total.
Then, go to ​“Compare Against”​ (by right-clicking the main window of LiveSplit) and
set this to ​“Game Time”​ to get the correct time without loads included.
Ingame Settings

Some routes use texture lineups, so you want to make sure that your Texture Detail
is ​at least​ set to high and that mat_dxlevel is set to 90​.​ It barely decreases your
frame rate, so keep it high even if your system is lacking. Make sure vertical sync is
disabled​. The rest of the graphical settings are not important. If you’re struggling to
get a decent frame rate, lower your resolution and set the games priority to high
within the task manager. (If these settings keep resetting, you can try adding ​these
console commands​ to your autoexec file)

To enable the developer console, go in to Settings > Keyboard > Advanced, and
check the “Enable Developer Console” box. You can now open the console with your
tilde (~) key, which is to the left of 1 on most QWERTY keyboards.

From here on, we will use the console to change key bindings and other settings.
The basic command to bind things is ​bind [key] [parameter]​ without the brackets.
You can use any key for any command, but this guide will use show examples with
commonly used keys. You can find a list of key names ​here​.

If you are ever unsure about the existence of a certain command, you can try and
find it via the ​find​ command in the console. For example; if you are unsure what
strafing left is called in the game, ​find left​ will show you every command that
includes the word “left”, in this case it will include +left and -left, +moveleft and
-moveleft, and we would want +moveleft for the strafing.

Now that you can at least navigate the console, let’s set up some other important
keybindings.

First off, we want ​+jump ​bound to our mousewheel. Type ​bind mwheelup +jump
and/or ​bind mwheeldown +jump ​into the console. This is very important in making
sure you can spam jump inputs fast enough to ABH consistently.
Next, we need a bind called ​toggle_duck. ​This is default on controllers and has
desirable properties for a few strats during inbounds runs. It permanently crouches
you until you press it again or jump.
Type ​bind # toggle_duck ​into console. Make sure to replace # with whatever key
you prefer. It is barely used in the run, but it should be easily accessible for you.

For easier Saveglitching, you want a bind that is separate from your normal
Quicksave and Quickload buttons (which can be set up from the menu). This is one
of two exceptions to the “only one action per key” rule. type ​bind # ​"​save
glitch;load glitch​"​ and then replace # with your preferred key. In this case, due to
spaces between words in the parameter, we need to surround it with ​“” ​to have the
game can recognize them. We also need to separate parameters with ​; ​so the game
knows that we want both of those executed together. It is also recommended that
you bind a key to load from this save: ​bind # ​"​load glitch​"​. This means if you mess
up during a saveglitch, you can easily try again without having to set up your initial
portals a second time.

If you’re doing any tricks that require 30 or 80 fps (used in advanced inbounds and
out of bounds), you also want to add fps_max 300 to the end of your normal
saveglitch command, so it becomes ​bind # “save glitch;load glitch;fps_max 300”
so that you don’t need an extra key to use when getting your fps back.

You might also want binds to enable and disable portal funneling, which is a setting
that helps you aim into floor portals. For certain tricks, we want this setting to be
turned off, but keep it on most of the time. Type ​bind #
“sv_player_funnel_into_portals 1”​ and ​bind # “sv_player_funnel_into_portals
0”​ and replace # with two easily accessible keys.

To quickly start a run that uses the demo auto recording plugin, we want a bind that
executes ​speedrun_start​. Since we rarely need it, you should probably put it away
from your normal binds. Type ​bind # speedrun_start ​and press that key whenever
you want to start a new run. To stop the demo recording after we finished a run,
speedrun_stop ​is used, so type ​bind # speedrun_stop ​and execute the command
after the time has stopped. You don’t need to execute this command when resetting
a run, since speedrun_start automatically stops the previous run.

You may also want to make a separate directory for your demos to be stored in - you
can do this by typing ​speedrun_dir "./run_demos/", ​although this is preference.

If you wish to adjust the field of view, this is possible with ​fov_desired 90.​ This will
set your fov from the default 75 to the highest number the game allows without
cheats, 90. Using 90 fov is recommended, but ultimately preference. It is also
possible to create 2 binds for different fovs if desired.

Another optional command is ​cl_showpos 1​ - this shows you your location in the top
left and is used by some people for setups instead of using texture lineups.

As mentioned earlier, we might want to change our fps values on the fly. For
Inbounds,you want to use ​bind # “save bsg;load bsg;fps_max 30” ​and for Out of
Bounds, you want ​bind # "save fps;load fps;fps_max 80"​. This is not necessary
when first learning the game and is the previously mentioned second exception to
the rules.
Unless you want to use the Vault Save you are ready to go! For the Vault Save we
need one more step, and that is to tell ​speedrun_start​ to not start from the
beginning, but from a pre-made save file. For that, simply type ​speedrun_save
vault​ into the console and your run start bind should now start your from the Vault
Save instead.

Command overview
(Note: # should be replaced with your preferred key)

bind mwheelup +jump

bind mwheeldown +jump
bind # toggle_duck
bind # ​"​save glitch;load glitch;fps_max 300​"
bind # ​"​save bsg;load bsg;fps_max 30​" (only if you do advanced 00/01)
bind # ​"​load glitch​"
bind # “sv_player_funnel_into_portals 1”
bind # “sv_player_funnel_into_portals 0”
bind # speedrun_start
bind # speedrun_stop
bind # ​"​save fps; load fps; fps_max 80​" (only if you do advanced OoB Chamber 10)
fov_desired 90
cl_showpos 1

With the exception of ​+jump​, all other keys labeled with # can be bound to whatever
you like most. As a general rule, movement options require a + before them, since
the game counts the button press and lift as 2 actions so + and -, however we don’t
need to bind -.
 Rules & Timing

Goal for Out of Bounds:

Beat the game as fast as possible.
Beat the game in one sitting, quicksaves and quickloads are allowed.

Goal for Inbounds:

Beat the game without having your camera or placed portals leave the map and
without scripts,macros or cheats.
Beat the game in one sitting, quicksaves and quickloads are allowed.
Should you peek oob by accident and DID profit from it - you have to load the last
save.

Goal for Glitchless:

Beat the game as fast as possible.
Beat the game in one sitting, quicksaves and quickloads are allowed.

Banned glitches:
- Turret killed Glados
- ABH, AFH, ASH
- Edge glitch, Save glitch, Clipping Glitch
- LAG, AAG
- Portal under door (in chamber 9)
- Super object throw
- Item Climbing
- Camera Fly
- Portal Bumping
- Quantum Crouch
- Any method of going OoB/placing portals OoB
- Button save glitch
- VWW

Version:
The Source Unpack is the main version used. You can do runs on the latest Steam
version, but note that not all tricks will be usable (mainly saveglitch)
Timing:
Timing begins when the crosshair appears and ends when it disappears after
GLaDOS' death.
Timing is done using in game time - LiveSplit is highly recommended due to its
auto-start/stop and load removal.
You are allowed to use the official save (resource section) to skip the vault.
You have to set livesplit to start at 53.01 seconds if you use the save.
Pauses have to be timed (Engine Ticks with Pauses)

Proof:
All runs HAVE to be submitted with some sort of proof in form of a video or demos.
In case of suspicion demos can be requested by the mods.
Videos have to show the full run from start to finish.
Demos can automatically be recorded with Maxxuss' demo plugin (see resources).
Demos including the vault.dem HAVE to be submitted if you decide to use the save
to skip the vault, videos are not sufficient.
As a result of the save implementation screenshots are no longer a valid proof and
will get rejected (as they should've always been...).
Top 10 runs HAVE to be submitted with a live recording with livesplit showing and
demos.

Allowed commands/bindings:
-Any bind that is accessible from the menu
-sv_player_funnel_into_portals binding (checkbox in the menu)
-toggle_duck binding (default controller bind)
-cl_showpos 1
-r_drawviewmodel 0
-binds for sensitivity
-save/load on one key binding
-save, fps_max [fps], load on one key binding
-custom named save binds
-demo plugin related binds
 Basic Movement
[Video showing off the basic movement options]

ABH
Accelerated Backwards Hopping or ABH is the main movement mechanic used in all
Portal categories with the exception of Glitchless.
To ABH, it is highly recommended to have bound jump to your mouse wheel.
While it is possible to ABH without the mouse wheel, it is very precise and
inconsistent to perform. The mouse wheel allows you to spam jump inputs much
faster than pressing a button, so we spend as little time on the floor as possible.

To initiate an ABH, you need a certain starting velocity. We can achieve this by
jumping forwards and turning 180 degrees in mid-air. At the same time, you want to
start holding your crouch key and let go of W. When you’re about to land, start
scrolling your mouse wheel. You want to keep scrolling in small controlled bursts
every time you get close to the ground. Don’t scroll too fast, or the game will ignore
your inputs.

This will build up your speed with every hop you perform. This is because of how
Valve tried to patch out bunnyhopping from the engine. Whenever the game detects
that you’re going above the speed limit (300 hu/s), it will push you in the opposite
direction of where you’re facing. This is why you need to be facing backwards for an
ABH to work. (There are workarounds for this, which are explained in the AFH
section).

If you’re having difficulty with this, you can also start an ABH by walking backwards
and jumping, instead of having to turn 180 in the air after your first jump. This has the
obvious downside of not being able to aim your ABH very easily. Aside from that, this
is no slower than doing the other method.

Adding minor strafes using the A and D key and moving your mouse in the opposite
direction midair will increase your acceleration, though this is more advanced.
Experimentation is highly encouraged. The parking lot in escape_02 is a great place
to mess around with this and practice ABH in general, and can be accessed using
the noclip cheat.
AFH
Accelerated Forwards Hopping or AFH is a variant of ABH, and isn’t used as often.
AFH requires an even higher starting velocity to work.
To AFH, you need to be facing the direction you want to go. Hold the S key in midair
and start scrolling every time you are about to hit the ground.
The game now thinks you are going backwards, and using the same logic as before,
will try to slow you down by applying forwards velocity. This requires a higher initial
velocity, since otherwise it will just slow you down like intended.
AFHing is used in Chamber 07 and Chamber 10, and also in some more advanced
strats, like the starting AFH in Chamber 11.
While those chambers give you enough initial velocity to AFH right away, if you want
to do it without the starting velocity, you need to either start with an ABH and turn
around after you gain enough speed, or learn to initiate it with circle strafing.
However, circle strafing is not considered basic movement.

ASH
Accelerated Sideways Hopping, or ASH, is not needed in Portal at all, and is more
commonly used in Half-Life 2. You can see where you’re going, with an ASH, and
you don’t need a high velocity to start one off, however it can be hard to control. You
can use it in certain places to cover short walking distances quickly, and it can be
used to pre-aim for the next portal shot by more advanced players. This is
considered more of an optimisation than a required strat.

To perform an ASH, start a forwards jump similar to the start to an ABH, but instead
of turning 180 degrees, turn about 45 degrees to the left or right.
If you turned 45 degrees left, you want to hold down both S and D, as you continue
jumping whenever you hit the ground. Exchange D with A if you’re facing right.

All movement options can transition into each other, including ASH from left to
right.
 Glitches

Edgeglitch

Edgeglitch is performed by standing on top or next to the edge of a portal, often it is

required that you get stuck for it.
This will cause your camera to dislocate from your body, allowing you to shoot
portals on the opposite portal from where you are.
Here is an example using the chamber 18 edgeglitch route:

On the lower left you see the player standing in edgeglitch position above and very
slightly away from the orange portal. On the blue side the “True Position” is facing
towards the floor ​because the blue portal is on the ceiling and facing a different
way than the orange portal. Looking up would cause the “True Position” to actually
face towards the wall on the right instead.
However since the blue portal and the target shot are separated by a wall, which
adds a certain distance, you will have to move a tiny bit forwards ​away ​from the
orange portal without exiting the “bubble” that counts as being Edgeglitched.
This now places the “True Position” directly above the door, allowing you to place a
portal in front of it and continuing the route using the same system again.
The blue portal will now be on the floor, once again at a different angle than orange
and the previous blue. This will change the way the “True Position” faces again.
To get the next shot you notice how the player has to look up onto the ceiling.

Meanwhile the “True Position” looks similar to this.

Your “True Position” and the view you see will do the same movements according to
how either sides portal is facing, everything is exactly mirrored.
Saveglitch
Saveglitch starts off the same as the Edgeglitch, while standing on top or next to the
edge of a portal your camera gets dislocated from your body, the difference is that if
you now save and then load that save you will be stuck in this state even if you move
away from the portal.

Collision while in the save glitch state is determined by what we call “Portal Physics
Bubbles.” These bubbles exist to provide very basic physics calculations while a
player is passing through a portal, before it is quickly updated to use the normal
physics. The 2 key differences with these physics bubbles compared to normal
physics are:

● Collision with the floor, walls and ceiling is only rendered in a small area
around the portal you have save glitched on (hence the term “bubble”)

● Only Props positioned in FRONT of the save glitched portal have collision
○ This means that props such as doors can be walked through like they
don’t exist if positioned behind the save glitched portal

Saveglitches get canceled by passing through a portal or getting too close to one.
Overall every action you perform is exactly mirrored for the “True Position” just like with a
normal Edgeglitch.

[Saveglitch collision video by jukspa]

LAG/AAG/VAG
LAG, AAG, VAG (Large Angle Glitch, Acute Angle Glitch, and Vertical Angle Glitch)
are all variations of the same exploit, abusing a bug in the “Unstuck Code”
implemented by the developers. All of these glitches end with the same result; The
game thinks you are stuck while passing through a portal, and attempts to move you
back through the portal in an attempt to get you unstuck. This results in your exit
location changing from as if you went from orange -> blue, to blue -> orange.

For example, if your portals were placed in such a way that if you passed through
your blue portal to your orange portal, you would move 100 units up, 200 units right,
and 300 units forward, you would instead be teleported the opposite direction (-100
units up, -200 units right, -300 units forward); the same as if you were to go from
orange to blue.

Now, despite all versions of this glitch having the same end result, each version has
different activation methods and requirements.
LAG: ​LAG requires the angled portal to be placed in such a way that it is at an
obtuse angle from the floor, and for the non-angled portal to be on a ceiling. This
method only works if you enter the portals from ceiling -> angled. The most common
and easiest place for this glitch to be used is in the beginning of ​chamber 19​.

AAG: ​AAG requires the angled portal to be placed in such a way that it is at an acute
angle from the floor, and for the non-angled portal to be on either the ceiling or floor.
This method only works if you enter the portals from angled -> ceiling. The easiest
demonstration of this glitch can be seen in ​Escape 01’s missile turret room​.

VAG: ​VAG is a weird one. It requires a portal to be placed on a wall in such a way
that it is at a right angle to the floor; The non angled portal can be at any orientation.
Activating this glitch requires you to pass through the portal, and to be standing at an
ultra precise point on the exact tick you go from one portal to the other. This trick is
not used RTA, the only time you may see it is ​if it happens to you by accident

Jukspa’s detailed video explanation of Angle Glitches

Vertical Wall Warp

Vertical Wall Warp is an out of bounds exclusive glitch, allowing you to warp either to
the top or the bottom of a wall located in out of bounds space.
The first step is to place a portal on the wall you want to warp up or down on. Next
you position yourself in this portal. Make sure that you are actually peeking out of the
portal on the target wall. Once you’ve done that crouch down, you will not get
warped if you are standing up in the portal.
Now, if you want to warp downwards, you simply save and load. Warping upwards
requires an extra step. Jump and while you are still in your upwards motion save and
load.
Warping upwards is used in the OoB speedrun, but warping downwards generally
isn’t (currently).
 Inbounds/No SLA
Note​: Not all inbounds strats are allowed in No SLA. As a general rule, if it’s
impossible to do the strat without loading a save, it’s not allowed in No SLA. For a
more precise definition, ​look at the rules on speedrun.com​.

Also note that Inbounds No SLA was previously known as Inbounds Legacy, in case
that category name is still referenced anywhere.

00/01
Beginner
◆ Intended​ ​(video)
The easiest route that beginners should start with. Current route for No SLA.

Intermediate
◆ Button Save Glitch (BSG)​ ​(video)
This is a very timing intensive strat that can reward you with 14 seconds of
timesave at the start of a run.

◆ Alternate BSG Method ​(to do: make video)

A different way to do BSG by jumping. Saves no time here, but ​may ​be more
consistent if you struggle with consistency of the save/loads. Requires tick
perfect timing.

02/03
Beginner
◆ Legacy​ ​(video)
The easiest route, which uses no saveglitches, and is therefore used in No
SLA.

Intermediate
◆ Saveglitch​ ​(video)
This route incorporates a saveglitch, with a shot that you have to shoot while
airstrafing. This also only saves 8 seconds if done perfectly.

◆ Peek Skip ​(to do: make video)

An optimization to the saveglitch that saves one portal shot. There are 2 ways
to do this, one that is not much harder than the normal strafe, and another
that is slightly faster but extremely difficult and not worth it.
04/05
Beginner
◆ Saveglitch​ ​(video)
Fastest route with a very simple saveglitch to effectively skip both chambers.

◆ Legacy​ ​(video)
Intended strats. Doesn’t use saveglitch, so this is used in No SLA.

Advanced
◆ Lamb04​ ​(​video)​
Saveglitch that saves a very small amount of time over the standard one, but
loses time over jumping the gap. Requires a very precise shot while moving.

◆ Gap Jump + AFH End​ ​(​video​)

Skipping the portalling over the gap in 04 by jumping over it before the portal
opens. Video also goes over an alternative AFH strat for the corridor to the 04
elevator.

​ ideo)​
◆ 06 In Front of Elevator​ (v
Saveglitch during the glados dialogue at the end of 05 to start chamber 6
outside of the elevator. Saves very little time.

06/07
All skill levels
◆ General​ ​(video)
Only viable route, which is neither precise nor difficult. Used in both Inbounds
and No SLA.

08
(Note: You can jump to the orange portal if portal peeking is too difficult, but all video
tutorials here will show the peeks.)
Beginner
◆ Left side​ ​(video)
Most commonly used route, which has you jump onto a block, and then onto
the ending platform.

◆ Right side​ ​(video)

 This route features a jump onto the invisible clipbrush above the orb catcher.
Use this easier, but slightly slower route if you can’t do the left route.

Intermediate
◆ Portal next to end platform​ ​(video)
Not recommended​. Similar to the standard left side, but replaces the jump
with a difficult airstrafe. This route has the potential to save 1 second if done
perfectly, but it’s very easy to mess up.

Advanced
◆ Circlestrafe over goo​ ​(video)
Considered by some to be the most consistent set up for ABH over goo.
Requires a precise circlestrafe and multiple +duck and toggle_duck inputs.

◆ Crisper’s over goo ​(video)

Alternative method for ABH over goo. Does not use a circle strafe but still
requires multiple toggle_duck inputs. Might be easier than the circle strafe
method if you are having trouble with that.

09
Beginner
◆ General​ ​(video)
Basic movement with a portal shot under the door.

Intermediate
◆ Save delay​ ​(video)
Saves 1-2 seconds over the standard method if done perfectly, but the
saveload timing can take a while to get used to.

10
Beginner
◆ Flings​ ​(video)
Basic flings, nothing special.

Advanced
◆ Doorlaunch​ ​(video)
Very​ difficult and unreliable strat that skips the last double fling, which saves
about 7 seconds if done perfectly.
11/12
Beginner
◆ Legacy​ ​(video)
The standard legacy route, meant for new runners.

Intermediate
◆ AFH Guide​ ​(video)
How to do the AFH right out of the elevator to instantly get to the orange
portal gun in preparation for a saveglitch.

◆ Softwall Saveglitch​ ​(video)

Static saveglitch, which uses a special kind of saveglitch called a softwall.
Should be relatively easy if you are familiar with save glitching.

◆ Orb Catcher Saveglitch ​(video)

Older saveglitch, generally about the same difficulty as the static saveglitch,
but a bit slower. If you have trouble with the AFH in the beginning, you can do
the ​Double Saveglitch​ method instead.

◆ Triple Edgeglitch ​(video)

Three edgeglitch shots from chamber 11 to skip to chamber 12. ​Only
recommended if you’re running No SLA.

Advanced
◆ Static SG w/ high orange​ ​(to do: remake video)
This uses a more advanced movement technique in the beginning,
maintaining your AFH to shoot the orange portal in the portal spawner. It
loses no time to attempt this every run, since you can fall back to the softwall
if you miss it.

13
Beginner
◆ Legacy​ ​(video)
Standard route for No SLA, and also definitely usable in standard inbounds.
Throwing the cube fast can be a bit annoying, but otherwise it shouldn’t be too
difficult.

➔ Intermediate
◆ Saveglitch​ ​(video)
 A somewhat precise saveglitch which saves a couple of seconds if done
correctly. It’s not too much faster so you can stick with the legacy route if you
find it harder.

14
➔ Beginner
◆ Fling​ ​(video)
A basic double fling, which is also easy to salvage if you mess it up.

➔ Advanced
◆ Reportal​ ​(video)
Has the potential to save about a second if done well, but has very precise
timing so is much harder to get consistently. Most top runners don’t go for
this.

15
➔ Beginner
◆ Legacy​ ​(video)
The standard No SLA route, meant for new runners who are not comfortable
with saveglitch yet.

➔ Intermediate
◆ Short Saveglitch ​(video)
Pretty much the same as legacy, but it uses a simple saveglitch instead of a
portal bump to get to the upper floor.

◆ Long Saveglitch​ ​(video)

An extended version of the short SG, with a few more portal shots.

➔ Advanced
◆ Early Saveglitch​ ​(video)
Traverses the entire chamber in one long saveglitch, but has one precise
shot.

◆ Quantum crouch​ (to do: make video)

Fast strat used in No SLA to shoot through the platform and skip the
observation room portal bumps.
16
➔ Beginner
◆ Saveglitch​ ​(video)
One of the easiest saveglitches, and helps you transition into learning the
16/17 turret preserve skip.

◆ Legacy ​(video)
The standard No SLA route. The saveglitch is easier and faster, so this isn’t
recommended unless you’re running No SLA.

➔ Intermediate
◆ Easier Turret Preserve ​(video)
Different version of the Turret Preserve route that is easier but loses about 4
seconds over the advanced strategy. ​(This route is still ​very​ challenging, and
is only in intermediate because the advanced version is much harder)

➔ Advanced
◆ Turret Preserve​ ​(video)
​ ifficult route that preserves a turret and your saveglitch, allowing you to
Very d
skip all of chamber 17.

17
Beginner
◆ Legacy​ ​(video)
Uses the Companion Cube to get past the orbs, and then portal bumps to the
final room. Used in No SLA.

Advanced
◆ Turret Preserve​ ​(video)​ ​(alternate video)
Second part of the 16/17 skip.

18
Beginner
◆ Legacy with flings ​(video)
The old legacy route, uses a single edge glitch. Not recommended.

◆ Double Edgeglitch ​(video)

 Two edgeglitches that get you past the door halfway through the chamber.
Only recommended if you’re running No SLA.

◆ eljesT’s blind SG​ ​(video)

Easy static blind saveglitch. Easier but slower than the intermediate versions.

Intermediate
◆ Dacciox's blind SG​ ​(video)
First version of the blind Saveglitch. Faster but slightly harder than eljesT’s
version.

◆ Crisper’s blind SG​ ​(video)

Another version of the blind SG.

◆ XeiZ's blind SG​ ​(video)

Different version of the blind SG.

Advanced
◆ End platform reportals ​(video)
Somewhat precise reportals to skip some of the end platforms. Saves a few
seconds each time. Please don’t do this if you don’t run No SLA.

19
Beginner
◆ Peeks ​(video)
Uses portal peeking to get to the end, not recommended.

◆ Short LAG​ ​(video)

A pretty easy LAG that gets you to the room above the fire pit.

Intermediate
◆ Loch Ness Monster​ ​(video)
A faster LAG route that warps you into some goo you have to swim out of
(hence the name). Leads in to Double LAG.

Advanced
◆ Double LAG​ ​(video)
The same as Loch Ness Monster, but with a second, difficult, additional LAG
that gets you to the very end of the map.
 ◆ No SLA Double LAG​ (video)
Double LAG, but using edge glitches and portal peeks instead of a saveglitch
to set up the second LAG. There is no reason to do this in regular inbounds.

Escape 00
Beginner
◆ Flings​ ​(video)
Basic route that is easy to perform, nothing special.

Intermediate
◆ Pistons​ ​(video)
Faster route that requires decent movement and portal shooting.

Advanced
◆ Mikael’s route ​(video)
Very difficult route that requires good movement, precise and quick portal
shooting. Pretty difficult and only recommended in No SLA.

◆ Saveglitch​ ​(video)
Quite difficult saveglitch that saves several seconds over other routes if
executed well.

Escape 01
Beginner
◆ Legacy​ ​(video)
Route for new runners who are uncomfortable with saveglitching, but is ​much
slower than the “Route 4” video listed below.

◆ Saveglitch 1 ​(video)
Outdated saveglitch route, not recommended.

Intermediate
◆ Szeimartin’s SG “Route 4”​ ​(video)​ ​-​ ​(alternate lineups)
Fastest route. Requires some precise shots, but pretty easy overall.

◆ Flippy Skippy Skip ​(video)

Harder optimization for No SLA. Also the best named strat of all time.

Escape 02
Beginner
◆ Flings + GLaDOS with incinerator ​ ​(video)
 Simple flings from start to finish, nothing too difficult. Skips the glados
dialogue using a turret. Uses the incinerator to destroy the cores, just like in a
normal playthrough.

◆ GLaDOS with Corefall Skip​ ​(video)

With this you can incinerate the cores without them having to fall out of your
portal into the shaft.

Intermediate
◆ Catwalk Skip​ ​(video)
Skips the long flings and the ABH on the bridge to get to the door as fast as
possible.

Advanced
◆ Double AAG​ ​(video)
Fastest route that requires good timing and is only worth it when going for
fastest times, saves roughly 8 seconds over Catwalk Skip.
 Out of Bounds

00/01
Beginner
◆ Intended​ ​(video)
The easiest route that beginners should start with and leads to the advanced
strat once you become more comfortable with the run.

Advanced
◆ Saveglitch​ ​(video)
A way to lose collision after the first portal opens, letting you fly right to the
elevator at the end. ​(alternative video)

Old Engine
◆

02/03
Beginner
◆ Saveglitch​ ​(video)
Simple saveglitch to the end.

Advanced
◆ Front of elevator​ ​(video)
Elevator skip using VWW, saves a small amount of time in 04.

Old Engine
◆

04/05
Beginner
◆ Single Saveglitch​ ​(video)​ (​ alt. video)
Single saveglitch to get to the end of 05. 2 different SG routes are shown.
 Advanced
◆ Front of elevator ​(video)
Multiple saveglitches to get you in front of the elevator in 06. ​Not
recommended due to 06 seamshot.

Old Engine
◆

06/07
Beginner

◆ Seamshot​ ​(video)
Very precise but simple shot set up in the previous chamber.

◆ Quantum Crouch ​(video)

Not recommended unless you have trouble with the seamshot, video also
shows a harder method.

Advanced
◆ Front of elevator​ ​(video)
A modified seamshot, followed by a very hard chain of actions to get you in
front of the elevator in 08.

Old Engine
◆

08
Beginner

◆ Peek​ ​(video)
Portal peeking from the starting platform to the tile, not too difficult.

◆ Jumping ​(video)
Jumping to the orange portal, not recommended.

Advanced
◆ ABH over goo​ ​(video)
Fast strat with multiple ways of doing it, this is ​really​ difficult and saves a very
small amount of time.

◆ OoB over goo​ ​(video)

 See 06 front of elevator strat. A modified ABH over goo, set up in the previous
chamber. Fastest strat.

Old Engine
◆

09
Beginner
◆ General​ ​(video)
Basic movement and a relatively easy shot under the door.

Advanced
◆ Saveglitch​ ​(video)
Added saveglitch to get to the front of the elevator in 10.

Old Engine
◆

10
Beginner
◆ Under elevator​ ​(video)
Doing chamber 10 twice to get under the elevator for 11.

Advanced
◆ VWW​ ​(video)
Using vertical wall warp to get on top of the chamber.

Old Engine
◆

11
Beginner
◆ Under elevator​ ​(video)
Starting from under the elevator, get to under the elevator at the end for 13.

◆ Easy Under elevator ​(video)

This is slower than the normal under elevator that starts in chamber 10, but if
you find yourself having trouble with it you can try this version.
 Advanced
◆ VWW start​ ​(video)
Lead on from the VWW strat in 10. Simple shots to under the elevator.

Old Engine
◆

13-18 ​(Combined due to similarity)

Beginner
◆ Under elevator​ ​(video)​ (​ important clarification)
Starting from 13 under the elevator, all chambers up to 18 are very fast and
similar, so the video explains all of them.

Old Engine
◆

19
Beginner
◆ Clipping glitch​ ​(video)
Clipping glitch to get back Out of Bounds.

◆ QC storage​ ​(video)
Easier alternative to the clipping glitch.

Old Engine
◆

Escape 00
Beginner
◆ General​ ​(video)
Basic portal shooting to get to the next load zone.

Old Engine
◆

Escape 01
Beginner
◆ General​ ​(video)
 Basic portal shooting to get to the next load zone.

Old Engine
◆

Escape 02
➔ Beginner
◆ PQR​ ​(video)
A series of portal shots and PQRs to get to glados’ chamber fast.

➔ Intermediate
◆ Corefall skip​ ​(video)
With this you can incinerate the cores without them having to fall out of your
portal in the incinerator, saves about half a second.

◆ Long PQR ​(video)

Long PQR to the end, requires good timing.

➔ Advanced
◆ AAG​ ​(video)
Similar route to inbounds but starting OoB and replaces the first AAG with a
PQR.

Old Engine
◆
 Glitchless
Chamber 00/01
All Skill Levels

Intended: [Video] Not much to say, an easy warmup to the run. You can try and throw the
cube in 00 but it doesn’t save much time.

Chamber 02/03
All Skill Levels

02 Intended: [Video] Get out of the elevator quickly to start the dialogue ASAP

03 Peeks: [Video] You can miss the elevator door trigger if you portal directly next to it, if
this happens walk back into the chamber and it should open.

Chamber 04/05
All Skill Levels:

04 Intended: [Video] Just the standard 04 solution. You can portal over to the door at the end
instead of walking.

04 Optimisations: [​Video 1] Some alternate faster routes that are slightly harder to execute
[Video 2]

05 Intended [Video] Not recommended, not very fast.

05 Fast [Video] You can pass back through the portal before shooting under the second
cube, if you have trouble with it not falling through. If a cube/cubes
doesn’t land on the button, jump off at the end and place them back on.
Chamber 06/07
Beginner

06 Easy: [Video] Basic route.

07 Fast: [Video] Shoot just above the line as you fall and it should be consistent.

07 Slow/Backup: [Video] Not recommended, pretty slow.

Intermediate

06 Fast: [Video] Not much faster, but not too difficult if you’re comfortable with
airstrafing.

Chamber 08
Beginner

Slow/Backup: [Video] You should only use this if you struggle with the other route.

Portal peek: [Video] Faster route that requires a bit of airstrafing.

[Video 2]

Intermediate

Jumping: [Video] Not recommended. Slightly faster but not worth going for unless you are
very consistent at it.

Chamber 09
Beginner

Intended: [Video]
 Portal peek: [Video] Slightly faster route that avoids walking to the cube

Intermediate

Cubethrow: [Video] Small optimisation that saves about one second.

Portal peek [Video] A faster but harder version of the previously listed portal peek route.
Optimisation:

Portal under [Video] Fast, but the cube can sometimes miss the portal. Video also shows a
Cube: small optimisation with a portal peek, but it’s worth noting - you can
easily miss the elevator trigger if you peek too far in, you need to make
sure you walk past the corner to trigger the elevator.

Chamber 10
Beginner

Flings: [Video] Basic flings, nothing special. ​Having portal funnelling on helps with the
last fling.

Intermediate

Portal stand: [Video] Tricky, skips the first fling though so it’s definitely worthwhile.

Chamber 11/12
Beginner

11 Easy: [Video] Jump to the gun and portal to the exit.

11 Optimisation: [Video] Fall onto the button, press it early and use it to jump to the wall. Saves
a bit of time.

12 Easy: [Part 1] The basic route for 12

[Part 2]
12 Platform Skip [Video] An easy way to skip a fling in 12. Can be used as a backup to the strafe
jump.

Intermediate

12 Strafe jump: [Video] Faster way to skip the first platform.

12 Cube throw: [Video] Saves around 5 seconds but is unreliable. If you miss, you either need
to reload and try again or jump down and put the cube on the button.

Chamber 13
All Skill Levels

Easy: [Video] Easy but slow route.

Cubethrow: [Video] Slightly faster route with less chance of death. If you miss the cube
throw, you can place a portal under the cube to try it again.

Chamber 14
Beginner

Easy [Video] Pretty slow, can be used as a backup

fling/backup:

Fast Fling: [Video] Not too hard, portal placement is very important.

Advanced

Reportal: [Video] Fastest route, reportal instead of using flings. Video is from an inbounds
tutorial but the basic strategy is the same.
Chamber 15
Beginner

Easy: [​Video] Basic route, pretty slow

Fizzler fling [Video] Can be pretty precise/inconsistent. Not recommended.

backup:

Intermediate

Fast fizzler fling: [Video] Not too difficult, saves several seconds and looks cool

Portal stands: [Video] Again, not too difficult. The last shots for the fling can be tricky but is
worth learning for the timesave.

Advanced

First cycle orb: [Video] Pretty challenging, saves several seconds

Chamber 16
Beginner

Easy: [Video] Slow but easy route in case you struggle with the harder strats.

Intermediate

Portal peeks: [Video] Can be difficult. You can use half of this route and half of the easy one
if you have trouble with certain parts.
Chamber 17
All Skill Levels

Beginner Camera [Video] Easier version of the camera stack trick that is a lot more forgiving but a
stack: bit slower.

Camera Stack [Video] One of the most annoying tricks in the run. Try to keep the camera
upright. Once up, grab the companion cube as fast as possible - make
a save before attempting the stack in case the cube falls off.

Chamber 18
Beginner

Camera door [Part 1] Another camera trick. Slowly walk in to the camera when you have it
wedge: [Part 2] against the door and it should lean up against it, then when you stand
on the button the camera will stop it from closing.
Note: Portal funneling on makes the last room much easier, just look
down and you’ll be funneled into the portal correctly.

Optimisation [Video] Not very hard and saves several seconds.

airstrafe:

Advanced

Reportals: [Video] Difficult reportals that save a small amount of time. Video is from an
inbounds tutorial, but the basic strategy is the same.

Chamber 19
Beginner

Easy: [Video] Using the ‘Spiderman’ portal stand to skip the moving platform.
Shooting through the pipe is ​not​ considered a glitch, as it does not have
portal collision.
 End reportal: [Video] Small, easy optimisation at the end that saves a second or two.

Intermediate

Portal peeks [Video] Not too difficult, but a larger margin for error. Don’t shoot too close to
the goo, it is very easy to take damage and die this way.

Escape 00
Beginner

Fling and portal [Video] Basic route that is fairly easy to perform, nothing special.
peeks:

Intermediate

Pistons/Fence [Video] Faster route that requires faster and more precise shooting.
room:

First Cycle Piston: [Video] Saves a few seconds if done correctly. Requires good movement and a
quickly placed portal.

Escape 01
Beginner

Basic route​: [Video] Basic route using the flippy skippy trick (aka TFSTFWST).

Vent Fling: [Video] Much faster than climbing a chair, can be tricky at first
Flippy non-skippy [Video] Very slow, only recommended if you really struggle with the flippy
(backup): skippy trick shown in the basic route

Chair glass break: [Video] Very inconsistent, not recommended

Intermediate

Turret glass [Video] Use a turret to break the glass instead of waiting on the rocket turret.
break: Much faster, if not a little tricky.

Turret glass break [Video] Removes any need to wait for the rocket turret.
optimisation:

Advanced

Flippy Skippy [Video] Very challenging but fast optimisation for the flippy skippy trick. Saves a
Skip (with Turret): lot of time and provides the portal for the turret glass break.

Escape 02
Beginner

Flings: [Video] Simple flings from start to finish, nothing too difficult.

GLaDOS fight: [Video] Not too tricky, shouldn’t give you any problems.

Intermediate

Catwalk skip: [Video] Skips the long flings and catwalk to get to GLaDOS as fast as possible.

Fast button press: [Video] Faster but trickier method to open the incinerator.

Advanced

Direct GLaDOS [Video] Fairly precise, but quite a bit faster than the standard route. Cuts down
rocket shots: on turret aim and rocket travel time.
 Misc / History Log

Segmented runs:

PDI - Portal Done Inbounds

Inbounds segmented run.

PDI explanation video

PDI commentary and explanation by Blizik.

TSSB #124 - Portal with Norferzlo, Noircat, xcd and Blizik

Podcast about PDI and Portal glitch history.

Portal Done Pro

Original Out of Bounds segmented run by DemonStrate.

Portal Done Pro-er

Old Out of Bounds segmented run.

Portal Done Por

Newest Out of Bounds segmented run. Still slower than current runs.

Other:

Dev Email exchange

Email to a Portal developer about certain glitches.

Portal World Record Progression

WR Progression video by summoning salt.

SDA Portal Page

Old SDA Page for Portal with some runs and commentary.
Custom Portal Gun Tutorial (Source Unpack)
Video tutorial for making a custom portal gun skin for the unpack version
of the game

Custom Portal Gun Tutorial (Steam version)

Text tutorial for making a custom portal gun skin on the steam version of
the game (slightly more complicated than unpack)

Old Tutorials:

Inbounds Tutorial by Phantom

Made in 2014.

Inbounds Tutorial by Blizik

Made in 2014.

Inbounds Tutorial by ThisBlue

Made in 2013.

This guide was created by the entire Portal Speedrun Community.