CS2 released in September 2023, and while many believe it’s just CS:GO with a fresh coat of paint, there are plenty of new features accessible in the beloved franchise’s sequel. Most of these features can be accessed via the game’s menus, but for everything at once, the console is your best friend.
Many Counter-Strike players don’t even use the game’s menus despite them featuring numerous basic features now. For some, it’s easier to input a string and a value into the client’s console to immediately run commands or change a setting.
Here’s how to turn on the console in CS2, as well as a quick guide on how to open and use it.
How to enable the console in CS2
There are two ways to enable the console in CS2. The easiest method is to toggle the “Enable Developer Console” setting in the main menu, while the other requires you to input a launch command on Steam.
Most users will do just fine by changing the setting in the main menu. Click the Settings cog in the top left, and navigate to the Game tab. The Enable Developer Console option is in the first section of options on your screen, second from the bottom. Simply switch it to “Yes,” and you’re on your way.
Alternatively, you can add a command in your game’s launch options, essentially forcing the setting to “Yes” whenever you start the game. To do so, follow these steps:
- Open your Steam Library.
- Navigate to Counter-Strike 2.
- Right-click and select Properties.
- Scroll down to Launch Options and add “-console” (without the quotes) to the text box, then close the window.
Now, whenever you launch CS2, the console is ready for you to use.
Opening the console in CS2
By default, once you’ve enabled the console in CS2, you’ll have to hit tilde (~) to open the console window during a match or in the main menu.
If you’d prefer to use the tilde key for something else, you can rebind the key needed to open the console in your keyboard and mouse settings. To rebind the console key:
- Open your game settings in the top-left.
- Select the “Keyboard / Mouse” tab.
- Under Keyboard & Mouse Settings, scroll to the UI Keys settings. The final option is the default key for Toggle Console.
- Click the setting on the right, then when prompted, enter your new key bind.
What can you use the console for in CS2?
CS2’s console gives players almost unlimited access to the backend settings for their client—far more than the game’s menu grants. It’s an essential tool for Counter-Strike, with the ability to tweak your crosshair and sensitivity, adjust volume, join and leave community servers, display performance statistics, and so much more.
You can even enable cheat commands, but it goes without saying this won’t work on the majority of servers and is really only available in private sessions.
Useful CS2 console commands for beginners
We’ve included a number of simple console commands that many players use often in CS2. For most of these, you’ll only need to enter them into the console once, but others may require re-entry each time you load the game.
- disconnect: Disconnects you from the current server and takes you to the main menu.
- quit: Closes the game immediately, taking you to your desktop.
- fps_max <amount>: Sets a hard cap on your FPS. Replace <amount> with the FPS value you’d like to max out at. It is recommended players select a high number (over 800) regardless of whether they’ll reach that mark.
- voice_enable 1: Turns on voice chat for all players.
- voice_enable 0: Disables all voice chat
- sv_cheats 1: Enables access to cheat commands.
- sv_cheats 0: Toggles off the access to cheat commands
- noclip: Enables Counter-Strike’s Noclip mode, allowing you to fly freely around the map. Enter the command again to disable Noclip. Even better, I recommend binding it to a key, which brings us to:
- bind <key> <command>: The basic key bind command in Counter-Strike. Replace <key> with your chosen key, and <command> with what you want the key to do. To see what is bound to a certain key, drop the <command> and the console will display what is currently attached to a key.
- help <command>: Gives a short description of what the chosen command does. Replace <command> with the command of your choice.
- clear: Wipes the console clear of all commands and messages.
- volume 0.x: Puts the volume at a certain level, where you need to replace x with the number you want to set it on.
- bot_add: Adds a bot in a practice match.
- bot_place: Places a bot in a certain place in practice match.
- kill: Eliminates you if you’re stuck or in need of a quick and immediate death.
