For anyone serious about tweaking their gameplay or testing new settings in Counter-Strike 2, the developer console is a must-have tool. This built-in feature allows you to input commands that can fine-tune your game, help with troubleshooting, or unlock advanced options. If you’re new to CS2 or have never used the console before, don’t worry—this guide will explain everything you need to know about how to open the console in CS2 and why it’s worth using!

Contents

• Steps to Open the Console
  • Enabling the Console
  • Opening the Console
  • Changing the Console Key
• What You Can Do with the Console
  • How to Use sv_cheats

Steps to Open the Console

Here’s how to enable and open the console in CS2: 

Enabling the Console

To get started, enable the console it in your game settings. When you launch CS2, head to the Settings menu and locate the Game tab. Here, you’ll find the option labeled Enable Developer Console (~)—set this to “Yes” to activate the feature. If you skip this step, the console won’t work.

Opening the Console

Once the console is enabled, opening it is as simple as pressing the tilde key ~ on your keyboard. Typically located below the Esc key, this shortcut brings up the console window, where you can start entering commands. Confirm commands with Enter. If nothing happens when you press the tilde key, double-check that you’ve enabled the console in your settings.

Changing the Console Key

Want to use a different key to open the console? Head to Settings > Keyboard/Mouse and find “Toggle Console” on the list. Here, you can set the key that will open the console during gameplay if the default ~ doesn’t suit you. 

What You Can Do with the Console

The console in CS2 serves as a gateway to customization and experimentation. Here’s a list of the most popular uses for the console:

• Adjusting your crosshair to change its size, color, shape, and finer points like the thickness of the outline
• Showing FPS during gameplay and capping FPS: useful for monitoring and optimizing your system’s performance
• Change your FOV (Field of View) to see more of your surroundings or get a more zoomed-in view
• Hide the HUD: useful for recording your gameplay or taking better screenshots
• End warmup before the match
• Adjust your viewmodel, which means changing the position of your character’s hands and weapon
• Change your mouse sensitivity settings for better control and easier flick shots
• Bind actions to specific keys and buttons, or use more advanced movement techniques, such as binding jump to the scroll wheel

The console is also super-useful for setting up better practice sessions—you can:

• Control the time in a round, make yourself immortal, get infinite ammo, show grenade trajectories, and lots more, using CS2 practice commands
• Add or remove bots, and change bot difficulty for more efficient practice tailored to your skill level
• Try out different knife types with knife commands

Note that some of these commands—especially the practice ones—require sv_cheats. But what does that mean? 

How to Use sv_cheats

The command sv_cheats 1 enables basic cheats in the game, allowing you to use other commands that make you immortal, give you cash, nades, infinite ammo, and so on. sv_cheats is not allowed in official servers, for obvious reasons: because they’re cheats. However, you can safely use sv_cheats in private servers and practice sessions. 

Whether you’re tweaking your crosshair, optimizing performance, or practicing your utility lineups, the console is your key to unlocking a whole new level of customization. Now you know how to open the console in CS2, have fun experimenting with your settings!