CS2 console commands: enable the console, bind a key, launch options

The developer console in Counter-Strike 2 is a text box for running commands and changing global settings. It is switched on in the game settings. This guide covers that step, what to do if the console closes while you type, and which commands and launch options Valve has named in its support pages and patch notes.

It is not a full command list. Steam Support says only that a partial list of commands is available in the Valve Developer Community, and the commands below are the ones Valve itself mentioned, as of the Jan. 29, 2026 update.

How to enable the console in CS2

Steam Support describes the console as “a text-based input/output interface to execute commands or change global settings in a game.” For Counter-Strike 2, the steps are:

1. Launch Steam and start Counter-Strike 2.
2. From the main menu, select the gear icon to open Settings.
3. Under the Game tab, in the Game section, find Enable Developer Console (~).
4. Click the arrow next to it so that it says Yes.

In the gameSettings›Game›Enable Developer Console (~)

The ~ key opens the console on English/US keyboard layouts, Steam Support wrote. Other layouts may need a different key, covered below.

What to do when the console closes as you type

Steam Support says that if the console disappears when you start typing, the cause is often the operating system’s language setting. Users with non-English keyboard layouts are affected most. It lists three fixes.

Fix 1: switch the keyboard to English

Set your keyboard layout to English. Steam Support says the exact steps depend on your operating system and version, so check the manufacturer’s support site.

Fix 2: press a vowel, then backspace

Each time the console opens, press A, E, I, O or U and then backspace. After that you can enter your command.

Fix 3: bind another key to toggleconsole

Bind a different key to the toggleconsole command. Steam Support says not every key works: avoid normal typing characters and numbers.

Steam Support gives this example, and says the usual default is bind "~" "toggleconsole":

bind "F12" "toggleconsole"

The page says you may need to edit config.cfg or userconfig.cfg to add the bind, using Notepad. That page covers Valve games in general and gives no CS2 folder, so confirm in the game that a bind took effect.

Valve has changed key handling in CS2 since launch. In the Sept. 29, 2023 release notes, it wrote that binding toggleconsole to mouse1 is disallowed, “since it was preventing normal menu interactions.” On Nov. 30, 2023, it wrote that it changed handling of non-default console key bindings to match CS:GO behavior. The Feb. 15, 2024 notes say scancode-based key bindings were fixed and “Bindings are now independent of input locales.”

Commands Valve has named

These commands appear in Valve’s CS2 release notes. The notes describe what each does in a line, so check any command in the game before relying on it.

On the last row, Valve wrote that if the player accepts, some of the modified settings (radar, viewmodel, safezones and others) are kept after the map exits. The same update restricted community maps to a smaller list of allowed console commands. Valve wrote that the -disable_workshop_command_filtering flag turns that filtering off.

The Feb. 15, 2024 notes also added a performance diagnostic HUD element, called “Telemetry,” that can be configured in the Game Settings menu.

Server-side commands

Valve’s notes also name commands for server operators:

• mp_modify_timeouts adds or subtracts a tactical timeout from the CT or T team, for example if a backup file is restored or a team took a tactical timeout instead of a technical one (Feb. 15, 2024).
• tv_secure_bypass is a server setting that lets HLAE observers connect to VAC-secure CSTV servers (Feb. 15, 2024).
• sv_logfile 1 enables server logging, either with +sv_logfile 1 -serverlogging on the command line or in a config file. In a config file Valve also listed log on (Sept. 29, 2023).
• logaddress_add_http forwards logs over HTTP once logging is enabled (Sept. 29, 2023).

Launch options

Launch options change settings before the game starts. Steam Support says many console commands can work as launch options if you put a + in front, but some cannot.

To set them:

1. Open your Steam Library.
2. Right-click the game’s title and select Properties.
3. On the General tab, find the Launch Options section.
4. Enter the options, separating each with a space.
5. Close the Properties window and launch the game.

These options appear on Steam Support’s common list:

For dedicated servers, Valve gave this reference command line in the Sept. 29, 2023 notes:

cs2 -dedicated +map de_dust2

Valve also wrote on Nov. 9, 2023 that certain commands given on the command line, such as playdemo, are deferred until the main menu has fully loaded.

FAQ

How do I open the console in CS2?

Turn on Enable Developer Console (~) in the Game tab of Settings, then press ~ on an English/US keyboard layout. For other layouts, Steam Support points to its page on changing the console key.

Why does the console close when I start typing?

Steam Support says the cause is often the operating system’s language setting, mostly with non-English keyboard layouts. Switching the keyboard to English, pressing a vowel and then backspace, or binding toggleconsole to another key are its three fixes.

Can I bind the console to a mouse button?

Not mouse1. Valve disallowed binding toggleconsole to mouse1 in the Sept. 29, 2023 update because it prevented normal menu interactions.

What does the -console launch option do?

According to Steam Support, it starts the game with the developer console enabled. The page does not list CS2 by name, so test it in the game.

Where can I find a full list of commands?

Steam Support points to the Valve Developer Community for a partial list of available commands. It adds that many commands have prefixes that hint at what they deal with.