The console has always been a very important feature in Counter-Strike. It is through it that basic and advanced commands are executed.

Why do I need the console?

The short answer is: maybe you don't really need the console.

It wasn't always like this, but in the current version of Counter-Strike almost everything you need is available in the game's options menu.

In older versions, interfaces (called GUI - Graphic User Interface) (generally produced by championship organizers - I always had mine :D) and customized settings were required.

Why then should I worry about this and continue reading this post?

Answer: As I said, you can do almost everything through the game menu, but some cool features can be performed at the console, for example: performing a configuration, connecting to a community server like CS2 servers by Duality, among others.

How to activate the console in CS2?

  • 1) On the CS2 home screen, go to Settings (represented by the gear).

    Settings button in CS2

  • 2) In the tab menu on this screen, click on "Game".

    Game tab in CS2

  • 3) Look for the option called "Enable developer console".

    Enable developer console option in CS2

  • 4) Activate the option by changing the value to "Yes".

    Option activate developer console in CS2 selected with value YES

  • 5) Open the console by pressing the "quote" key (').

    Open CS2 console

It's still not working, what now?

For some people, it may be necessary to perform one more step: configuring the key responsible for opening the console.

To do that:

  • 1) Again on the CS2 home screen, go to Settings (represented by the gear).

    Settings button in CS2

  • 2) In the tab menu on this screen, click on "Keyboard / Mouse".

    Keyboard / Mouse Tab in CS2

  • 3) Search for "UI Keys".

  • 4) Click on the option "Toggle Console".

    Change option Toggle Console in CS2

  • 5) Press the key you want to use to open the console, it can even be the default key "quotes" (').

  • 6) Open the console by pressing the configured key.

Main commands for Counter-Strike 2


  • • cl_showfps: Shows your FPS. Changing the values between 1, 2 and 3 changes the amount of information that is shown. Changing it to 0 disables the FPS display.

  • • fps_max: Limits the number of Frames Per Second. We suggest leaving it at 0 so that it is unlimited.

  • • cq_netgraph 1: Shows your latency in a graph mode. It's interesting to see if you're having any problems with your internet, but we suggest not leaving it enabled all the time as it can slow down your CS2, cause crashes and FPS losses.

  • • +cl_show_team_equipment: Shows your teammates' weapons and utilities above the characters.

  • • connect <IP>:<PORT>: Used to connect to a server. Used together with the password command to connect to servers protected by a password. Example: connect 192.168.0.1:27016; password 123

  • • disconnect: Used to disconnect from the server.

  • • noclip: Used to fly around the map. For this command to work, the cheats setting on the server must be enabled. For obvious reasons it is not allowed to fly during matches hahahaha. This option is most used for individual or team training, where you can test positions where you would need help from a teammate or get to some places faster.

Binds that may be useful

Binds are commands to assign actions to keys. It is through this that the game knows that it needs to perform actions with certain keys pressed. If you press "w", your character will generally move forward, unless you have modified this "bind". Do you understand the idea?

Below I have brought some binds that can be very useful in training or matches.

jump throw

Some grenade pixels only work if you jump and throw the grenade. If you want to jump and throw the grenade with perfect timing, you can execute the following commands:

  • • alias "+boing" "+jump"
  • • alias "+ding" "-attack; -attack2"
  • • alias "+dong" "-jump"
  • • bind "X" "+boing; +ding; +dong"

In the last command, replace "X" with the key you want to jump and throw the grenade.

noclip

Use the command below to "bind" a key to the noclip command:

• bind "X" "noclip"

Replace "X" with the key you want to execute the noclip command.

Remembering that "sv_cheats" must be enabled on the server - you can do this on your CS2 by Duality server.

More commands

You can check all the commands in Valve official page.

Conclusion

Today you learned what it is for, how to use it and the main commands of the CS2 console.

If you are new to the game and just starting out, my suggestion is that you don't get too attached to the settings files and console commands. There are interesting features but a wrong configuration can do more harm than good. Use it to connect to a community server like the Duality servers instead of modifying everything.

Some things can still be optimized using console commands, but from what we've noticed, Valve has removed some commands, which shows that they are moving towards simplification.

Will we be able to survive without the console in future versions of Valve's FPS? Only time will tell.