How to Enable and Open the CS:GO Developer Console

Overview

The developer console in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is where many useful commands live. It lets you enter settings that can show performance details, adjust gameplay behavior, troubleshoot server or match issues, and fine-tune your setup without digging through every menu.

CS:GO keeps the console disabled by default, so pressing the usual console key may do nothing at first. That is not your keyboard being dramatic. You just need to turn the feature on in the game settings.

Enable the Developer Console

Follow these steps from inside CS:GO:

1. Launch CS:GO.
2. Open the Settings menu.
3. Select the Game category at the top.
4. Find Enable Developer Console in the first group of options.
5. Open the dropdown and change it to Yes.
6. Press the `~` key on your keyboard.

If the setting was changed correctly, the console window should appear over the game. From there, you can type or paste commands into the input field and submit them.

Run a Console Command

Once the developer console is enabled, commands become available during matches, on servers, and from some menu screens. A simple first test is the FPS display command, which shows your current frames per second in-game.

1. Join a server or load into a match.
2. Press `~` to open the console.
3. Click the text field at the bottom of the console if it is not already active.
4. Type or paste this command:

```text cl_showfps 1 ```

1. Press Enter or use the submit button.

After the command is accepted, an FPS counter should appear while you play. To turn it back off, open the console again and enter:

```text cl_showfps 0 ```

This same pattern works for most CS:GO console commands. Open the console, enter the command exactly, then submit it.

If You Cannot Find the Console Setting

The settings menu includes a search field. If Enable Developer Console is not obvious, use the search box and type the setting name. CS:GO should jump directly to the matching option, which is much faster than scanning every category one by one.

If the Console Will Not Open

If the developer console is enabled but `~` still does not open it, check the assigned keybind. The console key can be changed, removed, or conflict with some keyboard layouts.

To verify it:

1. Open Settings.
2. Go to Keyboard / Mouse.
3. Select UI Keys.
4. Find Toggle Console.
5. Assign a key you can easily reach.

After setting the keybind, return to your match or menu and press the assigned key again.

Final Notes

The CS:GO developer console is hidden by default, but enabling it only takes a few settings changes. Once active, it stays enabled unless your configuration resets or you manually turn it off. With the console available, you can use commands to view performance information, adjust preferences, and customize how the game behaves during a match or server session.