Tactical shooter · PC

Counter-Strike 2 controls & keybinds

CS2 inherits the classic Counter-Strike layout: WASD, Shift to walk, Ctrl to crouch, number keys for weapon slots and a buy menu on B. Most of the game's depth sits in the console and custom binds layered on top of these defaults.

The keys people look up first

Counter-Strike 2 controls at a glance

Default bindings for the actions searched for most. The full lists, the settings that change how they feel and the printable layout are below.

Action	PC
Crouch	`Left Ctrl`
Jump	`Space`
Melee	`3`
Reload	`R`
Aim / ADS	`Mouse 2`
Ping / mark	`Mouse 3`
Chat / voice	`K`
Scoreboard	`Tab`

The rest of this game, drawn

Two pages, and they are not interchangeable: this is the reference you look a binding up in, the other measures the hand pressing it. Both figures below are counted from what each page holds.

26 bindings keyboard26controller0settings8 in 3 CS2 controls You are here 1 input type keyboardyescontrollernotouchscreenno CS2 input lab Builds a config you can read line by line, and tests your counter-strafe release.

LMBFireRMBSecondary fire / scope / silencerMMBPlayer pingM4unboundM5unboundScroll ↑Cycle weaponsScroll ↓Cycle weapons

Highlighted keys carry a default action; hover or tap a key for every action bound to it.

Action	Default key
Movement
Move	`W / A / S / D`
Walk (silent)	`Left Shift`
Crouch	`Left Ctrl`
Jump	`Space`
Combat
Fire	`Mouse 1`
Secondary fire / scope / silencer	`Mouse 2`
Reload	`R`
Primary weapon	`1`
Secondary weapon	`2`
Knife	`3`
Grenades (cycle)Individual grenade keys are unbound by default; bind them in Settings or the console.	`4`
Bomb (C4)	`5`
Last weapon used (quick switch)	`Q`
Drop weapon	`G`
Inspect weapon	`F`
Cycle weapons	`Scroll Up / Scroll Down`
Interface
Use / defuse / open doorHold E on the bomb to defuse; a kit halves the time.	`E`
Buy menu	`B`
Scoreboard	`Tab`
Player pingMiddle mouse marks a spot for the team.	`Mouse 3`
Choose team	`M`
Radio commands	`Z / X / C`
Voice (push to talk)	`K`
Chat / team chat	`Y / U`
Spray graffiti	`T`
ConsoleEnable the developer console in Settings › Game first.	`

Settings that change how the bindings feel

Recommended starting settings

Almost everything worth changing in CS2 lives in two places the menu does not advertise: the radar block, where four rows produce the full-map view every professional stream uses, and the console, which is the only way to reach the rest. Raw input is no longer on that list — it is hardcoded now and the convar is gone.

Keyboard / Mouse → Mouse

Mouse Sensitivity 1.0 – 2.0 at 800 DPI 0.1 – 10

800 – 1600 eDPI, the band almost the entire professional field lives in. The raw input switch guides still tell you to check is gone: CS2 reads the mouse directly and m_rawinput was removed with the engine change, so there is no longer a setting to get wrong. PC

Carry this aim into another game

Zoom Sensitivity Multiplier 1.0 0.1 – 10

At 1.0 the AWP's scoped arc matches your hip arc, so one muscle memory covers both. The number people copy from a professional is usually 0.8 or 1.1, which is a personal correction for that player's arm, not a discovery. PC

Game → Radar

Radar is Rotating No YesNo

No is the setting the map-callers use. A fixed radar means A site is in the same corner of the square every round on both sides, so a teammate's callout and the picture in your head line up without a rotation in between. PC

Radar Centers the Player No YesNo

Centering crops the map whenever you stand near an edge, which on Mirage means you lose sight of B exactly when you are holding A. Off, the whole map stays on screen and your dot moves inside it. PC

Radar Map Zoom 0.4 0.40 – 1.00

0.4 with centering off is the pair that produces the full-map radar you see on every professional stream. Raising it zooms in on you, which reads more easily and tells you less. PC

Radar Hud Size 1.0 – 1.15 0.80 – 1.30

The physical size of the radar on screen, separate from how much map it shows. Zooming out to 0.4 makes the dots small; this is the dial that makes them legible again without giving the map view back. PC

Game → Game Settings

Enable Developer Console (~) Yes YesNo

Not a control setting so much as the door to all of them. Everything on this page that the menu cannot reach — jump-throw aliases, buy binds, viewmodel — is written through the console, and the tilde key does nothing until this is on. PC

Automatically Switch to Picked Up Weapons No YesNo

Yes puts a dropped weapon in your hands the instant you cross it, which is how players lose a fight by stepping over a teammate's pistol while holding a rifle. The cost of No is one key press when you actually want the pickup. PC

Reach check · your keyboard, this game

Can your board actually play Counter-Strike 2?

Every default bind, re-scored against the keyboard you own. Distance is measured from the left hand resting on WASD, because that is where it stays while you play.

A 60% board has every key Counter-Strike 2 asks for. 4 of its 26 default binds still need the left hand to leave WASD, so the board is not what holds you back here — the layout is. How that compares with every other game.

W / A / S / D Move
Left Shift Walk (silent)
Left Ctrl Crouch
Space Jump
Mouse 1 Fire
Mouse 2 Secondary fire / scope / silencer
R Reload
1 Primary weapon
2 Secondary weapon
3 Knife
4 Grenades (cycle)
5 Bomb (C4)
Q Last weapon used (quick switch)
G Drop weapon
F Inspect weapon
Scroll Up / Scroll Down Cycle weapons
E Use / defuse / open door
B Buy menu
Tab Scoreboard
Mouse 3 Player ping
M Choose team
Z / X / C Radio commands
K Voice (push to talk)
Y / U Chat / team chat
T Spray graffiti
` Console

On the keys: your hand is already there
Comfortable: a finger moves, the hand does not
Stretch: the hand lifts, movement wobbles
Off movement: you let go of A and D to press it
Not on this board: the key does not physically exist

Reach uses the same key geometry as BindIQ, which can rebuild the whole layout for you once you know what is out of reach. Mouse buttons always count as reachable — your right hand is already there.

How that compares

0 keys missing 60%4 far65%all theretenkeylessall there 60% keyboard check 25 of the 70 games we score lose a key on a 60%. This is not one of them.

Config

Build the file, do not copy it.

Buy binds, viewmodel, crosshair convars and the jump-throw alias, generated from your own choices with the reason for every line written beside it.

Open the CS2 autoexec studio

One line per question

How to do the things people search for in Counter-Strike 2

Generated from the default bindings above, so an action and its key can never disagree.

How to crouch in Counter-Strike 2 on PC?

To crouch in Counter-Strike 2, press Left Ctrl on PC.

How to jump in Counter-Strike 2 on PC?

To jump in Counter-Strike 2, press Space on PC.

How to melee in Counter-Strike 2 on PC?

To melee in Counter-Strike 2, press 3 on PC.

How to reload in Counter-Strike 2 on PC?

To reload in Counter-Strike 2, press R on PC.

How to aim down sights in Counter-Strike 2 on PC?

To aim down sights in Counter-Strike 2, press Mouse 2 on PC.

How to ping or mark something in Counter-Strike 2 on PC?

To ping or mark something in Counter-Strike 2, press Mouse 3 on PC. Middle mouse marks a spot for the team.

How to open chat in Counter-Strike 2 on PC?

To open chat in Counter-Strike 2, press K on PC.

How to open the scoreboard in Counter-Strike 2 on PC?

To open the scoreboard in Counter-Strike 2, press Tab on PC.

Quick answers

What is the default walk key in CS2?

Left Shift. Holding it drops your speed enough that footsteps are silent to enemies; release it to run at full speed again.

How do I defuse the bomb in CS2?

Stand at the planted bomb and hold E. Without a defuse kit it takes 10 seconds; with a kit 5 seconds. Releasing E keeps no progress.

How do I bind individual grenades?

Open Settings › Keyboard / Mouse › Weapon Keys and set Flashbang, Smoke, HE, Molotov and Decoy to keys of your choice (many players use Mouse 4, Mouse 5, 4, C and X). The default 4 only cycles through them.

Which key opens the console?

The grave/tilde key (` under Escape). It stays disabled until you turn on Enable Developer Console in Settings › Game.

Does CS2 support controllers?

Not officially. The game is designed around keyboard and mouse and has no controller layout in the settings; Steam Input can map a pad but it is not competitive.

Do I still need to turn on raw input in CS2?

No. CS2 reads the mouse directly and m_rawinput was removed with the engine change, so there is no setting left to get wrong. Guides that tell you to check it are describing CS:GO.

How do I get the full-map radar in CS2?

Four rows in Settings › Game › Radar: Radar is Rotating off, Radar Centers the Player off, Radar Map Zoom at 0.4, and Radar Hud Size around 1.1 so the smaller dots stay legible.

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Where to go from here

Next steps for Counter-Strike 2

Sensitivity converterBring the cm/360 you already trust into CS2 instead of guessing a number.CS2 Crosshair Code ConverterOld crosshair code rejected since the 23 September update? Paste it and get one the game accepts.Snap Tap & SOCD TestSee whether your keyboard releases one strafe key when you press the other, and time your counter-strafes.eDPI calculatorWork out where your CS2 sensitivity sits and what it becomes if you change DPI.Input latency testReaction time, event-to-frame delay and controller update rate in one pass.Keyboard ghosting testCheck the combinations CS2 holds down at once actually reach the game.