CHILLMODEA/Pages/Command line options
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Source Engine ( Engine | Dedicated Server )
editThese command-line parameters will work with any Source engine games (
Half-Life 2, 
Counter-Strike: Source, etc.).
Syntax: hl2.exe <parameter1> <parameter2> <cvar1> <cvar2>
Usage
These options can be used with:
- Hammer editor Run Map dialog.
- Windows shortcuts pointing to
hl2.exedirectly. - Windows shortcuts pointing to
steam.exewith the proper-applaunch <AppID>specified (see Steam section below). - Launch options on the game's properties in Steam library.
- Command-line batch script files launching these applications. For example: A bat file containing only "left4dead2.exe -dev -tools -nop4" to launch
Left 4 Dead 2 in tools mode. - Linux shell scripts pointing to the application with launch options.
executable -command
Examples
steam.exe -applaunch 240 -dev -console -sw +sv_lan 1 +map MyMap- this will launch Counter-Strike: Source with the specified map.hl2.exe -game cstrike -dev -console -fullscreen +sv_lan 1 +map de_dust- same as above but launched from the game executable directly, with the map de_dust.
Command-Line Parameters
| Argument | Description |
|---|---|
| -adapter | Sets the GL graphics adapter. Default is 0. |
| -all_languages | Loads all language files. |
| -allowdebug | Allows for debug modules to be loaded in games that disable them and fakes a debugger for phonehome, and is the same as -dev, unless -nodev is specified. |
-allowmultiple (in all games since  ) |
Allows multiple Source games to run at the same time. Only works if a VPROJECT environment variable is set. Use -multirun instead for  Source 2013.  Note:Source games that do not support this (or -multirun) can be run at the same time as a game that does, as long as the other game that doesn't support it was started first.Note:In  Strata Source, both -allowmultiple and -multirun are supported, VPROJECT is not required, and using either will disable creating the Source mutex entirely, so any other game can still be started at the same time. Confirm:Does this work on Mac/Linux? |
| -allowstalezip | Suppresses console warnings from stale.txt existing. |
-allow_third_party_software (only in  ) |
Previously -untrusted, this launches the game in "Untrusted Mode", which allow third-party programs to injecting its code into game executable. |
| -anticheat_settings | (only in  ) This command are most likely used to change Epic Games Launcher/Easy Anti-Cheat settings for the game. It was also used to enable Direct3D 12 (DX12), using -anticheat_settings=SettingsDX12.json. Previously -eac_launcher_settings.
|
-audiolanguage (only in  ) |
Changes the audio (spoken) language. Due to the way it works, only -audiolanguage english works. However, it is possible to make other languages to work.
|
| -autoconfig | Restores video and performance settings to default for the current hardware detected. Ignores settings inside any .cfg files until this parameter is removed. |
| -background <n> (only in ) |
Forces the main menu background ID to the integer n for the current session. |
| -basedir | Sets the base directory for the game files. On Xbox 360 RFS, this is forced to smb://hostname/game. |
| -bi | Defines the build identifier ID which is used in phonehome |
| -bugbait | Used internally to tell the game it is loading a Bugbait (the name of the bug reporting system) bug report. |
| -bugreporterdll | Name of the bug reporter DLL to use |
| -buildcubemaps | Builds cubemaps when fully loaded into a map, then quits the game. |
| -ccsyntax | Spew details about the localized strings we load. |
| -clientport | Sets the client port. Default is 27002. |
| -collate | Skips everything, just merges the reslist from temp folders to the final folder again. |
| -conclearlog | Clears the console.log text file on start. Only works if -condebug set.
|
| -condebug | Logs all console output into the console.log text file.
|
| -console | Starts the game with the developer console enabled, and allows it to be opened even if con_enable is set to 0. Disables the automatic loading of menu background maps, except in Half-Life 2 and Portal - use -nobackground if you want this.
|
| -deathsonly | Supposed to only count deaths while parsing tf2 gamestats, but actually pointless because there is only code for deaths. |
| -debugdxsupport | Writes debug DirectX information as keyvalues to the console as shader devices are loading configuration. |
-debugsteam2wrapper (only in   ) |
Writes debug information for files accessed through the Steam 2 Wrapper to the debugger. Includes creation and deletion of file handles. See Fixing VPK mounting for older Source SDK Bases for more information. |
| -defaultgamedir | Fallback directory if "-game" is not set. Default is "hl2". |
| -demo | Enters the game into demo mode. Only works for Half-Life 2 and Portal |
| -dev | Enables the developer ConVar, which prints console output to the top-left of the screen and enables extra debug messages. Also has various other effects depending on the engine branch and game.
Disables the automatic loading of menu background maps, except in Half-Life 2, Portal (use |
| -disable_d3d9ex | (only in ) Forcefully disables Direct3D 9Ex.
|
| -disallowhwmorph | Same as mat_disablehwmorph 1. Disables HW morphing for particular mods.
|
| -dti | Prints the datatable when being sent |
| -dumpvidmemstats | Spews video memory statistics to vidmemstats.txt. This forces CModelLoader to quit. |
| -dvd |  Enables strict DVD mode. Allows loading files from DVD only. Xbox 360 only.
|
| -dvddev | Enables developer DVD mode. Allows loading files from a remote path as a fallback as well as the DVD. Xbox 360 only.
|
-dx9 (only in    ) |
 Forces the game to never use DXVK, even in cases where it would be automatically enabled (such as when -gamepadui is passed in). Note:To force OpenGL (using ToGL) on Linux, use -gl instead. |
-dxlevel <level> (removed since  ) |
Forces the game to start using specified DirectX feature levels. After starting the game with this launch parameter, the selected value will be saved for future start ups and video settings will be temporarily reset (but not saved), so it is highly recommended to remove this launch parameter after first launch with it. See mat_dxlevel. Please note that changing DirectX levels does not change the Direct3D renderer to use any other versions of Direct3D. All Source games will always run on Direct3D 9 (or Direct3D 11/12 in some third-party games).
 Warning:If you are using Vulkan renderer (-vulkan), having dxlevel set lower than 90 (such as 80/81) will cause graphical glitches and crashes the game.Similarly, playing on maps that ship with custom models/props which only support dxlevel 90 or higher can cause the game to crash on dxlevel 81 or lower. |
| -edit | According to comments, intended to replace -tools. Does nothing except disable all file logging for building reslists. |
| -enablefakeip (only in ) |
Tells Steam Datagram Relay to use a "FakeIP" and an anonymous server ID when local server hosting. |
| -endgamevid | If specified startup videos will not be skipped, and EndGameVids.txt will be used instead of StartupVids.txt. This can also be invoked by the command "startupmenu playendgamevid", which bails back to the menu and plays the end game video. |
| -exit | Quits the game after fully loading into a map. |
| -fake_stale_server | Skip check game version from Steam and goes straight to out-of-date state
|
| -force32bit (only in ) |
Forces the game to run in 32-bit mode, even if running on a 64-bit operating system. Note: Windows: Create new shortcut from 32-bit executable program and add in launch parameter -force32bit, launch game from shortcut. |
| -force64bit (only in ) |
Forces the game to run in 64-bit mode. |
| -filmgrain | Enables the filmgrain screen space effect. Crashes the game on . In  effect works and enabled by default
|
| -floathdr | Forces HDR to use float values. |
| -flushlog | Causes log files to be flushed to disk once per second (rather than after every 4kbytes of log data). |
| -forceallmips | Always load mipmaps below 32x32, regardless of if the "no minimum mipmap" VTF flag is enabled. |
| -forcenovsync | Forces vsync to be disabled. |
| -forcestartupmenu | Forces the background menu map to always load, even if developer mode is active or the game is loading straight to a level. |
| -forcexboxreconfig | Forces default config settings to be loaded on Xbox 360.
|
| -force_device_id | (in all games since ) (also in ) Forces the GPU to be recognized as a different graphics card depending on the vendor set. This is used for either debugging purposes or for graphical workarounds, such as avoiding an Intel crash in L4D2 when both Shaders and Memory Pool are set to high, aswell as forcing the "High" shadows setting to be shown on systems with Intel GPUs.  Tip:-force_vendor_id 0x10DE -force_device_id 0x0191 will force the game to recognizing the GPU as a Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (most Source games will detect this as "NVIDIA Unknown" according to dxsupport.cfg).And -force_vendor_id 0x10DE -force_device_id 0x1088 will force the game to be recognized as GeForce GTX 590, which was listed in dxsupport.cfg (in most Source games, some may only recognizes older GPUs), and set most of the graphical settings to high by default. |
| -force_vendor_id | |
| -forever | When you get to the end of the maplist, start over from the top |
| -freq <rate> | Same as -refresh |
| -fs_log | Starts creating a batch file to copy files at the specified filename. This works on the latest engine branch. |
| -fs_logbins | Logs binaries to the batch file from -fs_log. |
| -fs_nopreloaddata | Loads in the precompiled keyvalues data for each type. Works only with dedicated servers. |
| -fs_target | Sets the target game directory to copy files to, used with -fs_log. |
| -full_memory_dumps | |
| -fullscreen or -full | Forces the engine to start in fullscreen mode. |
| -g15 | Enables Logitech G15 support. G15 is only supported in  SiN Episodes. [confirm] Confirm:Does this also works with other Logitech G series keyboards with LCD screens, such as G19? |
| -game | Sets game or mod directory to load the game from. Usually is set by default if not user specified. Default is "-defaultgamedir"'s setting. If -defaultgamedir is not set, "hl2" is used. |
| -gamepadui |  Enables the alternate controller-friendly UI used on Steam Deck, and since 20th Anniversary Update (and May 2025 update), makes VGUI elements larger. Makes various UI elements larger. In Team Fortress 2 branch, also makes VGUI elements bigger.When used, keyvalues in VGUI resource files tagged with $DECK will evaluate as true. This is used by default on  Steam Deck and in Entropy : Zero 2; use -nogamepadui if the original UI is desired.This also automatically enables DXVK (except and since 20th anniversary, and since May 2025 update); use -dx9 to prevent this. Only present with updates released since 2020 - 2022 in any of those games.Note:On  Portal with RTX, to enable Gamepad UI, you must use -dx9 alongside it, otherwise it would break the renderer. Bug:Gamepad UI is also available on Half-Life: Source due to shared binaries with Half-Life 2, but is broken. [todo tested in ?] |
| -gamestatslogging | Enables game stats logging. |
| -gamestatsloggingtofile | Enables game stats logging out to a file, gamestats.log. Passing this parameter automatically forces -gamestatslogging. |
| -gamestatstag <tag> | Tags each map reported with the specified tag. |
| -gl (only in ) |
 Forces the game to runs on OpenGL instead of Vulkan (through DXVK). You can also select "Legacy OpenGL" option when launching the game on Steam (if available), to force OpenGL.
|
| -gl_enablesamplerobjects | Use OpenGL Sampler Objects for better texture preloading
|
| -gl_texclientstorage |  Reduce memory usage by relying on GPU memory instead of a host copy
|
| -heapcheck | Check if the heap isn't damaged or empty at the initiation of the game and every frame
|
| -heapsize <kilobytes> | Specifies the heapsize (in kilobyte) the game will use. This has been since deprecated on later version of  Source 2009 and  Source Multiplayer, but can still be changed through console commands (mem_min_heapsize and mem_max_heapsize)
|
| -height <height>, -h | Forces the engine to start with resolution set to <height>. Ex: -h 768
|
| -hideconsole | Forces the console hidden, whatever parameters are passed. This overrides -console, -dev, and all others. |
| -high | Sets the game's priority to High.Bug:In Apex Legends, this may cause the game into thinking that there is a Origin update available. A screenshot of this issue can be found here. [todo tested in ?] |
| -hijack | Take control of an existing instance of the game, if any, instead of complaining about already running. |
| -host | Sets hostname. On Xbox 360, this sets the host computer name to be used for RFS. Xbox name must be <HostPC>_360. |
| -hushasserts | Disables a number of asserts in core Source libraries, skipping some error checks and messages. |
| -hushsteam | |
| -ignoredxsupportcfg | Skips reading DirectX support file, dxsupport.cfg. |
| -insecure | Disable Valve Anti-Cheat (VAC). |
| -internalbuild | Causes the bug reporter panel to be drawn as internal |
| -interactivecaster (only in ) |
Starting your client with this will switch it into camera man mode (reference tv_allow_camera_man_steamid/tv_allow_camera_man_steamid2) |
| -ip | Does the same as the ipname Cvar |
| -language <language> | Sets the game language to the one specified. (Examples: "english", "german"). |
| -leakcheck | Dumps statistics about memory leaks. |
| -limitvsconst | Limits the number of vertex shaders to a maximum of 256. |
| -localcser | Sets a custom gamestats CSER other than the Steam-provided public one (default is steambeta1:27013) |
| -log_opened_files | Logs all opened files to opened_files.txt file. (useful for debugging which files are failing to load) |
| -low | Sets the game's priority to Low |
| -lv | Short for low violence. Enables German censorship like -sillygibs in Team Fortress 2 with blood/gore disabled.
|
| -makedevshots | Used for taking screenshots, causing entities to not fade. Enables the use of the devshots_nextmap concommand. Also disables the automatic loading of menu background maps. |
| -makereslists | Makes reslists. Need to run with -textmode. Passing a parameter here uses a script file to control more complex makereslists operations (multiple passes, etc.) |
| -mat_softwaretl | Enables software vertex processing. |
| -mat_vsync | Enables Vertical Sync |
| -maxdownloadfilesizemb | CS:GO 5/1/2014, client launch option -maxdownloadfilesizemb N if clients needs to download even larger files from community servers. |
| -maxdxlevel | Limits the maximum dxlevel to use. Default is 0.
|
| -maxplayers | Set the maximum players allowed to join the server. This does the same as the maxplayers convar, the maximum you can set it to is limited by the game/mod.Note:In Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Maxplayers is deprecated, and should either be set in gamemodes_server.txt or with -maxplayers_override. |
| -minmemory | Set startup memory to mem_min_heapsize ?*1024 * 1024? |
| -monitorTextureSize | Set the size of the texture used to render point_cameras. |
| -multirun (only in )(also in ) |
Allows the game to run even if another Source game is already open. Note:Source games that do not support this (or -allowmultiple) can be run at the same time as a game that does, as long as the other game is started first.Note:In Strata Source, both -allowmultiple and -multirun are supported, and using either will disable creating the Source mutex entirely, so any other game can still be started at the same time.Note:Not supported in  SFM. Multirun is still possible by starting other games first as explained above.Bug:On some systems, running the game after another Source game is already open, cause the menu logo and/or menu options to become invisible (tested in: Counter-Strike: Source and Half-Life 2)Note:Windows only. Does not work on Linux. Mac untested. |
| -navanalyze | Used for developer purposes when launching a map. Immediately analyzes the navigation map of the loaded map to provide data about hiding spots and other data. Nav Mesh Commands |
| -navforceanalyze | Used for developer purposes when launching a map. Forces an immediate navigation analyze even if the action is not necessary to perform. |
| -netconport <number> (in all games since ) |
Creates a remotely accessible server console on the specified port. This can be connected to with telnet or similar applications, and allows controlling of the server as if the commands were being typed in at the console |
| -netconpassword <password> (in all games since ) |
If set, users must type PASS "password" to use the remote console described above |
| -netspike | Sets the trace threshold to the specified value (the limit of the number of records that will be written to netspike.txt before all records are removed). |
| -newdialogs | Forces new Steam dialog to be used. |
| -no_texture_stream (only in )[confirm] |
Disables the use of lower quality textures while higher quality versions load, favoring immediate loading of higher quality textures. Disabling texture streaming can improve performance on systems with GPUs that have low VRAM. Can be found on Ultra high settings on the Official Team Fortress Wiki or a wiki dedicated to TF2 command line options. |
| -no_compressed_verts | Disables vertex compression for shaders. |
| -no_compressed_vvds | Enables thin VVD data, even if the client is not an Xbox 360. |
| -noassert | Allows attaching to a debugger instead of directly asserting. |
| -noasync | Disables asynchronous filesystem access. |
| -nobackground | (only in ) Prevents background maps from loading, displaying only static background images instead. Note:Added in the HL2 Anniversary Update (and corresponding Portal update). Prior to this, -dev and -console would automatically disable background maps. |
| -noborder | When used with the game set to windowed mode, will make the game act as if in fullscreen mode (no window border), commonly refers to Borderless Windowed mode. This will allows you to switching between application and the game (Alt+Tabbing) without a 2-3 seconds delay. It is only supported in Source 2007 and above, and can be changed in menu starting with Left 4 Dead engine branch, later available in  Garry's Mod, some Source 2013 games (such as Half-Life 2 with Steam Deck update) and some third-party Source games.For games that does not support borderless windowed mode, you can use third-party software such as Borderless Gaming, or  other listed here at PCGW.
|
| -nobots | Allows Counter-Strike server hosts to force bots disabled to enforce CPU limits. |
| -nobreakpad | Disable the Breakpad crash handler. |
| -noclearsave | Skips clearing the save directory after restoring a save. |
| -noconvert | (xbox360) "No conversions during retail" |
| -nocrashdialog | Stop some windows crash message boxes from showing up. |
| -nod3d9ex | (only in ) (also in ) Forcefully disables Direct3D 9Ex.
|
| -nodefaultmap | (Linux only[confirm]) Supresses the addition of -map |
| -nodev | Disables -dev and -allowdebug during startup so sv_cheats and developer mode dosent get set. |
| -nodns | Disable DNS requests and resolving DNS adresses. |
| -nodttest | Skips datatable testing. |
| -noff | Disables force feedback for controllers. |
| -noforcemaccel | Use the Windows mouse acceleration settings. Only works if -useforcedmparms is set. |
| -noforcemspd | Use the Windows mouse speed settings. Only works if -useforcedmparms is set. |
| -nogamedll | Do not load the Game DLL, this most likely will cause your game/server to crash |
| -nogamepadui | Overrides -gamepadui, forcibly disabling its effects when they would otherwise be automatically turned on (such as on Steam Deck or in Entropy : Zero 2).
|
| -nogamestats | |
| -nohltv | Disable SourceTV |
| -noip | Do not bind to an ip and disables all multiplayer support |
| -nojoy (not in ) |
Disables joystick support. |
| -nomaster | Hides server from master serverlist. |
| -nomenuvid (only in ) |
Disables main menu background videos. In the Left 4 Dead series, it will render the game startup image instead. In Portal 2, it will render a static image corresponding to the video that would have been used.
|
| -nomessagebox | Stop various windows error message boxes from showing up |
| -nominidumps | Dont write minidumps |
| -nomouse | Disables in-game mouse support. |
| -NoLoadPluginsForClient | |
| -nop4 | Forces the Engine to bypass Perforce Integration |
| -nophysx | (only in  ) Completely disable NVIDIA PhysX physics engine, used for cloth simulation on Postal Dude's coat, but also prevent p3_prop_cloth entities (which uses PhysX) from displaying.
|
| -nopreload | Forces models to not be preloaded. Takes priority over cl_forcepreload and -preload. |
| -nopreloadmodels | Same as -nopreload |
| -nops2b | Disables Pixel Shader 2b support. |
| -noqueuedload | Disables queued loading of map resources. |
| -NoQueuedPacketThread | (Linux) No queued packet thread will be created. |
| -norebuildaudio | Opposite of and overrides -rebuildaudio for the map reslist generator. |
| -norfs | Forces Remote Filesystem disabled. Xbox 360 only.
|
| -norussian | (only in ) Preventing the game from switching to Russian language (Russian retail copies only).
|
| -noshaderapi | Loads a non-existent shader API dll, shaderapiempty.dll. Effectively disables shader and texture loading completely. May be useful with -textmode to load the game quickly since a GUI is not required. |
| -nosound | Disables sound support Warning:causes crash of the game on startup |
| -nosrgb | Disables support for SRGB. |
| -nostartupmenu | (only in ) Prevent the game from loading the main menu map if used alongside -dev.
|
| -nostartupsound | Disables menu music (sound/ui/gamestartup*.mp3) to play on startup.
|
| -nosteamcontroller | Disables Steam controller systemNote:This does not disable Steam Input whatsoever. |
| -nouserclip | Uses software clipping instead of hardware user clip planes |
| -novid | When loading a game with this parameter, the intro video will not play. |
| -NoVConfig | Prevents the filesystem you nexem library from running VConfig if it encounters a filesystem error where it cannot find the game content. Todo: Fix grammar.
|
| -olddialogs | Forces old Windows dialogs instead of new Steam ones. Todo: Does it do anything nowadays?
|
| -override_vpk | Forces actual files to override VPK. |
| -particles | Sets the number of beam trails to allow (2048 by default, minimum is 512). |
| -phonehome | If debug mode is also enabled, forces the init of phonehome? which handles some build information and sends them via netmessages to steam? |
| -pidfile <pidfile> | Use the specified <pidfile> to store the server pid. Default is srcds.pid[confirm] (Unix/Linux only). |
| -pixel_offset_x | Sets the pixel offset to translate on the X axis in MatSystemSurface. |
| -pixel_offset_y | Sets the pixel offset to translate on the Y axis in MatSystemSurface. |
| -playtest | Tells the engine to record the names of all sounds played via S_StartSound call without any of the sound flags SND_CHANGE_PITCH, SND_CHANGE_VOL, and SND_STOP. Note:You may dump this list of sounds using ConCommand snd_dump_filepaths.Bug:In Left 4 Dead 2, ConCommand snd_dump_filepaths will ignore ConVar snd_store_filepaths and attempt to write to an inaccessible hard-coded path. [todo tested in ?] |
| -pme | Activate the performance monitoring events code, this again only works on Intel processors newer then PENTIUM4 |
| -port <variable> | Sets port for a listen server. Default is 27015. |
| -preload | Does the same as the sv_forcepreload Cvar. If -nopreload or -nopreloadmodels, this behaviour is disabled |
| -primarysound | If surround sound isn't enabled, forces the use of the primary sound buffer |
| -profile | If using Xbox360 or enabling this, additional debugging information are logged like the map startup time and similar |
| -publicbuild | Is this build a public one? If not, phonehome will not post information of this build to steam |
| -r_emulate_gl | Emulates OpenGL on Windows, provides a framerate boost for most GPUs Confirm:Doesn't seems to work at all. RTSS and other overlays applications still report it as DirectX 9. |
| -random_invariant | Forces the game's random number generator value to be invariant. |
| -rebuildaudio | Forces rebuild of _other_rebuild.cache (metacache) file at exit for the map reslist generator. |
| -recapvid | RecapVids.txt will be used instead of EndGameVids.txt. This can also be invoked by the command "startupmenu playrecapvid", which bails to the mainmenu and plays the recap video. |
| -ref | Sets MATERIAL_INIT_REFERENCE_RASTERIZER on the shader material adapter. |
| -reflectionTextureSize | Set the size of the texture used to render the Water shader's real-time reflection and refraction. |
| -refresh <rate> | Force a specific refresh rate. Ex: -refresh 60
|
| -refreshrate <rate> | Same as -refresh |
| -remote | Sets the remote file path to be used with -dvddev. |
| -replay | Increases maxplayers by 1 at startup and automatically executes replay.cfg for the server. |
| -requirecubemaps | If a map dosen't have cubemaps, the game will promt up with "Map X does not have cubemaps!" |
| -resizing | Allows resizing the window lower than a specific resolution. |
| -reslistdir | Default is "reslists", use this to override. Reslist generator only. |
| -reuse | Reuse network sockets |
| -rpt | Remote perf testing. Same as having -condebug, -conclearlog, and -console enabled |
| -ru | (only in ) Set the game language to Russian.
|
| -safe | Enables video safe mode, which sets the game to windowed, the width to 640, the height to 480, refresh rate to default, and disables antialiasing. |
| -shader | Loads a specific shader library instead of depending on hardware. Debug only. |
| -shaderdll | Loads a different shader dll. Default is shaderapidx9.dll. Todo: Is this the same as -shader?
|
| -shadersondemand | Creates shaders on access, helps reduce D3D memory for tools, but causes I/O hitches. |
| -sillygibs (only in ) |
Forces gibs to be spawned as random common objects. |
-skiploadingworkshopaddons (only in  ) |
Only load addons from the addons folder, not subscriptions on the Steam Workshop. |
| -small | Allow window sizing smaller than 640x480 |
| -sndcachedebug | Prints sound cache debug messages (developer must be enabled to see) |
| -snoforceformat | Skips sound buffer creation |
| -soft | Enables Software hardware rendering mode. |
| -softparticlesdefaultoff | Sets particles to be rendered without feathering (scene depth blending) by default. |
| -softparticlesdefaulton | Opposite of -softparticlesdefaultoff. |
| -spewsentences | Spew out vox sentence names during reslist generation |
| -startmap | Restarts devshot generation at the specified map if resuming from a crash. |
| -startstage | When running from script file, this starts at specified stage, and sets current work item (default is 0). Reslist generator only. |
| -startwindowed, -windowed, -window, -sw | Forces the engine to start in Windowed mode. |
| -steam | Enables Steam support (if the game is launched from Steam, this is enabled by default). Working directory must be Steam directory. Works only for singleplayer games. |
| -steamlocal | Similar to -steam. Runs Steam in local filesystem mode (all content off HDD), as opposed to remote filesystem mode (requiring Steam backend). |
| -steamport | Master server updater port. Steam authentication port is this port + 1. (default is 26900) |
| -strictportbind | If you launch the game with this option it will quit with an error message if it can't bind to the default or specified port. |
| -sv_benchmark | Enables benchmarking through sv_benchmark_force_start. |
| -swapcores | Swaps threads for the particle and material systems each init |
| -tempcontent | Searches for game content in a folder called "_tempcontent" relative to the absolute game path. This option is enabled by default for Portal 1 |
| -testscript <filename> | Loads a .vtest file. |
| -testshaders | Loads the shader_test library. Debug only. |
| -testsub | |
| -textmessagedebug | Spews client text messages to console. |
| -textmode | Runs the game without graphics |
| -threads | Number of threads to allocate for the thread pool, default is 3 |
| -tickrate | Sets the game tick interval. Disabled in code for Team Fortress 2 because "server ops are abusing it". Also disabled in Counter-Strike: Source, Day of Defeat: Source, Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2. In older versions on some of those games, or using server plugins, or by enabling it in the code, it can be changed. |
| -timedemoloop | |
| -toconsole | Starts the engine directly in the console, unless a map is specified with +map.
|
| -tools | Enables engine tools. |
| -trackdeletions | Logs what files are marked for deletion in Reslist Generator. |
| -tvmasteronly | Only one person allowed in HLTV. |
| -unrestricted_maxplayers (only in ) |
Set the maximum players allowed to join the server. Unlike -maxplayers, this can allow for up to 100 players in a single server.Warning:This feature is unsupported and not recommended, causing stability issues at maximum players. |
| -usedevshotsfile | Get map list from specified file, default is to build for maps/*.bsp |
| -useforcedmparms | Allows the use of -noforcemspd and -noforcemaccel. |
| -usegh | Loads ghostinj.dll to allow support for third party dlls (gamehost) |
| -uselogdir | Logs various data to logs/(mapname)/* |
| -usercon | Enable RCON for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive servers |
| -usereslistfile | Get map list from specified file, default is to build for maps/*.bsp. Reslist generator only. |
| -usetcp | Disable TCP support |
| -vcrplayback | Plays back a VCR recording. Nothing is simulated on the server, but all server packets are recorded. Note: VCR recording and playback only fully working on a leaked HLS build, other games and versions crash |
| -vcrrecord | Records a client's game and allows you to play it back and reproduce it exactly. Requires -nosound See this video on how it is different. |
| -vguifocus | Enables debug VGUI messages related to input focus. |
| -vguimessages | Enables debug VGUI messages. |
| -vproject | Manually sets the VProject directory to load game content for tools. |
-vulkan (only in   ) |
Enables the use of the DXVK library to translate Direct3D graphics calls to the Vulkan API. On Windows, where Direct3D itself is supported, this is of little use and should usually not be enabled (except in , where it can be used to work around some specific rendering bugs). On Linux, it is usually recommended for games which support it, due to providing better performance and less graphical issues compared to the OpenGL translation layer usually used on this platform. A newer version of the respective games from 2021-2025 or later, and a graphics card that supports Vulkan (such as Nvidia GeForce 600-series/Kepler-based, AMD GCN 1.0 (or later) and Intel Skylake) are required in order to enable DXVK. Warning:Enabling DXVK may crash the game if a third-party program tries to hook its overlay to the game unsuccessfully, and/or your GPU does not support Vulkan. |
| -vxconsole | Waits for Valve Xbox console to initialise. Xbox 360 only.
|
| -wavonly | Disables DirectSound and makes the engine attempt to play all sounds in PCM format. |
| -x <x position> | In borderless windowed mode, determines where the window should be horizontally. Ex: -x 0. Note: Setting this to 0 will make it align with the left side of your main monitor, rather than its center. Negative values also aren't accepted.
|
| -xnet_bypass_security | Disables Xbox 360 secure networking, to allow cross-platform testing.
|
| -y <y position> | In borderless windowed mode, determines where the window should be vertically. Ex: -y 0. Note: Setting this to 0 will make it align with the top side of your main monitor, rather than its center. Negative values also aren't accepted.
|
| -width <width>, -w | Forces the engine to start with resolution set to <width>. Ex: -w 1024
|
Deprecated Command-Line Parameters
| Argument | Description |
|---|---|
| -lowmemworkshop (only in ) |
Allow updating very large map files on Steam Workshop. While the option still works, Valve most likely no longer allow users to upload CS:GO items to Workshop in favor of CS2. |
| -mat_aaquality | Set CSAA quality level, does the same as the Convar mat_aaquality. This no longer works on most modern GPUs (starting with NVIDIA GeForce 750Ti/800M/900 series). Confirm:Does not work on latest version/Source 2013 as the console command with the same name remains unchanged. Confirm whether this does anything on older engine. |
| -mat_antialias | Antialiasing. Can be set to 8, amount past 8 won't sharpen the edges of game world. Confirm:Also does not work on latest version/Source 2013. Confirm whether this does anything on older engine. |
Console commands on startup
- +<console command> <arg> - Runs command in console shortly after autoexec.cfg is executed. These are run by ConCommand stuffcmds issued from valve.rc.
Useful console commands
| Console commands | Description |
|---|---|
| +cl_showfps <0/1/2/3> | When set to 2, shows the framerate and map name. |
| +connect | Immediately connects to a server address. |
| +load | Console Command |
| +map <map-name[.bsp]> | Immediately loads the map specified after the engine starts. |
| +map_background <map name> | Forces a specified background map to be used. Useful for testing custom background maps. To avoid loading standard background maps for speed reasons, use the -dev command-line parameter.
|
| +mat_hdr_level | Sets HDR level (off, LDR/SDR with Bloom, and HDR) before the background map loads. See HDR Lighting Basics. |
| +maxplayers | Sets maxplayers. This will set maxplayers before the background map loads. To change when running, run <disconnect> to escape the current map, including background maps. |
| +physcannon_mega_enabled <0/1> | Makes Gravity gun a super gravity gun. |
| +playdemo <demo> | Immediately plays a demo file. |
| +port | Console Command |
| +sv_cheats <0/1> | When set to 1, starts the game with cheats enabled. |
| +sv_lan <0/1> | When set to 1, launches the game in LAN mode. Useful to stop players from joining your game from the Internet. |
| +sv_use_steam_networking <0/1> | (only in ) When set to 0, disable Steam Networking. Useful to stop players from joining your game from the Internet.
|
| +timedemo | Console Command |
| +timedemoquit | Console Command |