HUD Commands

The HUD, or “heads-up display,” is one of the most important visual tools on your screen when playing CS2. It displays helpful information such as your health bar, ammo count, equipment, scoreboard, and radar. 

The HUD is such a crucial tool that players should maximize its use by tweaking it with console commands. In this article, we’ll go over all the CS2 HUD commands worth knowing!

General CS2 HUD Commands

Here are some of the best commands for showing useful information and tweaking your HUD’s appearance.

Reset your HUD to default settings

cl_reload_hud

This command is used to reset your HUD settings to the default. It’s good to remember before we start changing all our HUD settings soon. 

Show your FPS counter

cl_showfps #

• 0 – disables the FPS counter
• 1 – enables the FPS counter [Recommended]

This command will display a live counter of how many frames per second you are getting while playing Counter-Strike.

Change your HUD color

cl_hud_color #

• 0 – default color
• 1 – white color
• 2 – light blue color
• 3 – dark blue color
• 4 – purple color
• 5 – red color
• 6 – orange color
• 7 – yellow color
• 8 – green color
• 9 – aqua color
• 10 – pink color
• 11 – dark yellow color

This command will help you change the color of your entire HUD. You can choose from eleven colors. 

Adjust the transparency of your HUD

cl_hud_background_alpha #

• Choose a value between 0 to 1

This command adjusts the transparency of your HUD. The number range is 0 to 1. The higher the number, the more visible your HUD will be. The default value is 0.5.

Change your HUD size

hud_scaling #

• Choose a value between 0.5 to 0.95

This command adjusts the size of your HUD. It uses a number from 0.5 to 0.95. The higher the number, the larger your HUD scaling size will be on your screen. The default value is 0.85.

Show or Hide your HUD

cl_drawhud #

• 0 – disables (hides) the HUD
• 1 – enables (shows) the HUD [Recommended]

This command is used to enable or disable the HUD on your screen. Turning off the HUD can be useful when creating videos, but it is not recommended otherwise since it provides essential information on your screen.

Toggle scoreboard display

+showscores

-showscores

These two commands show and hide the scoreboard during gameplay. By using one of the commands, you permanently show/hide the scoreboard on your screen until the opposing command is used. 

Recommended CS2 General HUD Settings

Here is our recommendation for the best general HUD commands you should use:

Information and Scoreboard Commands

The main purpose of the HUD is to provide the player with on-hand information. Ensuring your HUD is set up is crucial for an improved CSGO experience. 

Remove health and armor bars

cl_hud_healthammo_style #

• 0 – display your ammo and health with numbers [Recommended]
• 1 – display your ammo and health using a bar

This command determines whether your health and ammo information is displayed using numbers or bars. When displayed using numbers, players can see information such as “50 health.” When displayed using bars, no numbers will be shown, and players get an idea of their health and ammo through the bar indicator.

Show player count instead of avatars

cl_hud_playercount_showcount #

• 0 – show alive players using their respective Steam profile pictures
• 1 – show alive players using a number count [Recommended]

This command is used to change between player count displays. Using Steam profile pictures can help you see which specific players are alive while using a number count makes it easier to absorb data after a quick glimpse. 

Place scoreboard at the bottom of your screen

cl_hud_playercount_pos #

• 0 – player counts are displayed at the bottom of your screen 
• 1 – player counts are displayed at the top of your screen 

This command switches the location of your player count display. The default setting is to have it show at the top of your screen. However, some players prefer placing it at the bottom of the screen since it does not cover an important part of their screen. 

Display the bomb under your minimap

cl_hud_bomb_under_radar #

• 0 – removes the image of the bomb under the radar
• 1 – displays the image of the bomb under the radar [Recommended]

This command is used to switch between whether the image of the C4 is displayed under the radar. Having it on quickly tells a player that they are holding the bomb. However, others prefer the option turned off since it covers some parts of the screen. 

Toggle enemy player names when aiming

hud_showtargetid #

• 0 – does not display an enemy player’s name when your crosshair is on them 
• 1 – displays an enemy player’s name when your crosshair is on them 

When aiming at a player, a red text appears on the screen. Some players find the text distracting and prefer to turn the option off. However, others prefer the option as they can react to the red text and begin firing. 

Show or hide your equipment loadout

cl_showloadout #

• 0 – hides your current loadout (list of equipment) 
• 1 – displays your current loadout (list of equipment) [Recommended]

This command switches between displaying your current weapon loadout and not. The loadout is usually displayed in the bottom-left corner of your screen, showing the weapons and grenades you are currently carrying.

Show or hide clan tags on the kill feed

cl_show_clan_in_death_notice #

• 0 – hides clan (group) tags in the kill feed [Recommended]
• 1 – shows clan (group) tags in the kill feed

Players can display a Steam group tag next to their names in CSGO. Disabling this command will not show a player’s Steam group tag in the kill feed on the top-right corner. Group tags can make names longer and cover more of your screen.

Show or hide the kill feed

cl_drawhud_force_deathnotices #

• -1 – permanently hides the kill feed
• 0 – displays the kill feed only when the HUD is on
• 1 – always display the kill feed

This command is related to the death notices, in other words, the kill feed on the top-right corner of the screen. Turning off death notices is not recommended in a normal game. The only time you would use this command is when creating videos such as fragmovies, when you don’t want the HUD and kill feed to show on the screen. 

Recommended CSGO Information and Scoreboard HUD Settings

Here is our recommendation for the best information and scoreboard CSGO HUD commands you should use:

Teammate Display Commands

You can’t win a CSGO game without teammates. Valve has also given players the option to adjust their HUD settings to provide them with information about teammates in the game.

Display different colors for teammates on the radar

cl_teammate_colors_show #

• 0 –  shows all teammates as one solid color (blue for CT side and brown for T side)
• 1 – shows all teammates as different colors (purple, orange, blue, green, yellow) [Recommended]

CSGO players often call their teammates by their assigned colors, such as “yellow” or “purple.” The different colors give players a way of distinguishing their teammates from one another. However, some players find it distracting and prefer all teammates to be displayed as the same solid color. 

Display teammate names and weaponry

cl_show_team_equipment

• -cl_show_team_equipment – display your teammates’ names and equipment on top of their heads [Recommended]
• +cl_show_team_equipment – does not display your teammates’ names and equipment

Enabling this command can help players gain quick information on what their teammates have, specifically what grenades they are carrying. Seeing such information can help players make better decisions, but others prefer turning the display off as it could be distracting. 

Minimap and Radar Commands

The final section of the article will cover radar commands, which are considered some of the most important CSGO HUD commands for professional players. The radar is the primary source of information, so we have to ensure it is tweaked to meet preferences. 

Adjust radar size

cl_hud_radar_scale #

• Choose a value between 0.8 to 1.3

This command adjusts the size of the radar displayed on your screen. Setting it to the maximum value, 1.3, will give you an extra-large radar. It will make the minimap easier to see, but it will take up more of your screen. 

Adjust radar zoom

cl_radar_scale #

• Choose a value between 0.25 and 1

This command will adjust the zoom levels of your radar. A low zoom level will make your radar appear zoomed out, meaning you can see more of the map but with less detail. A high zoom level will make your radar appear zoomed in, meaning the area around you is very detailed, but you will see less of the map. 

Rotate radar when turning

cl_radar_rotate #

• 0 – disables the radar rotating wherever you face 
• 1 – enables the radar rotating wherever you face [Recommended]

When this command is enabled, the radar will follow the direction of where your player is looking, which can help the player identify what’s happening in front of them. A non-rotating radar can be very confusing and is not recommended.

Center player on radar

cl_radar_always_centered #

• 0 – the radar does not center the player [Recommended]
• 1 – the radar centers the player 

This command determines whether the radar is always centered on the player wherever they are walking. However, centering on a player at all times can reduce the amount of space the radar covers. Most players recommend disabling this command to increase the area visible on the radar. 

Radar is square when scoreboard is opened

cl_radar_square_with_scoreboard #

• 0 – radar will not turn into a square minimap when the scoreboard is opened 
• 1 – radar turns into a square minimap when the scoreboard is opened [Recommended]

By default, when pressing the TAB key to open the scoreboard, the radar will turn into a square minimap, providing players an overview of the entire map. This default setting is highly recommended, as players can see the whole map. Though it covers much of the screen, you won’t be shooting enemy players while opening the scoreboard anyway. 

Adjust radar icon size

cl_radar_icon_scale_min #

• Choose a value between 0.4 to 1.25

This command is used to adjust how large radar icons appear. Specifically, radar icons refer to the player icons on the map. The default value of the command is 0.6. It is recommended to set a higher value for this command, allowing players to easily identify where teammates and enemy players are after one quick look at the radar. 

Make minimap icons larger

mapoverview_icon_scale #

• 1 – uses the default size of minimap icons
• 2 – doubles the size of minimap icons
• 3 – triples the size of minimap icons

This command adjusts how large icons on the minimap are displayed. A value of 1 is the default size, and players can adjust the icons up to three times of their size. An example of a minimap icon is the C4 bomb. 

Show or hide the radar

cl_drawhud_force_radar #

• -1 – hides the radar
• 0 – displays the radar
• 1 – permanently shows the radar, even if the HUD is disabled 

Similar to some scoreboard commands, this command is only used for making fragmovies or taking pictures. Hiding the radar while recording a video or snipping a screenshot can reduce the clutter on the screen. Besides that, there’s no reason to hide the radar in a regular matchmaking game. 

Recommended CSGO Radar Settings

Though radar settings come down entirely to personal preference, some are widely recommended by community members, especially professional players. 

Here are the radar commands we highly recommend you to use: