developer Command Help & Examples

If you need to get debug information from the game, you need to use the developer command. It brings three different modes for obtaining debug data – minimal, advanced and maximum – to fulfill all of your needs.

From display entity interactions until frame-by-frame debug data, you can use this command for all sorts of purposes, especially for developing CS:GO maps.

On this page, you are going to learn how the CS2 and CSGO developer command works, how to use it and examples on how to implement it correctly.

What is the developer Command?

In this section, we’ll delve into its syntax rules, default settings, various modes, and its overall purpose.

Syntax of the developer Command

The command is “developer” and it will accept only pre-established numeric values. Therefore, simply inputting it via console won’t work, as it’s not been designed to work as a cvar client. You need to use a numeric value as an argument, in order to launch the corresponding mode, depending on how much debug data you’d like to get.

For example, using a value such as “true”, thinking it will enable the developer mode, it won’t work. The same would happen if you used “false” as an argument, thinking it would disable the developer mode, as it won’t work either. 

Therefore, we invite you to check the next subsection, so you can learn more about the values you can use as arguments for this command, in order to get the exact type of debug information you need.

Default Value of the developer Command

The default value of the developer command is “0”, which means it’s turned off. If you want to turn it on, you need to use one of the following values: 1, 2, 3 or 4. They launch different modes, as explained below:

• 1: Only will bring you the most important debug information and messages
• 2: It will bring you more debug data and messages compared to the mode “1”
• 3: It will bring you the same amount of debug data and messages as mode “2”
• 4: It will bring you the maximum amount of debug data and messages

As we mentioned previously, this command needs a numeric value in order to work, and now you know what values it admits: 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4. All you need to do is to assign one of them as the argument in order to launch your preferred debug information mode.

It’s also worth mentioning you can launch the developer mode by making use of the following command line switches: -dev and -developer. If you only want to get essential debug data, you can use this shortcut, instead of having to input developer 1. 

If you want more details about the type of data each mode will bring you, below you will find all the information you need, so you can learn how to use this command perfectly.

Purpose of the developer Command

The purpose of the developer command is to turn off and on the developer mode, and allow you to select from three different modes, in order to get the type of debug information you need, be it minimal, moderate or advanced.

Once activated – using 1, 2, 3 or 4 as the argument – it will start displaying debug information on the top left corner and also recording it in the console. Depending on the mode you selected, it can only display the most important messages, or it will bring you all the available debug data.

Here you have examples on the type of debug data each mode will bring you, so you can learn more about how to use it properly:

Therefore, if you only need basic information, you can stick to the mode “1”, “2” or “3”, but if you want to dive deep into the flow of events and absolutely all the details, you need to input the command developer 4, in order to get all the available debug data.

Remember, this command was created for map developers. Therefore, the majority of players will not have a need to use it, and in several cases, using it will decrease the performance of the game, as it will be constantly receiving and sending data, which is even worse if you have a slow internet connection.

Nonetheless, it’s worth noting some users like using the command developer 1 when they have very low FPS, as it can help you get more than 100 FPS. However, we don’t advise using it this way, because as we have already mentioned, it only should be used by map developers or if you really need to get debug data.

Requirements to Launch the developer Command

You don’t need to activate any command beforehand such as sv_cheats, as you can input the command directly via console. If you haven’t activated the developer console yet, you will have to do it otherwise it will be impossible to enter this command.

If you haven’t activated it yet, here’s how you can do it:

• Launch CS:GO

• Go to settings

• Find “Enable Developer Console” and set it to “Yes”

• Launch the developer console by clicking the “~” key

• Now you can use all the commands you want

This is all you need to do in order to start getting debug data from the game. As we explained earlier, you only have to assign the corresponding value to launch your preferred level of debug information, and the command will start working instantly upon inputting it via console.

Is It a Banned Command?

No, it is not a banned command, and it means you won’t get VAC banned for using it to activate the developer mode. However, it’s worth noting some leagues might not allow you to use this command, as it might affect the performance of the game.

This is why this command is commonly used only by map developers on their own private servers, in order to detect possible issues or understand what triggers or elements are leading to a specific outcome or event.

Available for CS:GO and CS2

The developer command works in CS:GO and CS2. All you need to do is to input it via console, use the corresponding value to launch your preferred debug information mode, press Enter and it will start displaying debug data on the top left corner as per your requirements.

It’s worth noting this command is available in all Source games, so you can use it to get important debug data without restrictions, and all you need to do is to use the corresponding value as the argument to launch a specific level of debug information.

Now that you know what the developer command is and how it works, let’s see how you can use it via command, so you can start getting all the debug data you need.

How to Use the developer Command

If you want to input this command to launch the CSGO developer mode, here’s how you can do it in simple steps:

• Press the “~” key to launch the console

• Decide what kind of debug data you need to use the corresponding value as the argument 

• Input  developer “X”

• Hit Enter

• The command will execute instantly and start displaying the requested debug data on the top left corner and in the console

All you need to do is to replace “X” for the value of the function you want to launch. For example, if you only wanted to get minimal debug information, hence only the most important and relevant data, you’d need to use “1” as the argument, resulting in the following: developer 1.

Alternatively, if you only want to get basic debug information, you can use command line switches, as explained in this tutorial:

• Press the “~” key to launch the console

• Input  input -dev or -developer

• Hit Enter

• The command will execute instantly and start displaying debug information

It’s worth noting you need to input these command line switches as if they were a cvar client, as they don’t need an argument to work. They will fulfill the same purpose as if you entered developer 1 via console, it’s just a shortcut.

If you would like to check more examples on how to implement this command, below you will find all the information you need.

Examples on How to Use the developer Command

If you want to know more about this command, below you will find the ways you can implement it in the game.

Launch Minimal Debug Information Mode

If you want to get only the most essential debug information, free from all the extra verbose, you need to use “1” as the argument, resulting in the following: developer 1. Simply input it via console, press Enter and it will work instantly, bringing you minimal debug data.

This mode will only display data such as messages about missing textures and script errors. If you only need minimal debug data in order to identify possible errors or trace the events that lead to a specific event, you only need to input developer 1 via console.

Launch Advanced Debug Information Mode

If you need more debug information, you need to use “2” as the argument for the command, which will result in the following: developer 2. Input it via console, press Enter and you will start receiving plenty of more debug data, so you can use it for your own purposes.

This is the ideal mode if you need more advanced data without deeping deep into all the verbose available when activating the maximum debug data mode. By inputting the command developer 2, you will be able to get information about entity interactions, frame-by-frame updates, details about player positions, amongst other bits of relevant information for developing purposes.

Launch the Debug Information Mode with Argument “3”

If you want to use “3” as the argument for the command, you will launch the same debug information code as if you used “2” as the argument. All you need to do is to input “developer 3”, via console, press Enter and it will work instantly, bringing you plenty of more debug data and verbose.

Just like we mentioned before, using this mode will display the same information as if you input developer 2 via console. However, if you really want to use this value, just input developer 3 via console and you will start getting information such as event triggers, script warnings, system warnings, etc.

The only remarkable difference is you will get far more console messages, but other than that, you can simply stick to using “2” as the argument, and you will get the same type of debug data.

Launch the Maximum Debug Information Mode

If you need even more data, you can activate the maximum debug information mode, which will require you to use “4” as the argument, resulting in the following: developer 4. Input it via console, press Enter and it will work instantly, bringing all the debug information available.

This is the perfect mode if you need to identify an error and the debug data from the previous mode cannot supply you with it. You will basically get access to all the interactions, events, triggers, calls and returns.

From getting messages such as “packet loss detected, sequences 1934”, “loading texture AAAA to model XYZ”, and information about CPU usage, you will get all the available debug information to detect any error or understand why an exact event is being triggered.

Display Damage in the Game (On and Off)

If you only want to display data about the damage inflicted to players during the game without permanently activating the developer mode, you need to bind the command to fulfill this purpose. As it’s more advanced than simply inputting the developer command, we have created the code you need to copy and paste to activate this function:

bind alt “toggleDamageInfo”

alias toggleDamageInfo “activateDamageDisplay”

alias activateDamageDisplay “con_filter_text Damage Reported; con_filter_text_out Combatant:; con_filter_enable 1; developer 1; alias toggleDamageInfo “deactivateDamageDisplay””

alias deactivateDamageDisplay “con_filter_enable 0; developer 0; alias toggleDamageInfo “activateDamageDisplay””

host_writeconfig

Just copy and paste it into the console, or put it into the autoexec file, and any time you click “ALT”, it will switch on and off this type of information.

As you can see, this is a far more advanced method, and hence we recommend you to copy and paste as it is, so it can work properly and prevent possible issues. 

Launching the Developer Mode with Command Line Switches

In case you want to explore additional ways of launching the developer mode, you can use the available command line switches for the developer command. All you need to do is to launch the console input -dev or -developer and click Enter. Instantly, it will activate the basic level of debug information, bringing you the data you need such as damage received by players, alerts about missing files, escript errors, etc.

Using Alternative Arguments for the developer Command

As we explained at the beginning of this guide, it’s not possible to use values other than 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4 as arguments, because there’s no linked functions to alternative values. Therefore, using any of the following combinations won’t yield any result:

• developer true
• developer false
• developer 5
• developer 6
• developer 7
• developer on
• developer off

Stick to using the corresponding values for each mode, so you can get the exact type of debugging information you need.

Turn Off Debug Information

If you don’t wish to get debug information any longer, all you need to do is to use “0” as the argument of the command, which will result in the following: developer 0. Input this via console, press Enter and you will turn off the developer mode instantly.

We recommend the majority of players to stick to this configuration, because the vast majority of players won’t need to enable the developer mode, especially since it can hurt the performance of the game.