How to Change Your Crosshair in CS2 (All 4 Methods)
The settings menu, share codes, pro configs, and the mid-match trick most players don't know exists
Open Settings → Game → Crosshair and adjust the sliders with the live preview — changes apply instantly. To copy someone else's, paste their share code into the Share or Import dialog, or copy a teammate's mid-match from the scoreboard while spectating.
The quick answer: open Settings → Game → Crosshair and adjust the sliders — style, size, gap, thickness, color — with a live preview at the top of the panel. Changes apply instantly, no restart needed.
That covers the basics, but it's rarely why people end up on this page. Usually you've seen a crosshair you want — a pro's, a teammate's, one from a clip — and you want it on your screen. CS2 has proper tools for that: share codes, an import button, and a genuinely underrated option that lets you steal a crosshair mid-match. Here's each method, fastest first.
Method 1: The settings menu
Settings → Game → Crosshair. Everything lives here:
- Style — Classic Static is what the overwhelming majority of experienced players use. The dynamic styles expand while you move and shoot, which sounds informative and mostly just adds noise.
- Size, thickness, gap — the three sliders that define how your crosshair actually feels. Smaller and thinner shows more of the target; a negative gap closes the center right up.
- Color and alpha — pick a preset or set custom RGB values. Whatever you choose, it should survive every backdrop: Dust2 sand, Inferno's dark apartments, a white smoke.
- Center dot, T-style, outline — the personal-preference toggles. An outline of 0.5–1 keeps a thin crosshair visible against bright surfaces without fattening it.
There's also a Follow Recoil option, which makes the crosshair track your spray pattern. Some players love it for learning spray control; most find it distracting in actual duels. Try it in a deathmatch, not a Premier game.
If you'd rather experiment visually before touching the game, our crosshair generatorrenders every setting combination in the browser and spits out a share code when you're happy.
Method 2: Import a crosshair code
Next to the preview in the crosshair settings there's a Share or Import button. Click it, paste a code, hit Import, and the crosshair applies immediately. The same dialog copies your current crosshair to the clipboard, which is how you send yours to a friend.
Two things trip people up:
- The codes still start with
CSGO-. That's not a mistake and not an outdated code — CS2 kept the CS:GO share-code format, so a code likeCSGO-Ci3Jd-oNsdE-...is exactly what a current CS2 code looks like. - A crosshair code is not a match share code. They use the same prefix. If the import fails, you've probably grabbed a demo link by accident.
You can also apply a code through the console: apply_crosshair_code followed by the code. Handy if you keep a few codes in a notepad and swap between them — bind it to a key and you can switch crosshairs in a single press.
Method 3: Copy a pro's crosshair
Every serious pro's crosshair circulates as a share code, so you never need to rebuild one slider by slider. Our crosshair codes database keeps current codes for players like s1mple, ZywOo, donk, m0NESY and hundreds of others — copy the code, import it with Method 2, done.
Worth saying before you commit to blind hero worship: pro crosshairs are usually tiny, because pros have thousands of hours of muscle memory and crosshair placement that's always at head height. A small static crosshair rewards precise placement and punishes lazy aim. If you're mid-rank and spraying at hips, a slightly larger crosshair with a dot might serve you better than donk's does. Steal the code, then nudge the size to fit your level.
Method 4: Copy a crosshair mid-match
The method most players still don't know exists. While you're dead and spectating — in a competitive match, deathmatch, or watching a demo — hold Tab to bring up the scoreboard, right-click to free the cursor, click the player whose crosshair you're looking at, and hit the copy crosshair icon in their profile panel. Their exact crosshair is now yours.
It's the fastest way to grab a teammate's setup when you notice their crosshair looks cleaner than yours between rounds. No code, no alt-tabbing, applies on your next spawn.
Fine-tuning with console commands
Every slider in the menu maps to a console variable, and the console accepts values the sliders won't reach. The ones worth knowing:
| Command | Controls |
|---|---|
cl_crosshairstyle 4 | Classic Static |
cl_crosshairsize | Line length |
cl_crosshairgap | Center gap (negative closes it) |
cl_crosshairthickness | Line thickness |
cl_crosshairdot 1 | Center dot on |
cl_crosshair_drawoutline 1 | Black outline on |
cl_crosshaircolor 5 | Custom color via _r _g _b values |
cl_crosshair_sniper_width | Thickness of the scoped AWP line |
That last one gets overlooked constantly — your scoped crosshair is configured separately, and a cl_crosshair_sniper_width 2 makes the hairline noticeably easier to track mid-flick.
Actually testing it
Don't judge a new crosshair from the settings preview. Load a deathmatch or an aim map and give it 15–20 minutes — a crosshair that looks great against the menu backdrop can vanish in Ancient's foliage. If you're deciding between two or three candidates, settle it with real kills, not vibes. For the deeper theory — why static beats dynamic, what gap values do to headshot percentages, how color affects perception — our full crosshair guide goes further than this page needs to.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How do I change my crosshair in CS2?
- Settings → Game → Crosshair. Adjust style, size, gap, thickness and color with the live preview. Changes apply instantly.
- How do I import a crosshair code in CS2?
- Click Share or Import next to the crosshair preview, paste the code, and hit Import. Or type apply_crosshair_code plus the code into the console.
- Why does my CS2 crosshair code start with CSGO-?
- CS2 kept CS:GO's share-code format. A CSGO- prefix is normal and the code will import fine.
- Can I copy another player’s crosshair in a match?
- Yes. While spectating, hold Tab, right-click to free the cursor, click the player's name, then click the copy crosshair icon in their profile.
- What crosshair do most pros use?
- Small, static (style 4), usually with no dot and high-contrast color — but exact settings vary per player. Current pro codes are in our crosshair codes database.