A fast, offline console variable & command catalog browser for Counter-Strike 2
Inspect, search, diff, and export engine commands and cvars directly from your local game files — no CS2 launch or online database required.
About • Features • Visual Tour • How It Works • Usage • Storage • Building • Design • License
CS2 Command Browser is a specialized, local-first Windows utility engineered to extract, index, inspect, and compare every console variable (ConVar) and command (ConCommand) directly from your installed Counter-Strike 2 binaries.
Rather than relying on outdated wiki pages or connecting to external web APIs, CS2 Command Browser queries the source of truth: your local game client files.
- 🛡️ VAC-Safe & Zero Game Launch: Never starts
cs2.exe, never injects code into game memory, and never attaches a debugger to running processes. - 💻 100% Offline & Independent: Operates completely without internet access, Steam account logins, or remote database queries.
- 🔬 Authentic Engine Introspection: Extracts Valve's genuine built-in defaults, valid numeric value ranges, registered bitflags, and declaring engine modules (
client.dll,server.dll,engine2.dll). - 🔄 Patch Differential Tracking: Automatically detects what changed between game updates — displaying newly added commands, modified defaults or flags, and deprecated cvars with intuitive color-coded tags.
- 📑 Non-Destructive & Read-Only: Your installed game files and personal config files are never altered or written to.
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Instant keystroke filtering across command names, Valve descriptions, and engine flags, paired with an A–Z alphabet quick-jump bar and |
Inspect game-supplied help texts, data types ( |
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Compare successive scans of the same CS2 installation automatically. Color-coded indicators highlight Added, Changed, and Removed entries between builds. |
Export visible results, entire registries, or patch diffs to TXT, CSV, JSON, or Markdown. Includes grouped A–Z archive packaging with |
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Scan your personal config files (such as |
Pre-packaged Windows executable running completely offline. Requires no system-wide Python or dependency installations to start exploring. |
Search through thousands of engine commands with instant responsiveness, filter by variable kind and availability flags, and inspect complete technical metadata in the side panel.
Track engine changes between CS2 updates with precision. Entries modified between builds are clearly highlighted with change state tags.
Game modules are copied to an isolated cache before being parsed by the bundled DumpSource2 binary in a standalone child process. Your live game directory remains completely untouched.
- Launch
portable-v1.1/CS2 Command Browser/CS2 Command Browser.exe(orCS2 Command Browser.exebeside this README). - Enter your CS2 installation path or click Browse…. Accepted directory targets include:
- The root CS2 folder:
Counter-Strike Global Offensive - The game subfolder:
Counter-Strike Global Offensive/game - The win64 binary folder:
Counter-Strike Global Offensive/game/bin/win64
- The root CS2 folder:
- Click Refresh catalog. The initial extraction caches required DLLs locally; subsequent scans reuse unchanged files instantly.
- Search, filter, or copy default values with
Ctrl+C(copying never applies any command to your actual game).
Note
Keep the accompanying _internal folder beside CS2 Command Browser.exe when running portable builds.
You can run the Python app directly or execute a headless scan from PowerShell:
# Launch the desktop GUI
python app.py
# Perform a direct terminal scan of your CS2 installation
python app.py --scan "D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Counter-Strike Global Offensive"Use Tools → Check a .cfg file to validate personal scripts:
- Detects direct settings that are cheat-protected (
sv_cheats). - Highlights command names absent from the current game snapshot.
- Safe and read-only: does not rewrite or alter your config file.
All local data is stored cleanly inside your Windows local profile at %LOCALAPPDATA%\CS2CommandBrowser. Open it directly from the app via Tools → Open results folder.
| Item | Purpose |
|---|---|
settings.json |
Stores your configured CS2 installation directory path. |
latest.json |
Points to your most recent successful extraction snapshot. |
snapshots/ |
Timestamped directories containing snapshot.json, raw convars.txt / commands.txt, and extraction logs. |
cache/ |
Private copies of installed game libraries (tier0.dll, client.dll, etc.) for offline parsing. Safe to delete while closed. |
Tip
The app displays scan dates and times formatted in your local Windows time zone, while snapshot metadata timestamps are preserved in UTC.
CS2 Command Browser uses a bundled, customized build of DumpSource2:
- Isolation: When you initiate a refresh, the app copies required runtime libraries to
%LOCALAPPDATA%\CS2CommandBrowser\cache\win64. - Offline Parsing: DumpSource2 loads the copied binaries in a dedicated offline subprocess, discovers registered ConVars and ConCommands, and extracts their schema signatures.
- Integrity Validation: If the extractor encounters an unexpected engine structure, partial results are rejected and a diagnostic log is recorded without overwriting your last good snapshot.
- Authentic Defaults: Output reflects Valve's compiled hardcoded defaults, not the transient values active in your running match.
Ensure the following tools are available on your Windows system:
- Python 3.10+ (standard library only; Tkinter enabled)
- Visual Studio 2022 with the C++ Desktop Development workload and Windows SDK
- Git
Run the automated PowerShell build script:
./build.ps1The build script will:
- Initialize a localized build virtual environment in
.buildenv. - Configure and compile the CS2 DumpSource2 target using CMake and MSBuild.
- Record build provenance in
tools/extractor-build.json. - Execute the automated test suite (
test_core.py). - Package the standalone desktop app with PyInstaller into
portable-v1.1. - Package the corresponding source code into
Source.zip.
Run the unit test suite at any time using Python's standard test runner:
python -m unittest -v test_core.py
"A dark carbon tactical terminal console illuminated by Counter-Strike's warm amber accents, featuring the classic engine prompt
>_to symbolize deep Source 2 introspection without intrusive game execution."
The application design reflects its technical purpose:
- Golden Amber Accent (
#efb366): Inspired by Counter-Strike 2's signature interface highlights and Source 2 telemetry palettes. - Dark Carbon Surface (
#101318/#191e26): Reduces eye strain during extensive command browsing and config audits. - The Developer Prompt (
>_): Celebrates the iconic console prompt familiar to players, modders, server operators, and map designers since the earliest days of the Half-Life engine.
CS2 Command Browser is free and open-source software provided under the GNU General Public License v3.0.
- Offline Extraction Engine: DumpSource2 by ValveResourceFormat contributors (licensed under GPL-3.0).
- Third-Party Notices: Full dependency licenses and subcomponent notices are cataloged in THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.md.
- Disclaimer: Counter-Strike, CS2, Source, and Valve are trademarks or registered trademarks of Valve Corporation. This project is an independent tool and is neither affiliated with nor endorsed by Valve Corporation.