Ultra-short version:

  1. Right click CSGO in Steam, click "Manage" then click on "Browse local files". Then open the “csgo” and then the “cfg” folders. (If you have the default installation path, it will be C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Counter-Strike Global Offensive\csgo\cfg)
  2. Create an “autoexec.cfg” file by copying any other cfg file and renaming it to autoexec
  3. Open the autoexec with notepad, clear out the initial contents and add your custom commands to the autoexec, and make sure the last line in the file is ‘host_writeconfig’

What is a CSGO config / autoexec?

In CSGO, it’s inevitable that you’ll start looking to customize your gaming experience. Whether you’ve experimented with the vast number of customization options offered before or not, we’ll walk you through how to make sure you never lose your hard custom work by creating an autoexec config file to be used in CSGO. Because, as we all know, having to retype our settings each time after reset is a massive annoyance.

In essence, an autoexec is a personal config file that you place in CSGO’s game files that contains your own personal settings (sensitivity, buy binds, crosshair settings, resolution, etc). By creating an autoexec and placing it in your game’s files, the game will automatically load these settings from the file every time you start CSGO. Additionally, you can always keep an extra save of your file handy and use it for when you’re playing on a different PC at a LAN or wherever your adventures take you. No more retyping your config from memory, a notepad, or playing without custom settings.

Note; we recommend saving your personal config/autoexec file and storing it online just in case it gets replaced or removed for whatever reason.

How do you create an autoexec?

To start out, we’ll go to your CSGO config folder by going to your steam library and right clicking on Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Then, you’ll open properties and click browse local files. This will open up a map with a bunch of folders inside. Go ahead and click on csgo followed by cfg. You’ll see a huge list of files, don’t worry about them. Now, you’ll want to right click on a current .cfg file in the folder, copy and paste it, then name it “autoexec”.

Now that we’ve created the autoexec.cfg, open it up and write your favorite commands inside. Whatever you put inside is dependent on what you personally want and/or require. If you’re looking for a start point, we’ve put together some of the best CSGO binds out there. Your imagination is your limit here. Once you’re done, as the last line, input the text ‘host_writeconfig’. After writing the last line, we’re finished and you’ll need to press file > save. Check your spelling on the file name, it has to be 1 for 1.

We’ve now reached the point where your autoexec is ready. You’re all good to go now and your custom setting should load right up every time you launch CSGO. Scroll down to download a few popular pros config files!

TL:DR Creating the autoexec file

  1. Right click CSGO in Steam, click "Manage" then click on "Browse local files"
  2. Once your file explorer opens up, click on csgo then go to cfg
  3. Right click a current .cfg file, copy it, paste it, and then rename it to ‘autoexec’
    a. Note; This saves you the trouble of having to toggle on the ability to alter file extensions in your OS.
  4. Open the new cfg file and input your custom commands along with the last line being ‘host_writeconfig’
    a. Note: the ‘hostwriteconfig’ line is needed because of a long-standing bug in the loading order, which causes most changes by autoexec to be effectively ignored without it.
    b. Warning; make sure the file actually ends with “.cfg” and doesn’t get a file extension added by windows (e.g. “autoexec.cfg.txt”) or this won’t work
  5. Save the file and close out
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