How To Open The Demo Menu In CS:GO

A CS:GO demo is an archived Counter-Strike: Global Offensive match recording. Whether from a typical pub or an esports event, every match is stored on Valve’s server system and may be watched anytime and as often as you choose. 

Three reasons drive people to study demos: 

• To understand more about their opponent
• To enhance their gameplay
• To produce frag movies! 

Take Note: Every non-professional demo has an expiration date! You must thus download your match demo immediately if you wish to view it.

First, locate your demo file. Every demo follows the .dem format. Professional demos are available on certain websites run by tournament operators. 

You can playback your demos as well. You must first download the demos to accomplish this. Here’s how to achieve this:

• Open CS:GO, client.
• Click Watch, which is found on the left menu.
• Choose Your matches and identify the match you wish to download.
• Click Download to save the demo to your PC.

Demos obtained through the above steps can be found through this path: C:\Games\Steam\steamapps\common\Counter-Strike Global Offensive\csgo\replays\.

Additionally, it is advised to save demos downloaded from other websites into this folder. This will simplify their later launch.

However, you won’t find your demos if you knowingly or mistakenly altered the installation path earlier. In such a case, you need to find the folder you chose. If you can’t find it, you can create a new one for future demos.

Another Way to Locate Saved Demos

Here’s another approach to locating your demo saved files:

• Right-click on CS:GO within Steam.
• Choose “Properties.” 
• Then, “Local Files.” 
• Finally, select “CS:GO.” 

This should get you where you are going. The path is the same for Linux and Mac versions.

You can find FACEIT and ESEA demos anywhere you saved them following the client download. Before viewing these samples, unzip them using 7zip or an equivalent tool.

Pay attention to demo names if you intend to review several match recordings. Review each saved demo and rename it so that it describes the recording and which match it was made from. This is not a step to ignore; as the number of demos rises with time, it can get confusing.

First, you must activate the developer console before introducing the CS:GO demo menu:

• To start the game, navigate to the main menu.
• Press the gear symbol representing the “Settings” button in the lower-left portion of your screen. Click “Game Settings.”
• Go through the tab until you reach “Enabled Developer Console.” Turn on “Yes,” then click the “Apply” button.
• Although you have now effectively turned on the console, you should bind the function to the button that best fits you.
• Go to the “Keyboard and Mouse” section and slide down until you reach “Toggle Console.” Click the option to select the key that opens the console. To simplify things, also make sure you avoid binding it with another feature.
• Press “Apply,” then close the open sections on choices.

Let’s open the demo menu while the developer console is active:

• Connect to a server.
• Begin a match.
• Press the tilde button (~) or another key you have bound to the console to open it.
• Now, enter “playdemo.” Your files will show on the screen if you downloaded and extracted your GOTV.
• Locate the demo you wish to view and press the “enter” button.
• Your demo will now begin with its main menu.
• Press “shift and F2” to leverage in-game playing features.

Launching a CS:GO demo via the console follows these steps:

• Start CS:GO.
• Open the console to launch a demo. 

The console key is, by default, tilde (~). 

• Should nothing occur, activate the console by flicking the switch from Settings > Game Settings > Enable Developer Console. 
• Enter this command once the console opens: playdemo [demo_file_name].

Swap [demo_file_name] for the demo name you wish to view. If it’s demo_frag.dem, for instance, you would enter: playdemo demo_frag.

• Press Enter or Submit to begin the demo. 

Remember to use the demoui console command to display your screen’s demo playback control panel. This panel lets you jump to particular rounds, speed up or slow down the playback, and perform other actions. 

We’ll talk about how to use this panel next.

Every CS:GO demo can also be launched via the in-game playback panel. 

To open it, press Shift+F2 or use the console command demoui—as we advised above. 

Click Load after that to get the default CS:GO demo location and the folder we mentioned previously. 

Choose a demo and launch it within the pop-up window. 

This launches the playback, and the playback panel will allow you to control your demo.

Controls

Below are the CS:GO demo controls you’ll find in the playback:

• Start or pause the demo playback with Play/Pause.
• Next/Previous Tick guides you across the demo tick by tick.
• Jump to Tick lets you leap to a designated demo Tick.
• Speed turns the Demo’s playback speed to suit.

Other Functions

Apart from the basic CS:GO demo controls mentioned above, there are other functions you’ll find and can use on the demo menu:

• Graphs offer graphical statistics, including player damage, grenade throws, and player mobility.
• Timeline provides a general overview of the demo timeline so you can quickly access particular moments.
• Bookmarks lets you create simple reference bookmarks at certain points in the demo.
• Load Config provides a custom configuration file for improved demo analysis.

These tools let you closely review gameplay mechanics, strategies, and player movement, often resulting in insightful analysis that you could use for your own game.

The CS:GO demo UI lets you play, pause, fast-forward, or rewind your demos. Open your console and type “demo” to turn on or off these features. 

Here’s how you can rewind your demos using this function:

• Load your demo, and then begin to play it.
• You will have to input a matching number of ticks to indicate the point where you wish your demo to leap. To move 60 ticks back over the replay, for instance, type “demo_goto -60 1”.
• To skip 60 ticks, type “demo_goto 60 1”.

Taking a screenshot is the only way to print a section of your CS:GO demo. To do this:

• Open the console as your demo file plays.
• Activate “bind f11 devshots_screenshot”. 
• Close the console after you hit the “enter” button.
• To grab a screenshot, enter the “F11” key. 
• Re-open your console. 
• Type the command “unbind f1.”
• Open the Stream on your PC.
• Select the “View” option found on the menu.
• Select the “Screenshots” section. On your screen, the Uploader window will appear.
• From the list of game screenshots you desire to locate, choose CS:GO in the Uploader area.
• Press the “Show on Disk” option. This action will take you to the folder with the screenshot you took earlier.
• Right-click on the screenshot.
• Press “Print.”

Another feature you’ll enjoy is changing the demos’ view. Here, you have many choices, like turning on flight mode for the camera. To change the view, do the following:

• Press the “~” key or any other button you bound the developer console with to bring it up. Should the console not show, you could have to turn on it in the game’s settings. From there, visit “Game Settings,” then “Enable Developer Console.” Turn it on “Yes,” then click “Apply.”
• You can view a demo by entering “demoui” or “demoui2.” Pressing the “shift and F2” key combo will also help.
• Select the file you want to playback by clicking the “Load…” button.
• Press the space key to turn your camera to flight mode as the playback starts.

You can also vary the perspective of your camera:

• Start the “Camera drive mode” by pressing the “Drive…” button.
• Move your cursor to the viewport of the demo to control the camera; keep the left button pressed and start using your keyboard to move about. To go up or down, press the W or S button; to go left or battle, press the A or D button. Decelerate the shift button and use the Z or X keys to navigate up or down.

One of the easiest ways to apply CS:GO demo controls is to use these commands:

Csgo_download_match

This command, csgo_download_match <Match ID>, allows you to download a CS:GO match. 

To use this command, you must know the match’s unique ID. You will swap the ID for <match ID> in the command. So, if the match’s ID is 1459, the command will become csgo_download_match 1459.

Interestingly, you don’t need to enable sv_cheats to use this command. Furthermore, this is a client command only. 

X-Ray (Wallhack) Command

The command spec_show_xray activates X-Ray, which lets you view players beyond walls (like wallhack). 

This command allows X-ray in demos and overwatch: spec_show_xray 1.

To turn off X-ray in demos and overwatch, use the following command: spec_show_xray 0.

DemoUI Command

The demo UI is the panel that enables you to play, pause, skip rounds, rewind, fast-forward, etc., in demos and Overwatch. The command utilized to display it is demoui. 

Type the following into the console to show/hide (toggle) the demo UI: demoui.

Rewind and Fast Forward Command

We advise utilizing the demo UI if you want an interface that lets you fast-forward or rewind overwatches or demos. 

Opening this requires running the following command into the console: demoui.

The demo_goto command allows you to rewind demos from a command standpoint. To rewind, state a negative tick count; inputting -54 would rewind 54 ticks. 

Substitute the desired fast forward or rewind count for TICKS: demo_goto TICKS 1.

Reversing 54 ticks (note the negative value), this command would be demo_goto -54 1.

This command would skip forward 54 ticks: demo_goto 54 1.

This command works without sv_cheats and is both a server and client command.

demo_listhighlights

The demo_listhighlights displays a list of the current demo’s highlight data. The extracted data will be inserted into the console. 

This command works without sv_cheats and is both a server and client command.

demo_listimportantticks

Use the demo_listimportantticks to reveal a list of ticks that the client of a match considered important for the currently viewed demo. 

You don’t need sv_cheats, and the command applies to both the server and the client.

demo_pause

This very important command, demo_pause, allows you to pause the currently viewed demo. 

This command works without sv_cheats and is both a server and client command.

demo_resume

The demo_resume command is the opposite of the demo_pause command. If paused, it lets you resume the demo you are currently viewing.  

This command works without sv_cheats and is both a server and client command.

demo_recordcommands

The demo_recordcommands <0 / 1> lets the user record the command inserted into the console. These commands are then saved in a .dem file. 

If you enter 1 after demo_recordcommands, the recording will begin in the demo. If you enter 0 after demo_recordcommands, the recording will stop. Therefore, the default value of this command is 1.

This command requires sv_cheats and is both a server and client command.

demo_timescale

The demo_timescale <Playback speed> command is used to set the playback speed of the demo. This command lets you jump to certain demo parts you don’t want to watch. 

To use this command, type the number representing your desired playback speed instead of <Playback speed>. So, if you want the demo to be 15 times faster, you’ll type 15. In this case, the command will be demo_timescale 15.

If you want the playback speed to return to normal, enter demo_timescale 1 into the console.

This command works without sv_cheats and is both a server and client command.

demo_togglepause

When you use the demo_togglepause command, you can switch between pausing or playing your demo. Rather than using the demo_pause or demo_resume command, the demo_togglepause works in place of both. 

So, if the demo is playing and you use the demo_togglepause command, it will pause. Likewise, if the demo is paused, the demo_togglepause command will cause it to resume playing.

This command works without sv_cheats and is both a server and client command.

demolist

This simple command, demolist, prints the demo sequence list in the console. 

This command works without sv_cheats and is both a server and client command.

demos

The demos command will return you to CS:GO’s home screen. Sometimes, it might even crash the game.

This command works without sv_cheats and is both a server and client command.

The Counter-Strike franchise still greatly benefits from including the demo viewer. However, in CS:GO, you would anticipate the function to be more sophisticated. It is more of a revised interface from the 2007 edition.

The main problem is how the feature reads demo files. Your game must replay the entire demo every time you wish to modify it, and you must allow the program to scan demos whenever you decide to view them. 

Because of this, rewind or fast-forward options run far slower. You must wait for the application to load, even though you do not have to view your demos from the start.

The sample viewer’s interface shuts you out of other areas of the game’s UI, which presents yet another issue. You can’t swap between players while your UI is active. Though initially a minor annoyance, this will become a big hassle with time.

Demos help you evaluate your gameplay through analysis. Examining your match records can help you spot areas needing work, know your mistakes, and learn to create better plans for every round.

Another quite helpful activity is watching official game recordings. They let you see, from a first-person perspective, players’ behavior, strategies, and decision-making. Such observations aid in learning the top-notch methods and other gameplay tools of the best esports players.

Another major reason for viewing demos is to make a frag movie from your highlights. Imagine having exciting music on your own TikTok or Reels. This is a fantastic resume point and a chance to revisit the most unforgettable events of your matches.

Opening and navigating the CS:GO demo menu lets players examine their gameplay closely, pinpoint areas needing work, and relive special events. Following the advice in this guide will help you quickly access and use demos to improve your abilities and produce interesting content.