In brief

Save your current settings, put the downloaded .cfg in game/csgo/cfg/ and run it with exec in the CS2 console. Check the values before adding it to your launch options.

Save your settings before importing

Write down or capture the settings the file will change: base and zoom sensitivity, viewmodel and any crosshair values it contains. Keep a copy of your existing autoexec.cfg before editing it. A screenshot of your current settings gives you a reference for restoring them.

For a value missing from the menus, enter its command alone in the console, for example viewmodel_offset_x. Record the reported value before executing the downloaded cfg.

Use a practice session for the first check. A downloaded setup is a starting point; changing your DPI or copying a professional’s values does not reproduce their aim.

Download and read the player’s cfg

Open a player profile and use its Published settings .cfg download. Read the file in a plain-text editor first. Drop Guide exports selected commands for which the required values are recorded; the file can cover fewer settings than the profile.

For example, the file linked from the donk profile contains the following mouse and viewmodel commands:

sensitivity 1.25
zoom_sensitivity_ratio 1
viewmodel_fov 68
viewmodel_offset_x 2.5
viewmodel_offset_y 0
viewmodel_offset_z -1.5

That example does not contain crosshair commands. The illustrated crosshair in the profile does not make it a complete original player config. Compare the file with the settings you actually intend to change.

Put the file in the CS2 cfg folder

  1. Close CS2. In your Steam Library, open Counter-Strike 2’s properties, then its installed files and the option to browse them.
  2. From the installation folder, open game, then csgo, then cfg.
  3. Copy donk-drop-guide.cfg into that folder. Keep its filename for the first test.

The path from the installation folder is game/csgo/cfg/. Steam libraries can be on different drives, so use Steam’s browse option rather than assuming a fixed C: path. On Linux, follow the same folders and match filename capitalization. This guide concerns the Windows and Linux versions of CS2.

Show file extensions in your file manager. The filename must end in .cfg, not .cfg.txt. Save edits as plain UTF-8 text.

Apply the cfg and check the result

  1. Start CS2. Enable the developer console in the game settings and open it with the assigned key.
  2. Enter the command below and press Enter.
exec donk-drop-guide.cfg

Use the name of the file you actually downloaded. To inspect the current sensitivity, enter its command without a new value:

sensitivity

Compare the reported value with the line in the file, then check the other changed settings and the viewmodel in practice. If a command is unknown or a value has not changed, resolve that issue before making the file run automatically.

Load it at startup with autoexec or a launch option

For an initial trial, manual exec is enough. If you want the same file applied on each launch, add this in CS2’s Steam Properties → General → Launch Options:

+exec donk-drop-guide.cfg

A plus sign runs a console command at startup. Leave unrelated launch options intact. If you already maintain an autoexec.cfg, you can instead add exec donk-drop-guide.cfg inside it and use +exec autoexec.cfg to request that file at startup.

Use one clear loading path. Commands executed later can replace earlier values. Keep a single final value for each setting in your own startup configuration so you can identify what is applied.

Restore your previous settings

Remove the launch option you added or remove the corresponding exec line from your own autoexec. Then restore the values you saved before importing, through the game settings or your own known commands.

Deleting the downloaded file does not undo settings already applied. Recheck the restored values in the console and in a practice session. If your old autoexec was changed, restore your saved copy and check it for another command that loads the imported file.

Fix common cfg problems

The console cannot find the file
Check the exact filename, its .cfg extension and the game/csgo/cfg/ folder. On Linux, check capitalization too.
Only some settings changed
Read the downloaded file: it contains selected commands, not every setting in the profile. Check the console for an unknown command or invalid value. An old CS:GO command may not apply to CS2.
The value changes again after restarting
Check your launch options, autoexec and any files they execute. A later command can overwrite the imported value.
The mouse feels different
Check the active mouse DPI as well as CS2 sensitivity. Use the eDPI calculator to compare them, then test one change at a time.

A cfg, a crosshair code and a preview do different jobs

A .cfg is a text file of console commands. An autoexec.cfg is a startup configuration file; you can explicitly request it with +exec autoexec.cfg. A crosshair share code imports crosshair settings through CS2’s crosshair menu.

Where a profile provides a published share code, use that code for the crosshair. An illustrative preview can be based on reported pixel dimensions, which cannot safely be substituted for raw console values. Keep these methods separate when comparing or exporting settings.

Continue with player settings and comparison or how our player data and config exports are checked.