Your CS2 Autoexec Isn’t in Steam Cloud — Back Up Settings, Crosshair and Binds in 2 Minutes

Verified April 2026 — file paths and Steam Cloud behavior are accurate for the current CS2 build.

You reinstall Windows, launch CS2, and Steam Cloud restores your game. Except your crosshair is wrong. Your binds are gone. Your autoexec.cfg — the file containing every custom tweak you’ve made over hundreds of hours — was never in Steam Cloud at all.

This is not a bug. autoexec.cfg lives in your game installation folder, a location Steam Cloud never touches. The vcfg files that store your crosshair and keybinds are in a different location that Steam Cloud may sync — but community reports suggest it’s unreliable enough that you shouldn’t stake 200 hours of settings on it.

The fix is a 2-minute copy-paste before any reinstall. Here’s exactly what to grab and where to find it.

Quick Start: 5 Files to Copy Before Reinstalling

If you’re already mid-reinstall and need the short version:

1. Navigate to …\Counter-Strike Global Offensive\game\csgo\cfg\ — copy autoexec.cfg (and any custom .cfg files)
2. Navigate to …\Steam\userdata\[SteamID]\730\remote\cfg\ — copy the entire folder
3. Paste both to a USB drive or cloud storage (Google Drive, OneDrive)
4. After reinstall: paste files back to their original paths
5. Add +exec autoexec.cfg to CS2 launch options — Steam won’t do this for you

Full paths, a per-file breakdown, and the restore process are below.

Why Steam Cloud Doesn’t Protect Your Autoexec

Steam Cloud for CS2 syncs files from one specific folder: …\Steam\userdata\[SteamID]\730\remote\cfg\. This is where Valve stores the vcfg files that hold your crosshair settings, sensitivity, and default keybinds.

Your autoexec.cfg doesn’t live there. It lives in the game installation directory — …\Counter-Strike Global Offensive\game\csgo\cfg\ — which is wiped and rebuilt every time you reinstall CS2 or Windows. Steam Cloud never reads from this path.

This means any command you’ve set in autoexec — custom binds, launch option extensions, rate settings, practice configs — disappears on reinstall. The file doesn’t exist in Steam Cloud. There’s no restore. It’s just gone.

Even the vcfg files in the remote folder are not a guaranteed save. The CS2 Steam community has documented cases where Cloud sync fails to restore settings correctly after a full reinstall, with multiple threads noting that crosshair and binds reverted to defaults despite Steam Cloud being enabled [5]. The safest approach is treating Steam Cloud as a possible bonus, not a backup strategy.

The CS2 Config System: What Each File Saves

CS2 splits your configuration across two folder locations and several file types. Understanding which file stores which setting determines what you need to back up.

To find your SteamID: open Steam, click your username, select Profile — the number in the URL is your SteamID64. For most installations, the full path to the remote folder is C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\userdata\[SteamID]\730\remote\cfg\ [3].

The 2-Minute Backup Walkthrough

Open File Explorer and run these two operations before any reinstall or major system change.

Step 1: Back up autoexec.cfg (and the full cfg folder)

Navigate to:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Counter-Strike Global Offensive\game\csgo\cfg

Copy the entire cfg folder — not just autoexec.cfg. If you have multiple custom config files (practice.cfg, buy.cfg, etc.), they’re all here. Paste the folder to a backup location labelled with today’s date: cs2-cfg-backup-2026-04-22.

Step 2: Back up the vcfg files (crosshair, keybinds, settings)

Navigate to:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\userdata\[YOUR_STEAMID]\730\remote\cfg

Copy the entire cfg folder here too. This contains your crosshair data, keybinds, and video settings in the vcfg format used by Source 2 [4].

If this folder is empty or doesn’t exist, check the legacy path: …\userdata\[SteamID]\730\local\cfg\. Older CS2 installations stored vcfg files here before a 2024 update moved them to the remote folder [4].

Step 3: Store the backup safely

USB drive, Google Drive, OneDrive — anywhere that survives a Windows reinstall. Two copies in different locations is the standard approach if your settings represent significant time investment.

Restore After Reinstall: Step by Step

Once CS2 is reinstalled and you’ve logged into Steam:

1. Restore the game cfg folder: Copy your backed-up cfg files into …\Counter-Strike Global Offensive\game\csgo\cfg\. Overwrite if prompted.
2. Restore the vcfg files: Copy your backed-up remote cfg folder into …\userdata\[SteamID]\730\remote\cfg\. Create the folder if it doesn’t exist yet.
3. Set the launch option: In Steam, right-click CS2 → Properties → General → Launch Options. Add +exec autoexec.cfg. Without this, the autoexec won’t run automatically [1].
4. Launch CS2 and verify: Open the console and type crosshair to confirm your crosshair settings loaded. Check your sensitivity and a few key binds before queuing.

For the CS2 crosshair settings, there’s also a secondary safety net: the in-game crosshair sharing system generates a shareable code (visible under Settings → Crosshair → Share or Import Code). Screenshot or note this code before reinstalling — it lets you restore your crosshair visually even if the vcfg restore fails.

Backup by Player Type

FAQ

Does CS2 have a crosshair code I can just share?

Yes — Settings → Crosshair → Share or Import Code. The generated code captures your full crosshair configuration and can be pasted on any account. This covers visual appearance, but doesn’t restore binds, sensitivity, or the console commands in your autoexec. Use the code as a crosshair-specific safety net, not a full config backup.

Will disabling Steam Cloud delete my saved settings?

No. Disabling Steam Cloud for CS2 stops syncing going forward — it doesn’t delete what’s already on your machine. Your local vcfg files stay intact. This is actually useful if you want to reset to defaults: disable Cloud, delete the vcfg files locally, then launch CS2 to generate fresh defaults without Steam Cloud overwriting them.

My cfg folder is empty after reinstall — where are my settings?

Check the legacy userdata path: …\Steam\userdata\[SteamID]\730\local\cfg\. CS2 moved vcfg storage from the local to the remote subfolder in a 2024 update, but old installations may still have configs in the legacy location. If both are empty and you have no backup, the settings are gone — which is exactly why the backup exists.

What about CS2 video settings — do those need backing up too?

Video settings live in cs2_machine_convars.vcfg and cs2_video.txt, both in the remote cfg folder. Backing up the full remote folder covers them. That said, video settings are quick to re-enter compared to hundreds of bind and crosshair tweaks — they’re not usually the painful loss. Focus your restore verification on keybinds and crosshair first.

Sources

[1] CS2 Config & Settings Guide — CSDB.gg

[2] Config File in CS2: Full Guide [2026] — Skin.Club Community

[3] CS2 Config File Guide: Autoexec, Video Settings and Custom Configs — CS2.eu

[4] How to Transfer or Create a CS2 Config — ProSettings.net

[5] CS2 Cloud Saving CFG — Community Discussion — Steam Community

Michael R.

I've been playing video games for over 20 years, spanning everything from early PC titles to modern open-world games. I started Switchblade Gaming to publish the kind of accurate, well-researched guides I always wanted to find — built on primary sources, tested in-game, and kept up to date after patches. I currently focus on Minecraft and Pokémon GO.