CS2 Chat Translator

Translate Counter-Strike 2 chat messages in real time using simple in-game commands like tm_de, _tl, and code_french, while keeping in-game chat clean and readable. The tool reads your console.log, translates messages via Google Translate, and sends responses back into the game using a configurable keybind.

Note: CS2 must be started with the Steam launch option -condebug so that console.log is actually written. See “Enable console logging (-condebug)" below.

---

Features

• In-game translation commands

  • tm_<lang> TEXT Translate arbitrary text to <lang> and send it to chat. Example: tm_de hello friends
  • _tl [lang] Translate the last normal chat message to [lang] (default: en) and send it to chat.
  • code_<language> Fuzzy search for language names and show the matching tm_<code> helper. Example: code_french → For French use tm_fr

• Automatic console translation

  • All non-command messages are automatically translated to a target language (default: English) in the terminal only.
  • Does not spam the in-game chat.

• Config-based setup

  • User config stored under:

    • Linux: ~/.config/cs2-chat-translator/config.json

  • CLI helpers to initialize and adjust config (log path, cfg directory, bind key).

• No owner logic, no blacklist

  • This edition focuses purely on:

    • tm_
    • _tl
    • code_
    • auto-translate to console

---

How It Works

1. CS2 writes chat lines into console.log (via -condebug).

2. The tool tails console.log and parses lines like:

   • [CT] PlayerName: message
   • [T] PlayerName: message
   • [ALL] PlayerName: message

3. Depending on the content:

   • Commands (tm_, _tl, code_) trigger translations and responses via in-game chat.
   • All other lines (non-command messages) are translated to a target language and printed in the terminal.

4. Responses to be sent to CS2 are written into chat_reader.cfg and executed via a bind key using xdotool.

---

Requirements

• OS: Linux (tested with CS2 under Steam/Proton)

• Runtime:

  • Node.js 18+ (ESM + modern fs APIs)
  • xdotool (to simulate the keypress that executes chat_reader.cfg)

• Network: Internet connection (for Google Translate)

• Game: Counter-Strike 2 with console logging enabled via -condebug

---

Enable Console Logging (-condebug)

CS2 must be told to write the console output to console.log. This is critical; without it, the tool has nothing to read.

1. Open Steam.

2. Go to Library → Right click on Counter-Strike 2 → Properties….

3. Under Launch Options, add:

   -condebug
   

4. Start CS2 once so that console.log gets created.

The file is typically located in something like:

~/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/Counter-Strike Global Offensive/game/csgo/console.log

(You can override the exact path in the config.)

---

Installation

AUR (Arch-based distributions)

If you are on Arch Linux or a derivative (e.g. EndeavourOS, CachyOS, Manjaro) and the package is available in the AUR:

yay -S cs2-chat-translator
# or
paru -S cs2-chat-translator

This will:

• Install the tool under /usr/lib/cs2-chat-translator
• Expose the CLI as cs2-chat-translator in your $PATH

From Source (generic)

Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/MeckeDev/cs2-chat-translator.git
cd cs2-chat-translator

Install dependencies:

npm install

Make sure the main CLI file is executable:

chmod +x bin/cs2-chat-translator.js

You can now run it directly:

node bin/cs2-chat-translator.js

Or link it globally via npm link (optional):

npm link
cs2-chat-translator --help

---

Configuration

The tool uses a simple JSON config file:

• Linux: ~/.config/cs2-chat-translator/config.json

Example content:

{
  "logPath": "/home/youruser/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/Counter-Strike Global Offensive/game/csgo/console.log",
  "cfgDir": "/home/youruser/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/Counter-Strike Global Offensive/game/csgo/cfg",
  "bindKey": "l"
}

CLI helpers

The CLI provides some helper flags to create and edit the config without manually opening the file:

• Initialize or refresh config with sane defaults:

  cs2-chat-translator --init-config

• Set the path to console.log:

  cs2-chat-translator --set-log-path /full/path/to/console.log

• Set the CS2 cfg directory:

  cs2-chat-translator --set-cfg-dir /full/path/to/csgo/cfg

• Change the bind key (the key used in CS2 to execute chat_reader.cfg):

  cs2-chat-translator --set-bind-key l

These commands will update ~/.config/cs2-chat-translator/config.json. You can still fine-tune it manually if needed.

---

CS2 Setup

1. Enable console logging

As described above, add -condebug to your CS2 Steam launch options and start the game once.

2. Find your cfg directory

Typical path under Linux with Steam/Proton:

~/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/Counter-Strike Global Offensive/game/csgo/cfg

Use this as cfgDir in the config.

3. Bind a key to execute chat_reader.cfg

In your CS2 cfg folder, you will have your own configuration files like autoexec.cfg. Add a line similar to:

bind l "exec chat_reader.cfg"

Replace l with whatever key you configured as bindKey in config.json.

The tool will write its output into chat_reader.cfg, and pressing the bound key will cause CS2 to send the corresponding chat message.

---

Usage

Start the translator

Once configured:

cs2-chat-translator --init-config    # first time, optional but recommended
cs2-chat-translator

You should see something like:

🚀 CS2 Chat Translator (watching console.log)

Commands:
  • tm_<lang> TEXT      → translate TEXT to <lang> (chat output, e.g., tm_de hello)
  • _tl [lang]          → translate last message to [lang] (default en)
  • code_<langname>     → show helper like 'For French use tm_fr'

Auto-Translate:
  • Non-commands → shown in console as '<from> → EN'

Keep this terminal window open while you play CS2.

In-game commands

All commands are typed directly into the CS2 chat.

tm_<lang> TEXT

Translate arbitrary text into the target language and send it to chat.

• Example:

  • tm_de hello friends

• Output in chat (example):

  • YourName said - Hallo Freunde - (from English)

Supported languages are based on Google Translate’s language codes (e.g. en, de, fr, es, ru, pt, zh_cn, zh_tw, …).

_tl [lang]

Translate the last normal chat message.

• If lang is omitted, defaults to en.

• Example:

  • Someone writes in Russian: Привет, как дела?
  • In console you see auto-translation.
  • You type: _tl de

• Output in chat (example):

  • TheirName said - Wie geht es dir? - (from Russian)

The tool keeps track of the last non-command, non-empty message for _tl.

code_<language>

Helps you find the correct tm_<code> for a human-readable language name using fuzzy matching.

• Examples:

  • code_french → For French use tm_fr
  • code brasil → likely For Portuguese use tm_pt
  • code simplified chinese → might suggest tm_zh_cn

This is useful when you don’t remember the exact language code.

---

Automatic Console Translation

All normal chat messages (that are not commands) are automatically translated to a target language (default: English) and printed in the terminal.

Example console output:

🌍 [T] Player123 (Russian → EN): Hello, how are you?

This allows you to see what’s going on without spamming the in-game chat.

---

Troubleshooting

“console.log not found”

If you see an error like:

❌ console.log not found: /path/to/console.log

Check:

1. CS2 is launched with -condebug.
2. The logPath in config.json is correct.
3. The file actually exists and is being updated while you play.

You can fix the path via:

cs2-chat-translator --set-log-path /correct/path/to/console.log

xdotool errors

If you see messages like:

xdotool error: ...

Ensure:

• xdotool is installed:

  sudo pacman -S xdotool    # Arch

• The window focus is on CS2 when the script triggers.

• The bindKey in your config matches the bind in your CS2 cfg.

Translations fail or are wrong

• Google Translate may throttle or change behavior.
• Cyrillic text has a heuristic to prefer Russian (ru) if detection seems off.
• If smartTranslate fails, the original text may be returned without changes.

---

Development

Install dev dependencies and run from the repo:

git clone https://github.com/MeckeDev/cs2-chat-translator.git
cd cs2-chat-translator
npm install
node bin/cs2-chat-translator.js --init-config
node bin/cs2-chat-translator.js

You can edit the source, adjust behavior, and keep using the same config file. Contributions and forks are welcome as long as the license terms are respected.

---

License

This project is open source. See the LICENSE file in the repository for full details.