Where are CS2 demos stored?

Counter-Strike 2 keeps the demos you download in the game inside your Steam library, in a replays folder next to the game files. The folder is created the first time you download a match, so do not be surprised if it is missing on a fresh install.

Windows

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

If you moved the game to another drive or use a second Steam library, replace the first part with that library folder. In Steam: right-click Counter-Strike 2 → Manage → Browse local files, then open game\csgo\replays.

Linux

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

Older installs and some distributions use ~/.steam/steam/steamapps/common/ instead. CS2 has no macOS build, so there is no macOS path.

Which demos actually land there

Matchmaking and GOTV downloads from inside the game. Watch tab → Your Matches → Download. Those files appear in replays as .dem.
Demos you place there yourself, so that playdemo can find them by name.

Where third-party demos go instead

Demos from FACEIT, ESEA, leagues or HLTV are downloaded by your browser, not by the game. They end up in your normal download folder, usually as .dem.zst (FACEIT) or .dem.gz. To watch those in the game you first have to unpack them and move the plain .dem into the replays folder — see what a .dem.zst file is and how to download FACEIT demos.

Finding a demo you cannot locate

Search your drive for *.dem and *.dem.zst. Matchmaking files are named after the match and date; FACEIT files carry the match id, which makes them easy to match up with the room they came from.

Opening a demo without the game

You do not need the 30+ GB install to look at a demo. Drop the file into DemoLens and it is parsed in your browser — the file never leaves your machine, and .dem, .dem.gz and .dem.zst all work as they are.

DemoLens is a community project, not affiliated with or endorsed by Valve Corporation or FACEIT. Counter-Strike is a trademark of Valve Corporation.