The developer console in ETS2 and ATS: how to enable it, and the commands mod users actually need

24 Oct 2026 · 3 min read · ModsDrop

Pictured: MAN TGX 2020 Improved Dashboard – Extra Gauges and Indicators, from the ModsDrop library.

Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator hide a developer console that turns several mod-related chores from “edit a file and restart” into “type a word”. It is off by default, takes two lines to switch on, and the handful of commands below are the ones mod users actually use. Nothing here affects multiplayer eligibility in Convoy; TruckersMP has its own rules about console use, so leave it off on that profile.

Switching the console on

Close the game. Open config.cfg in the game’s Documents folder (Documents\Euro Truck Simulator 2\ or Documents\American Truck Simulator\) in a text editor and change two lines:

uset g_console "1"
uset g_developer "1"

Save, start the game. The tilde key (the one above Tab) opens and closes the console. Developer mode also adds a free camera on the 0 key of the number row and some extra information displays; it does not change gameplay unless you use it.

Commands for mod users

g_traffic 2: traffic density, default 1. Changes take effect as new vehicles spawn. The traffic guide covers sensible values.
g_set_time 14: set the in-game clock to an hour, for checking how a paint job or a light mod looks at a given time of day without waiting.
goto city_name: teleport the camera to a city (ETS2 uses the internal city names, mostly the English spelling in lower case). Used with the free camera to check a map mod’s area quickly, and to position the truck with the teleport that follows.
g_fps 1: a frame-rate counter in the corner. The honest way to measure a mod’s cost: same place, same time, mod on, mod off.
warp 0.5: time scale. Half speed is useful for watching a sound mod’s gear changes or a suspension mod’s behaviour; warp 1 restores normal.
g_minicon 1: keeps a small console log on screen, so errors from mods scroll past as they happen instead of waiting in game.log.txt.
uset on its own lists every setting with its current value; uset g_traffic shows one.

Reading the log live

With the console open you can see the same messages the game writes to game.log.txt. Loading a profile with the console open shows each mod as it mounts and any error as it happens, which is faster than reading the log afterwards. An error that names a mod’s file right after loading is the dependency or version problem the install guide describes.

Saving in text form

uset g_save_format "2" in config.cfg makes saves plain text instead of binary. It does not change the game; it makes game.sii editable, which is how people adjust money, move a stranded truck, or fix a profile after a map mod was removed. Edit copies, never originals, and expect a syntax error to make the save unloadable until you fix it.

What the console cannot do

It cannot activate or deactivate mods; that stays in the Mod Manager. It cannot grant money or experience directly without save editing or a separate mod. And it does not bypass the version warning or make an incompatible mod load. It is a diagnostic tool, which is exactly what a mod user needs most of the time.

Turning it off again

Set the two lines back to “0”. Leaving the console enabled is harmless in single-player; switching it off is only a matter of preference, and of keeping a TruckersMP profile within that network’s rules.

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