What is a CS2 share code?
A CS2 share code is a short string beginning with CSGO- that identifies one matchmaking match. Counter-Strike 2 shows it under Watch → Your Matches, and it is the address Valve uses for that match's recording. It is not the demo; it is the pointer that lets a service ask Valve where the demo is.
That distinction matters because it explains what any tool can and cannot do. A share code that Valve still recognises resolves to a downloadable recording. A share code for a match Valve has aged out resolves to nothing, no matter which viewer you use.
How do I watch a Premier demo without opening CS2?
Paste the share code into the import box. The match is resolved to its Valve recording, downloaded, decompressed and rebuilt as a 3D browser replay you can scrub and review.
- In Counter-Strike 2, open Watch → Your Matches and copy the share code for the game you want.
- Open Memorin and choose Watch a match in 3D.
- Paste the
CSGO-…code into the import field. The same field also takes FACEIT matchroom links, Leetify match links and direct demo URLs. - Let it parse. Rounds, events, grenades and moments are indexed while the file is read, which is why the wait is front-loaded rather than spread across playback.
- Open the replay and review it with the round timeline, POV, follow camera, free camera, x-ray, radar and the match review panel.
Downloading the demo yourself and uploading the file works too, and produces exactly the same replay. Valve serves matchmaking recordings compressed; the uploader reads .dem, .dem.gz and .dem.zst without an unzip step.
Can my matchmaking games import themselves?
Yes, with a one-time setup. Connecting match history takes two things: your match-history authentication code from Steam (Steam → CS2 → "Access to Your Match History") and one recent share code to start from. After that, new matches import automatically.
Valve's match history interface has no list-everything call, so it walks forward from a match you supply. One recent share code seeds that walk, and an older one backfills more history. If you want the last few weeks rather than only what happens next, seed it with the oldest share code you still have.
How long do Valve matchmaking demos stay available?
Valve serves matchmaking recordings for a limited window rather than forever, so an old share code can resolve to a match whose file is gone. Import the games you care about while they are recent. This is the single most common reason a share code "does not work": the code is fine, the recording expired.
It is also the strongest argument for connecting match history. A background import that runs the day you play removes the entire class of problem, because nothing has to survive until you remember to review it.
Why does the demo not match what I remember seeing?
A matchmaking demo is a server-side recording, not a screen capture of your monitor. It reconstructs positions, weapons, utility and events from the server's view of the match, then renders them fresh. Your original crosshair placement is reconstructed from recorded aim angles rather than replayed from your mouse input, and playback runs at integer-tick precision, so sub-tick command ordering is not recovered.
That is a real limitation and worth knowing before you argue with a clip. The capabilities and limits guide and the reconstruction methodology both go further into where recorded evidence ends and interpretation starts.
What is Premier review actually good for?
Premier and matchmaking games are noisy. Teammates are strangers, economies collapse for reasons nobody communicated, and half the rounds teach you nothing. Reviewing every round of every game is the fastest way to stop reviewing entirely. Instead:
- Review the deaths that repeat. One bad peek is variance. The same bad peek in three games is a habit, and habits are the only thing review can actually fix.
- Review the rounds that changed the score, especially the round after a big win — that is where matchmaking teams most often give it straight back.
- Ignore the highlight rounds. They feel good and contain nothing actionable.
- Convert, do not rewatch. Once you have identified the recurring death, take control of it as a Replay Moment and try a different answer until the better option is the one your hands reach for.
For the full pass, use the round-by-round review workflow. For the specific question of what your own numbers do and do not prove, see reading your own stats out of a demo.
FAQ
What is a CS2 share code?
A CS2 share code is a short string beginning with CSGO- that identifies one matchmaking match. Counter-Strike 2 shows it under Watch, Your Matches, and it is the address Valve uses for that match's recording.
How do I watch a Premier demo without opening CS2?
Paste the share code into the import box. The match is resolved to its Valve recording, downloaded, decompressed and rebuilt as a 3D browser replay you can scrub and review.
Why does automatic import need one share code to start?
Valve's match history interface has no list-everything call, so it walks forward from a match you supply. One recent share code seeds that walk, and an older one backfills more history.
How long do Valve matchmaking demos stay available?
Valve serves matchmaking recordings for a limited window rather than forever, so an old share code can resolve to a match whose file is gone. Import the games you care about while they are recent.