Dota 2 binds: settings, console commands and hero binds

The binds worth setting

Each action is a setting in the client and a console command. The command goes into bind as is.

ActionIn the settingsConsoleDefault

Select HeroF1Hotkeys → Units
+dota_camera_follow
Select All Controlled Units—Hotkeys → Units
dota_select_all
Select All Other Units—Hotkeys → Units
dota_select_all_others
Next UnitTABHotkeys → Control Groups
dota_cycle_selected
Group 11Hotkeys → Control Groups
+dota_control_group 1
Camera GripMOUSE3Hotkeys → Camera
+cameragrip
Position 1—Hotkeys → Camera
dota_camera_saved_position 1
Need Wards—Communication → Phrases
chatwheel_say 3
Console\Hotkeys → Interface
toggleconsole

Binding a key in the settings

01Open the game settings, the “Hotkeys” section.
02Click the field next to the action, then press the key or combination.
03If the key is taken, the game says so and offers “Bind Anyway”.
04“Reset to defaults” in “Hotkeys” brings the stock keys back.

Anything the settings do not list is bound through the console.

Hotkeys

Select HeroF1
Select All Controlled Units
Select All Other Units
Next UnitTAB

Binding a key in the console

01Turn the console on: “Game” → “Miscellaneous” → “Enable console”. The -console launch option in Steam does the same.
02Open it with \. The key is changed under “Hotkeys” → “Interface” → “Console”.
03Type the bind and press Enter: bind "key" "command". It works at once.
04To keep all binds in one file, put them in autoexec.cfg.

Format

bind "KEY" "COMMAND"

Examples

bind "F5" "chatwheel_say 3"

bind "MOUSE4" "dota_select_all_others"

bind "SPACE" "+dota_camera_center_on_hero"

Key names

F1…F12MOUSE3MOUSE4MOUSE5MWHEELUPMWHEELDOWNSPACETABCAPSLOCKKP_1

Mouse buttons are MOUSE3 (wheel), MOUSE4 and MOUSE5; the numpad is KP_1…KP_9.

One key, one command

Since the Dota 2 update of 24 May 2016 a key runs a single console command in a normal match. Chains with ; and alias still run in a lobby with cheats and while spectating, not in a match. So “select the unit, cast, go back” on one key is out; the settings have their own entries for that.

autoexec.cfg

A file of console commands the game runs at every start. A good place for all binds and console settings.

01Open the game's cfg folder (path below; your Steam library may be on another drive).
02Create a text file named autoexec.cfg. Turn on file extensions in Explorer so it does not end up as autoexec.cfg.txt.
03One command per line; lines starting with // are skipped.
04Restart the game or type exec autoexec.cfg in the console.

Path

Steam\steamapps\common\dota 2 beta\game\dota\cfg\autoexec.cfg

autoexec.cfg, an example

// chat wheel phrasesbind "F5" "chatwheel_say 3"bind "F6" "chatwheel_say 1"// units and illusionsbind "MOUSE4" "dota_select_all_others"bind "MOUSE5" "dota_select_all"// camera on the hero while space is heldbind "SPACE" "+dota_camera_center_on_hero"// the first unit with the spell ready casts itdota_player_smart_multiunit_cast 1

Removing binds

Console binds are removed in the console. A bind from autoexec.cfg comes back at the next start until its line is deleted from the file.

unbind "F5"
Clears the bind from one key.
key_listboundkeys
Prints every bound key to the console.
key_findbinding chatwheel
Finds the keys whose command contains the word.
unbindall
Clears every console bind. The console key \ is a bind too (cfg/user_keys_default.vcfg) and goes with the rest.
binddefaults
Restores the engine's stock binds, \ for the console included.

Chat and phrase binds

Chat wheel phrases go on keys of their own under “Communication” → “Phrases”, or with chatwheel_say and the phrase number. Click a phrase to copy its command.

Your own text

say_team writes to allies, say to everyone.

bind "F6" "say_team need wards"

bind "F7" "say gg wp"

Camera binds

Camera actions and the commands behind them.

+dota_camera_follow
This is “Select Hero”, F1 by default. A double press puts the camera on your hero. With “Hold Select Hero to Follow” (Game → Camera) the camera follows the hero while the key is held.
+dota_camera_center_on_hero
Snaps the camera to your hero on the first press and holds it there while the key is down. There is no setting for it, console only.
+cameragrip
This is “Camera Grip”, MOUSE3 (the wheel) by default: hold it and drag to move the camera.
dota_camera_saved_position 1
These are “Camera Positions”, ten of them. Put the camera somewhere, press Ctrl + the position key, and that key brings the camera back there: runes, Roshan, your jungle.

Illusions and several units

For heroes with illusions, clones and summons. The keys are under “Hotkeys” → “Units” and “Control Groups”.

dota_select_all
“Select All Controlled Units”: your hero and every unit you control.
dota_select_all_others
“Select All Other Units”: everything you control except the hero. The main bind for illusions.
+dota_control_group 2
“Group 2”. Select the units and press Ctrl + the group key to save it. There are 10 groups.
dota_cycle_selected
“Next Unit”, Tab by default: moves to the next unit in the selection. With Ctrl it goes backwards.

Game → Unit Orders

Options with no key that change how a group obeys. The console variable takes 1 to turn one on.

Unified Orders with CTRL
An order given with Ctrl held goes to every unit you control.
dota_player_multipler_orders 1
Smart Multi-unit Casting
With several units of the same kind selected, the ability is cast by the first one that has it off cooldown.
dota_player_smart_multiunit_cast 1
Smart Selection Groups
Broodmother's spiderlings, Enigma's eidolons, Nature's Prophet's treants and the like are selected as a group when you cycle.
dota_selection_groups 1
Auto Select Summoned Units
Units your hero summons are added to the selection right away.
dota_player_add_summoned_to_selection 1

Binds for heroes

What to set up on heroes with units. The evolve line says what the uTEA pack for that hero does instead of manual binds.

Arc Warden
Tempest Double
1. 01
  Turn on “Smart Multi-unit Casting” and select both with “Select All Controlled Units”. The double is the same hero, so the ability key casts from whichever of the two has it ready: two Fluxes in a row, no Tab.
2. 02
  Give the double its own group: select it, Ctrl + 2. Then 2 is the double and F1 the hero.
3. 03
  A chain of several actions on one key will not run in a normal match: one key, one console command.
In evolve
Pack page →The pack can drive the double: it runs the hero's rotation on its own cooldowns, picks a target with no key held and backs off when low. A separate key summons Tempest Double outside the combo.
Phantom Lancer
illusions
1. 01
  “Select All Other Units” takes only the illusions: the hero stays put while they go where you send them.
2. 02
  After Doppelganger the hero is lost among the copies: F1 puts the selection back on him at once.
3. 03
  With “Unified Orders with CTRL” an order given with Ctrl held goes to the hero and every illusion.
In evolve
Pack page →The pack orders the illusions around: hit the combo target (or pick their own with no key held) and screen the hero when he leaves a fight.
Naga Siren
Mirror Image
1. 01
  “Select All Other Units” is every illusion without the hero, for sending them off to lanes and camps.
2. 02
  Put batches of illusions on groups: select and Ctrl + 3, Ctrl + 4. Tab steps through them inside a selection.
In evolve
Pack page →Toggle keys send the illusions to farm the jungle, push lanes or stack camps. With the combo key held every illusion goes for the target.
Meepo
clones
1. 01
  The clones are the same kind of unit, so with “Smart Multi-unit Casting” Earthbind and Poof come from the first selected Meepo that has them ready.
2. 02
  Each Meepo gets a group (Ctrl + 1…5); all of them at once is “Select All Controlled Units”.
3. 03
  Tab moves between Meepos in the selection, Ctrl + Tab goes back.
In evolve
Pack page →The pack runs every Meepo: a Poof chain on the combo key, Earthbind from any Meepo aimed ahead of the target, and Dig, MegaMeepo and Poof escapes with no key held.
Invoker
orbs and Invoke
1. 01
  The orbs and Invoke are ordinary ability slots. The two invoked spells sit in slots 4 and 5, D and F by default; change them under “Abilities & Items”.
2. 02
  A “Q Q Q R” macro on one key does not work in a normal match: one key, one command.
3. 03
  Forge Spirits on their own: “Select All Other Units”.
In evolve
Pack page →Eleven keys invoke the spell you want: orbs and Invoke in one press. The combo key runs a whole combo; the 10 stock combos can be edited.
Lone Druid
Spirit Bear
1. 01
  Put the bear on a group: select it, Ctrl + 2. F1 is the druid, Tab switches when both are selected.
2. 02
  Item keys are shared by every unit: with the bear selected, Z…N use its items.
In evolve
Pack page →The pack re-summons the bear when it is gone, pulls it out of fights with Blink and Return and walks it back to the druid.
Chen
converted creeps
1. 01
  Put creeps on groups by job: Ctrl + a number. “Select All Other Units” takes all of them.
2. 02
  To use one creep's ability, step to it with Tab.
In evolve
Pack page →The pack converts neutrals by itself, sends the army to the cursor while a key is held and uses the converted creeps' abilities.
Visage
Familiars
1. 01
  Familiars are the same kind of unit: with “Smart Multi-unit Casting” Stone Form comes from the first one that has it ready.
2. 02
  Put the familiars on a group: Ctrl + 2; “Select All Other Units” takes them without the hero.
In evolve
Pack page →The pack commands the familiars: focus a target, pull a hurt bird out, and Stone Form one after another so the stuns chain.

Questions

Why do my binds not work?

Check these: several commands on one key with “;” (a normal match runs one); a keyboard layout other than US English (turn on “Bind keys based on keyboard position” under Hotkeys → Options, or bind by scan code as the console suggests); the file is called autoexec.cfg.txt or is not in game\dota\cfg; the key is already used under Hotkeys.

How do I remove binds in Dota 2?

One bind: unbind and the key, for example unbind "F5". All console binds: unbindall, then binddefaults to get the console key back. A bind from autoexec.cfg returns at the next start while its line is in the file. Keys from the settings are reset with “Reset to defaults” under Hotkeys.

Can one key run several commands?

Not in a normal match: since the update of 24 May 2016 a key runs one console command. Chains with “;” and alias work in a lobby with cheats and while spectating.

How do I make Arc Warden's double cast without switching to it?

Turn on “Smart Multi-unit Casting” (Game → Unit Orders) and select the hero together with the double. The ability key then casts from whichever of the two has the spell off cooldown.

Where is autoexec.cfg?

In the game folder: Steam\steamapps\common\dota 2 beta\game\dota\cfg. If it is not there, create it: plain text, one command per line. The game runs it at start.

How do I bind a chat phrase?

Chat wheel phrases are bound under Communication → Phrases, or with chatwheel_say and the phrase number: bind "F5" "chatwheel_say 3" writes “Need Wards”. For your own text use say_team for allies and say for everyone.

The whole combo on one key: evolve

uTEA packs for 127 heroes: a one-key combo, control of units and illusions, AI skillshot aim. Access is by closed beta application.

Apply for the closed beta Hero scripts

Dota 2 binds: settings, console and heroes