How to Configure Your CS:GO Dedicated Server

Complete CS:GO server configuration guide — server.cfg reference, game modes, GSLT, RCON, SourceMod, Workshop maps, and FastDL.

📝 Note: CS:GO was replaced by CS2 in September 2023. The SteamCMD App ID 740 still works for server files, but game clients now connect to CS2. See CS2 Server Guides for the current game.

Server File Structure

server.cfg

autoexec.cfg

gamemode_casual_server.cfg

gamemode_competitive_server.cfg

gamemode_deathmatch_server.cfg

gamemodes_server.txt

mapcycle.txt

Editing server.cfg

Open the File Manager

Navigate to the config directory

Click through csgo → cfg → open server.cfg. The panel opens the built-in Monaco code editor.

Edit and save

Make your changes, then click Save in the editor. Restart your server from the Console page for changes to take effect.

server.cfg — Complete Reference

Server Identity

hostname "My CS:GO Server"
sv_password ""                    // Join password (empty = public)
rcon_password "YourRconPassword"  // RCON password (required for remote admin)
sv_lan 0                          // 0 = internet, 1 = LAN only
sv_region 255                     // 255 = worldwide

Network Performance

sv_minrate 128000
sv_maxrate 0                      // 0 = unlimited bandwidth
sv_mincmdrate 64
sv_maxcmdrate 128
sv_minupdaterate 64
sv_maxupdaterate 128

💡 Tip: Use -tickrate 128 in the startup command for competitive 128-tick servers. The default is 64-tick.

Gameplay (Competitive)

mp_maxrounds 30                   // MR15 = 30 rounds total
mp_roundtime_defuse 1.92          // Round time (minutes)
mp_freezetime 15                  // Freeze time at round start
mp_buytime 20                     // Buy time (seconds)
mp_startmoney 800                 // Starting money
mp_maxmoney 16000
mp_halftime 1                     // Enable halftime
mp_friendlyfire 1
sv_alltalk 0                      // Team-only voice

Gameplay (Casual — different defaults)

mp_maxrounds 15
mp_roundtime_defuse 2.25
mp_freezetime 7
mp_buytime 45
mp_startmoney 1000
mp_friendlyfire 0
sv_alltalk 1                      // All-talk enabled
mp_free_armor 1                   // Free Kevlar+Helmet

Anti-Cheat & File Consistency

sv_pure 1                         // 0=allow custom files, 1=whitelist, 2=strict
sv_pure_kick_clients 1
sv_cheats 0

Bots

bot_quota 0                       // Number of bots (0 = none)
bot_quota_mode "fill"             // fill, match, normal
bot_difficulty 2                  // 0=easy, 1=normal, 2=hard, 3=expert
bot_auto_vacate 1                 // Bots leave for real players

Logging

log on
sv_logbans 1
sv_logfile 1

SourceTV (GOTV)

tv_enable 1                       // Enable GOTV
tv_port 27020
tv_delay 90                       // Delay in seconds
tv_maxclients 128
tv_autorecord 1                   // Auto-record demos

Game Modes

Set via startup parameters in the Startup tab:

Mode	game_type	game_mode	Default Players
Casual	0	0	20 (10v10)
Competitive	0	1	10 (5v5)
Wingman	0	2	4 (2v2)
Arms Race	1	0	10–20
Demolition	1	1	10
Deathmatch	1	2	20
Custom	3	0	varies

A GSLT is required for your server to appear in the public browser.

Generate a token

Go to Steam Game Server Management. Log in and enter App ID 730. Click Create.

Add to your server

In the XGamingServer Panel, click Startup in the sidebar. Find the GSLT or Steam Account Token field and paste your token.

Restart

Go to Console and restart your server. It should now appear in the public browser.

⚠️ One token per server. Each server instance needs its own unique GSLT. Reusing tokens across multiple servers causes disconnections.

Workshop Maps

Get a Steam Web API key

Go to steamcommunity.com/dev/apikey and register to get your API key.

Find your Workshop collection ID

Go to the Steam Workshop, create or find a map collection. The ID is in the URL: steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=123456789

Add to startup

In the Startup tab, add these to the startup command or additional parameters field:

-authkey YOUR_API_KEY +host_workshop_collection COLLECTION_ID

Installing SourceMod & MetaMod

Download MetaMod:Source

Get the latest stable build for your OS from sourcemm.net.

Upload to server

In the panel Files, navigate to your csgo/ directory. Upload and extract the MetaMod archive — it creates addons/metamod/ and addons/metamod.vdf.

Download and install SourceMod

Get the latest build from sourcemod.net. Extract into the same csgo/ directory — it creates addons/sourcemod/.

Add admins

Edit csgo/addons/sourcemod/configs/admins_simple.ini:

"STEAM_0:1:12345678" "99:z"    // Full admin (z = all flags)
"STEAM_0:0:87654321" "50:bcdeg" // Moderator (ban, kick, slay, map change)

Flag reference: z=root (all), b=generic admin, c=kick, d=ban, e=unban, f=slay, g=map change, h=cvar, m=RCON access

Verify

Restart the server. In the Console, type meta list — you should see SourceMod listed. Type sm version to confirm.

FastDL (Custom Content Downloads)

Without FastDL, clients download custom maps directly from your server at ~20 KB/s. FastDL offloads this to a web server.

sv_downloadurl "https://yourcdn.com/csgo/"
sv_allowdownload 1
net_maxfilesize 64

The web server directory must mirror your csgo/ folder structure. Files can be bzip2 compressed (.bz2) for bandwidth savings — the engine auto-decompresses.

Ports

Port	Protocol	Purpose
27015	UDP	Game traffic
27015	TCP	RCON
27020	UDP	SourceTV (GOTV)

📝 Note: On XGamingServer, ports are assigned automatically. Find your assigned ports on the Dashboard or Network page in the panel.

How Players Connect

Players find your server in the in-game Community Server Browser. They can filter by game mode, map, player count, and tags.

Your server must have a valid GSLT and sv_lan 0 to appear.

Press ~ to open the console and type:

connect IP:PORT
connect IP:PORT; password "serverpass"

View → Game Servers → Favorites → Add a Server → enter IP:PORT.

Or use steam://connect/IP:PORT as a direct link.

Common Issues

Problem	Fix
Not in browser	Check GSLT is valid. Verify `sv_lan 0`. Port 27015 UDP must be open.
"No Steam logon" kick	GSLT expired — regenerate at steamcommunity.com/dev/managegameservers
SourceMod not loading	Check `addons/metamod.vdf` exists. Verify file permissions. Check `addons/sourcemod/logs/` for errors.
Slow map downloads	Set up FastDL with `sv_downloadurl` pointing to a web server
Can't connect via RCON	Ensure `rcon_password` is set in server.cfg

How to Join

How to Configure Your CS:GO Dedicated Server

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