How to Configure Your Counter-Strike: Source Server (server.cfg)

Complete CS:Source server.cfg reference — hostname, GSLT, RCON, gameplay, surf/bhop settings, SourceMod, and FastDL.

Counter-Strike: Source remains one of the most popular games for community servers — particularly for surf, bhop, and jailbreak game modes. Configuration is via server.cfg.

File Structure

server.cfg

autoexec.cfg

mapcycle.txt

Editing server.cfg

Open the File Manager

In the XGamingServer Panel, click Files in the sidebar.

Navigate to the config

Click through cstrike → cfg → open server.cfg in the code editor.

Save and restart

Edit settings, click Save, then restart from the Console page.

server.cfg — Key Settings

Server Identity

hostname "My CSS Server"
sv_password ""                    // Join password (empty = public)
rcon_password "YourRconPassword"  // RCON password
sv_lan 0                          // 0 = internet, 1 = LAN only
sv_region 255                     // 255 = worldwide

Gameplay

mp_autoteambalance 1
mp_limitteams 2
mp_friendlyfire 0
mp_autokick 0                    // Disable auto-kick for team kills
mp_timelimit 25                  // Minutes per map
mp_roundtime 2.25                // Round time in minutes
mp_freezetime 6
mp_buytime 45
mp_startmoney 800
mp_c4timer 45
mp_flashlight 1
mp_footsteps 1
sv_alltalk 0
sv_consistency 1
sv_pure 1

Network

sv_minrate 0
sv_maxrate 0                      // 0 = unlimited
sv_maxupdaterate 100              // Match tickrate
sv_maxcmdrate 100

💡 Tickrate: CSS default is 66-tick. Community servers often use 100-tick via -tickrate 100 in startup. Surf and bhop servers always run 100-tick.

Surf Server Settings

The critical setting for surf is sv_airaccelerate:

sv_airaccelerate 150              // CRITICAL for surf (default is 10)
sv_accelerate 5
sv_gravity 800
sv_maxvelocity 3500
sv_staminamax 0
sv_staminalandcost 0
sv_staminajumpcost 0
mp_roundtime 60                   // Long rounds
mp_freezetime 0
sv_enablebunnyhopping 1

Bhop Server Settings

sv_airaccelerate 100
sv_maxvelocity 10000
sv_staminamax 0
sv_staminalandcost 0
sv_staminajumpcost 0
sv_enablebunnyhopping 1           // Removes speed cap on land
mp_roundtime 60
mp_freezetime 0

Generate a token

Go to Steam Game Server Management. Enter App ID 240.

Add to startup

In the Startup tab, find the GSLT field and paste your token.

Or add to the launch command: +sv_setsteamaccount YOUR_TOKEN

Map Rotation

Edit cstrike/mapcycle.txt — one map per line:

de_dust2
de_inferno
cs_office
de_nuke
surf_greatriver_v2
surf_mesa
bhop_badges
jb_carceris_v2

Map prefixes indicate the game mode: de_ (defuse), cs_ (hostage), surf_ (surf), bhop_ (bunny hop), jb_ (jailbreak).

SourceMod Admin Setup

After installing MetaMod + SourceMod (same process as CS:GO — see CS:GO guide), edit the admin file at cstrike/addons/sourcemod/configs/admins_simple.ini:

"STEAM_0:1:12345678" "99:z"        // Full root admin
"STEAM_0:0:87654321" "50:bcdeg"    // Moderator

Common flags: z=root, b=generic admin, c=kick, d=ban, e=unban, f=slay, g=map change

FastDL

Without FastDL, clients download custom maps at ~20 KB/s directly from your server.

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

The web server directory mirrors cstrike/: maps, sounds, materials. Compress with bzip2 (.bz2) for bandwidth savings.

Ports

Port	Protocol	Purpose
27015	UDP	Game traffic
27015	TCP	RCON
27020	UDP	SourceTV

How to Connect

How to Configure Your Counter-Strike: Source Server (server.cfg)

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