How to Add Admins on Your Left 4 Dead Server

Learn how to set up admin access on your Left 4 Dead server using RCON and SourceMod.

Admin access on a Left 4 Dead server is handled through RCON (Remote Console) for basic server management. For more advanced admin features like in-game admin menus, you can install SourceMod. This guide covers both approaches.

Setting Up RCON

RCON (Remote Console) is built into every Source engine server. It lets you run server commands remotely by authenticating with a password.

Open the XGamingServer panel

Open server.cfg

In the sidebar, go to Files and navigate to left4dead > cfg. Open server.cfg.

Set the RCON password

Add or update the rcon_password line:

rcon_password "YourSecureRCONPassword"

Save and restart

Click Save and start your server.

📝 Note: The RCON password gives full control over your server. Use a strong, unique password and only share it with trusted administrators.

Using RCON In-Game

Connect to your server

Join your Left 4 Dead server.

Open the developer console

Press the tilde key (~) to open the console.

Authenticate with RCON

Type:

rcon_password YourSecureRCONPassword

Run admin commands

Once authenticated, prefix commands with rcon:

rcon changelevel l4d_hospital01_apartment
rcon kick PlayerName
rcon say "Server restarting in 5 minutes"

See our full RCON guide for a complete command reference.

Common Admin Commands

Once authenticated via RCON, these commands are available:

Command	Description
`rcon status`	Show server status, connected players, and their Steam IDs
`rcon kick <name>`	Kick a player by name
`rcon banid <minutes> <SteamID>`	Ban a player by Steam ID (0 = permanent)
`rcon removeid <SteamID>`	Unban a player by Steam ID
`rcon changelevel <map>`	Change to a specified map
`rcon say <message>`	Send a server-wide message
`rcon sv_password <pass>`	Set or change the server password
`rcon maps *`	List all available maps
`rcon writeid`	Save the ban list to banned_user.cfg
`rcon writeip`	Save IP bans to banned_ip.cfg

💡 Tip: Use rcon status to get a player's Steam ID before banning them. The output shows each connected player's name, Steam ID, IP address, and connection time.

Installing SourceMod (Advanced)

For more advanced admin features, you can install SourceMod on your server. SourceMod provides an in-game admin menu, plugin support, and fine-grained admin permissions.

Install Metamod:Source

Download Metamod:Source from metamodsource.net and extract it to your server's left4dead/ directory via the Files tab on the XGamingServer panel.

Install SourceMod

Download SourceMod from sourcemod.net and extract it to the same left4dead/ directory.

Add admins

Open the file left4dead/addons/sourcemod/configs/admins_simple.ini and add admin entries:

"STEAM_0:1:12345678" "99:z"  // Full admin access
"STEAM_0:0:87654321" "99:b"  // Ban access only

The format is "STEAM_ID" "immunity:flags". The z flag grants all permissions.

Restart the server

Restart your server for SourceMod to load.

SourceMod Admin Flags

Flag	Permission
`a`	Reserved slot access
`b`	Generic admin (kick)
`c`	Slay players
`d`	Change map
`e`	ConVar access
`f`	Config execution
`g`	Chat commands
`h`	Vote commands
`i`	Passwords
`j`	RCON access
`k`	Cheats
`z`	All permissions (root)

Once SourceMod is installed, admins can access the in-game menu by typing !admin or sm_admin in chat. The menu provides options to:

Kick and ban players with a visual interface
Change maps from a list
Execute votes
Manage server settings
Run SourceMod plugins

📝 Note: SourceMod is a third-party plugin, not built into Left 4 Dead. Installing it is optional — RCON provides all the basic admin functionality you need. SourceMod is best for servers that need granular admin permissions or plugin support.

Security Best Practices

Use a strong RCON password — At least 16 characters with mixed case, numbers, and symbols
Never share RCON credentials publicly — RCON gives unrestricted server access
Use different RCON and server passwords — If the server password leaks, your admin access remains secure
Save bans regularly — Run rcon writeid and rcon writeip to persist ban lists across restarts

If you get stuck at any time, you can join our Discord.