How to Use RCON on Your Left 4 Dead Server

Learn how to set up and use RCON (Remote Console) to manage your Left 4 Dead server remotely.

RCON (Remote Console) is built into Left 4 Dead's Source engine and lets you run server commands remotely — either from the in-game console or from external RCON clients. It's essential for server administration.

Setting Up RCON

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:

rcon_password "YourSecureRCONPassword"

Save and restart

Click Save and start your server.

📝 Note: Without an RCON password set, RCON is disabled entirely. You must set a password to use any RCON commands.

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

Type your RCON password:

rcon_password YourSecureRCONPassword

Run commands

Prefix any command with rcon:

rcon status
rcon changelevel l4d_hospital01_apartment
rcon kick "PlayerName"

Using an External RCON Client

You can manage your server without being in-game using third-party RCON clients:

Download an RCON client

Popular options include:

Source RCON — Lightweight and free
HLSW — Full-featured server management tool
mcrcon — Command-line RCON client

Enter connection details

Host: Your server IP (from the XGamingServer panel sidebar)
Port: Your server port (default 27015)
Password: The RCON password from server.cfg

Connect and send commands

Once connected, you can send any server command directly without the rcon prefix.

RCON Command Reference

Server Information

Command	Description
`rcon status`	Show server status, all players, Steam IDs, IPs, and connection times
`rcon stats`	Show server performance stats (CPU, FPS, players)
`rcon version`	Show the server version
`rcon maps *`	List all available maps on the server

Player Management

Command	Description
`rcon kick "PlayerName"`	Kick a player by name
`rcon kick #UserID`	Kick a player by their user ID (from `rcon status`)
`rcon banid <minutes> <SteamID>`	Ban a Steam ID (0 = permanent)
`rcon banip <minutes> <IP>`	Ban an IP address (0 = permanent)
`rcon removeid <SteamID>`	Unban a Steam ID
`rcon removeip <IP>`	Unban an IP address
`rcon writeid`	Save Steam bans to `banned_user.cfg`
`rcon writeip`	Save IP bans to `banned_ip.cfg`

Map and Game Management

Command	Description
`rcon changelevel <map>`	Change to a specified map
`rcon map <map>`	Restart the server on a specified map
`rcon hostname "name"`	Change the server name
`rcon sv_password "pass"`	Set or change the join password
`rcon maxplayers <num>`	Change the maximum player count
`rcon say "message"`	Send a message to all players

Server Control

Command	Description
`rcon quit`	Shut down the server gracefully
`rcon restart`	Restart the current map
`rcon exec <filename>`	Execute a config file (e.g., `rcon exec server.cfg`)
`rcon heartbeat`	Force the server to re-register with Steam's master server

Ban Management

Bans in Left 4 Dead use either Steam IDs or IP addresses.

Banning a Player

Get the player's info with rcon status:

rcon status

This outputs a table with each player's user ID, name, Steam ID, and IP.

Ban by Steam ID (recommended — survives IP changes):

rcon banid 0 STEAM_0:1:12345678

The first number is ban duration in minutes. 0 means permanent.

Save the ban list:

rcon writeid

Unbanning a Player

rcon removeid STEAM_0:1:12345678
rcon writeid

💡 Tip: Always use rcon writeid after banning or unbanning. Without it, ban changes are lost when the server restarts. The writeid command saves the ban list to banned_user.cfg.

Security Best Practices

Use a strong RCON password — At least 16 characters with mixed case, numbers, and symbols. RCON gives full control over your server.
Never share RCON credentials publicly — A compromised password means an attacker can kick all players, change settings, or shut down the server.
Use a different password from sv_password — The server join password and RCON password should always be different.
Monitor server logs — Check Console on the XGamingServer panel for any unauthorized RCON attempts.
Change the password if compromised — If you suspect an RCON password leak, change it immediately in server.cfg and restart.

📝 Note: You can also use the Console tab on the XGamingServer panel for direct server access without RCON. RCON is most useful for managing the server while in-game or from external tools.

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

How to Use RCON on Your Left 4 Dead Server

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