# Connecting to Your s&box Server (/docs/sbox/connect-to-your-server)



import { Step, Steps } from 'fumadocs-ui/components/steps';

s\&box uses **Steam lobbies** for discovery, not a classic paste-an-IP server browser. Once your server is running and signalling to Steam, it appears in the multiplayer UI of whichever gamemode you loaded with `+game`. There's no IP or port for players to copy.

<Steps>
  <Step>
    Make sure the server is running [#make-sure-the-server-is-running]

    In the [LOW.MS Control Panel](https://panel.xgamingserver.com), open your server and confirm the status is green and **Log Viewer** shows a "ready" message. If the log is silent or the server crashed, the `+game` ident is the most common cause — see [Troubleshooting](/docs/sbox/troubleshooting).
  </Step>

  <Step>
    Tell your players which gamemode [#tell-your-players-which-gamemode]

    Each game package on sbox.game has its own multiplayer UI. A player looking in `facepunch.walker`'s lobby list won't see a server you launched with `+game garry.deathmatch`. Send them the exact `org.name` ident you used.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    They open that gamemode and pick your lobby [#they-open-that-gamemode-and-pick-your-lobby]

    In s\&box, players launch the gamemode from sbox.game (or their library), open its multiplayer / find-game UI, and pick your lobby by hostname. The hostname is whatever you set with `+hostname`.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    Friends-only or direct join via Steam ID [#friends-only-or-direct-join-via-steam-id]

    If you set [`+net_game_server_token`](/docs/sbox/server-token), the server keeps the same Steam ID across restarts. Players can then open the server's Steam profile or use a Steam join link to land directly on it — handy for friends-only setups, or for bookmarks that survive a restart.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Why there's no IP & port [#why-theres-no-ip--port]

The engine's networking stack (`Sandbox.Engine.Networking`) is built around `JoinBestLobby`, `QueryLobbies`, `CreateLobby`, and `TryConnectSteamId`. There is no public connect-by-IP API for current s\&box clients. If a guide tells you to paste `1.2.3.4:27015` into a console, it's repurposed Source 1 / GMod material and doesn't apply.

If your server isn't showing up [#if-your-server-isnt-showing-up]

The most common cause isn't your server — it's that the player is looking at the wrong gamemode's lobby list. Confirm both you and they are on the same `+game` package. After that, work through [Troubleshooting](/docs/sbox/troubleshooting).

Related Guides [#related-guides]

* [Launch Parameters](/docs/sbox/launch-parameters)
* [Change Game & Map](/docs/sbox/change-game-and-map)
* [Server Token](/docs/sbox/server-token)
* [Troubleshooting](/docs/sbox/troubleshooting)