# Switching Your s&box Server to the Staging Branch (/docs/sbox/staging-branch)



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

s\&box ships a **staging branch** alongside the main release. Staging gets pre-release builds first — useful for testing upcoming features, but not always playable by everyone (clients on the public branch may not be able to connect to a staging server, and vice versa).

Switching to Staging [#switching-to-staging]

Add `-beta staging` to your SteamCMD `app_update` line:

```bash
./steamcmd +login anonymous +app_update 1892930 -beta staging validate +quit
```

This installs (or replaces) your server files with the staging build.

Switching Back to the Public Branch [#switching-back-to-the-public-branch]

Run `app_update` without the `-beta` flag to return to the default branch:

```bash
./steamcmd +login anonymous +app_update 1892930 validate +quit
```

Caveats [#caveats]

> ⚠️ **Compatibility:** Staging builds may not be playable by everyone. Clients on the public branch typically cannot connect to a staging server — communicate the branch to your players, or run a separate public-branch server for the general audience.

Related Guides [#related-guides]

* [Install the Server](/docs/sbox/install-server)
* [Launch Parameters](/docs/sbox/launch-parameters)