# s&box Server Troubleshooting (/docs/sbox/troubleshooting)



Most s\&box server problems trace to one of five root causes. Work through them in order — the first three account for the vast majority of "it broke" tickets.

<div className="fd-steps">
  <div className="fd-step">
    Server won't start (no log activity at all) [#1-server-wont-start-no-log-activity-at-all]

    **Symptom:** You hit START in the panel, but **Log Viewer** is silent or shows the process exited within a second.

    **Most likely cause:** the `+game` ident in **Commandline Manager** is wrong.

    * Idents are `org.name`, **all lowercase**, no spaces. `+game DeathMatch` is invalid; `+game garry.deathmatch` (or whatever the real ident is) might be.
    * The package has to actually exist and be public on [sbox.game](https://sbox.game). Search for the gamemode there and copy the ident from the URL or the package page.
    * See [Finding Game Packages](/docs/sbox/finding-game-packages) for how to look one up.

    After fixing the ident, restart and watch the log — you should see SteamCMD validation, then the package download from sbox.game's cloud, then a "ready" line within 30 seconds on typical hardware.
  </div>

  <div className="fd-step">
    Package fails to download [#2-package-fails-to-download]

    **Symptom:** Log shows the server started, then errored on package download or "package not found."

    * **Ident typo** — same as above, double-check spelling and casing.
    * **Package set to private** — only the publisher can host it until they flip it public.
    * **Package was unpublished** — happens occasionally when devs pull a build. Pick a different package or wait for them to republish.
    * **Map ident wrong** — if you passed a second arg to `+game`, the map package needs to exist too. Try omitting the map and let the gamemode's default load.
  </div>

  <div className="fd-step">
    Server runs but doesn't appear in the lobby list [#3-server-runs-but-doesnt-appear-in-the-lobby-list]

    **Symptom:** Your log shows the server is "ready" but neither you nor your players can find it.

    The single most common cause: **you and your players are looking at different gamemodes' lobby lists.** Each game package on sbox.game has its own multiplayer UI. A server launched with `+game facepunch.walker` only shows up in Walker's lobby list, not in some global s\&box browser (there isn't one).

    If you've confirmed everyone is on the same package and it still isn't showing:

    * Wait 60 seconds — Steam lobby propagation isn't instantaneous on first boot.
    * Try restarting the server so it re-registers.
    * Check the log for `Networking` errors that suggest the server can't reach Steam.
    * If you have a [`+net_game_server_token`](/docs/sbox/server-token), make sure it isn't already in use by another server (one token per running server).
  </div>

  <div className="fd-step">
    Players can join, you can't (or vice versa) — branch mismatch [#4-players-can-join-you-cant-or-vice-versa--branch-mismatch]

    **Symptom:** Some players connect fine, others get a version error.

    s\&box has two branches: **public** (default) and **staging** (pre-release). Clients on the public branch generally **cannot connect to a staging server** and vice versa. If a subset of players is failing to join, ask them which branch they're on.

    For a server everyone can connect to, run on the public branch. See [Staging Branch](/docs/sbox/staging-branch).
  </div>

  <div className="fd-step">
    Server worked, then broke after a Facepunch patch [#5-server-worked-then-broke-after-a-facepunch-patch]

    **Symptom:** Things were fine, then the server started crash-looping or refusing connections.

    Facepunch ships engine patches; sometimes they bump a network protocol version that requires a server update.

    * In the panel, click **Steam Update** (or run the SteamCMD `app_update 1892930 validate` command if self-hosting). See [Updating Your Server](/docs/sbox/updating-server).
    * If the gamemode itself broke, the gamemode author needs to push a fix to their package — there's nothing operator-side to do beyond switching to a different package or rolling back via [Cloud Restore](https://panel.xgamingserver.com).
  </div>
</div>

Other recurring issues [#other-recurring-issues]

* **Hostname not appearing how you typed it** — long names get truncated by gamemode UIs. Keep it short. See [Change Server Name](/docs/sbox/change-server-name).
* **Steam ID changes every restart** — expected without a [server token](/docs/sbox/server-token). Set one to fix.
* **Admins can't kick / can't run admin commands** — claims are read at player connect time. Save `users/config.json` and restart the server, then have the admin reconnect. See [User Permissions](/docs/sbox/user-permissions).
* **`users/config.json` syntax error breaks startup** — every object in the array except the last needs a trailing comma; the last must not have one. Validate at [jsonlint.com](https://jsonlint.com) if unsure.

When to open a ticket [#when-to-open-a-ticket]

If you've checked all of the above and the server is still broken — especially if you can see a stack trace or "panic" line in **Log Viewer** that mentions the engine itself rather than your gamemode — open a support ticket and paste the last \~50 lines of the log. That's usually enough for us to spot a node-level issue.

Related Guides [#related-guides]

* [Launch Parameters](/docs/sbox/launch-parameters)
* [Finding Game Packages](/docs/sbox/finding-game-packages)
* [Updating Your Server](/docs/sbox/updating-server)
* [Staging Branch](/docs/sbox/staging-branch)
* [User Permissions](/docs/sbox/user-permissions)