Counter-Strike 2 Server Overview
A Counter-Strike 2 server gets four extra tabs in the game panel, on top of the ones every game has (Overview, Console, Files, Network, Variables, Subusers, Activity, Backups, Settings).
To open them, go to Hosting > Game Servers > your server and pick a tab in the tab bar under the server header.
| Tab | What it does |
|---|---|
| Players | Who is online, kick and permanent ban, SteamID bans and IP bans. |
| CS2 Settings | Form editor for cfg/server.cfg (server name, passwords, round rules, bots). Save, or save and apply live. |
| Workshop | Browse the Steam Workshop, keep a map library and switch the server to a Workshop map. |
| RCON | Console that sends RCON commands to the running server. |
Before you start: turn on RCON
Players, the Workshop Load buttons, Save + apply live, the RCON tab and the Live status card all talk to the server over RCON. RCON needs two variables:
- Go to Hosting > Game Servers > your server and click the Variables tab.
- Set Enable RCON to on (it is off by default).
- Set RCON Password (1 to 30 letters, numbers, dashes or underscores). Use a long random value.
- Click Save, then restart the server.
Without an RCON password, the Live status card on Overview shows “RCON_PASSWORD not set” and the RCON features fail.
Live status card
On the Overview tab, a CS2 server shows a Live status card instead of the Players online figure. It refreshes every 15 seconds over RCON and shows:
- Players: humans online and the maximum, plus the number of bots.
- Map: the current map.
- VAC: Secure or Insecure.
- State: Active or Hibernating (the server sleeps when empty).
- The server name.
If the card cannot get data it shows the reason instead, for example rcon unreachable while the server is stopped or still starting.
Variables
These are set in the Variables tab and read when the server starts, so restart after saving.
| Variable (as shown in the panel) | What it does |
|---|---|
| Map | Map the server starts on, for example de_dust2. |
| Max Players | Player slots, 1 to 64. |
| Auto-update server | Updates the game on restart. On by default. |
| SourceTV Port | Read-only. The port spectators use. |
| Steam Gameserver Login Token | Your GSLT, 32 characters. See below. |
| Enable VAC | Valve Anti-Cheat. On by default; off starts the server as insecure. |
| Enable RCON | Turns on the RCON listener. Off by default. |
| Server Name | Name in the Steam server browser, up to 64 characters. |
| Server Password | Password to join. Empty for a public server. |
| RCON Password | Admin password for RCON. |
| Gamemode and Gametype | Together they set the game mode, see the next table. |
Game modes
| Mode | Gametype | Gamemode |
|---|---|---|
| Casual | 0 | 0 |
| Competitive | 0 | 1 |
| Wingman | 0 | 2 |
| Arms Race | 1 | 0 |
| Deathmatch | 1 | 2 |
| Custom | 3 | 0 |
You can also change them while the server runs from the RCON tab with game_type and game_mode; they apply from the next map.
Steam Gameserver Login Token (GSLT)
Valve requires a token for a CS2 server to be listed publicly.
- Go to steamcommunity.com/dev/managegameservers and sign in with a Steam account in good standing.
- Create a token for App ID
730and copy it. - In the panel, paste it into Steam Gameserver Login Token in the Variables tab, click Save and restart the server.
One token per server
Address and port
The address players connect to is shown in the server header, with a copy button. The port is the one assigned to your server, and the Network tab lists it.