Server Configuration

Configurable options for your Garry's Mod server, including server.cfg and startup parameters.

Top Tip

Changes made to server.cfg require a server restart to take effect.

Startup Values

Name	Description	Example
Map	The map your server will load on start.	`gm_construct`
Steam Account Token	Your server's GSLT, required if you want it to appear on the public server list. View our guide on getting a GSLT.	`XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX`
Workshop ID	The ID of a Steam Workshop collection, content from it will be automatically downloaded and served to players who join.	`123456789`
Gamemode	The gamemode your server will load on start.	`sandbox`
Max Players	The max players that can join at once. This value can only be modified by upgrading it on your billing panel	`16`
Tickrate	How many times per second the server updates. Higher values reduce lag but use more resources.	`66`
Extra Arguments	Any other launch parameters appended to your server's startup command, view some useful examples below.	`-noworkshop -noaddons`

64-bit Server

Garry's Mod also has a 64-bit server binary. This isn't a startup value, switching to it requires reinstalling your server from the panel rather than just changing a setting.

Useful Extra Arguments

Value	Description
`-noworkshop`	Temporarily disables Steam Workshop addons.
`-noaddons`	Temporarily disables legacy/folder-based addons.
`+<convar> <value>`	Sets a console variable on startup, e.g. `+sv_lan 0`.

server.cfg

This file is located at garrysmod/cfg/server.cfg and can be edited using SFTP or the file manager.

Startup Values Take Priority

Startup values (including Extra Arguments) are applied after server.cfg, so they will always override a matching value set in the file.

Name	Description	Example
hostname	The name shown for your server in the server browser.	`"My Garry's Mod Server"`
sv_password	Password required to join the server. Leave empty for a public server.	`""`
rcon_password	Remote console password. Keep this secret, anyone with it can run commands on your server.	`"changeme"`
sv_setsteamaccount	Reference Only, please set via the startup values	`"XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX"`
sv_lan	Restricts the server to local network connections only. Should be `0` for public servers.	`0`
sv_cheats	Enables cheat-protected commands and convars. Should be `0` on a live server.	`0`
sv_allowcslua	Allows clients to run their own clientside Lua. A security risk, should be `0` unless you need it.	`0`
sv_allowupload	Allows clients to upload custom content (such as sprays) to the server.	`1`
sv_allowdownload	Allows clients to download custom content from the server.	`1`
sv_downloadurl	A FastDL URL clients will download custom content from, instead of directly from the server.	`""`
net_maxfilesize	The maximum size (in MB) of a file clients are allowed to download from the server.	`64`
sv_loadingurl	A URL to a web page shown to clients while they're loading into the server.	`"https://example.com/motd.html"`
sv_voiceenable	Whether voice chat is enabled on the server.	`1`
sv_alltalk	Whether players can hear everyone regardless of team, `0` restricts to team chat.	`1`
sv_steamgroup	The SteamID64 of a Steam Group, used alongside `sv_steamgroup_exclusive`.	`""`
sv_steamgroup_exclusive	Whether only members of `sv_steamgroup` are allowed to join.	`0`
mp_timelimit	How many minutes are spent on a map before rotating. `0` disables rotation.	`60`
mp_friendlyfire	Whether players can damage their own team.	`0`
fps_max	The maximum rate the server's processing loop will run at.	`600`
sbox_godmode	Whether players have godmode (cannot take damage) by default in Sandbox.	`0`
sbox_noclip	Whether players are allowed to noclip by default in Sandbox.	`1`

Example server.cfg

hostname "My Garry's Mod Server"
sv_password ""
rcon_password "changeme"
sv_lan 0
sv_cheats 0
sv_allowcslua 0
sv_allowupload 1
sv_allowdownload 1
sv_voiceenable 1
mp_timelimit 60
mp_friendlyfire 0
sbox_godmode 0

Mounting Content

Your server can load extra content (maps, models, textures) from other Source games using garrysmod/cfg/mount.cfg. This tells Garry's Mod which other game folders to scan and mount.

Counter-Strike: Source (cstrike) content comes pre-mounted on your service, you only need this file if you want to mount content from another game (such as Team Fortress 2).

mount.cfg

{
    "tf"    "../tf"
}

Add one line per game you want to mount, using the game's folder name as the key and the path to its content folder as the value.

Other Config Files

File	Description
mapcycle.txt	A list of maps (one per line) the server rotates through once `mp_timelimit` is reached.
banned_user.cfg / banned_ip.cfg	Auto-generated ban lists, written via the `writeid`/`writeip` commands. Add `exec banned_user.cfg` and `exec banned_ip.cfg` near the top of `server.cfg` so bans persist across restarts.