How to host a Counter-Strike 1.6 server

Counter-Strike 1.6 runs on a GoldSrc dedicated server (HLDS). You can install it yourself, or deploy a ready one by the hour and skip straight to playing. Here is the whole manual setup, and the shortcut.

Install the server

The CS 1.6 dedicated server is app 90 and installs anonymously through SteamCMD. You do not need a Steam login and you do not need to own the game on the server account:

./steamcmd.sh +login anonymous \
  +app_update 90 validate \
  +quit

The mod folder is cstrike, and the config it reads on boot is:

<install>/cstrike/server.cfg

A vanilla server.cfg

The name, the passwords and the rules go here. The map and player count are launch args (below). Paste this and change the lines marked CHANGE ME:

// --- Identity ---
hostname "My CS 1.6 Server"          // CHANGE ME
rcon_password "pick-a-long-secret"   // CHANGE ME - admin over RCON

// --- Lock it down ---
sv_password ""                       // set a word here = private, blank = open
sv_lan 0                             // 0 = public/Steam, 1 = LAN only

// --- Rules ---
mp_timelimit 30                      // minutes before the map rotates
mp_roundtime 2.5                     // minutes per round
mp_friendlyfire 0                    // 1 = teammates can hurt each other
mp_autoteambalance 1
mp_limitteams 2

The launch line

CS 1.6 launches through hlds_run at the install root. The starting map and the player cap are arguments here, not in the config:

./hlds_run -game cstrike -console \
  -port 27015 \
  +map de_dust2 \
  +maxplayers 16 \
  +exec server.cfg

• de_ maps are Bomb Defusal, cs_ maps are Hostage Rescue. That is the whole mode system: the map decides the mode.
• maxplayers 16 is a good CS 1.6 number. Classic 5v5 wants 10, a busy public server 20 to 32.
• Port 27015 UDP carries the game, the server-browser query and Steam. GoldSrc RCON rides the same port. Open 27015/UDP in your firewall.

Maps and bots

Every official map ships with the server (de_dust2, de_inferno, de_nuke, cs_assault and more), so nobody downloads anything. Custom maps (fy_, aim_, surf_) need a FastDL host to hand files to joining players. CS 1.6 has no bots in the vanilla server; adding them means a bot mod like Zbot or PODBot.

Or deploy one in five minutes

If you would rather not run HLDS on your own machine, a hosted server is public straight away, every official map built in, friends join by IP, and it turns off when you are done so there is nothing left running on your PC.

Deploy a Counter-Strike 1.6 server by the hour

See also

• The best Counter-Strike 1.6 maps
• CS 1.6 server admin commands