What is the Half-Life Deathmatch game folder?

valve. HLDM is the base Half-Life game, not a standalone mod, so the server runs with -game valve and reads config from valve/server.cfg in the folder root.

Are there bots in Half-Life Deathmatch?

No. Plain HLDM has no AI players, so it is a friends game. Get a few people in and the classic maps fill up fast.

Can I add custom maps?

Not on this release. Custom maps need a FastDL download host, which is not set up yet. Every stock map is already installed, so no player needs to download anything to join.

How many players can join?

Up to 8, 16, or 32 depending on the size you pick. All traffic runs on UDP port 27015.

How to host a Half-Life Deathmatch server (GoldSrc, 2026)

Updated Sep 22, 2026

Half-Life Deathmatch is the 1998 free-for-all arena shooter on the GoldSrc engine: crowbar, gauss jumps, tripmines and snarks on Crossfire. This guide covers two things. First, how to get a server live in about 5 minutes on 2hours.gg with no setup. Second, the GoldSrc facts you actually need if you want to know what runs under the hood, including the one detail people get wrong: the game folder.

The fastest way: a hosted server by the hour

You do not need to touch steamcmd or a config file. On 2hours.gg you pick a map and a size, the server boots in about 5 minutes, and you get an IP to share. You pay by the hour, so a short session costs a few cents and nothing runs when you stop it.

Pick a map: Crossfire is the default. Boot Camp, Bounce, Datacore, Frenzy, Lambda Bunker, Rapidcore, Snark Pit, Stalkyard, Subtransit and Undertow are all in the picker.
Pick a size: Small (8 players), Medium (16), or Large (32). GoldSrc holds a big free-for-all lobby comfortably.
Optional join password: Set one on the deploy form to keep the server to your group.

How friends connect

Every player opens the console with the ~ key and runs the connect command with your server IP. The port is 27015. If you set a join password, add it first.

connect IP:27015
password yourpass; connect IP:27015

The GoldSrc details under the hood

Half-Life Deathmatch is not a separate mod. It is the base Half-Life game, so the game folder is valve, not a folder of its own. This trips up a lot of manual setups. On the dedicated server (Steam app 90) the launch line looks like this:

./hlds_run -game valve -norestart -port 27015 +ip 0.0.0.0 +sv_lan 0 \
  +maxplayers 16 +map crossfire +exec server.cfg

App id: 90 (Half-Life Dedicated Server), installed anonymously.
Game folder: valve. Maps live in valve/maps, config is valve/server.cfg in the folder root (flat cvars, not valve/cfg like Source games).
sv_lan 0: Required, or the server will not answer public queries or show in the browser.

What ships built in, and what does not

Keeping this honest so nobody plans around a feature that is not there.

All classic maps: Every stock HLDM map ships with the server, so nobody downloads anything to join.
No bots: Plain deathmatch has no AI players to fill empty slots, so HLDM plays best with friends. Bring at least a couple of people.
No custom maps yet: Custom maps need a FastDL host, which is not wired up on this release. Stick to the stock rotation for now.

Run the server: admin commands

You deployed it, so you are the admin. Open the in-game console with ~, log in once with the RCON password from your server card, then prefix admin commands with rcon. Both the web console and the in-game console do the same thing.

rcon_password yourpassword
rcon changelevel stalkyard
rcon status
rcon mp_timelimit 20
rcon mp_fraglimit 30
rcon kick <name>

Deploy a Half-Life Deathmatch server by the hour