How to Add Mods to Your Counter-Strike Source Server

Plugins on a Counter-Strike Source server run through Metamod:Source and SourceMod. You need both: Metamod:Source hooks into the Source Engine, and SourceMod builds on top of it to provide the plugin environment and the admin features.

Important

Your server runs on Linux. Always download the Linux package (.tar.gz) of Metamod:Source and SourceMod — the .zip package is the Windows build and will not work.

Note

Your players do not have to install anything. Plugins are executed server-side only, no downloads are required on the player's side.

Install Metamod:Source

1. Download Metamod:Source
   Download the current stable version of Metamod:Source (currently the 1.12 branch) as a Linux package (.tar.gz).

2. Stop the server
   Stop your server via the dashboard.

3. Connect via SFTP
   Connect to your server via SFTP.

4. Upload the files
   Extract the archive and upload the addons folder it contains to the following directory:

   /cstrike/

   Afterwards the folder /cstrike/addons/metamod/ exists.

5. Start the server
   Start your server and check in the server console with meta version whether Metamod:Source was loaded.

Note

You do not have to create your own metamod.vdf — since Metamod:Source 1.10.0 the matching file is already part of the package.

Install SourceMod

1. Download SourceMod
   Download the current stable version of SourceMod (currently the 1.12 branch) as a Linux package (.tar.gz).

2. Stop the server
   Stop your server via the dashboard.

3. Upload the files
   Extract the archive and upload the addons and cfg folders it contains via SFTP to the following directory:

   /cstrike/

   Existing folders are merged, not replaced. Afterwards the folder /cstrike/addons/sourcemod/ exists.

4. Start the server
   Start your server and check in the server console with sm version whether SourceMod was loaded.

Install plugins

1. Download the plugin
   Download the plugin you want. Ready-to-use plugins come as a .smx file.

2. Stop the server
   Stop your server via the dashboard.

3. Upload the plugin
   Upload the .smx file via SFTP to the following directory:

   /cstrike/addons/sourcemod/plugins/

4. Start the server
   Start your server and check with sm plugins list whether the plugin was loaded.

Add custom maps

1. Download the map
   Download the map you want. Maps come as a .bsp file, sometimes together with additional files such as sounds or models.

2. Stop the server
   Stop your server via the dashboard.

3. Upload the map
   Upload the .bsp file via SFTP to the following directory:

   /cstrike/maps/

4. Start the server
   Start your server. Use changelevel <map name> in the server console to switch to the new map.

Warning

Custom maps only exist on the server. Your players need the map as well, otherwise they cannot join. Set up FastDL so it is downloaded automatically.

Set up FastDL

With FastDL your players automatically download custom maps and additional files from a web space when connecting, instead of having to install them manually.

1. Put the files on your web space
   Create a folder on your web space and mirror the folder structure of the server inside it, for example maps/, sound/ and models/. Copy the required files into the matching folders.

2. Compress the files
   Compress the files on the web space in the .bz2 format. de_example.bsp becomes de_example.bsp.bz2.

3. Add the download address
   Open the following file via SFTP and add the address of your FastDL folder:

   /cstrike/cfg/server.cfg

   sv_downloadurl "https://your-domain.com/fastdl/"

4. Start the server
   Save the file and restart your server.

Note

The files have to exist on the server and on the web space. The server loads the map itself from /cstrike/maps/, your players fetch it through the FastDL address.

Folder structure at a glance

/cstrike/addons/metamod/
/cstrike/addons/sourcemod/
/cstrike/addons/sourcemod/plugins/     <- .smx plugin files
/cstrike/addons/sourcemod/configs/     <- configurations, e.g. admin lists
/cstrike/maps/                         <- maps
/cstrike/cfg/                          <- server.cfg and other configurations

Verify the installation

Enter the following commands in the server console:

Command	Description
meta version	Show the Metamod:Source version
meta list	Show the extensions loaded by Metamod
sm version	Show the SourceMod version
sm plugins list	Show the loaded SourceMod plugins

Warning

If the server answers one of these commands with Unknown command, that component was not loaded. In that case check whether you used the Linux package and whether the folders really are located under /cstrike/addons/.

Warning

Always stop your server before uploading files. After a game update Metamod:Source, SourceMod and individual plugins can become incompatible — check whether updates are available in that case.

Tip

To learn how to give yourself admin rights with SourceMod afterwards, see Add Admin.