--- title: "Getting started with your Counter-Strike 2 server" description: "Complete your first boot, activate your GSLT token, set up a map cycle, and execute custom 1v1, practice, or retake server configs." url: "https://www.gameserverkings.com/knowledge-base/counter-strike-2/getting-started-with-your-server/" category: "Counter-Strike 2" category_url: "https://www.gameserverkings.com/knowledge-base/counter-strike-2/" published: "2026-07-02T03:14:06.256Z" updated: "2026-08-19T04:22:44.882Z" source_format: "markdown" site: "GameServerKings" --- # Getting started with your Counter-Strike 2 server Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) replaced CS:GO in 2023 with the Source 2 engine. Community server support has evolved with the engine; your server uses Valve's standard SRCDS approach. ## First Boot 1. Open your [Counter-Strike 2 game server](/games/counter-strike-2/) in the panel. 2. Click **Start**. 3. First boot downloads CS2 server files (about 35 GB), which takes 20 to 30 minutes. 4. When you see `VAC secure mode is activated` and `Listening on`, you're ready. | What | Value | |---|---| | Steam app ID | `730` | | Default port | `27015` | | First-boot download | ~35 GB | | Expected first-boot time | 20-30 minutes | To connect: in CS2, open the developer console (must be enabled in settings) with `~` and: ```text connect 203.0.113.10:27015 ``` ## Map Cycle CS2 rotates maps from a **map group** or from a **Steam Workshop collection**. It does not rotate them from a `mapcycle.txt` file the way CS:GO and the older Source games did. Map groups are KeyValues blocks in `game/csgo/gamemodes_server.txt`, the file that overrides the `gamemodes.txt` Valve ships. There is no `cfg/mapgroup_.cfg` in CS2 - if you are following a CS:GO guide that sends you there, the file will not exist. Pick a group with the Startup tab's **Mapgroup** field (or `+mapgroup mg_active` on the command line), and set the boot map with the **Map** field. The other file you will spend time in is `server.cfg` - the [CS2 server.cfg reference](/knowledge-base/counter-strike-2/configuration-overview/) breaks down every setting worth changing. | Map group | Contains | |---|---| | `mg_active` | Valve's Active Duty pool | | Groups you define | Any set of maps you add to `gamemodes_server.txt` yourself | Active Duty is not a fixed list. Valve rotates it with each Premier season, so any list published in a guide has a shelf life. As of Premier Season Five (8 July 2026) it is **Ancient, Anubis, Cache, Dust 2, Inferno, Mirage and Nuke** - Cache came in and Overpass went out. Rather than trusting that, run `print_mapgroup_sv` in the Console tab and the server will print the group it is actually running and the maps inside it. > [!IMPORTANT] `mapcycle.txt` does not drive rotation in CS2 > `mapcyclefile` still exists in the CS2 binary but is flagged development-only, so the classic Source `mapcycle.txt` workflow is not a supported way to rotate maps on a retail CS2 server. A config that sets it will look like it applied and then do nothing. Use a map group, or a Workshop collection - [how to add Steam Workshop maps](/knowledge-base/counter-strike-2/how-to-add-workshop-maps/) covers collections, `host_workshop_map` and the rest of the Workshop commands in full. To force a specific map on boot, set the **Map** field to `de_mirage` (or your preferred map). ## Practice / 1v1 / Retake Servers CS2 has popular community modes that you can replicate. Each needs a plugin, so work through the [CS2 plugin install guide](/knowledge-base/counter-strike-2/how-to-install-plugins/) first - none of the modes below run on a stock server. If you are setting up scrims or matches rather than a public practice server, [running competitive matches](/knowledge-base/counter-strike-2/how-to-run-competitive-matches/) covers the match-config side instead. ### Retake Server 1. Install **CS2Fixes** and the **Retake** plugin. 2. Configure retake spawns and scenarios in the plugin's config. 3. Use a retake config file in `cfg/server.cfg` with `mp_warmuptime 999`, `mp_buy_anywhere 1`, scripted bombsites. ### 1v1 Arena 1. Install a 1v1 arena plugin (community-built for CS2). 2. Maps are aim-arena style, and the plugin shuffles players into 1v1 brackets. ### KZ / Surf 1. Install **cs2kz-metamod** (KZGlobalTeam) - the Source 2 KZ implementation, and a shipping Metamod plugin rather than a plan. It is still pre-1.0 and releases land continuously, so treat it as software you update rather than install once. Metamod:Source has to be in place first; the [CS2 plugin install guide](/knowledge-base/counter-strike-2/how-to-install-plugins/) covers that. 2. Load KZ or surf maps from the Workshop - [how to add Steam Workshop maps](/knowledge-base/counter-strike-2/how-to-add-workshop-maps/) covers `host_workshop_map` and collections. ## Game Server Login Token (GSLT) To run a public CS2 server visible in community browsers: 1. Visit `steamcommunity.com/dev/managegameservers`. 2. Generate a token for CS2 (app ID 730). 3. Set the token in the Startup tab's **GSLT** field. Admin access is separate - see [CS2 admin setup](/knowledge-base/counter-strike-2/how-to-add-admins-and-commands/). 4. Restart. > [!IMPORTANT] No token means no browser listing > Without GSLT, the server can be joined by IP but won't appear in the community browser. ## Performance Tips **There is no tickrate for you to choose.** Valve lists *tick-rate-independent gameplay* as one of Counter-Strike 2's headline features. Rather than resolving the world only at discrete ticks, CS2 records the exact sub-tick instant a shot is fired, a movement key is pressed or a grenade leaves the hand, and acts on that timestamp - so shot and movement registration no longer hinge on how often the server ticks. Two things follow from that if you are coming from CS:GO: - **Shopping for "128-tick" does not carry over.** `-tickrate` is not one of the CS2 dedicated-server command-line parameters Valve documents, and there is no `tickrate` convar in the CS2 command list. No launch flag makes a CS2 server tick faster. - **The CS:GO rate convars did not all survive.** `sv_maxupdaterate` in particular is not present in CS2, so a `server.cfg` ported straight from a CS:GO server carries a line that does nothing. [CS2 server commands](/knowledge-base/counter-strike-2/how-to-add-admins-and-commands/) lists what the retail build actually exposes. Schedule daily restarts; CS2 has memory creep similar to CS:GO. ## Backups CS2 server configs and custom maps are the only critical data. The panel **Backups** tab handles them. Daily snapshots are fine. ## Common Issues | Symptom | Cause | Fix | |---|---|---| | Server not appearing in browser | GSLT missing or revoked - tokens are revoked after 30 days of inactivity | Generate a fresh token and set it in the Startup tab | | Map fails to change to a workshop map | The map has not finished downloading | Watch the Console tab. A first download of a large map takes time and the server looks unresponsive during it - restarting starts the download over. [Adding Steam Workshop maps](/knowledge-base/counter-strike-2/how-to-add-workshop-maps/) has the full troubleshooting list | | A `mapgroup` setting appears to be ignored | A Workshop map or collection is configured | Workshop settings take precedence over a configured start map and map group. Set one or the other, not both | | High ping or warps after a Source 2 update | Network frame settings changed | Reset to defaults and tune from there | | Plugins not loading | Source 2 plugin loaders are still maturing | Pin to confirmed-working versions - our [CS2 plugin install guide](/knowledge-base/counter-strike-2/how-to-install-plugins/) covers the working setup | --- Made with 💜 by GameServerKings