Left 4 Dead 2: connect to and set up your server

Here's how to connect to your Left 4 Dead 2 server and adjust the most important settings.

Connecting

1. Open the server page in the client area and click Start.
2. Wait until the status shows “running”. You can follow the progress in the Console tab.
3. Copy the address (IP:Port) at the top of the server page.
4. In Left 4 Dead 2, enable the developer console under Options → Keyboard/Mouse, open it and enter connect IP:Port.

Important settings

In the Startup variables tab:

• Default Map (SRCDS_MAP) – the map on start, e.g. c1m1_hotel (Dead Center).
• Auto Update (AUTO_UPDATE) – updates the server on every restart.

Set the server name, passwords and game rules in the file left4dead2/cfg/server.cfg in the Files tab (create the file if it is missing), for example:

• hostname "My server" – name of the server
• sv_password "…" – password for joining
• rcon_password "…" – password for admin commands via RCON

Changes take effect on the next restart.

Good to know

• After a game update from Valve, the server must be updated too, otherwise players cannot join. With Auto Update, a restart is enough.
• Upload add-ons such as SourceMod via SFTP into the left4dead2 folder.
• The first start takes longer because the server files are downloaded and set up.