How to set a password on your Counter-Strike 1.6 server

To set a join password on a Counter-Strike 1.6 server on PlayNHost, add the line sv_password "your-password" to cstrike/server.cfg in Files and restart the server. Players then type password "your-password" in the game console before they connect. There is no password field in Settings for this game.

Set the password

1. Open your server in the panel and click the Files tab.
2. Open the cstrike folder and click server.cfg. The file opens in the editor.
3. Add the line sv_password "your-password" at the end of the file, with your own password between the quotes.
4. Click Save content.
5. Click Restart and wait for the badge to say Online.

The server reads server.cfg once, when it starts (Valve's Half-Life SDK notes that the engine runs it only once). That is why a restart is needed. To switch the password on without a restart, also type sv_password "your-password" in the Console tab and press Enter: it works at once, and the line in the file keeps it after the next restart.

If server.cfg is missing from the cstrike folder, click New file inside that folder, name it server.cfg, and add the line there.

How do players join with the password?

1. Press the ~ key in Counter-Strike to open the console.
2. Type password "your-password" and press Enter.
3. Type connect and the server address, and press Enter.

A player who connects without a password is refused with No password set. Clean your userinfo. A wrong password is refused too, and the server's Console shows the player's address followed by password failed. Full join steps: How to join your Counter-Strike 1.6 server.

How do I remove the password?

1. In Files, open cstrike/server.cfg and delete the sv_password line, or change it to sv_password "".
2. Click Save content and restart the server.

Typing sv_password "" in the Console tab removes it at once until the next restart. The value none also means no password.

Is the join password the RCON password?

No. The join password lets players in. The RCON Password in Settings, Game Settings is for remote admin commands, and it must be different. See How to use the Console and RCON on your Counter-Strike 1.6 server.

Can my admins change the password in the game?

Yes. AMX Mod X admins with the access flags g (the amx_cvar command) and k (the sv_password cvar) can type amx_cvar sv_password "new-password" in the game console. When server.cfg has an sv_password line, that line sets the password again at the next start. See How to become admin on your Counter-Strike 1.6 server.

More on the file manager: How to upload, edit and manage your server files.