How to host an Insurgency: Sandstorm server (2026)

Short answer. You can host an Insurgency: Sandstorm server yourself for free: install Steam app 581330 with SteamCMD using an anonymous login, start InsurgencyServer-Linux-Shipping with a map, a scenario and a game port, and open that UDP game port plus the query port. Or rent an Insurgency: Sandstorm server and skip the networking.

Players find your server by its name in the in-game server browser.

Checked on 5 November 2026 against Update 1.22 Operation: Echoes (14 October 2026), the newest update New World Interactive had announced on Steam.

This guide uses two sources: the developer's Server Admin Guide (version 1.4) and what we run on every Insurgency: Sandstorm server we host. To skip to the rental route, go to Option 2.

What you need

• The server software: Steam app 581330, downloaded with SteamCMD. It is free and installs with an anonymous Steam login.
• A machine that stays on: a spare PC, a home server or a cloud virtual machine. This guide uses 64-bit Linux, which is what we run. The developer's guide also gives a Windows launch line.
• RAM and CPU: the developer does not publish server requirements. The Steam page lists only what the game needs on a player's PC. Treat any figure you read elsewhere as an estimate.
• Network: a UDP game port and a query port, both reachable from the internet. The developer's example uses 27102 for the game and 27131 for the query port, and you choose them with -Port and -QueryPort.
• The game: every player needs the PC version of Insurgency: Sandstorm. Its Steam page lists Windows only.
• Your SteamID64: the 17-digit number of your Steam account, to make yourself admin.

Option 1: host it yourself

These steps are for Debian or Ubuntu. The install and start commands are the ones our servers use.

Install the server

1. Install curl and the library SteamCMD needs.

   sudo apt-get install curl lib32gcc-s1

2. Create a user for the server and switch to it.

   sudo useradd -m -s /bin/bash -U sandstorm
   sudo su - sandstorm

3. Install SteamCMD and let it update itself once.

   mkdir -p ~/steamcmd ~/server
   cd ~/steamcmd
   curl -sSL https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/client/installer/steamcmd_linux.tar.gz | tar zxf -
   ./steamcmd.sh +quit

4. Download the server.

   ~/steamcmd/steamcmd.sh +force_install_dir /home/sandstorm/server +login anonymous +app_update 581330 validate +quit

   We have seen SteamCMD end with "Missing configuration", leave no game files and still report success. Check that steamapps/appmanifest_581330.acf exists in the server folder, and run the command again if it does not. Our install script does exactly this check and retries up to three times.
5. Copy the Steam client library where the server looks for it, and make the binary executable:

   mkdir -p ~/.steam/sdk64
   cp ~/steamcmd/linux64/steamclient.so ~/.steam/sdk64/
   chmod +x ~/server/Insurgency/Binaries/Linux/InsurgencyServer-Linux-Shipping

Start it

1. Run the server from the server folder. The map, the scenario and MaxPlayers are joined with question marks, and the rest are switches:

   cd ~/server
   ./Insurgency/Binaries/Linux/InsurgencyServer-Linux-Shipping Canyon?Scenario=Scenario_Crossing_Checkpoint_Insurgents?MaxPlayers=16 -Port=27102 -QueryPort=27131 -log -hostname="My Sandstorm server"

   The developer's guide adds ?password=... after the map to set a join password. Run the server under a service manager such as systemd so it restarts after a crash.
2. Know when it is ready. The log prints LogGameState: Match State Changed from LoadingAssets to WaitingToStart. That is the line our panel waits for before it calls a server running.
3. Open the ports. Allow the game port as UDP on the machine's firewall (for example sudo ufw allow 27102/udp) and forward it on your router. Open the query port the same way, because it is the port Steam uses to query the server for the browser.

Choose maps and scenarios

• Scenarios: a scenario name sets the game mode and side, such as Scenario_Crossing_Checkpoint_Insurgents or Scenario_Farmhouse_Checkpoint_Security. The developer's guide lists them by map.
• Map cycle: by default a server cycles through all Versus scenarios. To set your own list, put one scenario per line in Insurgency/Config/Server/MapCycle.txt, or point to another file with -MapCycle=OtherFile.
• Config files: they live in Insurgency/Saved/Config/LinuxServer. Edit them while the server is stopped.

Make yourself admin

1. Create Insurgency/Config/Server/Admins.txt if it does not exist, and put one SteamID64 on each line.
2. Restart the server or change level so the list is read.
3. Join and open the admin menu. It is bound to Keypad Subtract by default and can be rebound in the key bindings menu.

Mods, game stats and a Steam token

• Mods: Sandstorm mods come from mod.io. Our setup needs three things before the server fetches a mod: the -Mods switch, a list of mod ids in Insurgency/Config/Server/Mods.txt (one id per line, the number on the mod's mod.io page), and a mod.io access token with the terms accepted. See How to add mods to your Insurgency: Sandstorm server.
• Steam Game Server Login Token: optional. Create one at steamcommunity.com/dev/managegameservers with app id 581320, which is the game's id, not the server's 581330. Add -GSLTToken=... to the start line. Use one token per server.
• Game stats: the developer's guide says stats need a Steam token, no password, and -GameStats on the start line. Stats also use a game stats token, which the developer's Update 1.20 notes mention: our servers add -GameStats -GameStatsToken=... only when the owner has created one at gamestats.sandstorm.game.

Update

After each game update, stop the server and run the download command from step 4 again.

Windows

The developer's guide gives this launch line for Windows, run from the server's root folder after installing app 581330 with SteamCMD for Windows:

InsurgencyServer.exe Oilfield?Scenario=Scenario_Refinery_Push_Security?MaxPlayers=28 -Port=27102 -QueryPort=27131 -log -hostname="My Server"

It also lists the Visual C++ 2015 and 2017 redistributables as prerequisites. Config files are in Insurgency\Saved\Config\WindowsServer. We have not tested a Windows server ourselves.

Option 2: host it on PlayNHost

Renting removes the install, the ports and the update routine. You still choose a name, a map and your admins.

1. Pick a plan. Open the Insurgency: Sandstorm server hosting page and compare the plans: GRUNT (10 players), VETERAN (18) and WARLORD (30) at the time of writing. Press Create Server (Customize Plan on WARLORD) and finish the order. Prices change, so check them on that page.
2. Wait for the install. The server appears in the panel. Its Console prints LogGameState: Match State Changed from LoadingAssets to WaitingToStart when it is ready.
3. Name it and pick the map. On the Settings tab, under Game Settings, set Server Name, Default Map (for example Canyon, Farmhouse or Ministry) and Scenario Name. The scenario must exist on that map: scenario names usually embed the map, so Scenario_Crossing_* runs on Canyon. Then press Restart now.
4. Make yourself admin. Open the Files tab, create Insurgency/Config/Server/Admins.txt with your SteamID64 on its own line, and restart. See How to become admin on your Insurgency: Sandstorm server and use admin commands.
5. Join. Search for your Server Name in the in-game server browser. See How to join your Insurgency: Sandstorm server.
6. Add mods (optional). Enter mod ids in Mods and your own token in mod.io access token, then restart.

What the panel does for you:

• Ports. Your game port and query port are assigned and put on the start line for you, so there is nothing to forward.
• Player cap. Max Players is your plan's player count. It is read only, and the panel writes it into Game.ini at every start.
• Mods wiring. Our start script writes Mods.txt from the Mods list and adds -Mods when it is not empty. It writes the mod.io token into both GameUserSettings.ini and Engine.ini, so the server finds it in whichever file it reads. The token goes into the config and never onto the command line, so the console does not show it. Remove all ids and the server runs the stock game.
• Game stats without errors. Leave Game Stats Token empty and stats are simply off. Paste a token from gamestats.sandstorm.game and restart to turn them on. The server no longer tries to log in to the stats service without a token, which used to fill the console with LoginResult: Code=403 token_invalid.
• Steam token. Without a Steam Game Server Login Token the server boots and answers queries, but its Steam identity changes at every restart. Paste a token and restart for a permanent one.
• Updates. With Auto Update on (the default, under Show advanced), the server checks for an update through SteamCMD each time it starts and installs it.

Self-hosting or renting: an honest comparison

• Cost: the server software is free. Self-hosting costs power, hardware and bandwidth, or a cloud machine. Renting is a monthly fee set by the plan.
• Uptime: a home server is only up while your PC, power and internet are. A rented server runs on the host's hardware.
• Exposure: at home, players connect to your public IP address and you look after the firewall and router. A rented server keeps your home IP out of it.
• Setup: self-hosting needs the command line, SteamCMD, two forwarded ports and, for mods, three separate pieces to line up. Renting needs a name, a scenario and a mod list.
• Control: self-hosting gives you every file and switch. On our servers you set the main options in the panel, and the Files tab and Additional Switches cover the rest.

Ready to skip the setup? See the Insurgency: Sandstorm server plans. Already have a server? Start with Insurgency: Sandstorm server settings: every option explained.