How to host an SCP: Secret Laboratory server (2026)

Short answer. You can host an SCP: Secret Laboratory server yourself for free: install the dedicated server, Steam app 996560, with SteamCMD, start it with ./LocalAdmin and forward UDP port 7777. Or rent an SCP: Secret Laboratory server and skip the install and the networking.

Players join with Direct Connect in the in-game server browser, using your IP address and port. To appear in the browser's main list, a server must first be verified.

Checked on 5 November 2026. The last numbered release Northwood Studios had announced on Steam was 14.2.7 (30 May 2026), followed by the unnumbered Halloween update on 17 October 2026. Version 15.0 (Megapatch III) was still in development.

This guide follows Northwood Studios' own sources (the official technical wiki, the LocalAdmin documentation and the game's Steam announcements) and what we run on every SCP: Secret Laboratory server we host. To skip to the rental route, go to Option 2.

What you need

• The server software: "Secret Laboratory Dedicated Server", Steam app 996560. It is free and downloads with an anonymous Steam login. App 700330 is the game client, not the server.
• A machine that stays on: Northwood's wiki lists minimum specs, including a 2-core CPU and 4 GB of storage, for a full 25-player server with no plugins. It supports Windows 8.1 or 10, Ubuntu 26.04 LTS or newer, and Debian 13 or newer. ARM processors are not supported.
• Network: UDP port 7777 reachable from the internet. Northwood says to open it for UDP only, not TCP and not both.
• A player cap: max_players in config_gameplay.txt, 20 by default. Verification de-lists any server with more than 60 slots.
• Your SteamID64: the 17-digit number of your Steam account, to make yourself admin.

Option 1: host it yourself

These steps are for Debian 13 and follow Northwood's wiki page "How to create a Dedicated Server". Windows users can install the free "Secret Laboratory Dedicated Server" tool from their Steam library instead, which updates with the game.

Install the server

1. Install the packages. The wiki first asks you to enable the Debian non-free repository and the i386 architecture, then:

   sudo apt update
   sudo apt install lib32gcc-s1 steamcmd tmux libicu76

2. Install .NET. The wiki uses the .NET 9.0 runtime. Follow Microsoft's instructions for your distribution.
3. Create a user for the server and log in as it. Add /usr/games to your PATH in ~/.bashrc, then run source ~/.bashrc.
4. Make the folders and download the server.

   mkdir -p ~/steamcmd/scpsl
   steamcmd

   When SteamCMD has finished its first-time setup, type:

   force_install_dir /home/scpsl-server/steamcmd/scpsl
   login anonymous
   app_update 996560 validate
   quit

   Change scpsl-server to your own user name.
5. Check the install. SteamCMD sometimes answers "Missing configuration" and still ends as if it worked, leaving no game files. We see this come and go on fresh installs. Look for steamapps/appmanifest_996560.acf in the server folder and run the download again if it is missing.

Start it

1. Start the server inside tmux so it survives closing SSH. LocalAdmin must be launched from the folder that holds the game files.

   tmux new -s scpsl
   cd ~/steamcmd/scpsl
   ./LocalAdmin 7777

   The port is the argument. On the first start LocalAdmin asks you to accept the game's EULA and to answer a few setup questions.
2. Wait for the ready line. On our servers the server counts as started when the console prints Waiting for players...

Write the settings

1. Open the port folder. Settings live in a folder named after the port: .config/SCP Secret Laboratory/config/7777/, under the user that runs LocalAdmin. On Windows it is AppData\Roaming\SCP Secret Laboratory\config\7777\.
2. Edit config_gameplay.txt. Two lines matter first:

   server_name: My SCP server
   max_players: 20

3. Make yourself admin in config_remoteadmin.txt, in the same folder. In the role assignment section at the top, add one line with your SteamID64, @steam and a role that exists in the file's role list:

    - 76561198000000000@steam: owner

   Keep the spaces around the dash and after the colon, and remove any placeholder IDs left from the template, since they can stop roles being assigned.

Open the port and let people join

1. Allow UDP 7777 on the machine's firewall and forward it on your router. If it looks right but nobody can connect, check whether your internet provider puts you behind CG-NAT. Northwood's support does not help with router setup.
2. Players join from the server browser: choose Direct Connect and enter your address and port. After a game update, update the server too (last step).
3. To be listed, the server must be verified. In the server console run !verify static or !verify dynamic, depending on your IP type, then sign the Community Server Guidelines agreement through the link the console prints. Verification also needs a server_name, a serverinfo_pastebin_id and a contact_email in config_gameplay.txt, and Northwood asks for a machine with at least two physical cores and 20 GB of storage, with a memory minimum on top. Northwood warns that a verified server can attract DDoS attacks and advises against hosting one from home.
4. Update by stopping the server and running the app_update 996560 validate step again. Run buildinfo in LocalAdmin to check the version.

Option 2: host it on PlayNHost

Renting removes the install, the .NET setup, the port and the update routine. You still choose a name and your admins.

1. Pick a plan. Open the SCP: Secret Laboratory server hosting page and compare the plans: SAFE (8 players), EUCLID (16) and KETER (30) at the time of writing. Press Create Server (Customize Plan on KETER) and finish the order.
2. Wait for the install. The server appears in the panel. Its Console prints Waiting for players.. when it is ready. On the EXILED server type, the first start can stop at LocalAdmin's question Do you accept the EULA? [yes/no]: type yes in the Console, then answer its setup questions there.
3. Name it. On the Settings tab, under Game Settings, set the Server Name. Then restart. On the EXILED server type there is no such field: set server_name in config_gameplay.txt under Files instead.
4. Make yourself admin. Open the Files tab, go to .config/SCP Secret Laboratory/config, open the folder named after your server's port and edit config_remoteadmin.txt as in the self-host steps. Then restart the server. See How to Become an Admin on Your SCP: Secret Laboratory Server.
5. Invite your players. Give them the server's address from the panel and have them use Direct Connect. See How to Connect to Your SCP: Secret Laboratory Server.

What the panel does for you:

• Your port is assigned and open from the start, and LocalAdmin is started on it for you.
• On the plain server type, at every start the panel writes your Server Name and your plan's player limit into config_gameplay.txt. So change the name in the panel, not in the file: a hand edit of those two lines is overwritten at the next start. The player limit comes from your plan.
• With Auto Update on, the server checks for a game update each time it starts, so a restart is an update. It is on by default for the plain server type and off for the EXILED type, so that a new game build does not break your plugins before EXILED supports it. The switch is in Game Settings under Show advanced.
• There is also an EXILED server type, the same game with the community plugin framework on it. See How to Install EXILED Plugins on Your SCP: Secret Laboratory Server.

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.
• Setup: self-hosting needs the command line, .NET and a forwarded UDP port. Renting needs a name and your admin line. On either route, the main list shows verified servers only.
• Exposure: at home, players connect to your public IP address. Northwood's wiki advises against hosting a verified server from home. A rented server keeps your home address out of it.
• Verification: Northwood's wiki says automatic verification applies only to servers rented from the providers it lists. PlayNHost was not on that list on 5 November 2026, so our servers are not verified automatically. Check the list before you choose a host if appearing in the main server list matters to you.
• Control: self-hosting gives you every file. On our servers you still have the Files tab and the Console.

Ready to skip the setup? See the SCP: Secret Laboratory server plans. Already have a server? Start with How to Change Your SCP: Secret Laboratory Server Settings.