Most problems with a Team Fortress 2 server come down to a few causes. Start with the one that matches what you see.
The server sits at Starting forever, but the game seems to be running
Why: A wrong Steam Login Token makes the Steam login fail: the server then drops out of the browser and the panel never sees the login it waits for.
Fix: Clear the Steam Login Token field or paste a correct one (a 32-character token from your own Steam account, created with App ID 440), then restart.
The server is joinable but ranks low or is hard to find in the server browser, and the console says server ranking will be negatively impacted
Why: No Steam Login Token is set, so the server logs into an anonymous game server account. It still works and is protected by VAC.
Fix: Create a free token at https://steamcommunity.com/dev/managegameservers with App ID 440, paste it into Steam Login Token, and restart. A token that goes unused for a long time expires and can be regenerated on that page.
The server name in the browser is cut short or odd characters appear
Why: The name is passed to the game as a single word, so a space ends it and the rest is dropped, and * or ? are treated as filename patterns.
Fix: Remove spaces, asterisks and question marks from Server name and join words with - or _, then restart.
You cannot change Max Players in the server settings
Why: The field shows the limit included in your plan and is read-only.
Fix: Use Players on the server Overview page to pick any number up to your plan limit. Upgrade your plan to raise the limit itself.
RCON tools will not connect
Why: With an empty RCON password, remote administration is switched off.
Fix: Set RCON password (letters, numbers, dashes and underscores only, up to 30 characters), restart, then connect your RCON tool to the same address and port as the game.
SourceMod commands such as sm_admin do nothing, or the addons folder is missing
Why: Install SourceMod only takes effect when the server is reinstalled; turning it on and restarting does nothing.
Fix: Turn on Install SourceMod and ask support to apply it. A reinstall deletes the server's files by default, including your configs and plugins, so download a backup of the tf folder first. Afterwards run meta list and sm version over RCON to confirm.
A plugin you uploaded does not run
Why: Only compiled .smx files placed in the plugins folder are loaded; source files and plugins in the disabled folder are ignored.
Fix: Put the .smx file directly in tf/addons/sourcemod/plugins, restart, and run sm plugins list over RCON.
Still stuck?
Open a ticket in the category that fits and include the last 50 to 100 lines of the console. See How to open a support ticket and How to fix a server that will not start.
