How to Become an Admin on Your Team Fortress 2 Server

Team Fortress 2 has no built-in admin system beyond RCON. Real day to day administration is done with SourceMod, which is the standard plugin framework for Source servers.

Route 1: RCON

RCON gives you full control of the server console from your game client.

1. Set a password in tf/cfg/server.cfg:

   rcon_password "a-long-password-here"

2. Restart the server or run exec server.cfg from the panel console.
3. Join the server, open the developer console and authenticate:

   rcon_password a-long-password-here

4. Then run any server command with an rcon prefix:

   rcon changelevel pl_upward
   rcon status
   rcon kickid 3 "reason"

The RCON password is total control of the server. Never give it to a moderator, use SourceMod for that.

Route 2: SourceMod admins

This assumes MetaMod and SourceMod are installed. See our guide on installing TF2 plugins and custom maps.

1. Stop the server.
2. In the panel open Files and edit:

   tf/addons/sourcemod/configs/admins_simple.ini

3. Add one line per admin:

   "STEAM_0:1:12345678" "99:z"
   "STEAM_0:0:87654321" "50:abcdefgj"

4. Save and start the server.

The first value is the Steam ID in the classic STEAM_0: format, which is what SourceMod expects. The second is an immunity level, then a colon, then permission flags.

The flags that matter

• z is root, everything. Give it only to yourself.
• a reserved slot, b generic admin, c kick, d ban, e unban, f slay.
• g change map, h change cvars, j chat, k vote.

A typical moderator gets bcdefgj, which covers kicks, bans, slays and map changes without letting them change server variables.

Using SourceMod in game

Type !admin in chat to open the admin menu, or use the commands directly:

• !kick <player> <reason>
• !ban <player> <minutes> <reason>, with 0 minutes for permanent.
• !map <mapname>
• !slay <player>
• !rcon <command> if you have the flag for it.

A leading / instead of ! runs the same command silently, without showing it in chat.

If SourceMod does not recognise you

• Reload the admin cache from the panel console with sm_reloadadmins, or restart the server.
• Check the Steam ID format. admins_simple.ini expects STEAM_0:x:xxxxxxx, not a SteamID64.
• Run sm_admins in the console to list who SourceMod thinks the admins are.