How to Set Up a Team Fortress 2 Dedicated Server

Option 1: by hand with SteamCMD

The dedicated server is a free, anonymous download from Steam (application 232250), about 15 GB. Since 2024 it has a native 64-bit Linux build, srcds_run_64, which takes up to 100 players.

1. Install SteamCMD, then run: +login anonymous +force_install_dir ./tf2 +app_update 232250 validate +quit
2. On Linux, install libcurl-gnutls (libcurl3t64-gnutls on Ubuntu 24.04): without it the 64-bit server stops with "Could not load: replay_srv.so".
3. Start it: ./srcds_run_64 -game tf -port 27015 +maxplayers 24 +map ctf_2fort +sv_setsteamaccount <token>
4. Write tf/cfg/server.cfg for everything else: hostname, sv_password, mp_timelimit, and exec banned_user.cfg so bans survive a restart.
5. Open port 27015 for UDP (game and query) and TCP (RCON) in your firewall, and forward it on your router.

The Steam token

A community server needs a Game Server Login Token to appear in TF2's server browser. It is free: sign in at steamcommunity.com/dev/managegameservers, enter App ID 440, and copy the Login Token into +sv_setsteamaccount. Without one the server logs in anonymously and is unlisted; friends can still join by address.

Option 2: Docker

runonflux/tf2-server-flux, our image (source on GitHub, RunOnFlux/tf2-server-flux), installs and updates the server on every start and builds the launch line from environment variables: TF2_HOSTNAME, TF2_MAP, TF2_MAXPLAYERS, TF2_GSLT, TF2_PASSWORD, TF2_RCON_PASSWORD, TF2_SOURCEMOD and GAME_PORT.

• Mount /mnt/tf2/server on a volume for the 15 GB install, and /mnt/tf2/data on one for your files: custom/ (server.cfg, maps), addons/ (SourceMod), the ban lists and the logs.
• With TF2_SOURCEMOD=true it installs Metamod:Source and SourceMod (1.12, the stable 64-bit builds) and updates them on every start, never overwriting your admins and configs.
• srcds writes its console only to a terminal; the image runs it in one, so the console reaches docker logs.

Option 3: managed on Flux

Deploy a TF2 server on the Flux decentralized cloud, on that same image, with the launch line as a form, the port opened and routed for you, DDoS protection included, and a dashboard with a live server console, a Maps tab, SourceMod plugins and admins, bans, server.cfg as a form, a file browser and backups. Plans start at $4.49 a month.

1. Pick the 12, 24 or 32-player plan.
2. Choose a region close to your players.
3. Name the server, pick the starting map, paste your Steam token and deploy. The first start downloads about 15 GB and installs SourceMod.
4. Connect with the address from the dashboard, or find the server in the Community Server Browser.