Background
Valve recently made a change to how their CS:GO servers operate. To start your CS:GO server, you’ll now need a Gameserver Login Token (GSLT) to be registered with your server. At the time of writing, this change is expected to go live sometime next week, according to Valve.
This may seem cumbersome at first, but is fairly easy to do. We’ll walk you through how to, step-by-step below.
One of the advantages of using GSLTs is that people who add your server to favorites will still be able to find and connect to your server, even if you change hosting provider and/or the IP / port of your server. This was something that previously was impossible.
At the bottom of this post, there’ll be an FAQ with some of the most common questions regarding GSLTs and answers to them.
Go to the GSLT creation page
You can create a token for your game servers by going to Valve’s official steam gameserver login token page here:
https://steamcommunity.com/dev/managegameservers
Create your token
To create a token you’ll need to fill in the two fields at the bottom of the page under “Create a new game server account”:
App ID: Fill in the ID of the game you want to create a token for. In this case, 730 for CS:GO.
Memo: Fill in the name of your new token. Make sure it is something you remember so you know which server this is for. For example, it could be the same as the hostname of your server.
Get the ID of your newly generated token
Once you click create, your “Login Token” will appear. Simply copy the string, we’ll need it in the next step.
Setting the token (when using DatHost.net)
If you’re renting a CS:GO server from DatHost.net, there’s a few different ways to add your token:
- Upon starting your server for the first time, you’ll be asked for a token if you haven’t set it already. Simply paste the token into the input field and save.
- Click “Edit” on your server, go to the “Advanced Settings” tab and find the “Steam Game Server Login Token” field, and paste the token into that field. Save the changes and start/re-boot your server.
- Set the token via our API. This is for users with coding knowledge only, but can be very useful if you want to update the token programmatically or often need to re-use the token for different server instances.
Setting the token (Self-hosted server or another provider)
GSLTs can be registered on your server(s) by using the sv_setsteamaccount command either in autoexec.cfg or from an +exec on the server startup line.
Code:
sv_setsteamaccount <login_token>
Do not set this command in the server.cfg file, as it is executed too late for the token to be registered, making your server unable to log in.
You can also use this directly on your server’s startup command-line by prefixing it with a + (+sv_setsteamaccount <login_token>).
FAQ
Why are GSLTs needed?
To fully understand the reasoning behind GSLTs, we need to back up a bit to July, earlier this year. Valve announced that running certain plugins would get your server blacklisted, meaning it could not connect to the master servers and people wouldn’t be able to connect to the server.
This created a lot of problems for gameserver providers, large communities and anyone providing configurable servers to third parties, as bans were handed out by IP, meaning that an entire machine could be banned because of one malicious or uninformed user.
To address this, Valve is moving the ban to account-level instead of IP-level, which means that the end-user is always responsible for what they run on their server. Of course, gameserver providers and the like still have a responsibility to educate their users on these policies, as some might mistakenly upload blacklisted plugins.
An added benefit is that people who add your server to favorites will still be able to find and connect to your server, even if you change hosting provider and/or the IP / port of your server. This was something that previously was impossible.
If one of my tokens are banned/blacklisted, will all tokens be banned?
Yes, all of the tokens on your account will be blacklisted if one of your servers (tokens) is found to be running a blacklisted plugin. Make sure you read up on Valve’s plugin policies before running your servers so nothing unfortunate happens to your tokens.
If my GSLTs get banned for running a blacklisted plugin, will my steam account be community and/or VAC banned?
No one knows just yet what will happen to the steam account itself. Most likely, it won’t be VAC banned, but Valve’s requirement that anyone creating GSLTs is not community banned, you may be community banned for running blacklisted plugins.
Can I use the same GSLT for multiple servers?
No. You must create a unique GSLT for each simultaneously running server.
Can I re-use GSLTs?
Yes, you can add your GSLT to a new server, you just can’t run two servers with the same GSLT, at the same time.
Do I still need a Steam WebAPI key to host workshop maps?
Unfortunately, despite registering a GSLT to your server, CS:GO servers will still need a Steam WebAPI key to host maps from the Workshop.
Will this also affect Team Fortress 2?
As of yet, no official confirmation has been made that TF2 servers will also require GSLTs, but they do support them so it’s not a wild guess that this is to come.
My server loses connection to the registered Steam account
Don’t use the same GSLT for multiple servers. When a server starts with a specific GSLT, it will disconnect any other servers already running that same GSLT. You need to create a unique GSLT for each server.
Is there a limit on how many GSLTs my account can have?
Yes, you can have a maximum of 1000 GSLTs on your account.
What are the requirements for my account to be able to create a GSLT?
- Your Steam account must not be currently community banned or locked.
- Your Steam account must not be limited.
- Your Steam account must have a qualifying registered phone.
- Your Steam account must own the game for which you are creating a GSLT.
- Your Steam account may not have more than 1000 tokens.
Can I run servers without GSLTs?
No, you need to have a GSLT to run your CS:GO server.
