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Garry's Mod Admin Commands and RCON: Safe Server Operations

Garry's Mod Guide • Updated Sep 1, 2026

Garry's Mod Admin Commands and RCON

Use this as a compact operator reference, then confirm a command against the current gamemode and the maintained Facepunch GMod Wiki. Sandbox, TTT, DarkRP, and Workshop addons can add or override commands; a command that exists in one stack is not automatically safe or available in another.

Last verified: September 1, 2026. Keep RCON credentials private, never enable cheats on a public server, and publish truthful server information under Facepunch's operator rules.

Read-only checks first

status                 // players, Steam IDs, map, connection state
users                  // connected users
maps *pattern*         // find installed maps
changelevel gm_construct // controlled map change

Run read-only checks before kicking, banning, changing a map, or restarting a public session. Capture the output if a player is stuck on retrieving server info.

Player moderation

kickid USERID REASON
kick "PLAYER NAME" REASON
banid DURATION STEAMID REASON
writeid                // persist SteamID bans
writeip                // persist IP bans

Use SteamID-based actions where possible, document the reason, and check whether your gamemode/admin addon supplies its own moderation layer. Avoid publishing real player identifiers in support logs.

Server control

hostname "Server name"
sv_password "private-password"
sv_password ""         // make the server public
changelevel MAP         // change map without a full process restart
quit                    // stop the server cleanly

For a repeatable launch, put the map, gamemode, slot count, GSLT, and Workshop collection in the startup script. See the configuration guide for the startup/server.cfg boundary.

RCON safety

  • Use a long, unique RCON secret and keep it out of repositories, screenshots, and chat.
  • Restrict RCON access to trusted administrators and rotate it if exposed.
  • Do not use sv_cheats 1 on a public server; it changes the rules and can be abused.
  • Record who ran destructive commands and keep a backup before large map/content changes.

Admin addons

ULX and other admin frameworks add menus, permissions, and commands. Treat each framework as a separate dependency: pin its Workshop collection, test it on a stock map, and keep the content-delivery checklist available when clients cannot load it.

Operator checklist

  1. Boot app 4020 with a stock map and verify status.
  2. Test RCON from a trusted admin path; never use a shared password.
  3. Apply one moderation or addon change and record the result.
  4. Publish accurate hostname, gamemode, map, rules, and Workshop expectations.

Related Garry's Mod guides

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