How to Add Admins to a Squad Server (Admins.cfg and Commands)

To add an admin to a Squad server, open SquadGame/ServerConfig/Admins.cfg, define a group with a Group=Name:permission,permission line, then add each person with Admin=SteamID64:GroupName, followed by an optional // comment with their name. Save and restart the server, and that player can use admin commands from the in game console. The SteamID64 is the 17 digit number from their Steam profile, not their name.

Squad's admin system is flexible because permissions belong to groups, not people. That makes it easy to run a proper staff ladder: owners, senior admins, moderators and whitelisted members with only a reserved slot.

The file format

Admins.cfg has two kinds of lines:

Group=<GroupName>:<permission>,<permission>,...
Admin=<SteamID64>:<GroupName> // optional comment

A working example for a small community:

Group=Owner:changemap,pause,cheat,private,balance,chat,kick,ban,config,cameraman,immune,manageserver,featuretest,reserve,demos,clientdemos,debug,teamchange,forceteamchange,canseeadminchat
Group=Admin:changemap,balance,chat,kick,ban,cameraman,teamchange,forceteamchange,canseeadminchat,reserve
Group=Moderator:chat,kick,cameraman,canseeadminchat,reserve
Group=Whitelist:reserve

Admin=76561198000000001:Owner // Alex
Admin=76561198000000002:Admin // Sam
Admin=76561198000000003:Moderator // Jo
Admin=76561198000000004:Whitelist // regular

Rules that save headaches:

• No spaces around the colons or commas in a Group line.
• Group names in Admin lines must match a Group line exactly, including capitals.
• Keep all Group lines at the top and Admin lines below them, so the file stays readable.
• One SteamID64 per Admin line. Put a person in only one group.

Every permission explained

Give cheat, config, manageserver and immune only to people you would trust with the server password. A moderator with cheat can wreck a match in seconds.

Reserved slots and whitelists

reserve only works if the server has reserved slots. Set NumReservedSlots in Server.cfg (or Reserved Slots in a hosting panel) to how many seats you want held back. Then anyone in a group with reserve, such as the Whitelist group above, can join when the server shows full for everyone else. Seeders and long time regulars are a good fit for this group.

The admin commands you will use

Open the console in game (the key left of 1, usually ~) and type commands directly. Names with spaces go in quotes, and you can use a SteamID64 instead of a name.

ListPlayers and ListSquads show player IDs and squad numbers, which you need for the squad commands and for kicking players with similar names. Bans land in Bans.cfg in the same folder, which you can edit or clear by hand.

Sharing an admin list across servers

Communities with several servers do not have to copy Admins.cfg around. Squad can read admin lists from a web address listed in RemoteAdminListHosts.cfg, in the same format as the local file. Host one list, point every server at it, and staff changes apply everywhere after a restart.

Common problems

Managing admins on a hosted server

On a GamezServers Squad server, Admins.cfg is in SquadGame/ServerConfig/ in the file manager. Edit, save and restart from the panel, and the live console shows the server loading the file. Reserved Slots, team balance and teamkill auto kick are switches in the panel, so the Server.cfg side of staffing is a couple of clicks. If you are still setting up, our Squad server setup guide covers the rest of the config, and our guide to growing a game server community has ideas for building the regular crowd your admins will look after.

FAQ

Where is Admins.cfg on a Squad server?

In SquadGame/ServerConfig/, next to Server.cfg and Bans.cfg.

How do I find a player's SteamID64?

Paste their Steam profile link into a SteamID lookup site, or run ListPlayers in the console while they are on the server.

Do I need to restart after editing Admins.cfg?

Restart the server to be sure the new list is loaded. Changes are not picked up while you edit.

How do I ban someone permanently in Squad?

Use AdminBan "<name>" 0 <reason>. A length of 0 is permanent. The ban is saved in Bans.cfg.