How to Add Workshop Maps to a Quake Live Server

To add Workshop maps to a Quake Live server, put each Workshop item's ID (the number at the end of its Steam URL) on its own line in baseq3/workshop.txt, restart the server so it downloads them while starting up, then add the map's real name, from the .bsp file inside the item, to your map pool as mapname|factory. Players download Workshop content automatically when they connect, which is the only way Quake Live sends custom content: the old HTTP and UDP map downloads were removed.

How Workshop content reaches the server and players

1. Before the server finishes starting, it reads workshop.txt and downloads every listed item through Steam. Progress is printed to the console.
2. If an item fails, the server skips it and keeps starting. It does not stop with an error, which is why a missing map often goes unnoticed until someone votes for it.
3. When a player joins, their game downloads the same Workshop items through Steam before loading the map.

So workshop.txt is the single list that keeps the server and every player in sync. Nothing else is needed on the players' side, and they do not have to subscribe.

Step 1: Find the item IDs

Open the map in the Steam Workshop in a browser. The URL ends in an ID:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1234567890

The number after id= is what goes in workshop.txt. Workshop items can hold one map or a whole pack, and some hold other content such as factories or sounds. The item ID is the same either way.

Step 2: Edit workshop.txt

Open baseq3/workshop.txt on the server (create it if it does not exist) and add one ID per line:

1234567890
1234567891
1234567892

(These are placeholder IDs. Use the ones from your own Workshop links.)

Keep the list to what you actually play. Every item is downloaded by the server on each start and by every new player on join, and a long list of large packs makes both slow.

Step 3: Restart and watch the console

Restart the server and watch the start of the log. For each item you should see the download progress and a completion message. If an item fails, its ID appears with an error and the server carries on. Note which ones, and see the troubleshooting section below.

Step 4: Find the real map name

The map name the server uses is the .bsp filename inside the item, not the Workshop title. "Arena of Death Remix" might be aodremix. Ways to find it:

• The Workshop page often lists it in the description, because authors know people need it.
• After the server has downloaded the item, look in the server's steamapps/workshop/content/282440/<itemid>/ folder. The item is a .pk3, which is a zip file. Open it and look in its maps folder: aodremix.bsp means the map name is aodremix.
• In game, call /callvote map with a guess and watch the error, which is slow and annoys players. Use one of the first two.

282440 is Quake Live's Steam app ID, the game itself, which is why Workshop content lives under that number even though the server is app 349090.

Step 5: Add it to the map pool

Open your map pool file (sv_mapPoolFile in server.cfg, mappool.txt by default) and add the map with a factory:

aodremix|ca
aodremix|ffa

Then load it once from the console to test:

map aodremix ca

If it loads, it will now appear in end of match votes. How pools and factories work in full is in Quake Live server factories and map pools.

When a Workshop download fails

The official server readme mentions two more fixes for stubborn items. Some admins found that switching from the 64 bit server binary to the 32 bit one fixed downloads. And you can download an item manually with SteamCMD, then copy the result into place so the server sees it as cached:

./steamcmd.sh +login anonymous +workshop_download_item 282440 1234567890 +quit

Copy the resulting steamapps/workshop folder into the steamapps folder of the server install. The server then treats the item as already downloaded.

Players and Workshop maps

Players need nothing beyond owning Quake Live. They do not have to subscribe to anything: their game fetches the items when they connect. If one player keeps failing to load a custom map while others are fine, it is almost always their Steam download being slow or blocked. Having them restart Steam usually clears it.

On a GamezServers server

On a GamezServers Quake Live server, workshop.txt and your map pool are in the file manager. Edit them, restart from the panel, and the live console shows each Workshop download as the server starts, so you can see straight away if an item failed. The item folders under steamapps/workshop are browsable there too, which makes finding the .bsp name inside a .pk3 easy: download the file or open the archive. If you are starting from scratch, see how to host a Quake Live server.

FAQ

Do players need to subscribe to Workshop maps to join?

No. The game downloads every item in the server's workshop.txt automatically when a player connects.

Where is workshop.txt on a Quake Live server?

In the baseq3 folder of the server install. Create it if it is missing, with one Workshop item ID per line.

Why is my Workshop map not loading?

Either the download failed at startup (check the console), or the name in the map pool is the Workshop title instead of the .bsp filename inside the item.

Do I need to restart the server after editing workshop.txt?

Yes. The server only downloads Workshop items while it starts up.