Free Counter-Strike Server: Source and 1.6, Step by Step

A free Counter-Strike server is the easiest way to get your old group back on de_dust2, whether they play Counter-Strike: Source or stayed on 1.6. This guide covers Valve's two dedicated servers, our Counter-Strike: Source and Counter-Strike 1.6 hosting, what the Free plan holds, the settings, joining and moderation. For 1.6 alone, our CS 1.6 dedicated server guide goes deeper into HLDS, server.cfg and the stock maps.

• Two servers: Counter-Strike: Source runs on Valve's srcds (Steam app 232330); Counter-Strike 1.6 runs on HLDS, the Half-Life Dedicated Server (app 90) with the cstrike mod.
• Free on 1up: both fit the Free plan, which gives one server with 4 player slots. Paid plans add slots and backups.
• Steam token: optional on Source, and 1.6 has none.

1. Self-host or hosting?

Both servers are light, and many people still run them on an old PC.

• Self-host Source: SteamCMD +login anonymous +app_update 232330 validate, then srcds_run -game cstrike +map de_dust2 +maxplayers 16, and open UDP 27015.
• Self-host 1.6: SteamCMD with app 90 and the cstrike mod, then hlds_run -game cstrike +map de_dust2.
• A hosted server: the server runs in a data centre, stays up when your PC is off, and you manage it from a web panel.

We measured about 200 MB of memory and 2.3 GB of files for Source, and about 150 MB and under 1 GB for 1.6.

2. What the Free plan holds

With figures from our pricing page:

The server itself goes up to 32 players, but Max players cannot pass the slots of your plan. Free fits a 2 vs 2 or a practice server; a 5 vs 5 needs Starter; a 16-player public server needs Pro.

3. Create the server

1. Create an account and press Create server.
2. Choose Counter-Strike: Source or Counter-Strike 1.6. Both appear on every plan, Free included.
3. Pick a region, London or Paris. The wizard measures your ping and suggests the nearest one.
4. Set the starting map (de_dust2 by default) and the slots. On Source you may paste a GSLT (section 4).
5. Create the server. The first start downloads the game from Steam; later starts only fetch new builds.
6. When it is online, the Overview shows the IP line with the address and port.

4. The panel settings

Both games share the same Game tab, except the token:

On Source the token is optional: without it the server logs on to Steam anonymously and still takes players by address. To give it a permanent Steam account, create a token on Steam's game server account page with app ID 240. Your account must own the game and have a registered phone, and each server needs its own token. HLDS predates these tokens, so 1.6 has no such field.

Map prefixes tell the mode: de_ maps are bomb defusal, cs_ maps are hostage rescue, and 1.6 still has as_oilrig, where a team escorts the VIP. Both games ship classics such as de_dust2, de_inferno, de_nuke, de_train, cs_office and cs_italy. Switch while people play with changelevel.

5. Round time, friendly fire and your own cvars

We rewrite server.cfg at every start, so edits there are lost. Your lines go in a file we create empty once and never overwrite:

• Source: cstrike/cfg/1up-owner.cfg
• 1.6: cstrike/1up-owner.cfg

Open it in the Files tab, add your cvars and restart:

mp_roundtime 2.5
mp_freezetime 5
mp_friendlyfire 0
mp_timelimit 30

A fresh server starts locked down: cheats, pausing and custom uploads such as sprays are off, and on Source votes are off too. On 1.6, a vote kick needs every player, because mp_kickpercent is set to 1; lower it in your file for majority votes. The lines for the name, the password and logging are written after your file and always win.

6. How players connect

1. Enable the developer console: on Source in the game's advanced keyboard options, on 1.6 under Options, Keyboard, Advanced.
2. Open it (the key above Tab) and type connect with the address and port from the IP line, for example connect 203.0.113.10:31015.
3. Type the password if you set one.

On Source, the server then sits in the History tab of the server browser, ready to add to Favorites. On 1.6, the Favorites tab of Find Servers takes an address typed by hand. Copy both numbers from the panel: our port is not 27015.

7. Bans and moderation

The Console tab sends the server's own commands. Quick buttons cover say, kick, banid, status and changelevel.

• status lists players with their user ID and Steam ID.
• banid takes minutes (0 for permanent) and a Steam ID; removeid lifts a ban. On Source bans go to banned_user.cfg, on 1.6 to banned.cfg, and both load again on every start.
• On 1.6, remote rcon is off, so there is no rcon password to leak. Type the same commands in the panel console.

The Players tab shows each connected Steam profile with hours played and any VAC record, and the console's activity view builds kills, deaths, a leaderboard and chat from the round logs.

8. Limits worth knowing

• No plugin manager. SourceMod and AMX Mod X are not installed for you; the addons folder is kept across restarts.
• No backups on Free. Casual keeps 1 backup, Starter 3, Pro 5.
• Slots follow the plan. See section 2.

If your friends also play other Valve classics, our guides to a TF2 dedicated server and an L4D2 dedicated server follow the same steps, and our guide to free vs paid game server hosting helps you choose a plan.

Tested on Counter-Strike: Source Dedicated Server build 25338297 and HLDS build 15961496, 2026-10-08: settings, files and commands checked against our images on 1up v0.282.4.

Change log

• 2026-10-08: first version.
• 2026-10-20: both games are out of beta; Casual is €3.
• 2026-10-26: current Starter and Pro figures (€5/4 GB, €10/8 GB/30 slots).
• 2026-10-28: link to the new CS 1.6 dedicated server guide.