How to Setup a CS2 Server: SteamCMD & GSLT Tokens

Hosting a Counter-Strike 2 server is slightly different than CS:GO. You can no longer host anonymous public servers; Valve requires every public server to be authenticated with a Game Server Login Token (GSLT) tied to a verified Steam account.

1. Installing via SteamCMD

First, you need to download the server files. Counter-Strike 2 shares the same App ID as CS:GO (730). Run the following command in your SteamCMD console:

login anonymous
force_install_dir ./cs2-server/
app_update 730 validate

2. Generating Your GSLT Token

To make your server visible in the community browser, you must generate a token:

1. Go to the Steam Game Server Account Management page.
2. Ensure your Steam account has a registered phone number and is not community banned.
3. Enter 730 for the App ID and a description (e.g., "My CS2 Pub").
4. Copy the generated 32-character Login Token.

3. Applying the Token

You cannot put this token in server.cfg. It must be passed as a launch parameter when starting your server instance. Add this to your startup command:

+sv_setsteamaccount YOUR_32_CHARACTER_TOKEN_HERE

Without this parameter, your server will only be accessible via direct IP connect, and clients might receive "LAN servers are restricted to local clients" errors.