Counter-Strike 2: add a Game Server Login Token (GSLT) so players can join

Valve requires every internet-facing CS2 server to log in to Steam with a token that belongs to a Steam account. A server that starts without one logs in anonymously, and CS2 then restricts it to LAN only: players outside the server's own network are refused, whatever address they use. This is Valve's rule, it applies on every host, and there's no setting that switches it off.

If you press Start without a token, the dashboard stops you with a message that says what to do, and the same goes for Restart and a wake from your public page.

1. Sign in at steamcommunity.com/dev/managegameservers.

2. Create a new game server account with App ID 730 (that is Counter-Strike 2) and any memo you like, for example your server name. The memo is just a label for you.

3. Copy the Login Token that Steam generates. It is 32 letters and numbers.

Steam's own requirements, if the page refuses to make a token:

• The Steam account must own Counter-Strike 2 (it's free to add to your library), must not be limited, and must have a phone number attached.

• The account must not be community banned or locked.

• Each server needs its own token. Don't reuse one token on two servers.

1. On My Servers, press Detail view on your CS2 server.

2. In the Overview card, open the Details tab.

3. Paste your token into Game Server Login Token (GSLT), near the top of the Details tab. The field is hidden like a password; the eye icon reveals it if you want to check the paste. If the paste isn't a 32-character token, the dashboard says so instead of saving it.

4. Press Save changes in the popup at the bottom of the page.

5. Start the server, or Restart it if it was already running. The token is handed to CS2 when the server starts. See start, stop, and restart your server.

Once the server is Online, open CS2, go to Play, then the Community Server Browser, and search for your server name. Give it a couple of minutes after the start.

With a token saved and the server Online, all of these work:

• The address on your server card. This is what you send to other people. The Join button next to it is your own shortcut, on desktop while the server is Online; friends get the same button on your server's public page if you set one up.

• The in-game console. In CS2, turn on Settings, Game, Enable Developer Console, press ~, and type connect your-address:port using the address from your server card. With a server password set, use connect your-address:port; password yourpassword.

• The Community Server Browser, by searching for your server name.

• Steam favorites. In the Steam client: View, Game Servers, Favorites, Add a Server, then paste the address.

See invite players to your server.

Work down this list before anything else:

1. Did you start or restart after saving? The token only applies on a fresh start.

2. Is the server Online right now? Browser listing needs the server online, so a stopped or sleeping server is not listed.

3. Did CS2 just update? Out-of-date servers refuse updated players and drop off the browser until they restart onto the new build. See CS2: server out of date after an update.

4. Is the token still valid? Steam retires tokens that sit unused for a long time, regenerates every token on the account when its password is reset, and revokes tokens that get banned. A token Steam no longer accepts leaves the server unreachable from outside, just like having no token. Open steamcommunity.com/dev/managegameservers, check the token is still listed (regenerate it if it expired), paste the current one into the field, save, and restart.

Treat the token like a password: anyone holding it can run a server under your Steam account, and if a server using it gets banned, Steam may restrict that account from playing CS2. Don't paste it into Discord or leave it visible in a screenshot. The dashboard hides it for that reason.

Message us in Discord or at support@haptic.gg with your server name and what you see. Never include the token itself.