RCON on CS2: external tools and !rcon in chat

RCON (remote console) is how you send admin commands to a CS2 server from somewhere other than the server itself. On SLASHPLAY you usually don’t need it: the Console tab and Quick actions already send commands for you. RCON is for when you want to use your own tools, or run commands while you’re playing, without alt-tabbing to the dashboard.

This page covers where the credentials are, the ways to use them, and how to let other players run commands from chat.

Before you start

• You need the Control servers permission on the team. Without it the RCON password is hidden from you. See Roles and permissions.
• The server must be Live for any command to run.

Find your RCON details

Open the server page, then Game-specific → RCON. (The RCON section on the General tab has an Open RCON button that takes you there.)

• RCON address: the server’s IP address and port, for example 203.0.113.10:20784. It’s an IP rather than the slashplay.gg name, because RCON tools, CS2’s own included, don’t look up names.
• RCON password: hidden until you reveal it, with a copy button.

The RCON password is not the join password. The join password only lets someone play; the RCON password lets them run any server command. Keep it to yourself.

Like the game address, the RCON address can change after a stop and restore. Copy it fresh each session.

Option 1: the dashboard

The Console tab sends every command over RCON for you, with autocomplete and a history of recent commands. It’s the easiest way and needs no setup. See The console and the command reference.

Option 2: an external RCON tool

Any Source RCON client works, for example the web tool rcon.srcds.pro. Enter the RCON address (IP and port) and the RCON password, connect, and type commands as you would in the server console.

Option 3: CS2’s own rcon command, from the main menu only

CS2 still has a rcon console command, but it only works from the main menu. Once you have joined a server, CS2 stops sending rcon commands at all, so no address or setting can fix that. From the main menu, open the console and type, one line at a time:

rcon_address 203.0.113.10:20784
rcon_password yourrconpassword
rcon status

Use your own address and password. rcon_address needs the IP form from the RCON panel, not the slashplay.gg name.

Option 4: !rcon in game chat

While you’re playing, type !rcon followed by a command into normal game chat:

!rcon mp_restartgame 1

SLASHPLAY runs the command on your server and posts the reply back into chat. There’s no plugin involved, so it keeps working through CS2 updates.

Things to know:

• Replies are public. The answer is said in chat, so every player sees it. Don’t run commands whose output you want to keep private.
• Replies are short. Anything past 140 characters is cut off. A command with no output replies ok: <command>.
• One command every 2 seconds per player. Extra ones sent faster are ignored.
• It’s the full console. Anything the dashboard console accepts works, and the same commands are blocked (see Console commands).

Who may use !rcon

A player may run !rcon if either:

1. Their Steam ID has been granted access in the Chat commands list on the RCON panel. They don’t need a SLASHPLAY account for this. Or:
2. Their SLASHPLAY account is linked to that Steam account and has Control servers on the team that owns the server. So as the owner, link Steam once and !rcon just works for you. See Sign-in methods.

Everyone else gets a polite refusal in chat:

Reply in chat	Why
No !rcon access here. The server owner can grant it on slashplay.gg under the server’s Game Specific > RCON panel.	The Steam ID has no grant and isn’t linked to any SLASHPLAY account.
Your account cannot run commands on this server. The owner can grant !rcon access under Game Specific > RCON on slashplay.gg.	The Steam ID belongs to a SLASHPLAY account without Control servers on this team.
”quit” is blocked. Use the Restart button instead.	The command is on the blocked list.
Command failed: …	The server didn’t answer, for example mid-restart.

Give a player !rcon access

Under Chat commands on the RCON panel:

Steps

1. Ask the player to join your server. They appear under Recent players with their Steam ID (and Online while connected). Players stay listed after they leave. Use the ⟳ button to refresh the list.
2. Click Give RCON next to their name. They move to Has access.
3. Or, without them joining: paste their Steam ID into the box ([U:1:1234] or 7656119…) and click Add. Both the [U:1:…] form and the 17-digit form work. See Find your Steam ID.

To take access away, click Revoke next to the player, in either list.

Grants belong to the server, not to one run of it: they survive stopping and restoring. With nobody granted, the list says Only you and your team, meaning team members with Control servers and a linked Steam account.

Security tips

• Never paste the RCON password in a public channel. It stays the same across stops and restores, and there’s no button to change it today, so a leak lasts. If it happens, ask in our Discord. A newly deployed server always gets a fresh password.
• Don’t set rcon_password from the console or a .cfg file. The dashboard console, Quick actions and the admission queue all use the password SLASHPLAY set. If you change it, they stop working until you click Restart server, which puts the managed password back.
• Prefer granting !rcon to individual Steam IDs over sharing the password: you can revoke one person without changing anything for anyone else.

Troubleshooting

The RCON password shows a lock. You don’t have Control servers on this team. Ask a team admin.

My RCON tool can’t connect. Use the IP address from the RCON address row, not the slashplay.gg name, and make sure the server is Live. After a restore, copy the address again.

rcon in the CS2 console does nothing while I’m playing. That’s CS2: in-game rcon only works from the main menu. Use !rcon in chat instead.

!rcon doesn’t answer at all. Make sure the line starts with !rcon and a space, and that you waited 2 seconds since your last command. Ordinary chat lines are ignored.

Related

• Console commands
• The console
• Roles and permissions
• Sign-in methods
• Admission queue