Join passwords

A join password means only people who know it can get onto your server. New servers start open (anyone with the address can join), except Valheim, which always needs a password. This page shows how to turn a password on, change it, and share it without making joining any harder for your friends.

Before you start

• A server you can manage. Turning the password on or off and changing it needs the Control servers permission. Anyone on the team can see the password, so view-only members can still join and invite. See Roles and permissions.
• Minecraft doesn’t use join passwords. See “Minecraft uses a whitelist” below.

Turn the password on

1. Open the server page (Manage on a live card, Settings on a stopped one) and stay on the General tab.
2. Scroll to the Password section. It reads Server is open; anyone can join.
3. Click Password off. Click to protect. The button changes to Password on. Click to make public, and the text changes to Players need the password to join.
4. Apply it:
   • If the server is live, you’ll see SAVED - but the running server is still using the old setting. Restart to apply it. Click Restart server next to it. The restart takes about 30 seconds and keeps the same address.
   • If the server is stopped, it applies the next time you start it.

SLASHPLAY generates a random password for you, so there’s nothing to type. To turn protection off again, click the same button and restart.

Change the password

1. At the top of the server page, find Join password next to the address. It’s masked, with a copy button.
2. Click Edit. A new password field appears.
3. Type the new password and press Enter (or Esc to cancel).
4. You’ll see SAVED, restart to apply. Restart the server from the Power section on the General tab, or stop and restore it.

The Join password field is only shown while protection is on.

Password rules

Rule	Why
At least 6 characters	Short passwords are easy to guess.
Only letters, numbers, . _ -	Other characters break the connect command in some games.

If a password breaks a rule, the field turns red and says At least 6 characters or Only letters, numbers, . _ -.

How players enter the password

You rarely need to tell anyone the password separately, because SLASHPLAY puts it into every way of joining:

• Copy on the server card, and Copy connect on the invite page, copy the full console command with the password included, for Source and GoldSrc games (CS2, Counter-Strike: Source, Counter-Strike 1.6, Team Fortress 2, Garry’s Mod):

connect GrandOspreyFeather.slashplay.gg:30057; password yourpassword

• Launch in Steam passes the password to the game for those same games.
• The invite page shows a Password field, so friends in other games can copy it.
• In Valheim and Palworld, the game asks for the password when you connect. Copy it from the invite page or the server card.

See Connect and invite friends.

Valheim always has a password

Valheim’s dedicated server won’t start without one, so Valheim servers always have a join password. The Password section shows Required by Valheim; cannot be disabled and the toggle is locked on. You can still change the password itself (at least 6 characters, as above).

Minecraft uses a whitelist

Minecraft servers have no join password at all: the Password section and the header field are hidden. To control who joins a Minecraft server, use its whitelist on the Game-specific tab. See Minecraft whitelist.

Join password vs RCON password

Many games also have an RCON password, in the RCON section of the General tab (for CS2, that section links to its RCON panel on the Game-specific tab). It’s a different thing:

	Join password	RCON password
What it’s for	Letting players onto the server	Sending admin commands to the server remotely
Who needs it	Everyone who plays	Only admins using an RCON tool
Who can see it	Everyone on the team	Only members with Control servers
Safe to share with players?	Yes	No, never

Never give out the RCON password: anyone with it can run any command on your server. The server page keeps the two apart for exactly that reason. See The console and, for CS2, CS2 RCON.

Troubleshooting

My friends get a wrong password error after I changed it. The server is still using the old one. Restart it, then have them copy the connect command again.

I turned the password on but people still join without it. Protection only applies after a restart. Look for the Restart to apply it message and click Restart server.

I can’t click the password toggle or Edit. You don’t have the Control servers permission on this team. Ask a team admin.

There’s no password section on my server. It’s a Minecraft server. Use the whitelist instead.

Related

• Connect and invite friends
• Start, stop and restore
• Minecraft whitelist
• Valheim