CS2 server.cfg and Game Modes: game_type, game_mode, Mapgroups, Cvars

Where server.cfg lives and how the config files fit together

In a standard install the server's configuration folder is game/csgo/cfg/. The game ships a server.cfg there that is essentially empty; its only content is a comment pointing at server_default.cfg. That makes it a clean place for your own settings. On ChicagoServers you do not have to find the folder for the main files: the Configs tab opens them for you.

The rule that prevents most mistakes: edit server.cfg and the _server.cfg files, and leave Valve's own gamemode_*.cfg files alone. Valve updates replace the shipped files, and an edit you made there can disappear after the next game update. If you have not set up the server yet, start with the CS2 dedicated server setup guide.

How to edit these settings on a ChicagoServers server

1. Pick the right place

   Name, passwords, map and mode are Startup fields. Everything else in server.cfg and the mode files is on the Configs tab.

2. Open the Configs tab

   Sign in at panel.chicagoservers.co, open your server, then the Configs tab, and pick Server settings (server.cfg) or the mode-only config for Competitive, Casual or Deathmatch from the list.

3. Edit and save

   Use the Settings view for the labelled fields, or switch to Text for the whole file and paste the snippets from this guide. Click Save.

4. Restart

   Click Restart at the top of the page. Changes apply when the game next starts. A file that does not exist yet says so, and saving creates it.

Other files, such as mapcycle.txt, gamemodes_server.txt or a gamemode_<mode>_server.cfg for a mode without its own Configs entry, are edited on the Files tab: open the file in the editor and click Save, or use SFTP from the blue SFTP bar for bigger uploads.

game_type and game_mode: the mode table

CS2 identifies a mode by two numbers. The pairs below come from the game's own gamemodes.txt, and the five aliases at the bottom are the ones Valve's dedicated server page lists for the game_alias command.

• game_alias accepts casual, competitive, wingman, deathmatch and custom, and sets both numbers at once.
• The same file also defines older and special entries: Training, Cooperative (Guardian and Co-op Strike), Skirmish and Danger Zone. Some are leftovers from CS:GO. Do not build a community server around them unless you have tested them on the current build.
• Premier is not in this table because it is Valve's own matchmaking mode. The shipped game mode definitions contain no Premier entry, so it is not something you select on a community server. Use Competitive, which plays the same objective rules without Valve's ranking system.

Set the mode in the panel, or change it while the server runs

On ChicagoServers, pick the mode in the Game mode field and the starting map in Map (or Map group) on the Startup tab, click Save startup, then Restart. The panel builds the start command from those fields, so you do not type launch parameters. For reference, Valve's wiki advises applying the mode values first and then changing the map, and community documentation reports that a map loaded before the values are set can start in the previously used mode.

# Competitive on Dust II
+game_type 0 +game_mode 1 +map de_dust2

# Deathmatch, using the alias form
+game_alias deathmatch +map de_dust2

Live, the same logic applies. Set the numbers or alias on the Console tab (type the command and press Send; RCON is handled for you), then change the map so the mode configs run:

game_type 1
game_mode 2
changelevel de_dust2

// or, in one step with the alias
game_alias deathmatch
changelevel de_dust2

• changelevel mapname moves everyone to a new map immediately and keeps the players connected. map mapname also loads a map. A console change lasts until the server restarts; the Startup fields decide what it starts with.
• Workshop maps are loaded with host_workshop_map followed by the map's Workshop ID, according to community documentation, or with the Workshop map ID and Workshop collection ID fields on Startup. See the Workshop guide for collections.
• Typing game_type or game_mode with no value prints the current setting. Use status to see the loaded map.

If you are running commands from an external tool, the RCON and admin commands guide explains the connection and the commands that matter most.

gamemode_*_server.cfg and the exec order

Each mode definition in Valve's gamemodes.txt lists the configs to run when a game of that mode starts: Valve's gamemode_<mode>.cfg first, then your gamemode_<mode>_server.cfg. Because yours runs second, it wins. Valve's CS:GO-era documentation, which is archived but still described as largely valid for CS2, gives the load sequence on every map load as: run the mode configs for the current game_type and game_mode, apply mode flag configs, then apply any skirmish config. (CS:GO also reset a whitelist of cvars first, but that file does not exist in CS2.)

That sequence explains a very common complaint. If you type mp_maxrounds 12 in the console, or put it in server.cfg, the mode config can put it back to its own value when the next map loads. The reliable fix is to write the value where it will be applied last:

// game/csgo/cfg/gamemode_competitive_server.cfg
mp_maxrounds 16
mp_overtime_enable 1
bot_quota 0

• Use server.cfg for settings that are not mode specific: sv_region, GOTV and logging. The name and passwords are Startup fields on ChicagoServers.
• Use gamemode_<mode>_server.cfg for everything that belongs to the rules of one mode: rounds, timers, money, bots and friendly fire. On ChicagoServers these are the mode-only configs on the Configs tab for Competitive, Casual and Deathmatch.
• Community documentation disagrees on whether server.cfg runs before or after the mode configs on a map change. Do not depend on either. If a cvar keeps reverting, move it into the matching _server.cfg file.
• Some mode filenames differ from the mode name. Wingman uses gamemode_competitive2v2_server.cfg, not a file with wingman in the name.

Mapgroups and the map cycle

A mapgroup is a named list of maps that a mode can draw from. The shipped gamemodes.txt defines many groups, including mg_active, mg_reserves, mg_hostage, mg_armsrace, mg_demolition, mg_deathmatch, the Casual groups mg_casualsigma, mg_casualdelta, mg_casualalpha and mg_casualcharlie, and single-map groups such as mg_de_dust2. Which maps sit in a group is Valve's decision and changes with updates, so do not copy a map list from a tutorial. Start the server with the group and watch which maps actually rotate.

Valve's dedicated server page does not document a launch option for mapgroups. Community container images and hosting documentation still pass +mapgroup with +map, and report that the starting map should belong to the chosen group. On ChicagoServers the Map group and Map fields on Startup hold these values. Treat it as something to test on your build:

+game_type 0 +game_mode 1 +mapgroup mg_active +map de_dust2

• For a custom pool, copy Valve's example into gamemodes_server.txt (on the Files tab) and define your own group there, rather than editing gamemodes.txt.
• For rotation, community documentation says a mapcycle.txt file in game/csgo/ (edit it on the Files tab) controls the rotation, with one map per line, and that mp_match_end_changelevel 1 advances the map when a match ends.
• Keep mapgroup and mode consistent. A Deathmatch server pointed at a group of bomb-defusal maps loads, but the experience will be poor.

Important cvars and their real defaults

Defaults in the table are either engine-level values documented by Valve or empty values you are expected to set. Gameplay values are different for each mode, so those are in the second table.

These are the shipped gameplay values from Valve's own mode configs. A shorter round count or timer is the usual first change.

A few notes on reading that table. mp_maxrounds is the total number of rounds, so Competitive's 24 is a first-to-13 match. Casual shortens defuse rounds with mp_roundtime_defuse 2.25, and Competitive sets mp_roundtime_defuse to the same 1.92. Deathmatch and Arms Race are time based, so round count is not used. Always check the actual file on your server, because Valve rebalances these values across updates.

Bots, GOTV and sizing the server

Bots surprise new admins. Valve's Casual and Arms Race configs ship bot_quota 10 with bot_quota_mode fill, and Deathmatch ships bot_quota 10 with fill_with_minimum. Competitive and Wingman use a quota of 1 in competitive mode. Community documentation describes fill as keeping the total at the quota by replacing bots as humans join. To remove bots, set the quota to zero in the mode's _server.cfg file (the mode-only config on the Configs tab), because a console change is reset on the next map.

// in gamemode_casual_server.cfg
bot_quota 0

// or live, once
bot_quota 0
bot_kick

GOTV, Valve's spectator and broadcast system, is controlled with the tv_ cvars. Set these in Server settings (server.cfg) on the Configs tab so they apply when the map loads:

tv_enable 1
tv_port 27020
tv_delay 0
tv_autorecord 1
tv_password "viewer-pass" // optional: spectators will need this password; remove the line for open spectating

• tv_enable is off unless you set it. The panel assigns your server's ports (see Startup, Network) and you do not open a firewall. If spectators need a GOTV port of their own, reserve one under Extra ports, use that number as tv_port and ask support if viewers still cannot connect.
• tv_delay is a delay in seconds. Valve's mode configs set their own: 105 for Competitive, 60 for Wingman and 30 for Casual, Demolition and Deathmatch. Setting it in server.cfg may be overridden, so use the _server.cfg file if it reverts.
• tv_autorecord 1 starts recording demos automatically. Community documentation notes that GOTV can disconnect while a server hibernates when empty.
• Spectators typically connect to the GOTV port with connect ip:27020 from the client console.

Common mistakes

A configuration mistake is easy to undo when you can restore a copy. Before big changes on a Counter-Strike 2 server hosting plan, open the Backups tab and click Back up now with World and settings chosen. If an edit goes wrong, click Restore next to the backup under Your backups.

Frequently asked questions