s&box Server Admin Permissions and Troubleshooting

How to make yourself admin: config/users.json

On the dedicated server, admins and per-player permissions are set in config/users.json. The default config demonstrates the format. It is a JSON list; each entry is a Steam ID, a list of claims and a name for your own reference.

[
  {
    "SteamId": "00000000000000000",
    "Claims": [ "kick", "ban", "restart" ],
    "Name": "Example"
  }
]

Put one entry per person. Because the file is JSON, keep the commas and brackets valid. Restart the server after editing, since this is the safe way to be sure the new list is read.

What claims do

Claims are strings that describe actions a user may take. You can invent your own, because they are only strings. A game checks them by asking whether a connection has a permission, using Connection.HasPermission("name"). By default the host has all permissions.

• Which claims exist is up to the game. kick, ban and restart in the default file are examples. If a game does not check them, adding them does nothing.
• Permissions are not networked right now. Per the docs only the host can check whether a connection has a given permission.
• Ask the game's author which claims it reads, or look in the game's description on sbox.game.

Kicking and banning players

The docs describe kicking and denying connections as something game code does, not a built-in server panel.

• Kick: a host can remove a connection with channel.Kick("reason").
• Turn someone away before they join: implement AcceptConnection. Return false and set the reason text the client sees. The docs example checks a list of banned Steam IDs and a full server.
• Per-connection limits: the host can allow or deny spawning, refreshing and destroying networked objects per connection. Defaults are in Project Settings, Networking, and they can be overridden in the OnActive network event.

The practical consequence for a server owner: if you want bans that persist, choose a game that implements them, or have your developer add them. The official docs describe no ban list file for the dedicated server itself.

Using the server console

The one console command the docs show for the dedicated server is status, which displays the server's connection details including the lobby ID. Games can define additional commands (ConCmd) and variables (ConVar) of their own, and a command can be marked to always run on the server. Check the game's own documentation for what it offers.

The startup switches are console variables or commands run when the server boots, which is why +hostname and +port use the same + pattern as the game's own variables.

Common problems and fixes

Test your setup before you open the server

A short test pass catches most admin mistakes before players find them. Everything here uses behavior the docs describe.

1. Start the server on the main branch and wait until the game has created its lobby. Run status and confirm a lobby ID appears. If you see "Not Connected", fix that first.
2. Join with your own account using connect LOBBYID. Use one account listed in config/users.json with only the claims you intend to give out, and a second account that is not listed.
3. Try each claim in the game with both accounts, and confirm the game actually acts on it. If a listed claim changes nothing, the game does not read that claim.
4. To test several clients on one PC, start the server with +net_allow_local 1 and join from the other instances with connect local.
5. Restart the server, run status again, and make sure a player can rejoin using the new lobby ID.

Write down the exact launch line, the SteamCMD update command and the contents of users.json somewhere safe. When something breaks after an update, comparing against a known-good setup is faster than guessing.

Updating the server and getting help

Update with the same SteamCMD command you used to install: ./steamcmd +login anonymous +app_update 1892930 validate +quit. Back up config/users.json and your launch script first if you have customized them.

For bugs, Facepunch points players to the sbox-public issue tracker on GitHub and to their Discord. If you would rather have the server side handled for you, see s&box server hosting.

Frequently asked questions