How to Use the RCON Console on Your Insurgency: Sandstorm Server

Running an Insurgency: Sandstorm server means you sometimes need to act fast: warn a player, remove someone who is ruining a round, or jump to a different map. The RCON page in the RiverHosting panel lets you do all of that from your browser. RCON (remote console) is simply a way to send admin commands to a running game server.

This guide shows you how to open the RCON Console, run your first commands, deal with problem players and change the map on the spot.

Before you start

• You need a RiverHosting Insurgency: Sandstorm server. Log in at https://panel.riverhosting.com and open your server.
• Your server should be ONLINE. Commands are sent to the running game, so start it first with the Start button on the Console page if needed.
• For kicks and bans you will want a player's name or SteamID64 (the 17 digit number that identifies a Steam account). You can find players with the listplayers command below.

1. How to open the RCON Console and check the connection

1. Log in to the RiverHosting panel and open your Insurgency: Sandstorm server.
2. In the left-hand menu, under the Game section, click RCON. The page is titled RCON Console.
3. Look at the Connection card at the top. It shows the Address (your IP and RCON port) and the RCON Password.
4. Use the reveal button to show the password, or the copy button to copy it.

If you ever need to find the RCON port again, it is also listed on the Network page of your server.

2. How to run your first commands

1. On the RCON page, find the command box in the Console card.
2. Start typing a command. Autocomplete suggests the available commands as you type.
3. Type help and click Run to see the list of commands the server understands.
4. Type listplayers and click Run to see who is connected right now, including their names and IDs.
5. Type say Server restarts in 10 minutes and click Run to show a message to everyone on the server.

Your earlier commands and the server replies appear in the history below the command box. Click Clear history if you want a clean view.

3. How to kick or ban a player

Run listplayers first so you have the exact name or ID of the player.

1. To remove a player for now, type kick followed by the player's name or ID and an optional reason, then click Run.
2. To ban a player for a set time, type ban followed by the player's name or ID, the length of the ban and an optional reason, then click Run.
3. To ban someone who has already left the server, use banid with their ID instead.
4. To lift a ban, use unban with the player's ID. Use listban to see the current bans.

You can also kick, ban and unban from the Players page in the left-hand menu, which lists connected players using the same RCON connection.

4. How to change the map from RCON

1. Type scenarios and click Run to list the scenarios your server can play. Type maps to list maps.
2. To switch to a scenario, type travelscenario followed by the scenario name, for example travelscenario Scenario_Crossing_Checkpoint_Security, then click Run.
3. To switch using a full travel URL, type travel followed by the URL, for example travel Canyon?Scenario=Scenario_Crossing_Push_Security, then click Run.
4. To start the current round over, type restartround and click Run.

If you want the server to follow a fixed order of maps automatically, use the Map Rotation page instead.

5. How to rotate the RCON password

1. Open the RCON page.
2. In the Connection card, click Rotate next to the RCON Password.
3. Confirm the action. The panel generates a new random password and restarts the server.
4. Reveal or copy the new password if you need it elsewhere.

Troubleshooting

• Commands do nothing: make sure you typed them on the RCON page and not in the main Console page.
• The command fails or there is no reply: check that the server badge shows ONLINE. If it is OFFLINE or STARTING, wait or start it, then try again.
• RCON is not ready: rotate the RCON password once on the RCON page. This sets it up and restarts the server.
• A kick or ban did not work: run listplayers again and copy the player's name or ID exactly as shown.
• A map change does not work: run scenarios and check that the scenario exists for that map. Scenarios from mods only appear once the server has downloaded them.
• An outside admin tool stopped connecting: the RCON password may have been rotated. Copy the current password from the Connection card.

Need help?

If your RCON commands still are not working, our team is happy to take a look. Visit https://riverhosting.com/support and tell us what command you ran and what you saw on the RCON page.