How To Install a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Server on Windows

Updated on November 21, 2023
How To Install a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Server on Windows header image

Introduction

In this guide, you'll be learning how to install a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive server on Windows.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, you'll need to install the necessary tool provided by Steam which is called SteamCMD. To install SteamCMD:

  • Make a empty folder in your desired destination.
  • Download the tool for Windows, here.
  • Extract the contents of the zip file into the newly-created folder(you can use WinRAR or any other application).

Downloading and installing

Once you've installed SteamCMD, you're ready begin downloading and installing the CS:GO files.

Start SteamCMD.exe located in location you extracted the ZIP earlier.

Once the application has loaded up, type the following:

login anonymous

Next, you'll need to set the default installation directory, do that by running the following command. You can replace .\csgo-ds\ with your desired location.

force_install_dir .\csgo-ds\

Once you've set your installation directory, type the following command to install the files:

app_update 740 validate

If you want to update your existing CS:GO server files, type the following instead:

app_update 740

Exit SteamCMD by typing the following:

exit

Registering your GSLT (Game Server Login Token)

Visit the Steam game server account management page and login with your Steam account. From there, create a token with the 730 ID.

Configuring your server

You need to create a batch file to start your server. Do this by opening Notepad and entering the following text. Replace PUTYOURGSLTHERE with your login token.

srcds -game csgo -console -usercon +game_type 0 +game_mode 0 +mapgroup mg_active +map de_dust2 +sv_setsteamaccount **PUTYOURGSLTHERE**

Conclusion

Thanks for reading this guide, enjoy your server!