Change the Player Slots on Your GMod Server

The number of players your Garry's Mod server allows is set in the Startup tab, under Player slots. New servers start with 32. You can set anything from 1 to 128, change it whenever you like, and the new number takes effect the next time the server starts. This guide covers the steps, how to choose a number and how to check it took.

Change the player slots

1. Open your server and go to the Startup tab. It sits under More in the left rail.
2. In the Game card, find Player slots.
3. Type a whole number from 1 to 128.
4. Press Save changes. A message tells you the setting takes effect when the server next starts.
5. If the server is running, press Restart now in the Restart to apply message at the top of the tab. Anyone playing is disconnected until the server is back up, so pick a quiet moment.

Keep this in the Startup tab, not in server.cfg. The server is launched with the slot count as +maxplayers, so the tab is where the number lives.

Choosing a number

The panel's help text for Player slots says your plan's number is a guide, not a cap. The slot count is how many players can be connected at once. It doesn't change how much RAM or CPU your plan has.

• Set the number to the most players you actually expect to have on together.
• Look at how much RAM your kind of server needs before you go high. GMod server: connect, Workshop, gamemodes has a table for Sandbox, TTT and DarkRP servers, and says how to change plan from Billing if you outgrow yours.

Check the new number

After the restart, open the Console tab and run:

lua_run print(game.MaxPlayers())

Facepunch's wiki says game.MaxPlayers returns the maximum amount of players, including bots, that the server can have. The number printed matches the one you saved: our test server printed 32 on the default, and 24 after we changed Player slots to 24 and restarted. Because bots are included, a server with bots on it fills its slots faster than the player count suggests.

If it doesn't change

• The old number is still there. The server only reads the setting when it starts. Restart from the Console tab, or press Restart now on the Startup tab.
• An error appears when you save. The value must be a whole number from 1 to 128, with no letters or spaces.
• You typed the number but nothing was saved. Press Save changes in the Game card. The change only counts once you see Game saved.