Setting up your Counter-Strike 2 server: a walkthrough

Set up a Counter-Strike 2 server on Hostd: pick a plan, understand first boot, get a GSLT for the browser, and connect from CS2 in under five minutes.

Setting up your Counter-Strike 2 server on Hostd is a straight line: pick a plan, let it boot, save a Steam Game Server Token, and connect. The server lives on a Hostd node, so it needs a GSLT before anyone can reach it: Valve refuses gameserver traffic from clients that aren't on the server's own LAN, and on a hosted box nobody is. Once a token is saved you choose between a browser-listed server (Public) and a server reachable by address only (Direct-connect). This walkthrough covers all of it, including the inline GSLT steps.

1. Pick your plan

CS2 has three tiers. The engine caps server slots at 32, so Pro is the ceiling.

Starter and Standard get yourname.hostdservers.com; the Pro tier gets the shorter yourname.hostd.it at no extra cost. Hardware is Ryzen 9700X at 5.5 GHz; CS2 is single-thread bound, so per-core speed is what matters for tick stability.

2. What happens at first boot

Once payment clears, the server provisions and boots. The default visibility mode is Auto, not Public. A brand-new CS2 server has no GSLT saved yet, so Auto boots it in Direct-connect: anonymous Steam login, no public browser listing, and no reachable players until a GSLT is added. Valve gates gameserver traffic on the token, refusing connections from anyone outside the server's own LAN. Since the server is on a Hostd node, that means no one can connect until you save a token.

In the console you'll see:

[Hostd] Auto mode: no Steam Game Server Token set, so Public is not viable. Booting in Direct-connect.
[Hostd] Set a token in Settings -> Steam Game Server Token, then restart to try Public.

That's intentional, not broken. The server is up and waiting; it just won't accept players over the internet until a token is saved. At that point you get a choice: leave visibility on Public to have the server listed in Community Servers for everyone to find, or pin it to Direct-connect so the only way in is the address you share. Step 3 covers getting the token.

3. Get it visible in the Steam browser (inline GSLT walkthrough)

A Game Server Login Token (GSLT) is a 32-character string Valve issues to your Steam account. Without one, CS2 won't list your server. With one, it does, and the server runs VAC secure. The token is tied to your account; any Valve ban on the token lands on you, not on Hostd. That's why you bring your own. The dedicated reference is Getting and applying a GSLT for CS2; the full walkthrough is below.

Step 1: open the Steam token page

Go to steamcommunity.com/dev/managegameservers and sign in.

If Steam tells you the account doesn't meet the requirements, you need a verified phone number and at least one purchase on the account. A brand-new free account can't generate a token; pick up any small Steam game (or add a phone number) and come back.

Step 2: create a game server account

In the Create a new game server account box:

• App ID: 730. Valve uses the same App ID for CS:GO and CS2.
• Memo: a private label you'll recognise later, something like hostd-cs2-pug or hostd-community-1.

Click Create. Steam shows a 32-character Login Token.

Step 3: paste it into Hostd

1. Open your CS2 server in the dashboard.
2. Go to Settings.
3. Find the Steam Game Server Token (GSLT) panel.
4. Paste the 32-character string into the Token (32 characters) field.
5. Click Save token.

The badge flips from amber Not configured to green Configured, and a toast confirms: "Steam token saved. Restart the server to make it visible in the browser."

Step 4: switch visibility to Public

Auto would happily use the token on the next boot, but switching explicitly is the deliberate path when you know you want the public browser. Still on Settings, find the Server visibility panel and click Public. The summary reads: "Uses your Steam Game Server Token. Server appears in the public CS2 browser, VAC secure."

Step 5: restart

Dashboard, Restart. Within about 30 seconds of the restart finishing, the console shows:

[Hostd] Steam connection ready.
[Hostd] VAC secure mode active.

Your server is now listed in the public CS2 browser.

4. Connect to your server

The address is yourname.hostdservers.com:PORT, with the exact port shown on the dashboard. In CS2:

• View → Servers → Favourites → Add a Server, paste the address, and the server appears in your Favourites tab. Join from there.
• Or open the developer console (the ~ key; enable it under Game Settings → Enable Developer Console) and run connect yourname.hostdservers.com:PORT.

If you've added a GSLT but pinned Direct-connect, these methods work over the internet; the server just stays out of the public browser, so only people you give the address to can join. If you've not added a GSLT, the connection commands run but the server refuses the traffic, so save a token first.

Steam account requirements

To generate a GSLT, your Steam account needs a verified phone number and at least one purchase. Brand-new free accounts can't generate tokens. This is a Valve rule, not a Hostd one.

Where to next

• Counter-Strike 2 server visibility: Auto, Public, and Direct-connect for a deeper dive into the three modes.
• Getting and applying a GSLT for CS2 for the focused GSLT reference.
• Counter-Strike 2 server troubleshooting when something doesn't behave.

Last updated 2026-05-20. Notice a mistake? Tell us.