What is the correct server.cfg format for Team Fortress 2?

Team Fortress 2 reads server.cfg at startup, but a map change is where settings slip back to their defaults without anyone noticing. The usual Source syntax: command, a space, then the value. Quote values with spaces, and use 1 and 0 for booleans. A lot of gameplay cvars start with tf_ and apply the moment they are set.

Generate a Team Fortress 2 server.cfg

Team Fortress 2 reads server.cfg at startup, but a map change is where settings slip back to their defaults without anyone noticing.

Visual Settings

source Format

Identity

hostname

Server name in the browser.

Gameplay

mp_timelimit

Minutes per map. 0 disables it.

mp_winlimit

Round wins before a map change. 0 disables it.

mp_friendlyfire

Team damage.

tf_weapon_criticals

Random critical hits. Turning them off is the most common change on community servers.

sv_alltalk

Both teams hear each other on voice.

sv_pure

How strictly client files must match the server. Higher blocks custom content.

sv_cheats

Cheat commands. Several values here reset on map change unless a per-map config reapplies them.

Players & Access

sv_password

Join password.

Network

sv_setsteamaccount

Game server login token. Required for public listing, separate from reachability.

RCON & Query

rcon_password

Remote console password.

server.cfg

rcon_password — This is still the example RCON password. Change it, and keep the RCON port off the public internet.

sv_setsteamaccount — Without a game server login token the server will not appear in the public browser, however your ports are configured.

hostname "My TF2"
sv_password ""
rcon_password "changeme"
sv_setsteamaccount 
mp_timelimit 30
mp_winlimit 0
mp_friendlyfire 0
tf_weapon_criticals 1
sv_alltalk 0
sv_pure 0
sv_cheats 0

The server.cfg format

The usual Source syntax: command, a space, then the value. Quote values with spaces, and use 1 and 0 for booleans. A lot of gameplay cvars start with tf_ and apply the moment they are set.

The mistake that wastes an evening

Once the first map is over, per-map and per-gamemode config files run after server.cfg, and some cvars fall back to defaults on every map change unless re-applied. So a value that works on map one and then disappears has been overwritten by one of those files — it was never ignored.

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Visual Settings

server.cfg

The server.cfg format

The mistake that wastes an evening

Rather not run the server yourself?