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, paste in a Steam Game Server Token if you want public browser visibility, and 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.

All CS2 plans use the free yourname.hostdservers.com address (none of the CS2 tiers cross 8 GB). 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. That matters because a brand-new CS2 server has no GSLT saved yet, so the server will boot in Direct-connect (anonymous Steam login, invisible in the public browser). That's intentional, not broken.

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.

The server is running and reachable; it just doesn't show up in Community Servers yet. If you only need a private server for you and your friends, you can stop here and skip to step 4. If you want it in the public CS2 browser, do step 3 first.

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 stayed in Direct-connect (no GSLT), the same connection methods work; the server just isn't browseable by strangers.

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.