How to Add Admins to Your Insurgency: Sandstorm Server

Admins on an Insurgency: Sandstorm server are granted through a plain text file called Admins.txt, rather than a toggle in the panel. Once a player's Steam64 ID is added to this file, they'll be able to open the in-game admin menu and access options like switching maps, kicking or banning players, and adjusting bot difficulty.

💡 Note: Admin status is separate from the RCON password covered in our Game.ini guide. RCON gives remote console access without joining the server; being listed in Admins.txt gives you the in-game admin menu once you're connected as a player.

Step 1: Find The Steam64 IDs You Need

Before editing any files, grab the Steam64 ID for every player you want to make an admin. This is a long numeric ID unique to their Steam account, different from their profile name or custom URL.

💡 Pro Tip: Copy the player's Steam profile link and paste it into an online Steam64 ID lookup tool, such as steamid.io. It will usually start with the numbers 7656...

Step 2: Create The Admins.txt File

Log into your MintServers panel and click the Stop button to shut down your server before editing.
Navigate to the Files tab on the left-hand sidebar.
Browse into your Insurgency folder. The Config and Server folders inside it usually don't exist yet, so you'll need to create them yourself using the panel's create folder option.
Inside Insurgency/Config/Server, create a new file named exactly Admins.txt.

    📁 Insurgency (or your main server directory)
            📁 Config (create this folder)
                    📁 Server (create this folder)
                            📄 Admins.txt (create this file)

Open Admins.txt and list each Steam64 ID on its own line, with no blank lines in between and no extra spaces:

📄 Admins.txt

76561198000000001
76561198000000002
76561198000000003

Save the file once you're done.

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Step 3: Apply Your Changes

Insurgency: Sandstorm only reads Admins.txt when the server starts or when the map changes, it won't pick up edits on the fly. To apply your changes:

Return to the Console tab and click Start, or
If your server is already running, use an admin's in-game vote or the console to change the level instead of restarting.

Using A Custom File Name (Optional)

You don't have to name the file Admins.txt. If you'd rather keep multiple admin lists and switch between them, add the following to the Additional Switches field on your Game Settings tab:

📄 Additional Switches

-AdminList=YourFileName

⚠️ Leave Off The .txt: Don't include the file extension in this parameter, and make sure the capitalization matches your file exactly. -AdminList=OtherAdmins would load a file named OtherAdmins.txt from the same Insurgency/Config/Server folder.

What Admins Can Do

Once you're listed in Admins.txt and connected to the server as a player, press the Minus key on your numpad to open the admin menu (this can be rebound in your key bindings if needed). From there, admins get access to a point-and-click menu covering things like switching maps and scenarios, kicking or banning players, and adjusting bot AI settings, separate from the regular developer console.

🛠️ Troubleshooting Common Issues

Admin menu won't open even though I'm on the list: Confirm you fully restarted the server or changed the map after editing the file, and check for a stray blank line or extra space around your Steam64 ID.
Wrong Steam64 ID: Double-check the ID with a second lookup tool if you're unsure. It should be a 17-digit number starting with 7656.
Using a custom file name but it's not working: Make sure the -AdminList= value matches your file's name exactly, minus the .txt extension, and that the file lives in Insurgency/Config/Server.
Numpad key does nothing: Check your keybindings in case the admin menu key was rebound or your keyboard doesn't have a numpad. It can be reassigned to any key you prefer.

Once your admins are set and the server has restarted or changed maps, they should have full access to the admin menu. If you're still having trouble getting it to work, no worries! Just open a support ticket and our team will gladly take a look.