How to Install SourceMod Plugins on Your Counter-Strike: Source Server

Plugins are what make a Counter-Strike: Source (CS:S) server your own. Admin menus, map voting, custom commands and thousands of community plugins all run on SourceMod. Because CS:S runs on the Source engine, you first install two free framework tools, Metamod:Source and SourceMod, and then add plugins on top.

⚠️ Important Warning
Always make sure your server is completely stopped in your MintServers panel before uploading or extracting framework files, plugins or extensions. Replacing files while the server is running can cause problems. For example, overwriting an extension that is currently loaded can crash a Linux server.

Step 1: Install Metamod:Source and SourceMod

Metamod:Source hooks into the game, and SourceMod runs on top of it. You need both, and you need to install them in this order. Use the stable version of each.

Log into your MintServers panel and click Stop to shut down the server.

In a new browser tab, go to the Metamod:Source downloads page and download the Linux build for stable. Your MintServers panel runs on Linux.

Next, go to the SourceMod downloads page and download the Linux build for stable as well. You should now have two archives on your computer.

Return to your MintServers panel and open the Files tab on the left-hand sidebar.

Click into the cstrike folder. This is your main Counter-Strike: Source game directory.

Drag and drop both archives from your computer into the cstrike folder.

Once uploaded, click the three dots next to each archive and select Unarchive. This extracts the addons folder, and a few config files, into your server files. You can delete the original archive files afterwards to save space.

💡 Tip
The newest SourceMod build on the downloads page sometimes has no Linux file yet. If the Linux link is empty, use the most recent build that does have a Linux download.

When you are done, your folders should look like this:

    📁 cstrike (your Counter-Strike: Source game directory)
            📁 addons
                    📁 metamod (Metamod:Source)

                    📁 sourcemod (SourceMod)

Go to the Console tab and click Start.

Once the server has booted, type meta list into the console text box and press Enter. You should see SourceMod in the list.

Developer Console

meta list
sm version

If a message about "wrong ELF class: ELFCLASS64" appears when the server starts, you can ignore it. It is normal on a 32-bit server, as long as the commands above work.

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Step 2: Install a Plugin

With the framework installed, your server is ready for plugins. SourceMod plugins come as an .smx file. You can find them on the SourceMod plugins page and the AlliedModders forums.

Download the .smx plugin file to your computer. Read the plugin's page first, because some plugins also need extra files, such as translations, gamedata or an extension.

Make sure your server is stopped, then open the Files tab and go to the plugins folder:

    📁 cstrike
            📁 addons
                    📁 sourcemod
                            📁 plugins
                                    📄 your_plugin.smx (Upload your .smx file here)

Drag and drop your .smx file into the plugins folder.

Go to the Console tab and click Start. Every plugin in the plugins folder loads automatically.

💡 Tip
Many plugins create their own config file the first time they load. You will find these in cstrike/cfg/sourcemod. Edit that generated file to change a plugin's settings.

Plugins That Are Already Included

SourceMod ships with a set of plugins that are switched on by default, so you do not need to download them. These include:

basecommands
Changing maps, kicking players and changing settings.

basebans
Banning players.

basecomm
Gagging and muting players.

basevotes
Voting commands.

adminmenu
The in-game admin menu.

reservedslots
Reserved slots for admins.

A few more, such as mapchooser, rockthevote, nominations and randomcycle, are included but switched off. They live in cstrike/addons/sourcemod/plugins/disabled.

Enable or Disable a Plugin Without Deleting It

Stop your server.

To enable a plugin, move its .smx file from the disabled folder into the plugins folder.

To disable a plugin, do the reverse and move it from plugins into disabled.

Start your server.

⚠️ Important Warning
Some plugins cannot run together. Use either mapchooser or randomcycle, never both. The same goes for the two SQL admin plugins, admin-sql-prefetch and admin-sql-threaded.

Step 3: Install Extensions (If a Plugin Needs One)

Some plugins need an extension to work. The plugin's download page will tell you if it does. Extensions are loaded only when a plugin needs them.

Download the Linux (.so) version of the extension to your computer. Windows files (.dll) will not work on your panel.

With your server stopped, open the Files tab and go to cstrike/addons/sourcemod/extensions.

Drag and drop the extension file into the extensions folder. If the extension comes with extra folders such as gamedata or configs, upload their contents into the matching folders inside sourcemod.

Start your server.

💡 Tip
Some extensions come in a separate file for each Source game, named like sdktools.ext.2.ep2v.so. For Counter-Strike: Source, pick the file with ep2v in its name. CS:S shares that build with Team Fortress 2, Day of Defeat: Source and Half-Life 2: Deathmatch.

Step 4: Check That Everything Loaded

Once your server is running, type these commands into the Console tab to check your plugins and extensions.

Developer Console

sm plugins list
sm exts list

If your plugin appears in the list without a <Failed> label, it is working. These other commands also come in handy:

sm plugins load <name>
Loads a plugin without a restart.

sm plugins unload <name>
Unloads a plugin.

sm plugins reload <id>
Reloads a plugin using its number from the list.

sm plugins refresh
Refreshes the plugin list from disk.

sm plugins info <id>
Shows details about a plugin, including why it failed.

Related Guides

How to Become an Admin on Your Counter-Strike: Source (CS:S) Server
Make yourself an admin so you can use the SourceMod admin menu and commands.

🛠️ Troubleshooting Plugin Issues

"sm" is an unknown command
Metamod:Source or SourceMod did not extract correctly. Check that the addons folder sits directly inside cstrike, then restart the server.

The plugin is not in the list at all
The .smx file is not in cstrike/addons/sourcemod/plugins. Change the map or restart, then check again.

The plugin shows <Failed>
Type sm plugins info <id> using the number from the list to see the reason.

Could not find translation file
The plugin's translation files were not uploaded, or went into the wrong folder. Upload them into cstrike/addons/sourcemod/translations.

Native "xyz" was not found or Required extension not running
The plugin needs an extension that is missing or out of date. Install the right extension and check sm exts list.

Wrong game
The plugin was made for a different game. Move it into the disabled folder.

Still stuck? Check the log files in cstrike/addons/sourcemod/logs. They show exactly what went wrong.

Now that SourceMod is installed, you can make yourself an admin to use the admin menu and commands.

Still stuck?

Our team is happy to help. Open a ticket through the live chat button in the bottom-right corner of our website, or join our Discord and open a ticket there.

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