TF2 Classified Docker Server

Dockerized TF2 Classified dedicated server. Edit .env, run docker compose up -d, done.

• IP hidden by default via Steam Datagram Relay
• Auto-updates TF2 base and TF2 Classified while running
• MetaMod:Source, SourceMod, and SMJansson pre-installed
• Multi-server support off a single set of game files
• All config lives in .env

Quick Start

cd tf2classified-docker
chmod +x setup.sh && ./setup.sh   # creates dirs, generates .env with random RCON pass
nano .env                          # tweak to your liking
docker compose up -d               # build + run
docker compose logs -f             # watch it (first boot downloads ~20GB)

Or: make setup && make start && make logs

How Players Connect

With Steam Networking on (default), the server shows up in the TF2C browser. Players find it by name and join. The downside is they can't favorite it since the relay address is ephemeral.

Without Steam Networking, players connect by your public IP directly. You'd need to port-forward 27015/UDP and your IP is exposed.

	IP Hidden	Favoritable	Port Forward
Steam Networking (default)	yes	no	no
Direct	no	yes	yes

Configuration

Everything is in .env. The important ones:

Variable	Default	What it does
SERVER_NAME	My TF2 Classified Server	Browser listing name
SERVER_PASSWORD	(empty)	Empty = public
RCON_PASSWORD	changeme	Remote admin password. Change this.
START_MAP	ctf_2fort	Map on boot
MAX_PLAYERS	24	Up to 32
SERVER_PORT	27015	Game port
TICKRATE	66	Server tickrate
STEAM_NETWORKING	true	IP hiding via Valve relay
UPDATE_ON_START	true	Run SteamCMD update on each start
AUTO_UPDATE	true	Poll for updates while running, restart when found
AUTO_UPDATE_INTERVAL	300	Seconds between update checks
SERVER_CFG_MODE	auto	auto = rebuild server.cfg from .env every boot. custom = you manage it
SM_ADMIN_STEAMID	(empty)	Your Steam ID for SM admin
SV_TAGS	(empty)	Server browser tags

Mod URLs (MMS_URL, SM_URL, SMJANSSON_URL) default to known-good 64-bit Linux builds. Set any to skip to disable. Set INSTALL_MODS=false to skip all of them.

Auto-Updates

UPDATE_ON_START=true runs SteamCMD before each launch. AUTO_UPDATE=true runs a background loop that polls Steam every AUTO_UPDATE_INTERVAL seconds. When it sees a new build ID, it kills srcds. Docker's restart policy brings the container back up and the update gets applied on the way in.

Disable background polling with AUTO_UPDATE=false — the server still updates on restart.

Custom Map Downloads (FastDL)

Source normally trickle-feeds map files through the game connection. FastDL tells clients to grab them over HTTP instead.

cp my_custom_map.bsp data/maps/
make compress-maps   # bzip2 copies into data/fastdl/tf2classified/maps/

Host the compressed files somewhere (Cloudflare R2 is free and works well, or use the included nginx with docker compose --profile fastdl up -d), then set FASTDL_URL in .env and restart.

Your web root needs to mirror the game directory layout:

data/fastdl/tf2classified/maps/custom_map.bsp.bz2

Upload both .bsp and .bsp.bz2 — clients try compressed first and fall back to raw.

Custom Content

Configs: Drop .cfg files in data/cfg/. In auto mode, server.cfg gets rebuilt from .env every boot — put your overrides in data/cfg/server_custom.cfg. Set SERVER_CFG_MODE=custom if you want to manage server.cfg yourself.

Maps: .bsp files go in data/maps/.

SourceMod plugins: .smx files go in data/addons/sourcemod/plugins/.

SM admin: Set SM_ADMIN_STEAMID=STEAM_0:1:12345678 in .env (steamid.io).

Running Multiple Servers

Multiple servers share the game files volume (~20GB) so nothing gets re-downloaded. Each one just needs its own port, name, and RCON password.

make add-server N=2    # creates dirs + .env.server2
nano .env.server2
make start-server N=2
make logs-server N=2

Secondary servers set UPDATE_GAME_FILES=false since the primary handles updates. Each server gets a unique SERVER_PORT (27016, 27017, etc). Custom content for server N lives in servers/N/ instead of data/.

Server Console

The srcds process runs inside a tmux session, giving you full interactive console access.

Attach to the console

make console                # primary server
make console-server N=2     # server N

Or directly:

docker compose exec tf2classified tmux attach -t srcds
docker compose exec tf2classified-2 tmux attach -t srcds   # server 2

Once attached you're in the live srcds console — type commands like status, changelevel, sm plugins list, etc. exactly as you would on a local dedicated server.

Detach without stopping the server: press Ctrl+B, then D.

Send commands without attaching

Fire-and-forget commands from outside the console:

docker compose exec tf2classified tmux send-keys -t srcds "status" Enter
docker compose exec tf2classified tmux send-keys -t srcds "changelevel pl_upward" Enter
docker compose exec tf2classified tmux send-keys -t srcds "sm plugins list" Enter

This is useful for scripts, cron jobs, or quick one-off commands.

RCON

RCON works on localhost inside the container. From the host:

# Install rcon-cli or any RCON client
rcon -a 127.0.0.1:27015 -p yourpassword status

RCON also works when Steam Networking (SDR) is enabled because srcds still listens on the local port.

Other management commands

docker compose logs -f                                    # tail logs
docker compose exec tf2classified /opt/scripts/update.sh  # manual update
docker compose restart                                    # restart
docker compose down                                       # stop
docker compose build --no-cache && docker compose up -d   # full rebuild

What Gets Installed

The image is just Debian + SteamCMD + runtime libs (~500MB). Game files go into Docker volumes on first boot:

• AppID 232250 — TF2 Dedicated Server (~15GB)
• AppID 3557020 — TF2 Classified (~5GB)
• MetaMod:Source 2.0 build 1383 (TF2C needs >= 1380)
• SourceMod 1.13 build 7292 (includes TF2C gamedata)
• SMJansson 2.6.1 64-bit (JSON extension for plugins)

These install once on first boot. Delete the classified-data volume to force a reinstall.

Library Symlinks

TF2C needs three symlinks or it won't start / will have broken audio and weapons. The entrypoint handles them on every boot:

• bin/linux64/libvstdlib.so -> libvstdlib_srv.so (without this: no sounds, stock weapons only)
• tf2classified/bin/linux64/server_srv.so -> server.so
• ~/.steam/sdk64/steamclient.so -> server's linux64/steamclient.so

If sounds are missing or only stock weapons work, a volume mount probably overwrote the binaries. Exec in and redo the symlink manually:

docker compose exec tf2classified bash
cd /data/classified/bin/linux64 && rm -f libvstdlib.so && ln -s libvstdlib_srv.so libvstdlib.so

Server Verification

Once your server is running, you can ask the TF2C team for manual verification. Verified servers can use SV_TAGS:

• type_customrules — custom gamemodes, civilian, bhop, etc.
• type_customweapons — rebalance packs, throwback weapons

Troubleshooting

Server not in browser: Steam Networking can take a couple minutes to register. Without it, check that 27015/UDP is forwarded.

SourceMod not loading: Check logs for download errors. Make sure metamod.vdf exists:

docker compose exec tf2classified cat /data/classified/tf2classified/addons/metamod.vdf

Container exits on first run: It's downloading ~20GB. Watch with docker compose logs -f. If SteamCMD keeps failing, try VALIDATE_INSTALL=1.

Links

• TF2C Wiki server guide: https://wiki.tf2classic.com/wiki/Dedicated_Linux_server
• TF2C on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3545060
• SourceMod: https://www.sourcemod.net
• MetaMod:Source: https://www.metamodsource.net
• SMJansson: https://github.com/srcdslab/sm-ext-SMJansson