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Troubleshooting

This page collects common issues and how to diagnose them.

Server won’t start

Run the server in debug mode to see full console output:

sudo csm debug 1

Check for:

  • Missing or invalid configs in your overrides.
  • Plugin load errors (CounterStrikeSharp, MatchZy, etc.).
  • Port conflicts if you changed defaults.
  • Corrupted game files (see "Corrupted game files" section below).

Steamworks SDK init failure (missing steamclient.so)

If you see errors like:

SteamGameServer_Init()
dlopen failed trying to load:
steamclient.so
steamclient.so: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory
[S_API] SteamAPI_Init(): Failed to load module '.../steamclient.so'
FATAL ERROR: Failed to initialize Steamworks SDK for gameserver.
Segmentation fault

This means the server can't find ~/.steam/sdk64/steamclient.so for the CS2 user.

Fix (replace cs2servermanager if your CS2 user is different):

sudo -u cs2servermanager mkdir -p /home/cs2servermanager/.steam/sdk64
sudo -u cs2servermanager ln -sf /home/cs2servermanager/.local/share/Steam/steamcmd/linux64/steamclient.so /home/cs2servermanager/.steam/sdk64/steamclient.so
sudo csm restart

If you still get the error, ensure steamcmd has been run at least once for that user (CSM bootstrap does this) and confirm the source file exists:

sudo -u cs2servermanager ls -la /home/cs2servermanager/.local/share/Steam/steamcmd/linux64/steamclient.so

Corrupted game files

If you see errors like:

FATAL ERROR: Application unable to load gameinfo.gi file from directory "csgo"
Failed to load layered mod 'csgo_imported'.  Can't find 'csgo_imported/gameinfo.gi'
Segmentation fault

The server's game files are corrupted. Solution: Reinstall the server

sudo csm reinstall 2     # Replace 2 with your server number

This completely rebuilds the server from the master installation while preserving all your settings (ports, RCON password, hostname, GSLT token). The reinstall command will:

  1. Stop the server
  2. Delete the corrupted directory
  3. Copy fresh game files from master-install
  4. Reconfigure everything with your existing settings
  5. Start the server automatically

Available via TUI: Servers tab → "Reinstall a server"

Port binding conflicts

Fixed in v1.5.3+

Older versions had a bug where all servers tried to bind to port 27015, causing conflicts. If you're on an older version:

  1. Update to the latest CSM version
  2. Restart your servers: sudo csm restart

Each server now properly binds to its configured ports (27015, 27025, 27035, etc.).

Plugin errors or crashes

First, try the built-in repair:

csm update-plugins

Then check logs:

sudo csm logs 1 200

Look in the CounterStrikeSharp logs under each server’s game/csgo/addons/counterstrikesharp/logs directory for stack traces or error messages.

Metamod / CounterStrikeSharp / MatchZy not installed (missing csgo/addons)

Symptoms:

  • You enabled Metamod but the server has no csgo/addons/ directory.
  • CounterStrikeSharp logs directory is missing.
  • MatchZy plugin folder is missing.

Verify on disk (replace cs2servermanager if your CS2 user is different):

CS2USER=cs2servermanager
for s in 1 2 3; do
  echo "=== server-$s ==="
  ls -la "/home/$CS2USER/server-$s/game/csgo/addons" || true
  ls -la "/home/$CS2USER/server-$s/game/csgo/addons/metamod" 2>/dev/null || true
  ls -la "/home/$CS2USER/server-$s/game/csgo/addons/counterstrikesharp" 2>/dev/null || true
  ls -la "/home/$CS2USER/server-$s/game/csgo/addons/counterstrikesharp/plugins/MatchZy" 2>/dev/null || true
done

Fix:

  • Run sudo csm update-plugins (this downloads + deploys plugins to all servers).
  • Then restart servers: sudo csm restart.

Auto updates not working

  • Verify the cron job is installed and points to the correct path.
  • Inspect the monitor log entries in the consolidated csm.log file:
sudo tail -n 200 csm.log | sed -n '/\\[log=auto_update_monitor\\.log\\]/,$p'
  • Confirm that MatchZy logs contain the expected update markers when Valve ships a new build, for example:
  • [MATCHZY_UPDATE_AVAILABLE] required_version=14129
  • [MATCHZY_UPDATE_SHUTDOWN] required_version=14129
  • Run csm update-game manually to confirm updates work outside the monitor.

Can’t connect to server

Check:

  • Firewall rules: ensure game and GOTV ports are open (e.g., 27015/27020, 27025/27030, …).
  • That the server is running:
csm status
  • Any errors in the server console or logs.

Updating configuration without reinstalling

If you need to change RCON password, max players, or GSLT token across all servers:

# Via TUI: Updates tab → "Update server configs"
# Or via CLI:
# (Edit the shared config files, then sync to all servers)

This updates configs without reinstalling the entire server.

Getting help

If you're still stuck:

  1. Check server logs: sudo csm logs <server> 200
  2. Check log files directly: sudo csm logs-file <server>
  3. Run in debug mode: sudo csm debug <server>
  4. Join our Discord community
  5. Open an issue on GitHub

When in doubt

  • For corrupted files: Use csm reinstall <server> to rebuild from master.
  • For config issues: Use the TUI install wizard or csm bootstrap to repair.
  • For plugin issues: Run csm update-plugins to refresh plugins.
  • Temporarily remove custom overrides to see if a config change is causing the problem.
  • Use debug mode on a single server until it runs cleanly, then roll changes out to others.