How to Set Up RCON on Your Insurgency Sandstorm Server
RCON lets you run admin commands on your server remotely without being in-game. Set it up in two config files and connect with any Source RCON client.
What RCON Is
RCON (Remote Console) lets you send admin commands to your server over the network — without launching the game or being on the server. It's useful for server operators who want to manage things from a desktop tool, a script, or a Discord bot.
IS uses the Source RCON protocol, so any Source-compatible RCON client works.
Step 1 — Configure Engine.ini
Open Insurgency/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/Engine.ini and add or update these entries:
[URL]
Port=27102
RCONPassword=YourSecurePasswordHere
RCONPort=27015
[OnlineSubsystemSteam]
bEnabled=True
Replace YourSecurePasswordHere with a strong password. Anyone with this password has full admin access to your server, so treat it like a root password.
RCONPort defaults to 27015. You can change it, but make sure the port is open in your control panel's firewall settings.
Step 2 — Enable RCON in Game.ini
Open Insurgency/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/Game.ini and add:
[/Script/Insurgency.INSGameMode]
bRCONEnabled=True
Add this under the existing [/Script/Insurgency.INSGameMode] section if it already exists — don't create a duplicate section header.
Step 3 — Open the RCON Port
In your control panel's firewall settings, make sure TCP port 27015 (or whatever you set as RCONPort) is open. RCON uses TCP, not UDP.
Step 4 — Restart and Connect
Stop and start your server. Once it's running, connect with any Source RCON client:
- RCON-CLI (command line):
rcon -a yourserverip:27015 -p YourSecurePasswordHere - mcrcon:
mcrcon -H yourserverip -P 27015 -p YourSecurePasswordHere - RconUI or Rcon-Web-Admin: GUI options for less command-line-comfortable admins
Common RCON Commands
status # Show connected players and server info
kickid 76561198012345678 # Kick player by Steam64 ID
banid 76561198012345678 # Ban player by Steam64 ID
nextmap # Skip to the next map in the cycle
restartmap # Restart the current map
say "Server restarts in 5 minutes" # Broadcast a message to all players
Security Notes
- Use a long, random password for RCON. Short passwords are trivially brute-forced.
- Don't expose RCON to the public internet if you can avoid it — restrict it to your admin IP via firewall rules if your control panel supports IP-based rules.
- RCON traffic is not encrypted. Don't reuse passwords from other services.