Keeping Your IW4x Server Updated

Keeping Your IW4x Server Updated

IW4x updates are distributed through the AlterWare Launcher. Unlike traditional games, the IW4x update cycle is relatively infrequent — major releases happen a few times a year, with smaller patches in between. This guide covers how to update, what gets updated, and how to automate the process.

What Gets Updated

IW4x consists of several components that may update independently:

Component	What It Is	Update Source
iw4x.dll	The core IW4x engine modification	AlterWare Launcher
AlterWare Launcher itself	The update tool	GitHub releases page
IW4MAdmin	The admin/management tool	GitHub releases page
MW2 base game files	The original game content	Steam (very rare)

The most frequent updates are to iw4x.dll, which is downloaded by the AlterWare Launcher. The base MW2 game files are static and essentially never need updating after initial installation.

Updating IW4x (iw4x.dll)

Stop the server, then run the AlterWare Launcher with the --update flag from inside your server folder:

Windows:

cd C:\GameServers\MW2-Server
alterware-launcher.exe iw4x --update

Linux:

cd ~/mw2server
./alterware-launcher iw4x --update

The launcher checks the AlterWare CDN for a newer version of iw4x.dll. If one is available, it downloads it and replaces the existing file. If you're already on the latest version, it prints a message confirming this and exits without making changes.

After the update completes, restart the server.

Checking Your Current Version

There's no simple --version flag for IW4x itself. To see which version is running, either:

• Check the server console output on startup — the IW4x build version is typically printed in the first few lines
• Check the file modification date of iw4x.dll
• Look at the AlterWare Launcher output — it will indicate "already up to date" with the current version if no update is needed

Automating Updates

Windows — Batch Script with Scheduled Task

Create update_and_restart.bat in your server folder:

@echo off
echo Stopping IW4x server...
taskkill /F /IM iw4x.exe /T >nul 2>&1
timeout /t 3 /nobreak >nul

echo Updating IW4x...
cd /d C:\GameServers\MW2-Server
alterware-launcher.exe iw4x --update

echo Starting IW4x server...
start "IW4x Server" DedicatedServer.bat
echo Done.

Schedule this with Windows Task Scheduler to run at a convenient low-traffic time (e.g., 3:00 AM daily or weekly).

To create a scheduled task via the command line:

schtasks /create /tn "IW4x Update" /tr "C:\GameServers\MW2-Server\update_and_restart.bat" /sc weekly /d MON /st 03:00 /ru SYSTEM /f

Linux — Cron Job

Create an update script at ~/mw2server/update.sh:

#!/bin/bash
echo "Stopping IW4x server..."
# If running as systemd service:
sudo systemctl stop iw4x

echo "Updating IW4x..."
cd ~/mw2server
./alterware-launcher iw4x --update

echo "Starting IW4x server..."
sudo systemctl start iw4x

echo "Update complete: $(date)"

Make it executable and add to cron:

chmod +x ~/mw2server/update.sh
crontab -e

Add a weekly update at 3 AM Monday:

0 3 * * 1 /home/gameserver/mw2server/update.sh >> /home/gameserver/mw2server/update.log 2>&1

Updating IW4MAdmin

IW4MAdmin has its own update process. Check the GitHub releases page for new versions.

To update:

1. Stop IW4MAdmin.
2. Download the latest release ZIP.
3. Extract to a temporary folder.
4. Copy new files over your existing IW4MAdmin installation, but preserve your Configuration/ folder — it contains your settings and player database.
5. Restart IW4MAdmin.

If the new version changes the settings schema, IW4MAdmin will print migration instructions on startup or update the config automatically.

Automated IW4MAdmin Update (Linux)

#!/bin/bash
INSTALL_DIR=/home/gameserver/iw4madmin
TEMP_DIR=/tmp/iw4madmin_update

# Stop IW4MAdmin
sudo systemctl stop iw4madmin

# Get latest release URL (requires jq)
LATEST_URL=$(curl -s https://github.com/RaidMax/IW4M-Admin/releases/latest \
  | grep -o 'href="[^"]*\.zip"' | head -1 | cut -d'"' -f2)

# Download and extract
mkdir -p $TEMP_DIR
wget "https://github.com$LATEST_URL" -O $TEMP_DIR/iw4madmin.zip
unzip -o $TEMP_DIR/iw4madmin.zip -d $TEMP_DIR/extracted

# Copy new files, preserve configuration
cp -r $TEMP_DIR/extracted/* $INSTALL_DIR/
cp -r $INSTALL_DIR/Configuration $TEMP_DIR/config_backup   # extra safety backup

# Cleanup
rm -rf $TEMP_DIR

# Restart
sudo systemctl start iw4madmin
echo "IW4MAdmin updated: $(date)"

When Are Updates Important?

You should update promptly when:

• A security patch is released (IW4x announcements mention this explicitly)
• Client and server version mismatch is causing connection issues (players get kicked on join)
• A new version fixes a crash or instability you're experiencing

You can safely wait on:

• Minor feature additions that don't affect server stability
• Updates during peak hours — schedule for off-peak times to minimize player impact

Check for IW4x announcements on the AlterWare Discord server and the IW4x GitHub repository to stay informed about releases.

Version Mismatch Issues

If clients are running a newer IW4x version than your server (or vice versa), players may be unable to connect. The server console will typically log something like "client version mismatch." The fix is always to update the older component — usually the server.

Related

• Installing Your IW4x Dedicated Server on Windows
• IW4x Dedicated Server Troubleshooting Guide
• Host an IW4x (MW2) server with DustBowl.Games