How to Set Up an Open Fortress Dedicated Server

Setting Up an Open Fortress Dedicated Server

Open Fortress (OF) is a free Source Engine mod built on top of Team Fortress 2. Players must own TF2 on Steam, and server operators need both the TF2 dedicated server files and the Source SDK 2013 Multiplayer server files. Linux is strongly recommended for dedicated servers.

Two Installation Methods

Method 1 — Beans Updater (Easiest)

Beans is a community-maintained updater tool that downloads TF2 DS, Source SDK 2013 MP, and the Open Fortress files automatically in one pass. Download it from:

https://beans.adastral.net

Follow the Beans setup instructions on that page. It handles the multi-AppID install and placing OF files in the correct directories. This is the recommended path for most operators.

Method 2 — Manual SteamCMD

If you prefer full control or are automating deployments, use SteamCMD directly.

Step 1 — Download SteamCMD

Linux:

mkdir -p /home/ofserver/steamcmd && cd /home/ofserver/steamcmd
curl -sqL "https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/client/installer/steamcmd_linux.tar.gz" | tar zxvf -

Step 2 — Create a script to install both required AppIDs

Create /home/ofserver/fullupdate.txt:

@ShutdownOnFailedCommand 1
@NoPromptForPassword 1
login anonymous
force_install_dir /home/ofserver/tf2d
app_update 232250
force_install_dir /home/ofserver/sdk
app_update 244310 -beta previous2021
quit

Run it:

/home/ofserver/steamcmd/steamcmd.sh +runscript /home/ofserver/fullupdate.txt

This installs:

• AppID 232250 — TF2 Dedicated Server files into tf2d/
• AppID 244310 — Source SDK 2013 Multiplayer into sdk/ (the -beta previous2021 branch is required — omitting it installs the wrong version)

Step 3 — Create steam_appid.txt

In the SDK install directory, create a steam_appid.txt file containing the OF AppID:

echo "243750" > /home/ofserver/sdk/steam_appid.txt

Step 4 — Download Open Fortress files

Download OF files from the official SVN repository or via the Beans updater (which can also be used just for the OF file step). Place the open_fortress/ directory inside your SDK install at /home/ofserver/sdk/open_fortress/.

Launch the Server

cd /home/ofserver/sdk
./srcds_run -console -game open_fortress -port 27015 +ip "0.0.0.0" \
  -nohltv -timeout 0 +maxplayers 24 +map dm_crossfire \
  +sv_cheats 0 -autoupdate

Key flags:

• -game open_fortress — game directory; do not use -game tf
• -port 27015 — primary UDP port
• +map dm_crossfire — starting map; dm_crossfire is a solid default for Deathmatch
• -autoupdate — tells srcds_run to restart and re-check for updates automatically; important since OF is actively developed

Directory Structure

After a full install, the relevant paths are:

/home/ofserver/sdk/open_fortress/cfg/server.cfg     ← main server config
/home/ofserver/sdk/open_fortress/cfg/autoexec.cfg   ← runs before server.cfg
/home/ofserver/sdk/open_fortress/addons/            ← MetaMod / SourceMod
/home/ofserver/sdk/open_fortress/maps/              ← map files
/home/ofserver/sdk/steam_appid.txt                  ← must contain 243750

Keeping the Server Updated

Open Fortress is under active development. Re-run your SteamCMD script or Beans regularly to pull the latest OF files and SDK updates. The -autoupdate launch flag handles srcds_run-level restarts but does not replace a full re-run of the update script.

Related

• Open Fortress Server Port Forwarding
• Open Fortress server.cfg Reference
• Running an Open Fortress Server on Linux
• Open Fortress Dedicated Server Troubleshooting