Natural Selection 2

This guide covers the ns2server module in AlphaGSM.

The checked-in Natural Selection 2 lifecycle is wired for both process and Docker runtimes on the documented Ubuntu 24.04 Linux baseline. Its corrected launch/A2S contract is pending replacement GitHub validation, so no new PASSED tracker result is recorded for this change.

Requirements

• Process runtime: screen
• Docker runtime: Docker and the shared steamcmd-linux runtime image
• SteamCMD runtime libraries (lib32gcc-s1, lib32stdc++6)
• Python packages from requirements.txt

Quick Start

Create the server:

alphagsm myns2 create ns2server

Run setup:

alphagsm myns2 setup

Start it:

alphagsm myns2 start

Check it:

alphagsm myns2 status
alphagsm myns2 query
alphagsm myns2 info

Stop it:

alphagsm myns2 stop

Setup Details

Setup configures:

• the game port (default 27015)
• the install directory
• SteamCMD downloads the server files
• a per-instance config directory at <install_dir>/<server_name>/
• a workshop storage directory at <install_dir>/<server_name>/Workshop
• a managed log directory at <install_dir>/logs
• managed claims for game UDP, game + 1 UDP, web-admin TCP, and mod-server TCP

Useful Commands

alphagsm myns2 update
alphagsm myns2 backup

Notes

• Module name: ns2server
• Game: Natural Selection 2
• Engine: Spark
• SteamCMD App ID: 4940
• Executable: <install_dir>/x64/server_linux
• Default map: ns2_summit
• Process and Docker launch identical game argv as ./x64/server_linux from the install root, with relative config, log, and workshop paths
• AlphaGSM probes exact runtime-resolved A2S on game port + 1
• Web admin is enabled by default on httpport 8080
• Mod server is enabled by default on modserverport 27031
• Current correction status: replacement GitHub validation pending

Server variables

After create ns2server, inspect or change these with set:

alphagsm myserver set --list
alphagsm myserver set KEY --describe
alphagsm myserver set KEY VALUE

Developer Notes

Run File

• Executable: x64/server_linux
• Location: <install_dir>/x64/server_linux
• Working directory: <install_dir>
• Launch path: ./x64/server_linux
• Engine: Spark
• SteamCMD App ID: 4940

Server Configuration

• Config path: <install_dir>/<server_name>/
• Workshop storage: <install_dir>/<server_name>/Workshop
• Log directory: <install_dir>/logs
• Runtime argv paths: ./<server_name>, ./logs, and ./<server_name>/Workshop
• Key settings:
  • port — Game port (default: 27015)
  • httpport — Web admin port (default: 8080)
  • webdomain — Optional web admin bind address (engine default: localhost)
  • modserverport — Mod server port (default: 27031)
  • maxplayers — Maximum players (default: 20)
  • maxspectators — Maximum spectators (default: 5)
  • startmap — Starting map (default: ns2_summit)

Maps and Mods

• Map selection: via startmap
• Mod directory: <install_dir>/<server_name>/Workshop
• Workshop support: native mod activation through hexadecimal IDs in MapCycle.json.

Native Workshop multiplayer content

alphagsm myns2 mod add workshop 129599221
alphagsm myns2 mod add workshop-collection YOUR_COLLECTION_ID
alphagsm myns2 mod apply
alphagsm myns2 start

Official Steam Community item and collection URLs work too. AlphaGSM validates consumer AppID 4920, expands collections, and merges hexadecimal mod IDs into <install_dir>/<server_name>/MapCycle.json. The same native IDs are passed with -mods, and NS2 downloads and mounts the content itself. No Steam account or Workshop API key is supplied. Apply while stopped; prestart also reconciles the managed list unless mods.autoapply is false.

Existing map rotations, settings, operator mod IDs and other JSON fields remain. mod cleanup removes unchanged owned mod IDs; it retains operator edits and engine-managed Workshop caches. Symlinks, invalid JSON and unsafe native IDs fail before a write. Native storage stays under the per-server install directory, including server names containing hyphens.

The native mod file server can need an explicit local interface behind NAT: alphagsm myns2 set modserveraddress YOUR_OWNED_LAN_IP. Its native port is modserverport; the public IP is not necessarily a bindable local address. The validation uses loopback for this local-only download endpoint; remote-client content delivery has not been verified.

Web admin also listens on localhost by default. webdomain accepts an owned local interface IP; Spark rejects the wildcard 0.0.0.0. The Docker Workshop check reads the same authenticated native API on loopback inside AlphaGSM's managed container, using its installed Python. It keeps admin on loopback and still requires exact native map origin, map-change execution and external A2S.

The opt-in check downloads public ns2_Jambi, starts on a stock map, waits for the real engine web API, requests the custom map through web admin, and requires both custom-map A2S and Server.GetMapModId attribution through getmaplist. File existence alone cannot satisfy it. The native Workshop process and Docker lifecycles passed in GitHub CI run 38655040006 on 2026-10-15, including the Docker loopback API transport.

ALPHAGSM_WORK_DIR=/path/on/large/disk \
ALPHAGSM_RUN_INTEGRATION=1 ALPHAGSM_RUN_STEAMCMD=1 \
ALPHAGSM_RUN_NS2SERVER_WORKSHOP=1 \
python3 -m pytest tests/integration_tests/test_ns2server.py -k workshop

ALPHAGSM_WORK_DIR=/path/on/large/disk NS2_WORKSHOP_ITEM=129599221 \
make smoke-test SMOKE_TEST=run_ns2server.sh

Collection overrides use ALPHAGSM_NS2SERVER_WORKSHOP_COLLECTION, with ALPHAGSM_NS2SERVER_WORKSHOP_LOAD_ITEM and ALPHAGSM_NS2SERVER_WORKSHOP_MAP selecting the map to exercise. Smoke uses corresponding NS2_WORKSHOP_* variables. Keep web-admin credentials private and configure your own password before public use.