A console-driven dedicated server for Godot 4. It is the piece a server owner runs: console variables and commands, RCON, admin permissions with immunity, bans and mutes, hot-loadable modules, and switching games while players stay connected.

Install

1. Get Godot 4.7.
2. Either use dot-bootstrap, which clones every project and links the addons, or copy addons/dot_core/ and addons/dot_server/ into your project and enable both in Project > Project Settings > Plugins.

Run a server

var server := DotServer.new()
server.config = DotServerConfig.new()
server.config.hostname = "My Server"
server.config.port = 27015
server.config.rcon_password = "something-long"
add_child(server)

Or headless, the usual way to run a dedicated server:

<godot> --headless --path . res://server.tscn -- \
    --sv-port 27015 --sv-hostname "My Server" +sv_maxplayers 24 +changelevel dm_box

--sv-* sets configuration and +command runs a console command. DOT_SERVER_* environment variables work too, which suits a systemd unit or container. To start one without learning any of this, use dot-serve.

Threaded work (snapshots, NPCs) uses sv_worker_threads workers: -1 (default) is the core count less one, at most sv_worker_threads_auto_max (default 8, 0 = no cap); 0 keeps everything on the main thread.

Connect a client

var link := DotClientLink.new()
add_child(link)
link.player_name = "Ada"
link.phase_changed.connect(func(_p, text): status.text = text)
link.spawned.connect(func(): ui.show_game())

await link.connect_to_server("wss://play.example.com/game")

The client downloads the content the current game needs (via dot-cloud), loads the scene the server names and reports ready. The join flow is handled for you.

Features

Feature	What you get
Console	DotConVars with familiar flags: FLAG_CHEAT (needs sv_cheats), FLAG_PROTECTED (never printed, not even in the log), FLAG_STARTUP_ONLY (locked once listening), FLAG_ARCHIVE (saved by writeconfig). Config files with search paths, a command buffer with wait, aliases, tab completion and "did you mean" on typos.
RCON	The classic RCON wire protocol, so existing clients and panels work. Constant-time password comparison, per-address lockout, optional allow-list, and a WebSocket variant for browser panels.
Permissions	String flags rather than fixed roles, and numeric immunity so admins cannot kick each other. Admins come from a JSON file, dot-auth site groups or your own source, all merged.
Moderation	Bans by account and by address with durations (30m, 2h, 7d), mutes and gags, and an append-only JSONL audit log flushed per entry.
In-game moderation	/ban, /kick, /banip, /unban, /mute, /gag, /banlist and /whois run from chat with the speaker's own permissions, flags and audit trail. Name a player as #12, a name or part of one, a username, an account id, ip:203.0.113.9 (everybody at that address) or @me.
Connections per address	sv_max_connections_per_ip, off by default (0). Loopback is never limited.
Game switching	Announce, wait for everyone to download the new content, swap, respawn. A failed change restores the previous game.
Modules	Subclass DotModule, register commands and event hooks, and module_unload undoes them. Events have cancellable pre-hooks.

Games and maps

A game's DotGameDescriptor can name dependencies (packs the server and every client mount), server_dependencies (server only, never sent to a client) and maps (pinned <owner>/<map>@<version> keys, fetched when the server changes to one). Read them back with current_server_dependencies() and current_maps() on DotGameManager.

A game calls DotGameManager.set_current_map("surf_mesa") when its map changes. reported_map() is what server queries report as the map, falling back to the game's display name. It clears when the game unloads.

Optional addons

None are imported. dot-server works without any of them.

Addon	With it	Without it
dot-auth	Real player identity, so bans mean something and site groups grant permissions.	Everyone is a guest.
dot-cloud	Downloadable game content.	Games ship inside the build.
dot-moderation	Bans, mutes and gags kept in a store shared between servers, enforced at connect.	DotBanManager's own list is the ban list.
dot-server-query	Answers server-list queries (A2S and the dot query protocol). Add a DotQueryHost.	The server answers nothing on the query port.

Testing

Import the project once, then run examples/dedicated_server.tscn headless with Godot. Add -- --serve to run it as a real server instead.

Status and licence

Part of the TMC dot-* family of Godot addons, alongside dot-core, dot-auth and dot-cloud. Written with Claude Code and maintained by gamemann. Every addon has headless tests, but little of this has been played by real users yet, so expect rough edges and please open an issue when you hit one.

MIT licence, see LICENSE. The only closed part of the Gamespice platform is the web back end; you can use your own instead of Gamespice's.