This guide covers the Advanced Mode editor for creating and configuring game servers in GameCP. If you're looking for the quick setup, check out the Creating Your First Game Server tutorial first — this is the deep dive.

Switching to Advanced Mode

When you open the game server creator, it may default to Basic Mode. To switch:

Click the mode toggle button in the top-right corner of the creator
The editor will switch to the full Advanced Mode layout

GameCP remembers your preference, so it will open in Advanced Mode next time automatically.

Editor Layout

The Advanced Mode editor uses a sidebar navigation layout with separate sections for each part of the server configuration. Click any section in the sidebar to jump to it:

Basic Information — server name, game selection, and owner
Network — IP and port mapping
Environment — game-specific settings and environment variables
Custom Environment — additional custom environment variables
Command Line — startup command group and custom arguments
Configuration Files — customize config file templates
Docker Configuration — container settings, resources, and volumes
Server Options — install and startup behavior

Basic Information

This section is where you configure the fundamentals:

Game — select which game this server runs (required for new servers)
Server Name — give your server a recognizable name
Owner — assign the server to a specific user (admin/manager only)

Network

Control how your server is accessed on the network:

Assignment Type — choose between Automatic (let GameCP pick the best node/IP) or Manual (select a specific node, IP, and ports yourself)
Port Mappings — configure the container-to-host port mappings for each game port

In manual mode, you can select a specific node and IP address from your available inventory.

Environment Variables

This section shows all the environment variables defined by the game template:

Required variables are marked and must be filled in before saving
Optional variables can be customized or left at their defaults
Variables with auto-generate enabled (like passwords) will be filled automatically if left empty

Custom Environment

Add your own environment variables beyond what the game template provides. These are useful for:

Custom mods or plugins that need configuration
Override values not exposed in the default template
One-off tweaks specific to this server

Command Line

Configure how the game server starts:

Command Line Group — select from predefined startup command groups defined in the game template
Custom Arguments — add additional command-line arguments that get appended to the startup command

Configuration Files

If the game template includes config file templates, you can customize their contents here. Each file shows a text editor with the template content that you can modify per-server.

Docker Configuration

Fine-tune the Docker container settings:

Interactive Mode — enable for servers that need a TTY/stdin (some older games)
Resource Limits — set memory and CPU limits for the container
Volume Mappings — configure additional volume mounts if needed

Server Options

Control what happens after creation:

Auto Install — automatically install game files after creation (enabled by default)
Start After Install — automatically start the server once installation completes (enabled by default)
Email Notification — send the assigned user an email about the new server

Saving

Click Create Server (or Update Server if editing) in the footer. The editor tracks unsaved changes — if you try to close with unsaved work, you'll get a confirmation dialog.

Tips

You can switch back to Basic Mode at any time using the toggle in the header (create mode only)
The Advanced Mode editor is also used when editing existing servers — click edit on any server to open it
Changes to environment variables and config files take effect after the server is restarted