How To Install HLDS

How To Install HLDS (Half-Life Dedicated Server)

In this tutorial, we’ll walk through how to download and install HLDS using SteamCMD on both Windows and Linux. HLDS is the dedicated server application for games like Counter-Strike 1.6, Half-Life, and Team Fortress Classic. We’ll cover both operating systems separately.

Prerequisites

• Basic knowledge of using a terminal (Linux) or command prompt (Windows)
• Sufficient disk space (at least 2 GB recommended)
• Firewall access to the port you’ll be hosting on (default: 27015)

Windows Installation

Step 1: Download and Extract SteamCMD

• Download SteamCMD.
• Extract it to a folder, e.g. C:\steamcmd.

Step 2: Run SteamCMD

• Navigate to your SteamCMD folder
• Run steamcmd.exe (it will update itself)

Step 3: Set Installation Directory

force_install_dir C:\hlds

Step 4: Log in to SteamCMD

login anonymous

Step 5: Install HLDS

app_update 90 validate

(Run this command again if files are missing.)

Step 6: Install Additional Mods (Optional)

app_set_config 90 mod tfc
app_update 90 validate

Step 7: Launch HLDS

You should then able to launch HLDS through it’s exe file, however If you wish to run this through command prompt you can try the following commands

cd /d "C:\path\to\hlds"
hlds.exe -console -game valve +sv_lan 0 +maxplayers 22 +map undertow

Linux Installation

Step 1: Install SteamCMD

Debian/Ubuntu:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install lib32gcc1 steamcmd

Fedora:

sudo dnf install steamcmd

Step 2: Run SteamCMD

steamcmd

Step 3: Set Installation Directory

force_install_dir ./hlds

Step 4: Log in to SteamCMD

login anonymous

Step 5: Install HLDS

app_update 90 validate

Step 6: Launch HLDS

./hlds_run -game valve +sv_lan 0 +maxplayers 22 +map undertow

Optional: Create a Launch Script

Create a file named server.sh and allow it to be executable

#!/bin/bash
./hlds_run -console -game valve -port 27015 -autoupdate +map crossfire +maxplayers 24

Troubleshooting

• Missing files: Run app_update 90 validate again.
• Port issues: Open port 27015 in your firewall.
• Server won’t start: Double-check your install directory path.

You now have a working HLDS installation! From here, you may want to:

• Install mods like AMX Mod X or MetaMod.
• Edit server.cfg to set your server name, rcon password, and other settings.
• For more, see the official SteamCMD documentation.