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Plugins add features such as admin menus, match systems and retakes to your Counter-Strike 2 server. This guide shows you how to install a plugin framework, add plugins, give them a database and keep them working after game updates.

Difficulty

Intermediate

Time

15 minutes

How CS2 plugins work

CS2 plugins don’t run on their own. They need a framework, which you install once:

Which one should I choose?

  • Not sure? Install CounterStrikeSharp. MatchZy, CS2-SimpleAdmin, Retakes and most other plugins in this guide need it.
  • A plugin says it’s for SwiftlyS2? Install SwiftlyS2.
  • Only Metamod plugins, such as MultiAddonManager or CS2Fixes? Metamod:Source on its own is enough.
A plugin only works on the framework it was made for. Check the plugin’s page before you download it.

Install a framework

1

Open Frameworks

Open your server and click Frameworks under COUNTER-STRIKE 2 in the sidebar.
Frameworks page with cards for SwiftlyS2, CounterStrikeSharp and Metamod:Source, each marked Not installed with an install button, and a gameinfo.gi card marked Not needed with a Repair gameinfo.gi button

The Frameworks page

2

Click Install

Click Install CounterStrikeSharp (or Install SwiftlyS2, or Install Metamod:Source). A window tells you what happens.
Install CounterStrikeSharp dialog explaining that it downloads the CounterStrikeSharp package from GitHub, checks it against its published checksum, installs Metamod:Source first, adds files under game/csgo/addons, changes game/csgo/gameinfo.gi and keeps the previous file as gameinfo.gi.bak, with Cancel and Install buttons

The install window for CounterStrikeSharp

For CounterStrikeSharp, the panel installs Metamod:Source first. It adds files under game/csgo/addons and changes game/csgo/gameinfo.gi, keeping the previous file as gameinfo.gi.bak. Your plugins and configuration are kept.
3

Confirm

Click Install. A progress log shows each step. It usually takes about 20 seconds.
4

Restart the server

When the result says DONE — Restart the server to load it, restart your server.
Frameworks page after the install, with a Done message asking you to restart the server, a Checks box saying Nothing to fix, CounterStrikeSharp and Metamod:Source marked Installed with their version numbers and Reinstall buttons, and gameinfo.gi marked OK

CounterStrikeSharp and Metamod:Source installed

The cards then show INSTALLED, the version, and a Reinstall button. Only one change runs at a time. If you see Another change is running. Wait for it to finish., wait a moment and try again. To check it worked, type meta list in the Console. CounterStrikeSharp should be listed.

After a CS2 update: repair gameinfo.gi

Metamod:Source loads through a line in game/csgo/gameinfo.gi. When Valve updates CS2, the update resets this file and switches your frameworks off. Your plugins then stop loading.
1

Open Frameworks

The gameinfo.gi card shows whether the file needs fixing.
2

Click Repair gameinfo.gi

The panel puts the lines back.
3

Restart the server

Your frameworks and plugins load again.
If plugins still fail after a big CS2 update, the framework itself may need an update. Click Reinstall on its card, then restart. See troubleshooting.

Install a plugin

There is no one-click plugin catalogue. You upload plugins with the file manager, and they appear on the Plugins page.
1

Download the plugin

Download the plugin’s release from its official page, usually GitHub. Unzip it on your computer.
2

Open the plugins folder

Click Files and go to game/csgo/addons/counterstrikesharp/plugins/.
3

Upload the plugin's folder

Each plugin gets its own folder: plugins/<PluginName>/, with the plugin’s .dll inside. Click Upload, or upload the .zip and use Unarchive. See how to use the file manager.
4

Restart and check

Restart the server. Type css_plugins list in the console to see the loaded plugins.
Many plugin downloads already contain the addons/counterstrikesharp/... folders. Upload those into game/csgo/ so the folders merge, rather than into plugins/.
Make a backup before you add or update plugins. Only download plugins from their official pages.

The Plugins page

Click Plugins in the sidebar. It shows what’s installed on your server, with a switch for each plugin. Use the tabs to switch between SwiftlyS2 and CounterStrikeSharp.
Plugins page with SwiftlyS2 and CounterStrikeSharp tabs and the empty message No plugins yet, Put a plugin's folder into the plugins folder with the file manager and it shows up here

The Plugins page with no plugins yet

Turn a plugin’s switch off to stop it without deleting it, for example to find which plugin causes a problem. Restart the server afterwards so the change applies.

Advertisements in chat and the centre of the screen

1

Upload the plugin

Download Advertisement.zip from the cs2-advertisement releases and unpack it into game/csgo/.
2

Start once

Restart the server. The config file appears at game/csgo/addons/counterstrikesharp/configs/plugins/Advertisement/Advertisement.json.
3

Write your messages

Edit the file. Each message can show in chat, in the centre of the screen or as centre HTML, on its own timer. Then type css_advert_reload in the console.

Metamod plugins

Metamod plugins such as MultiAddonManager and CS2Fixes come as a package you extract into game/csgo/. They don’t appear on the Plugins page. Type meta list in the console to check they’re loaded.

Give a plugin a database

Some plugins, such as CS2-SimpleAdmin and MatchZy’s stats, can store data in MySQL.
1

Create a database

Click Databases in the sidebar, then Create database. Give it a name, such as admin. See how to manage databases.
2

Copy the details

The database card shows HOST, DATABASE, USER NAME and PASSWORD, each with a copy button.
3

Paste them into the plugin's config

Use the host exactly as the card shows it. Do not use 127.0.0.1 or localhost: the database doesn’t run inside your game server, so those addresses don’t work.
For example, in CS2-SimpleAdmin’s CS2-SimpleAdmin.json:
The host on the card includes the port (:3306). If the plugin has a separate port field, put the address in the host field and 3306 in the port field.

Custom sounds, models and content

CS2 does not support FastDL (sv_downloadurl). Players can’t download custom files from a web server as in older Source games. Custom content reaches players through the Steam Workshop instead:
  • Maps: see workshop maps and collections.
  • Sounds, models and other assets, such as custom round-end sounds: publish them as a Workshop addon, then load it with MultiAddonManager. Players download it automatically when they join.
To load an addon with MultiAddonManager, install the plugin, then set the Workshop ID in game/csgo/cfg/multiaddonmanager/multiaddonmanager.cfg:
Separate several IDs with commas. A plugin that plays sounds, for example at round end, then uses the files from that addon.

Admin and commands

CounterStrikeSharp admins and SimpleAdmin.

MatchZy

Run scrims and matches.

Troubleshooting

Plugins not loading and other fixes.

Manage databases

Create and manage MySQL databases.

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Last Updated: October 2026