Rcon Overview and Commands

RCON (Remote Console) is the method with which Pavlov VR servers can be controlled from outside of VR. It does not allow for reading server log messages.

RCON Commands

Placeholders

Values in [square brackets] are placeholders and must be replaced, or will be replaced by the server in a reply.

[UniqueID] - Player ID (eg. SteamID64 (PCVR), Oculus Username (Shack))

[GameMode] - See Gamemodes table and Gamemodes

[TeamID] - 0 for blue, 1 for red, if there are teams

[VehicleID] - See Vehicles

[MapName/ID] - See Default maps or find the Map ID on Mod.io and append it to "UGC" (Example: https://mod.io/g/pavlov/m/mcdonalds has Resource ID 2804322, the MapID to use would be UGC2804322)

[SkinID] - See Skins

[RoleID] - See TTT Roles

[ItemID] - See Items

[True/False] - Either "True" to enable or "False" to disable

[Amount] - A number indicating an amount of something

Reply format

All command replies are formatted as JSON and inherit this base format:

{
	"Command": "[The command name]",
	"Comment": "[An optional comment about the command]",
	"Successful": "[True/False]"
}

Comment will not exist if the command does not output a comment.

Additional command output is added to the above format. The Example Reply column below only contains this additional command output.

Often, commands will contain a field with its own name and a boolean value. This is a very inconsistent value. For example in SetMaxPlayers, if the amount is set to the same as the current slot count, Successful will be true but SetMaxPlayers will be false. However for SwitchTeam for example, if a player is switched to the same team they are already in, SwitchTeam will be true anyway.

Commands

RCON Commands

Command	Parameters	Description	Example Command	Example Reply
Help	none	Returns the full list of commands and their parameters	Help	"Help": [ "AddMapRotation MapID GameMode", ...truncated... "UpdateServerName ServerName" ],
AddMapRotation	[MapName/ID] [GameMode]	Adds the specified map with the specified game mode to the bottom of the map rotation. Writes the map to Game.ini.	AddMapRotation sand snd
AddMod	[UniqueID]	Adds the specified player to the moderator list, making them an admin. Allows them to use the admin menu in the pause menu and be immune to being vote-kicked. Writes the player to mods.txt.	AddMod 12345678901234567	"AddMod": true, "UniqueID": "12345678901234567",
Ban	[UniqueID]	Kicks and permanently bans the specified player from the server. They will not be able to join the server anymore. Writes the player to blacklist.txt.	Ban 12345678901234567	"Ban": true, "UniqueID": "12345678901234567",
Banlist	none	Lists the currently banned player UniqueIDs from blacklist.txt.	Banlist	"BanList": [ "12345678901234567", "12345678901234568", ...truncated... "12345678901234569" ],
ClearEmptyVehicles	none	Removes all vehicles that are not occupied by a player.	ClearEmptyVehicles
Disconnect	none	Forces the server to closes the RCON connection.	Disconnect	Goodbye
EnableCompMode	[True/False]	Enables or disables competitive mode. Comment: Comp mode will be changed on map rotation, this updates the config value Writes to bCompetitive in Game.ini.	EnableCompMode true	"CompModeState": true, "EnableCompMode": true,
EnableVerboseLogging	[True/False]	Enables or disables verbose logging. Writes to bVerboseLogging in Game.ini.	EnableVerboseLogging false	"VerboseLoggingState": false, "EnableVerboseLogging": true,
EnableWhitelist	[True/False]	Enables or disables whitelist usage. When enabled, only players who are listed in whitelist.txt can join the server. Writes to bWhitelist in Game.ini.		"WhitelistState": true, "EnableWhitelist": true,
Gag	[UniqueID] [True/False]	Gags or ungags the specified player. When gagged, players can not use voice chat.		"Gag": true, "UniqueID": "12345678901234567",
GiveAll	[TeamID] [ItemID]	Gives an item to all players on a team. The GiveItem RCON command description elaborates on how items are placed onto the body of the player.		Missing data, please rectify.
GiveCash	[UniqueID] [CashAmount]	Gives the specified amount of cash to the specified player.	GiveCash 12345678901234567 200	"GiveCash": true, "UniqueID": "12345678901234567",
GiveItem	[UniqueID] [ItemID]	Equippes the specified item to the specified player to the corresponding item slot. Primary guns are placed into the players main hand, replacing the held gun, which will drop. Secondary guns are placed onto the players hip, replacing the holstered gun, which will drop. Utilities will be placed onto the players chest slots until all slots are full, which will cause given items to be dropped instead.	GiveItem 12345678901234567 syringe	"GiveItem": true, "UniqueID": "12345678901234567",
GiveTeamCash	[TeamID] [CashAmount]	Adds the specified amount of cash to each member of the specified team.	GiveTeamCash 0 200	"GiveTeamCash": true, "TeamID": "0",
InspectAll	none	Returns a list of InspectPlayer blocks for all players on the server.	InspectAll	"InspectList": [ { "PlayerName": "Username", "UniqueId": "12345678901234567", "KDA": "3/1/2", "Score": "50", "Dead": false, "Cash": "3450", "TeamId": "1", "Ping": 39.857143402099609, "Gag": false }, ...truncated... ],
InspectPlayer	[UniqueID]	Returns a detailed status for the specified player. The player must be listed in RefreshList.	InspectPlayer 12345678901234567	"PlayerInfo": { "PlayerInfo": { "PlayerName": "Username", "UniqueId": "12345678901234567", "KDA": "3/1/2", "Score": "50", "Dead": false, "Cash": "3450", "TeamId": "1", "Ping": 39.857143402099609, "Gag": false },
InspectTeam	[TeamID]	Returns a list of InspectPlayer blocks for all player on the specified team.	InspectTeam 1	"InspectList": [ { "PlayerName": "Username", "UniqueId": "12345678901234567", "KDA": "3/1/2", "Score": "50", "Dead": false, "Cash": "3450", "TeamId": "1", "Ping": 39.857143402099609, "Gag": false }, ...truncated... ],
ItemList	none	Lists all items in the game and the current map. Custom items built into the map will be listed.	ItemList	"ItemList": [   "1911",   "57",   "acog",   "adrenaline",   ...truncated...   "ww2knife",   "ww2medkit",   "ww2painkillers",   "ww2syringe" ],
Kick	[UniqueID]	Kicks the specified player from the server.	Kick 12345678901234567	"UniqueID": "12345678901234567", "Kick": true,
Kill	[UniqueID]	Kills the specified player.	Kill 12345678901234567	"UniqueID": "12345678901234567", "Kill": true,
MapList	none	Returns the current map rotation from Game.ini.	MapList	"MapList": [ { "MapId": "UGC2863450", "GameMode": "SND" }, ...truncated... { "MapId": "sand", "GameMode": "snd" } ],
ModeratorList	none	Returns a list of UniqueIDs of all moderators from mods.txt.	ModeratorList	"ModeratorList": [ "12345678901234567", ...truncated... "12345678901234568" ],
RefreshList	none	Returns a list of all connected player names and their corresponding UniqueIDs.	RefreshList	"PlayerList": [ { "Username": "Username", "UniqueId": "12345678901234567" }, ...truncated... { "Username": "Username2", "UniqueId": "12345678901234568" } ],
RemoveMapRotation	[MapName/ID] [GameMode]	Removes the first occurrence of the specified map and game mode combination from the map rotation. [MapName/ID] and [GameMode] are case sensitive to the entries in Game.ini or MapList respectively. Writes the change to Game.ini.	RemoveMapRotation sand snd
RemoveMod	[UniqueID]	Removes the specified player from the moderator list. Writes the change to mods.txt.	RemoveMod 12345678901234567	"RemoveMod": true, "UniqueID": "12345678901234567",
ResetSND	none	Reset the currently running SND match. All players will have starting cash, no kills, deaths, assists or score. All players are killed. The score is reset to 0 all.	ResetSND	"ResetSND": true,
PauseMatch	[Optional Amount]	Pauses the currently running match for the specified amount of seconds. The game is frozen and displays a "Game is paused" countdown timer. The game is unpaused when amount is not specified or 0. Unpausing starts a countdown timer at 15 seconds before unpausing. Minimum: 0 Maximum: 3600	PauseMatch 60	"PauseTime": 60, "PauseMatch": true,
RotateMap	none	Immediately changes the current map to the next map in the map rotation. If the current map was changed to using SwitchMap, the next map will be the one after the previously switched map instead of the immediate map after the current one.	RotateMap	"RotateMap": true,
ServerInfo	none	Returns server information such as server name, player count, current map and mode, and more.	ServerInfo	"ServerInfo": { "MapLabel": "datacenter", "GameMode": "snd", "ServerName": "Server name", "Teams": true, "Team0Score": "4", "Team1Score": "1", "Round": "6", "RoundState": "Started", "PlayerCount": "8/10" },
SetBalanceTableURL	[GithubURL]	Sets the balance table to load from the specified URL. The URL has the format user/repo/branch and must contain a BalancingTable.csv. For example, the official balancing table has the URL vankruptgames/BalancingTable/Beta_5.1. Full URLs (eg. http://...) do not work. The balance table contains the values for the prices in the buy wheel, how much money is gained from which actions and how much damage is dealt by each weapon including damage falloff and more. Writes to BalanceTableURL in Game.ini.	SetBalanceTableURL vankruptgames/BalancingTable/Beta_5.1	"GithubURL": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/vankruptgames/BalancingTable/Beta_5.1", "SetBalanceTableURL": true,
SetCash	[UniqueID] [CashAmount]	Sets the cash of the specified player to the specified amount. Minimum: 0 Maximum: 16000	SetCash 12345678901234567 1000	"SetCash": true, "UniqueID": "12345678901234567",
SetLimitedAmmoType	[AmmoType]	Sets the ammo limitation type. 0 for unlimited, 1 for limited generic, 2 for limited specific, 3 for custom, 4 for limited special, 5 for boxless. See Limited Ammo Types for details. Writes to LimitedAmmoType in Game.ini.	SetLimitedAmmoType 0	"SetLimitedAmmoType": true, "LimitedAmmoType": "0",
SetMaxPlayers	[Amount]	Sets the amount of slots on the server to the specified amount. Minimum: 1 Maximum: 24 (PCVR), 10 (Shack) Writes to MaxPlayers in Game.ini.	SetMaxPlayers 10	"SetMaxPlayers": true, "MaxPlayers": 10,
SetPin	[Optional PinNumber]	Sets the server pin to the specified pin number. Supplying a pin number locks the server so that player have to enter a pin to join. Not supplying a pin number unlocks the server so that players do not have to enter a pin. PinNumber can be any whole number between 1 and 9999 and may not contain leading zeroes such as 0001 which would get trimmed to 1. Setting the pin to 0 or 0000 does not remove the pin but sets it to 0. Writes to Password in Game.ini.	SetPin 69
SetPlayerSkin	[UniqueID] [SkinID]	Sets the player skin of the specified player to the specified skin. The skin is automatically removed if the player leaves the server, switches teams or upon map change.	SetPlayerSkin 12345678901234567 kevin	"SetPlayerSkin": true, "UniqueID": "12345678901234567",
SetTimeLimit	[Amount]	Sets the time limit of the current match to the specified amount in seconds. The match will end once the time limit has counted down to 0.		Missing data, please rectify.
ShowNametags	[True/False]	Enables or disables name tags above friendly players.	ShowNametags true	"NametagsEnabled": true, "ShowNametags": true,
ShutdownServer	none	Immediately shuts down the server.	ShutdownServer
Slap	[UniqueID] [Amount]	Deals the specified amount of damage to the specified player. Can be lethal if the amount exceeds the current health of the player. The damage is dealt directly to health and ignores armor.	Slap 12345678901234567	"UniqueID": "12345678901234567",
SwitchMap	[MapID] [GameMode]	Immediately switches to the specified map and game mode. TDM is automatically selected if no game mode has been specified.	SwitchMap datacenter snd	"SwitchMap": true,
SwitchTeam	[UniqueID] [TeamID]	Kills and moves the specified player into the specified team. It will be as if the player has just joined (that team) or if they switched themselves, losing all money, kills, deaths, assists, score and gear.	SwitchTeam 12345678901234567 1	"SwitchTeam": true, "UniqueID": "12345678901234567",
Teleport	[Source UniqueID] [Target UniqueID]	Teleports the specified source player to the position of the specified target player. Only works when both the source player and the target player are alive.	Teleport 12345678901234567 12345678901234568	"MoveUniqueID": "12345678901234567", "ToUniqueID": "12345678901234568", "Teleport": true,
TTTAlwaysEnableSkinMenu	[True/False]	Trouble in Terrorist Town: Enables or disables the skin menu mid-round.
TTTEndRound	[TeamID]	Trouble in Terrorist Town: Ends the round.
TTTFlushKarma	none	Trouble in Terrorist Town: Resets the karma of all players to 1200.
TTTGiveCredits	[UniqueID] [Amount]	Trouble in Terrorist Town: Adds the specified amount of TTT credits to the specified player.
TTTPauseTimer	[True/False]	Trouble in Terrorist Town: Pauses the timer.
TTTSetKarma	[UniqueID] [Amount]	Trouble in Terrorist Town: Sets the karma of the specified player to the specified amount.
TTTSetRole	[UniqueID] [RoleID]	Trouble in Terrorist Town: Sets the TTT role of the specified player to the specified role.
Unban	[UniqueID]	Unbans the specified player so that they can join again. Writes the change to blacklist.txt.	Unban 12345678901234567	"Unban": true, "UniqueID": "12345678901234567",
UpdateServerName	[Name]	Changes the server name to the specified name. Writes to ServerName in Game.ini.	UpdateServerName My server name	"ServerName": "My server name", "UpdateServerName": true,
UGCAddMod	[UGCModID]	Adds the mods to the server.	UGCAddMod UGC3267926	Missing data, please rectify.
UGCClearModList		Removes all mods from the server.	UGCClearModList	Missing data, please rectify.
UGCModList		Lists all mods currently on the server.	UGCModList	Missing data, please rectify.
UGCRemoveMod	[UGCModID]	Removes specified mod from the server.	UGCRemoveMod UGC3267926	Missing data, please rectify.

---

Connecting to RCON

RCON uses a simple UTF-8 TCP text stream allowing for a multitude of ways to connect.

Authentication

After connecting to RCON, the first message sent is by the server requesting the RCON password to be transmitted.

For this, the server sends a 10 byte message "Password: " (including the trailing space) to the client.

The client is expected to reply with the password as lowercase hex representation of the MD5 checksum of the password.

No line feed or carriage return character must be transmitted as part of the password.

If the password is correct, the server will reply with Authenticated=1\r\n or if the password was incorrect, the reply will be Authenticated=0\r\n.

Example

Authentication using the password "hello test".

> Password: 
< 7a6d667ea5ed4467c017b2ed6ea07e78
> Authenticated=1\r\n

Sending commands and receiving replies

Any data sent to the server and terminated by a line feed character will be interpreted as a command and executed.

This is followed by the server sending the corresponding command response in JSON format with new lines being indicated by a line feed character

The response is terminated with a carriage return and line feed.

Example

Executing the command ServerInfo.

< ServerInfo\n
> {\n\t"Command": "ServerInfo",\n\t"ServerInfo":\n\t{\n\t\t"MapLabel": "UGC2863450",\n\t\t"GameMode": "SND",\n\t\t"ServerName": "Server name",\n\t\t"Teams": true,\n\t\t"Team0Score": "0",\n\t\t"Team1Score": "3",\n\t\t"Round": "3",\n\t\t"RoundState": "Ended",\n\t\t"PlayerCount": "0/10"\n\t},\n\t"Successful": true\n}\r\n

Tools for connecting to RCON

Third party hosted tools

The easiest way to access RCON is to use a third party hosted tool. These are websites that take the RCON connection information and provide an RCON web interface.

Warning: These tools may not be open source and can steal RCON passwords! Because they are hosted by third parties, it is impossible to verify that they do not.

• PavlovRCON.com: A web-based RCON client
• Horde Bot: Discord bot specific to Horde servers

Third party local tools

These are programs that are downloaded and ran locally to provide an RCON interface.

Warning: If a tool is not open source it is not easily possible to verify that it does not steal RCON passwords. It is recommended to only use open source tools that can be verified.

• pavlov_rcon_tcl: Python based UI which is designed to be usable from within VR. Standalone executable. Requires editing of configuration files.
• pavlov-vr-rcon: node.js based web UI which is designed to be usable from within VR. Requires node.js.

Third party self hosted tools

These are services that need to be self hosted.

Warning: If a tool is not open source it is not easily possible to verify that it does not steal RCON passwords. It is recommended to only use open source tools that can be verified.

• PavlovRconWebserver: Feature-rich all-in-one hosting solution.
• PPSC: Pterodactyl-based feature-rich server management software. Requires the servers to run through Pterodactyl.
• pavlov-bot: A bot that allows for using RCON through Discord.

Direct connect

Since the RCON protocol is plain text TCP, direct connection terminals can be used to connect to RCON.

Netcat

nc ip-or-domain.com port

Example

❯ nc myserver.com 9101
Password: 7a6d667ea5ed4467c017b2ed6ea07e78
Authenticated=1
ServerInfo
{
        "Command": "ServerInfo",
        "ServerInfo":
        {
                "MapLabel": "sand",
                "GameMode": "snd",
                "ServerName": "My server",
                "Teams": true,
                "Team0Score": "0",
                "Team1Score": "2",
                "Round": "2",
                "RoundState": "Started",
                "PlayerCount": "0/10"
        },
        "Successful": true
}
Disconnect
Goodbye

Telnet

Telnet seems to prematurely flush the buffer when entering the password, causing authentication to fail.

Libraries

These are libraries for developers to interface with RCON.

• PavlovVR-Rcon: .net 7 library written in C#
• rcon: Python library
• async-pavlov: Asynchronous python library

Tips on developing apps to use RCON

It should be avoided to open a new connection for each command. It may cause performance issues.

It should be avoided to send multiple commands directly one after the other without a delay of 100ms. It may cause commands to be dropped.

Commands are not executed during a map change.