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Change the page players see while joining by setting the sv_loadingurl console variable to a publicly reachable web page. Put sv_loadingurl "https://example.com/loading.html" in garrysmod/cfg/autoexec.cfg, or add +sv_loadingurl "https://example.com/loading.html" to the dedicated-server startup command. Restart the server and join again to test it.
What sv_loadingurl changes
sv_loadingurl selects the visual web page displayed in the client while a player joins your Garry’s Mod server. It does not host, package, or download your server’s addons, maps, materials, models, or sounds. Those files use separate content-delivery systems.
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Facepunch’s Garry’s Mod Wiki gives the setting a simple definition: “To specify which website is shown, set the sv_loadingurl convar.” The URL should point to the actual loading document, such as loading.html, rather than relying on an unknown directory redirect.
Before you change the setting
Create the loading page
Prepare the HTML, CSS, images, and JavaScript you want players to see during connection. The page must be available from a web server; it is not uploaded into the Garry’s Mod server configuration itself.
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Make the page publicly reachable
Copy the complete URL that players’ clients will request, for example:
https://example.com/loading.htmlTest that address in a normal browser from outside your server’s private network. Confirm that it returns the page itself, not a login screen, a directory listing, or an unexpected redirect. The official documentation explains how to configure the URL but does not promise that every modern browser feature, TLS configuration, or web stack will render identically in every Garry’s Mod client.
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Decide where your server configuration is maintained
A manually managed dedicated server normally uses garrysmod/cfg/autoexec.cfg or the startup command. A control panel or wrapper may generate another configuration file and overwrite files you edit. Identify the command or generated file that the running process actually uses before troubleshooting.
Method 1: Set the URL in autoexec.cfg
This is the canonical file-based method for a standard Garry’s Mod server.
- Stop the server or ensure no configuration process will overwrite your changes while you edit.
- Open the server’s
garrysmod/cfg/autoexec.cfgfile. Create the file if your installation does not already have one. - Add one line containing the quoted URL:
sv_loadingurl "https://example.com/loading.html"- Save the file using plain text. Keep the URL inside quotation marks, especially if you later add query parameters.
- Restart the dedicated server so the convar is read during startup.
- Join the server and watch the connection screen. The configured page should appear while the client loads.
If the old page still appears, inspect the active startup command and generated configuration before changing the HTML. The most common cause is editing a file that the running instance does not execute.
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Method 2: Set the URL on the startup command
You can apply the same convar when launching the dedicated server by prefixing it with a plus sign:
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+sv_loadingurl "https://example.com/loading.html"Add that argument to the command or launch configuration that starts your Garry’s Mod server. Preserve the quotation marks around the URL. Restart the process after saving the command, then connect as a player to verify the result.
This method is useful when your service starts from a script, container definition, or panel command that is easier to edit than the game files. Do not assume that changing autoexec.cfg will override a wrapper-generated command; inspect the final command line used by the running server.
Which configuration location should you use?
| Location | What it does | Best fit | Main operational risk |
|---|---|---|---|
garrysmod/cfg/autoexec.cfg |
Loads the convar from the standard Garry’s Mod configuration directory. | Self-managed dedicated servers. | A panel, script, or wrapper may replace or ignore the file. |
| Dedicated-server startup command | Passes +sv_loadingurl when the process starts. |
Servers launched by scripts, containers, or command-based panels. | The panel may regenerate the command or apply another value. |
| Hosting-wrapper configuration | Provides the value through the wrapper’s own generated configuration. | Managed installations that do not execute your base files directly. | Wrapper precedence is implementation-specific; the generated file can override other settings. |
LinuxGSM, for example, documents a gmodserver.cfg file for its wrapper and states that this file overrides other files. That is wrapper-specific behavior, not a replacement for Garry’s Mod’s canonical autoexec.cfg approach. Use the configuration location documented by the software that actually launches your instance.
Pass the player and map into the URL
The official loading-screen documentation supports two substitutions in the URL:
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%sis replaced with the joining player’s 64-bit Steam community ID.%mis replaced with the current map name.
For example:
sv_loadingurl "https://example.com/loading?SteamId=%s&Map=%m"When a player joins, the client requests the resulting address with that player’s identifier and the map currently being loaded. A page can use those values to select player-specific or map-specific content on the web server.
Treat the Steam ID as request data rather than as a secret. Query strings can appear in web-server access logs and monitoring systems. If your page records requests, decide how long that information should be retained and avoid exposing more account information than the page needs.
Callbacks available to the loading page
A loading page can define JavaScript callbacks that Garry’s Mod invokes as the connection progresses. The documented callback names include:
GameDetailsSetFilesTotalDownloadingFileSetStatusChangedSetFilesNeeded
GameDetails data
The official documentation describes GameDetails as receiving the server name, loading URL, map, maximum player count, Steam ID, gamemode, volume, and language. A page can use those arguments to populate labels or choose an appropriate visual state, provided its script handles missing or unexpected values gracefully.
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The file and status callbacks allow a page to react to total files, files still needed, individual download activity, and status changes. They update the presentation only; they do not change how the server distributes addon files. Keep the page usable when a callback is not fired, because a connection may not follow the same path for every player or content state.
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sv_loadingurl is not FastDL
A loading URL controls the page shown during connection. Asset delivery controls whether the client actually receives the files required to render the server correctly. Changing one does not configure the other.
| System | Purpose | Configuration and requirements | Important limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loading URL | Displays a remote visual loading page. | Set sv_loadingurl in autoexec.cfg, the startup command, or the active wrapper configuration. Host the page publicly. |
Does not deliver addons or other game files. |
| WorkshopDL | Downloads Workshop content. | Publish the content to Steam Workshop and use resource.AddWorkshop as appropriate. |
Requires the content to be available through the Workshop workflow. |
| FastDL | Downloads marked files from a separate web server. | Configure sv_downloadurl and mirror the required files on the download server. |
The client first tries a .bz2 file and then the regular file; it is separate from the visual loading page. |
| ServerDL | Uses Source networking to send files directly from the game server. | Enable sv_allowdownload 1. |
The documentation describes it as obsolete and limited to 64 KB/s. |
If players see your custom page but still have missing textures, models, sounds, or maps, configure WorkshopDL or FastDL separately. Replacing the loading page cannot repair an incomplete content setup.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Troubleshoot a missing, black, or unchanged loading screen
The old page or default screen still appears
- Check the spelling of
sv_loadingurland confirm the line is not commented out. - Verify that the edit was made in the active
autoexec.cfg, not a similarly named file for another server instance. - Confirm that the server was fully restarted after the change.
- Inspect the startup command for another
+sv_loadingurlvalue. - If a panel or wrapper is involved, inspect its generated command and configuration. A wrapper file can override the base file.
The page is blank or unavailable
- Open the exact URL in a normal browser from an unrelated network.
- Confirm that the host is publicly reachable and that the path points to the page file.
- Check whether the address redirects to a directory, login page, or error response.
- Temporarily test a minimal page containing only simple HTML. This separates a URL or reachability problem from a script or asset problem.
- Review the page’s referenced images, stylesheets, and scripts. A reachable HTML document can still appear empty if its required assets are unavailable.
There is no universal guarantee in the official documentation that every current web feature or TLS configuration will render identically inside every Garry’s Mod client. If a page works in a desktop browser but not in the game, simplify the document and its dependencies rather than assuming the server convar is wrong.
The URL contains substitutions but the page receives unexpected values
- Use the documented tokens exactly as
%sand%m; do not replace them with invented variable names. - Test with a static URL first, then add one substitution at a time.
- Log the received query parameters on your web server while testing, but avoid publishing player identifiers in the page.
- Remember that the map value changes as the server changes maps, so a page should tolerate names it has not seen before.
Players see missing textures or models
Leave sv_loadingurl unchanged and configure content delivery. Use WorkshopDL for Workshop content, FastDL for files hosted on a separate download server, or the documented ServerDL setting only when its limitations are acceptable. The loading page is not an alternative download channel.
You tried a local file URL
The official documentation lists asset://garrysmod/html/loading.html, but explains that it loads from the client’s own machine and is “nearly useless.” It is therefore unsuitable for a real public server where every player needs the same page. Use a remotely hosted URL instead.
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Verify the change with a repeatable checklist
- The URL opens directly in a normal browser.
- The page address is the exact page you intend to display, including the path and file name.
- The setting appears in the active
autoexec.cfg, startup command, or wrapper configuration. - The server has been restarted since the setting changed.
- A test player can join and see the page.
- If using
%sor%m, the web server receives the expected Steam ID and map values. - WorkshopDL, FastDL, or another appropriate delivery method is configured independently for required server files.
- After a panel update or server restart, the setting remains present rather than being regenerated away.
Practical configuration examples
Static page in autoexec.cfg
sv_loadingurl "https://example.com/loading.html"Every joining player receives the same page address.
Player- and map-aware page in autoexec.cfg
sv_loadingurl "https://example.com/loading?SteamId=%s&Map=%m"The server uses one template URL while Garry’s Mod supplies the player and map values for each connection.
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+sv_loadingurl "https://example.com/loading.html"Use this form in the command that launches the dedicated server, then verify that your panel or wrapper does not append a conflicting value.
What to remember
Use sv_loadingurl for the visual joining page, configure it in the active startup path, and restart before testing. Use %s and %m only when the page needs player or map context. Keep WorkshopDL, FastDL, and ServerDL configuration separate because those systems deliver files rather than select the loading screen. When a change does not stick, investigate the generated command or wrapper precedence before rebuilding the page.
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