Squad is built around large, organised matches, and the community servers are where most of that happens. Running your own lets you set the rotation, the rules and the culture of your server, whether that is a public community server, a clan’s private training ground, or a modded server for events. Squad’s server is an Unreal Engine game controlled almost entirely by a folder of plain text .cfg files. This guide covers how the server works, what drives its load, those config files, admins, seeding, and how we set one up for you on GGHOST Cloud.
How a Squad dedicated server works
A Squad server runs the full match: every player, vehicle, deployable, projectile and objective across a large map, plus the logistics systems that make the game what it is. That makes it one of the heavier servers in the shooter genre, and the load climbs steeply as the server fills towards a full 100-player match.
Everything the server reads at startup lives in SquadGame/ServerConfig/. You edit those files from the panel’s file manager or over SFTP, then restart.
What drives CPU and memory use
We do not publish a fixed sizing table for Squad, because the load depends on how you run it. In plain terms:
- Player count is the main driver. A full server is a very different load from a seeding server with a handful of players.
- Map and layer. Large maps with lots of vehicles and deployables keep the server busier than small infantry layers.
- Mods. Workshop mods, especially large ones, add memory and CPU load.
Squad rewards a fast CPU core, because much of the simulation runs on the main game thread. Tell us your player count, rotation and any mods, and we size it with you. You pay for memory, not player slots; the player count is a setting you choose.
Server config essentials
These are the files you will work with most, all in SquadGame/ServerConfig/:
Server.cfg
The server’s identity and core rules: ServerName, MaxPlayers, a password if you want a private server, and settings such as team balance and public queue slots. It is the first file to edit.
LayerRotation.cfg
Squad rotates through layers, not just maps. A layer is a specific combination of map, game mode and faction setup, such as a particular Invasion or AAS layer on a given map. List them in the order you want them to play. If you use Squad’s map voting instead of a fixed rotation, the voting system has its own config files in the same folder; check the files your server version actually ships with, because Offworld has reworked voting over time and older guides can be out of date.
Admins.cfg
Admin access is two-step. First you define groups with a set of permissions, for example a moderator group that can kick and change maps but not ban. Then you assign players to a group by SteamID64. Keep permissions narrow and give full rights only to the people who need them.
Other files
MOTD.cfgfor the message of the day players see.Bans.cfgfor the server’s ban list.Rcon.cfgfor remote console access, used by admin tools and bots.License.cfgif you take part in Offworld’s server licensing programme.
Write your server rules into the MOTD and keep them short. Squad servers live or die on how consistently admins apply the rules, and a clear MOTD is the reference everyone points to.
Licensed and unlicensed servers
Offworld runs a server licensing programme for public community servers. Licensed servers appear as licensed in the server browser and have to follow Offworld’s rules for licensed servers. You do not need a licence to run a Squad server for your own group or community, but if you plan to grow a large public server, read Offworld’s current requirements first. If you are licensed, your key goes in License.cfg.
Seeding: getting a new server going
A Squad server with nobody on it stays empty, because players pick servers that are already busy. Communities seed their servers: a group joins during a quiet period and plays smaller layers until the population builds. Two practical tips:
- Use seeding layers. Put smaller, faster layers at the start of the day in
LayerRotation.cfg, then move to full layers once the server is busy. - Schedule a restart before your peak. A scheduled restart in the panel, timed before your seeding window, gives you a fresh server when players arrive.
Performance and fair-play tips
- Pick the region closest to your players. Ping matters for long-range gunfights. Our live regions today are Singapore and Europe (France–Germany border), with the United States (East, Central and West), the United Kingdom, India, Japan and Australia on demand.
- Restart daily. A daily restart at a quiet hour keeps a long-running server healthy and picks up updates.
- Use admin tools through RCON, not shared logins. Give helpers their own admin group and, where they need the panel, their own sub-user.
- Keep your ban list backed up. It is one of the most valuable files on a community server.
Mods, safely
Squad supports mods from the Steam Workshop, and modded servers are popular for events and unique game modes. Mods sit in the server’s SquadGame/Plugins/Mods/ folder, one folder per mod. Players who join need the same mods, which they get from the Workshop. A mod that has not been updated after a Squad patch is the usual reason a modded server will not start, so check mods first after every update, and take a backup from the panel before adding or updating them.
Backups
On GGHOST Cloud, backups run on a schedule you set and restore from the panel without opening a ticket. For Squad, the ServerConfig folder is what matters most: your rotation, admin groups, bans and MOTD. A daily backup plus a manual one before any change is a sensible routine. Moving from another host means uploading that folder over SFTP.
Getting a Squad server on GGHOST Cloud
Squad is set up on request rather than through instant checkout:
- Tell us what you need. Ask us on Discord (or open a ticket) with the game mode, layers or mods and player count you need.
- We size it and quote. We work out the memory and CPU headroom for that setup and quote a monthly price. No setup fee, no contract; billing runs through app.gghost.cloud.
- We set it up on our Pterodactyl panel, usually within a few days.
- Configure and share the address. Fill in your
ServerConfigfiles, start the server, and give players the address and port shown in the panel.
You then have the full panel at panel.gghost.cloud: live console, file manager, SFTP, scheduled tasks, sub-users and database access. You can change startup flags from the panel and restart. Every node is behind DDoS protection from our network providers, and support comes from the people who run the servers, on Discord or at hello@gghost.cloud.
The short version
Everything lives in SquadGame/ServerConfig/: identity in Server.cfg, the rotation in LayerRotation.cfg, admin groups in Admins.cfg. Plan for seeding with smaller layers, read Offworld’s rules before going for a licence, keep mods updated and back up before changes. Squad is heavy at full population, so ask us on Discord and we will size it properly.
