Plugin setup

The SourceMod plugins are what actually enforce bans, mutes, and gags in-game and report new admin actions back to the panel. This page covers the two config files every install needs, and the optional companion plugins that round out the experience.

If you’re installing for the first time, the Quickstart covers this in context. If you’ve already got the panel running and you’re rolling out the plugin to a new server, this is the page you want.

Required configs

The plugin needs two config files filled in: one to tell SourceMod how to reach the database, and one to tell SourceBans++ which server it’s running on.

databases.cfg

addons/sourcemod/configs/databases.cfg is a SourceMod-wide file that lists every database any plugin on the server can talk to. Add a sourcebans block pointing at the same database your web panel uses:

"sourcebans"
{
    "driver"        "default"
    "host"          "EDITME_DATABASE_HOST"
    "database"      "EDITME_DATABASE_NAME"
    "user"          "EDITME_DATABASE_USER"
    "pass"          "EDITME_DATABASE_PASSWORD"
    "port"          "3306"
}

Caution

The web panel offers to generate this block for you, but treat it as a starting point — review every value before pasting. The panel guesses based on its own config, which is often wrong for game servers on a different host.

If the panel and the game server live on different networks, your DB will also need to allow the game server’s IP in the user grant — see Database setup → Granting permission.

sourcebans.cfg

addons/sourcemod/configs/sourcebans/sourcebans.cfg is the per-server config. The single most important field is ServerID — the numeric ID the panel assigned when you added the server. Without a correct ServerID, bans applied from in-game won’t show up against the right server in the panel.

The rest of the file controls in-game admin menu behaviour (ban durations, default reasons, immunity flags, …). The defaults are sensible; tweak as you go.

After editing either file, reload the map or restart the game server so SourceMod re-reads the configs.

Companion plugins

A SourceBans++ release ships several .smx files. Only sbpp_main.smx is mandatory; the others are opt-in based on what you want:

Plugin	What it does	Most installs want it?
sbpp_main.smx	The core. Ban / unban, in-game admin menu, panel write-back.	Yes — required.
sbpp_comms.smx	Communication blocks (mute / gag).	Yes if you care about voice / text moderation.
sbpp_checker.smx	Re-checks every connecting client against the panel’s ban list — catches bans issued while the player was offline.	Yes — closes a real loophole.
sbpp_report.smx	In-game !report command for players.	Up to you.
sbpp_sleuth.smx	Detects alt accounts by recording IP / SteamID associations.	Useful for larger communities.
sbpp_admcfg.smx	Loads admin / group / override definitions from the panel into SourceMod. Replaces SourceMod’s stock admin-flatfile.smx and pre-1.6 sb_admcfg.smx.	Yes if you want panel-managed admins.

Drop the plugins you want into addons/sourcemod/plugins/ and remove the ones you don’t (SourceMod loads everything it finds, so an unused plugin still consumes a server slot).

Discord notifications

For a Discord-channel forwarder, install the separate sbpp/discord-forward plugin. Setup is in Discord notifications.

Verifying

After your first ban from in-game (or from the panel), check:

• addons/sourcemod/logs/sourcebans/ should grow a log entry.
• The new ban should appear in the panel’s Bans page within a few seconds.
• A subsequent connection attempt by the banned player should be rejected with the ban message.

If any of these don’t happen:

• Plugin can’t reach the database — see Driver not found.
• Database is reachable but queries fail — see Database errors.
• Panel doesn’t show the server’s player list — see Server connection issues.