CoD4Server Admin

Call of Duty 4 RCON & Server Admin Commands: Complete Reference

Every RCON command a CoD4 1.7/1.8 server admin needs: logging in with /rcon login, kicking and banning by slot or name (and why there is no unbanClient), the GUID-based ban.txt, map rotation syntax with the full 20-map code table including the free Variety Map Pack, the six real gametype codes (TDM is "war", not "tdm"), reserved slots, server logging for B3, and what CoD4X actually adds - plus the folklore traps most guides repeat.

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A Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare dedicated server (PC, patch 1.7/1.8) speaks the classic Quake3-family RCON dialect: plain UDP datagrams to the game port, no session, no separate RCON port. Every command below works from the in-game console or any Quake3-compatible RCON tool.

Logging in

Set the password on the server, in server.cfg:

set rcon_password "your_strong_password"

The cvar is rcon_password - guides that say sv_rconPassword are quoting the engine's internal C symbol, not the console name. Setting rcon_password is what actually works.

From the in-game console:

/rcon login <password>
/rcon status

After login, prefix any server command with /rcon. Dedicated RCON tools authenticate per-packet and skip the prefix.

Player management

Run status first: it lists each player's client number (slot), GUID, ping, and IP address. Slot-based commands are immune to color codes and name tricks; name-based ones are not.

Command	Syntax	Notes
`status`	`status`	Slot, GUID, ping, IP for everyone connected.
`clientkick`	`clientkick <slot>`	Kick by client number - the reliable one.
`kick`	`kick <name>` / `kick all`	Kick by exact name (color codes must match) or everyone.
`onlykick`	`onlykick <name>`	Kick by name ignoring color codes - handy against `^1`-colored names.
`banClient`	`banClient <slot>`	Permanent ban by client number.
`banUser`	`banUser <name>`	Permanent ban by name.
`tempBanClient`	`tempBanClient <slot>`	Temporary ban (duration is server-configured).
`tempBanUser`	`tempBanUser <name>`	Temporary ban by name.
`unbanUser`	`unbanUser <name>`	Lift a ban by name.

Permanent bans write the player's GUID to ban.txt in the mod/main folder. Two traps:

There is no unbanClient. Once the player is gone, unbanUser <name> is the only command - and it removes every ban entry matching that name. If two different players were banned under the same name, edit ban.txt by hand instead.
CoD4's GUID derives from the CD key, not a Steam ID - a reinstalled pirate copy changes GUID, so persistent troublemakers are better handled with an IP-level tool (see MantaScope's enforced-by-IP bans below).

Talking to players

Command	Syntax	Notes
`say`	`say <message>`	Broadcast to all players, shown as server console chat.
`tell`	`tell <slot> <message>`	Private message one player by client number.

Maps and rotation

Command	Effect
`map <mp_code>`	Load a map immediately (ends the current game).
`map_rotate`	Advance to the next map in `sv_mapRotation`.
`map_restart`	Full reload of the current map.
`fast_restart`	Restart the round without reloading the map - much faster, keeps everyone connected.

Rotation is a single cvar listing gametype/map pairs; a gametype entry applies to every map after it until the next gametype:

set sv_mapRotation "gametype war map mp_crash map mp_backlot gametype sd map mp_strike map mp_crossfire"

sv_mapRotationCurrent holds the maps still pending in the current pass - the engine consumes it as it rotates, then refills from sv_mapRotation.

Stock map codes (all 20)

Patch 1.6 added the four Variety Map Pack maps free on PC, so a 1.7/1.8 server can rotate all twenty:

Code	Map	Code	Map
`mp_backlot`	Backlot	`mp_overgrown`	Overgrown
`mp_bloc`	Bloc	`mp_pipeline`	Pipeline
`mp_bog`	Bog	`mp_shipment`	Shipment
`mp_cargoship`	Wet Work	`mp_showdown`	Showdown
`mp_citystreets`	District	`mp_strike`	Strike
`mp_convoy`	Ambush	`mp_vacant`	Vacant
`mp_countdown`	Countdown	`mp_broadcast`	Broadcast (VMP)
`mp_crash`	Crash	`mp_carentan`	Chinatown (VMP)
`mp_crossfire`	Crossfire	`mp_creek`	Creek (VMP)
`mp_farm`	Downpour	`mp_killhouse`	Killhouse (VMP)

The names that trip everyone up: mp_convoy is Ambush (there is no mp_ambush), mp_carentan is Chinatown (a Carentan remake in name only), mp_citystreets is District, and mp_farm is Downpour.

Gametype codes

Set with set g_gametype <code> (takes effect on the next map load):

Code	Gametype
`dm`	Free-for-All
`war`	Team Deathmatch
`sab`	Sabotage
`sd`	Search and Destroy
`dom`	Domination
`koth`	Headquarters

TDM's code is war, not tdm - the stock config ships gametypes/war.cfg and rotations use gametype war. Guides listing tdm are wrong for stock CoD4; those six codes are the complete unmodded set.

Server cvars worth knowing

Cvar	Effect
`sv_hostname`	Server name in the browser list.
`g_password`	Join password (empty = public).
`sv_maxclients`	Player slots, 1-32 on a stock server.
`sv_privateClients` + `sv_privatePassword`	Reserve N slots for players joining with the private password.
`g_allowvote`	`0/1` - player vote-kick/vote-map.
`sv_voice`	`0/1` - in-game voice chat.
`sv_pure`	`1` (default) rejects clients with mismatched .iwd files.
`sv_fps`	Server frame rate, stock default `20`.
`sv_wwwDownload` + `sv_wwwBaseURL`	HTTP fast download for mods/maps - stock 1.7 features, despite often being credited to CoD4X.

PunkBuster (sv_punkbuster) is dead: EvenBalance ended CoD4 support around 2014, so enabling it today provides no real anti-cheat. Community servers rely on CoD4X or external tools instead.

Logging - the hook for admin bots

set logfile "1"
set g_logSync "1"
set g_log "games_mp.log"

games_mp.log is what external admin tools parse. B3 (BigBrotherBot) still works on today's servers via community-maintained CoD4X parser forks. Manu-Admin-Mod / GSManager, the other historically common choice, was discontinued in 2020 - fine on an existing install, but don't build a new server around it.

CoD4X and the big mods

CoD4X - the community server patch most surviving servers run. For admins it adds an in-game power-level admin system (!login, per-command power thresholds for kick/tempban/ban), anti-cheat hardening with reliable player identification, and raises the slot cap to 64 (stock tops out at 32). Fast download is not on that list - see above, it's stock.
ProMod - the competitive ruleset (weapon/perk restrictions, match modes). Match flow is driven by the promod_mode cvar, including knockout and overtime variants.
OpenWarfare - the general-purpose open-source mod extending stock gametypes and server controls.

Common mistakes

Setting sv_rconPassword - the real cvar is rcon_password; the other spelling is the engine's internal symbol and does nothing in your config.
Putting tdm in g_gametype or a rotation - the engine silently falls back; TDM is war.
kick <name> failing on colored names - match the ^1 codes exactly, use the slot with clientkick, or use onlykick.
Expecting unbanClient to exist - unban by name only, and it lifts every matching entry; edit ban.txt for surgical removals.
Rotating mp_ambush or mp_district - those map codes don't exist (mp_convoy / mp_citystreets).
Counting on PunkBuster - unsupported since ~2014; it's a placebo today.
Full map_restart between rounds - fast_restart does it in a fraction of the time without a reload.

Because CoD4 speaks the classic Quake3 RCON dialect, MantaScope's web RCON connects to your server straight from the browser - send every command on this page, watch the live player list with real pings, and kick or ban in one click - alongside population history, uptime tracking, scheduled messages, and Discord alerts. MantaScope's IP-enforced bans also cover the CD-key-GUID gap: evaders get auto-kicked on arrival even after a GUID change.