Starting, Stopping, & Restarting

Overview

GamePanelX V3 provides two core scripts for managing server lifecycle:

Restart - Starts or restarts a server
Stop - Stops a running server

Both scripts use GNU Screen for console access and support advanced features like CPU pinning and process monitoring.

Restarting Servers

The Restart script is located at ~/_SERVERS/scripts/Restart and handles both starting and restarting servers.

Basic Usage

./Restart -u user123 -i 192.168.10.10 -p 27015 \
  -w orangebox \
  -o './srcds_run -game cstrike +ip 192.168.10.10 -port 27015 +map de_dust2 +maxplayers 12'

Command-Line Parameters

-u

string

required

UsernameClient’s GPX username for the server account.

-i

string

required

IP AddressServer IP address (e.g., 192.168.10.10).

-p

string

required

PortServer port number (e.g., 27015).

-o

string

required

Command LineComplete command-line to execute. Must be provided in quotes if it contains spaces.Example: './srcds_run -game cstrike +ip 192.168.10.10 -port 27015 +map de_dust2'

-P

string

PID FileServer PID filename (optional). Use local paths only, such as some/dir/run.pid, not absolute paths.

-w

string

Working DirectoryServer working directory to CD into before startup. Use local paths only (relative to server directory).

-s

string

Unsuspend ServerSet to yes to unsuspend a suspended server before starting.

-c

string

Taskset CPUCPU number/core to pin the server process to using taskset (optional).Example: -c 0 pins to CPU core 0, -c 0-3 pins to cores 0 through 3.

-l

string

GPX LoggingEnable GPX logging features (internal use).

Restart Process Flow

Validation

Validates required parameters and checks if the server directory exists at ~/accounts/{username}/{ip}.{port}.

Unsuspend (Optional)

If -s yes is specified and a suspended directory exists at ~/accounts/{username}/.{ip}.{port}, it’s moved back to the active location.

Stop Running Server

If a server is currently running (checked via .gpxpid file), calls the Stop script to terminate it cleanly.

Change Directory

Changes to the working directory if -w is specified, otherwise uses the server root directory.

Start Server

Launches the server using GNU Screen (if available) or as a background process:With GNU Screen:

screen -d -m -S "{ip}.{port}" {command_line}

Without GNU Screen:

{command_line} 2>&1 > .gpxsrv.log &

PID Tracking

Saves the process ID to .gpxpid and optionally copies the server’s own PID file if -P is specified.

Monitoring Loop

Forks a monitoring loop that checks every 3 seconds if the server has crashed and automatically restarts it.

Stopping Servers

The Stop script is located at ~/_SERVERS/scripts/Stop and handles graceful server shutdown.

Basic Usage

./Stop -u user123 -i 192.168.10.10 -p 27015

Command-Line Parameters

-u

string

required

UsernameClient’s GPX username for the server account.

-i

string

required

IP AddressServer IP address.

-p

string

required

PortServer port number.

-s

string

Suspend ServerSet to yes to suspend the server (moves directory to hidden location) instead of just stopping it.

-r

string

Restart PIDPID of the “Restart” script (internal use). Used when Restart calls Stop to avoid killing itself.

-w

string

Working DirectoryServer working directory (internal use).

-P

string

Server PID FilePath to the server’s own PID file, if it maintains one.

-d

string

Debug ModeEnable debug output for troubleshooting.

Stop Process Flow

Validation

Validates required parameters and checks if the server directory exists.

Kill Restart Script

Terminates the monitoring loop from the Restart script (if running) by reading .gpxrespid.

Kill GNU Screen

If the server is running in GNU Screen, quits the screen session:

screen -d -S "{ip}.{port}" -X quit

Kill Server Processes

Terminates all server processes by:

Killing the main PID from .gpxpid
Killing child processes
Killing any processes matching the IP and port (fallback)

Kill Update Processes

If an update is in progress (.gpxupdatepid exists), terminates all update-related processes.

Clean Up PID Files

Removes .gpxpid, .gpxrespid, and .gpxscreen.pid files.

Suspend (Optional)

If -s yes is specified, moves the server directory to a hidden location:

mv ~/accounts/{username}/{ip}.{port} ~/accounts/{username}/.{ip}.{port}

Process Tracking

GamePanelX uses several PID files to track running processes:

File	Purpose
`.gpxpid`	Main server process ID
`.gpxrespid`	Restart script monitoring loop PID
`.gpxscreen.pid`	GNU Screen session PID
`.gpxupdatepid`	Server update process PID

GNU Screen Support

GNU Screen is highly recommended for production use. It enables:

Interactive console access
Server output viewing
Command injection to running servers

The Restart script automatically detects and uses GNU Screen if available. It searches for screen in:

/usr/bin/screen
/usr/sbin/screen
/sbin/screen
/usr/local/bin/screen
/usr/local/sbin/screen

If GNU Screen is not found, the script will still start servers but console access will be limited. Output is redirected to .gpxsrv.log.

Accessing Server Console

To attach to a running server’s console:

screen -r {ip}.{port}

To detach without stopping the server:

Ctrl+A, then D

CPU Pinning with Taskset

Pin a server to specific CPU cores for performance optimization:

./Restart -u user123 -i 192.168.10.10 -p 27015 \
  -c 0-3 \
  -o './srcds_run -game cstrike +ip 192.168.10.10 -port 27015'

This pins the server to CPU cores 0 through 3.

The taskset command must be available on the system. The script will exit with an error if taskset is specified but not installed.

Automatic Restart on Crash

The Restart script includes built-in crash detection and automatic recovery:

After starting a server, the script forks a monitoring loop
The loop checks every 3 seconds if the server process is still running
If the server crashes, it’s automatically restarted with the same parameters
This continues until the Stop script is called

The monitoring loop PID is saved to .gpxrespid.

Examples

# Start a Counter-Strike: Source server
./Restart -u player1 -i 192.168.1.100 -p 27015 \
  -w orangebox \
  -o './srcds_run -game cstrike -ip 192.168.1.100 -port 27015 +map de_dust2'

Suspending Servers

Suspension allows you to temporarily disable a server without deleting it:

# Suspend a server
./Stop -u user123 -i 192.168.10.10 -p 27015 -s yes

This moves the directory from:

~/accounts/{username}/{ip}.{port}

To:

~/accounts/{username}/.{ip}.{port}

To unsuspend and start:

./Restart -u user123 -i 192.168.10.10 -p 27015 -s yes -o '{command}'

Error Handling

Common Issues:

Directory not found: Server directory doesn’t exist at expected location
Working directory error: Specified -w path doesn’t exist within server directory
No GNU Screen: Warning logged but server still starts (without console access)
Screen startup failure: Check command line syntax and permissions

All operations are logged to ~/logs/servers.log with timestamps and hostnames.

Best Practices

Always Use Screen: Install GNU Screen for better server management
Test Command Lines: Validate command lines manually before using in scripts
Monitor Logs: Check ~/logs/servers.log for detailed status information
Use Working Directories: Specify -w when servers need to run from subdirectories
Graceful Stops: Use the Stop script instead of killing processes manually
CPU Pinning: Use -c flag for performance-critical servers on multi-core systems

Creating Servers - Initial server creation and deployment
Updating Servers - Updating game server files
Working with Templates - Template management

Get Started

Core Features

Administration

Client Portal

Server Management

Advanced

Starting, Stopping, & Restarting

Overview

Restarting Servers

Basic Usage

Command-Line Parameters

Restart Process Flow

Stopping Servers

Basic Usage

Command-Line Parameters

Stop Process Flow

Process Tracking

GNU Screen Support

Accessing Server Console

CPU Pinning with Taskset

Automatic Restart on Crash

Examples

Suspending Servers

Error Handling

Best Practices

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get Started

Core Features

Administration

Client Portal

Server Management

Advanced

​Overview

​Restarting Servers

​Basic Usage

​Command-Line Parameters

​Restart Process Flow

​Stopping Servers

​Basic Usage

​Command-Line Parameters

​Stop Process Flow

​Process Tracking

​GNU Screen Support

​Accessing Server Console

​CPU Pinning with Taskset

​Automatic Restart on Crash

​Examples

​Suspending Servers

​Error Handling

​Best Practices

​Related Scripts

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Overview

Restarting Servers

Basic Usage

Command-Line Parameters

Restart Process Flow

Stopping Servers

Basic Usage

Command-Line Parameters

Stop Process Flow

Process Tracking

GNU Screen Support

Accessing Server Console

CPU Pinning with Taskset

Automatic Restart on Crash

Examples

Suspending Servers

Error Handling

Best Practices

Related Scripts