Working with Templates

Overview

Templates in GamePanelX V3 are compressed archives of game server files that enable rapid server deployment. The CreateTemplate script packages server directories into reusable templates.

What Are Templates?

Templates are .tar.gz archives stored in ~/templates/ containing:

Game server binaries
Configuration files
Maps and assets
Any customizations or mods

Each template is identified by a unique ID and can be used to create multiple server instances.

Creating Templates

The CreateTemplate script is located at ~/_SERVERS/scripts/CreateTemplate.

Basic Usage

./CreateTemplate -p tmp/mygame -i 23

This creates a template from ~/tmp/mygame with ID 23, resulting in ~/templates/23.tar.gz.

Command-Line Parameters

-p

string

required

File PathPath to the directory containing the server files, relative to $HOME.Example: tmp/mygame refers to ~/tmp/mygame

-i

string

required

Template IDUnique identifier for the template. Used for the output filename: {id}.tar.gz

-u

string

Callback URLURL to notify about template creation status. Receives status updates as the template is created.

-s

string

From SteamSet to yes if this template is being created from a SteamCMD download. Enables automatic cleanup of source files.

-d

string

Debug ModeEnable debug output for troubleshooting template creation.

Template Creation Process

Validation

Validates that:

Required parameters (-p, -i) are provided
Source directory exists at ~/{file_path}
Directory is not empty

Started Callback

If a callback URL is provided:

{callback_url}&do=tpl_status&status=started

Archive Creation

Creates a compressed tar archive:

cd ~/{file_path}
tar -czf ~/templates/{template_id}.tar.gz * &

The tar process ID is saved to ~/templates/.gpx_{template_id} for monitoring.

Progress Monitoring

A background loop checks every 3 seconds if the tar process has completed.

Completion Callback

When archiving finishes, sends a callback with the template size:

{callback_url}&do=tpl_status&status=complete&size={size}

Where {size} is the human-readable size (e.g., “1.2G”, “500M”).

Cleanup (Optional)

If -s yes was specified (Steam template), removes the original source directory:

rm -fr ~/{file_path}

This is safe because the template source was in ~/tmp/{template_id} from a SteamCMD download.

Template Storage

Templates are stored in a standardized location:

~/templates/
├── 1.tar.gz                    # Template ID 1
├── 2.tar.gz                    # Template ID 2
├── 23.tar.gz                   # Template ID 23
├── .gpx_1                      # Tracking file for template 1
└── .gpx_23                     # Tracking file for template 23

Tracking Files

During creation, temporary tracking files (.gpx_{id}) store the tar process PID. These files are used to monitor creation progress.

Using Templates to Create Servers

Once a template is created, use it with the CreateServer script:

./CreateServer -u user123 -i 192.168.10.10 -p 27015 -x 23

The -x 23 parameter references template ID 23 (~/templates/23.tar.gz).

See Creating Servers for detailed information on deploying servers from templates.

Creating Templates from SteamCMD

A common workflow is downloading game files via SteamCMD and creating a template:

Download Game Files

Use SteamCMD to download game server files to a temporary directory:

mkdir -p ~/tmp/23
cd ~/tmp/23
./steamcmd.sh +login anonymous \
  +force_install_dir $(pwd) \
  +app_update 232330 validate \
  +quit

Create Template

Package the downloaded files into a template:

~/scripts/CreateTemplate -p tmp/23 -i 23 -s yes

The -s yes flag ensures the temporary directory is cleaned up after template creation.

Deploy Servers

Use the new template to create servers:

~/scripts/CreateServer -u user1 -i 192.168.1.10 -p 27015 -x 23

Template Creation Workflow

Manual File Preparation

For custom server configurations or modded servers:

Prepare Source Directory

mkdir -p ~/tmp/custom_server
# Copy/configure your server files
cp -r /source/gameserver/* ~/tmp/custom_server/

Customize Server
- Edit configuration files
- Add mods or plugins
- Set default settings
- Add custom maps

Create Template

~/scripts/CreateTemplate -p tmp/custom_server -i 42 \
  -u "https://panel.example.com/callback.php?id=42"

Verify Template
```
ls -lh ~/templates/42.tar.gz
```

From Existing Server

Create a template from a running server’s directory:

# Copy existing server to temp location
cp -r ~/accounts/user123/192.168.1.100.27015 ~/tmp/template_source

# Clean up runtime files
rm -f ~/tmp/template_source/.gpx*
rm -f ~/tmp/template_source/*.log

# Create template
~/scripts/CreateTemplate -p tmp/template_source -i 50

Status Callbacks

When a callback URL is provided with -u, the script sends HTTP requests at key stages:

Status	When Triggered	Additional Data
`started`	Template creation begins	None
`complete`	Archive creation finished	`size={human_readable_size}`
`failed`	Error occurred	None

Callback format:

{callback_url}&do=tpl_status&status={started|complete|failed}&size={size}

Example Callback URLs

https://panel.example.com/callback.php?id=23&do=tpl_status&status=started
https://panel.example.com/callback.php?id=23&do=tpl_status&status=complete&size=1.2G
https://panel.example.com/callback.php?id=23&do=tpl_status&status=failed

Logging

Template creation is logged to ~/logs/templates.log:

CreateTemplate: (2026-03-05 10:30:15) Connecting to callback URL ...
CreateTemplate: (2026-03-05 10:30:15) Beginning archive of template directory (~/tmp/mygame) ...
CreateTemplate: (2026-03-05 10:30:16) Archive of template directory started (Script PID 12345, tar PID 12346) ...
CreateTemplate: (2026-03-05 10:35:42) Archive creation completed
CreateTemplate: (2026-03-05 10:35:42) Running callback url for completed
CreateTemplate: (2026-03-05 10:35:43) Completed removal of original template files

Examples

# Create template from directory
./CreateTemplate -p tmp/csserver -i 10

Template Management

Listing Templates

# List all templates with sizes
du -sh ~/templates/*.tar.gz

Inspecting Template Contents

# View contents without extracting
tar -tzf ~/templates/23.tar.gz | less

# Extract to inspect
mkdir ~/tmp/inspect
tar -xzf ~/templates/23.tar.gz -C ~/tmp/inspect/

Deleting Templates

# Remove a template
rm ~/templates/23.tar.gz
rm ~/templates/.gpx_23  # If it exists

Template Versioning

Implement a versioning scheme for templates:

# Version 1.0
./CreateTemplate -p tmp/csserver -i 100

# Version 1.1 (after updates)
./CreateTemplate -p tmp/csserver_v1.1 -i 101

# Version 2.0 (major changes)
./CreateTemplate -p tmp/csserver_v2.0 -i 200

Error Handling

Common Issues:

Directory not found: Source directory doesn’t exist at ~/{file_path}
Empty directory: Cannot create template from empty directory
Insufficient space: Not enough disk space in ~/templates/
Permission denied: Check write permissions on ~/templates/

Validation Errors

The script exits immediately if:

CreateTemplate: Required settings were left out. Exiting.

Missing -p or -i parameters

CreateTemplate: That directory was not found (~/path/to/dir)! Exiting.

Source directory doesn’t exist

CreateTemplate: Failed: Template directory (~/path/to/dir) is empty. Exiting.

Source directory exists but contains no files

Best Practices

Unique IDs: Use meaningful, unique template IDs
Documentation: Maintain a list of templates with descriptions
Clean Source: Remove logs, PIDs, and runtime files before creating templates
Test First: Test server configurations before creating templates
Versioning: Use version numbers in template IDs for tracking
Callbacks: Implement callback URLs for web panel integration
Storage: Monitor ~/templates/ disk usage regularly
Cleanup: Remove old/unused templates to save space

Integration with Web Panels

Templates enable powerful web panel features:

Template Library: Display available templates with details
One-Click Deployment: Create servers from templates via web interface
Progress Tracking: Use callbacks to show real-time creation status
Template Updates: Re-create templates when game updates are released
Mod Packs: Create templates for popular mod configurations

Example Callback Handler (PHP)

<?php
if ($_GET['do'] === 'tpl_status') {
    $template_id = $_GET['id'];
    $status = $_GET['status'];
    $size = $_GET['size'] ?? null;
    
    // Update database
    $db->update('templates', [
        'status' => $status,
        'size' => $size,
        'updated_at' => time()
    ], ['id' => $template_id]);
    
    echo 'OK';
}
?>

Creating Servers - Deploying servers from templates
Updating Servers - Updating game files for new templates
Starting & Stopping Servers - Managing deployed servers

Get Started

Core Features

Administration

Client Portal

Server Management

Advanced

Working with Templates

Overview

What Are Templates?

Creating Templates

Basic Usage

Command-Line Parameters

Template Creation Process

Template Storage

Tracking Files

Using Templates to Create Servers

Creating Templates from SteamCMD

Template Creation Workflow

Manual File Preparation

From Existing Server

Status Callbacks

Example Callback URLs

Logging

Examples

Template Management

Listing Templates

Inspecting Template Contents

Deleting Templates

Template Versioning

Error Handling

Validation Errors

Best Practices

Integration with Web Panels

Example Callback Handler (PHP)

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get Started

Core Features

Administration

Client Portal

Server Management

Advanced

​Overview

​What Are Templates?

​Creating Templates

​Basic Usage

​Command-Line Parameters

​Template Creation Process

​Template Storage

​Tracking Files

​Using Templates to Create Servers

​Creating Templates from SteamCMD

​Template Creation Workflow

​Manual File Preparation

​From Existing Server

​Status Callbacks

​Example Callback URLs

​Logging

​Examples

​Template Management

​Listing Templates

​Inspecting Template Contents

​Deleting Templates

​Template Versioning

​Error Handling

​Validation Errors

​Best Practices

​Integration with Web Panels

​Example Callback Handler (PHP)

​Related Scripts

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Overview

What Are Templates?

Creating Templates

Basic Usage

Command-Line Parameters

Template Creation Process

Template Storage

Tracking Files

Using Templates to Create Servers

Creating Templates from SteamCMD

Template Creation Workflow

Manual File Preparation

From Existing Server

Status Callbacks

Example Callback URLs

Logging

Examples

Template Management

Listing Templates

Inspecting Template Contents

Deleting Templates

Template Versioning

Error Handling

Validation Errors

Best Practices

Integration with Web Panels

Example Callback Handler (PHP)

Related Scripts