Installing a Loading Screen on Your Garry's Mod Server: Step-by-Step Guide

You've got your loading screen URL ready (generated with Lumescreen or self-hosted) and all that's left is to hook it up to your Garry's Mod server. Good news: it's one line of config. This guide shows you where to put it, how to test it, and what to do when the default screen stubbornly keeps showing up.

If you haven't created your screen yet, start with our create a GMod loading screen tutorial. Once you've got the URL, come back here for the server-side setup.

What you'll need

Before touching anything, make sure you have these two things:

• Server access: either the server.cfg configuration file or the server console (RCON or direct access). Without one of the two, you won't be able to apply the command.
• A public HTTP(S) URL: the address of your loading screen, reachable from the internet (not a local address like localhost). With Lumescreen, it's typically a URL under /ls/your-server.

The key command: sv_loadingurl

It all hinges on a native Source console command: sv_loadingurl. It tells the server which web page to serve players while they download your files and addons on connect. The format is simple. The URL must be in quotes:

sv_loadingurl "https://example.com/ls/my-server"

You can place it in two spots:

• In server.cfg (recommended): the value is reloaded every time the server starts, so it's persistent. This is the method to favor for a lasting config.
• In the server console: handy for quick testing, but the value is lost on the next restart unless it's also written in the file.

Step-by-step installation

1. Get your loading screen URL and copy it exactly as is (in full, including the https://).
2. Open server.cfg: the file lives in garrysmod/cfg/server.cfg at the root of your server. Edit it with a text editor or your host's file manager.
3. Add the sv_loadingurl line with your URL in quotes, on a line of its own.
4. Save the file.
5. Restart the server so the new config is applied. A map change (changelevel) or an exec server.cfg via RCON may also be enough, depending on your host.
6. Test by connecting to the server: your screen should appear during loading.

Here's what a server.cfg looks like with a few common settings around the loading screen line:

hostname "My GMod Server | DarkRP"
sv_lan 0
rcon_password "your_rcon_password"

// Lumescreen loading screen
sv_loadingurl "https://example.com/ls/my-server"

sv_downloadurl "https://fastdl.example.com/gmod"
net_maxfilesize 64

Checking that it works

Connect to your server. If you see your custom screen while the files download, you're all set. If the default Garry's Mod loading screen shows up instead, go through the following points in order:

• Is the URL valid and public? Open it in a regular browser: it should load without errors.
• Do the quotation marks properly wrap the URL in the command?
• Was the server actually restarted (or the config reloaded) after the change?
• Does the URL start with http:// or https://?

Troubleshooting common cases

• Non-public or localhost URL: players load the page from their own machines. A local address or an unexposed port will never be reachable. Use a real public URL.
• HTTP instead of HTTPS: always go for https://. Many setups block or downgrade insecure content.
• Client cache: a player who already saw the old screen may still be getting a cached copy. This one fooled me for a good ten minutes once. Ask them to reconnect, or just test from another machine.
• Wrong server.cfg path: make sure you're editing garrysmod/cfg/server.cfg and not an example file or a different profile.
• Host that locks sv_loadingurl: some control panels (shared hosting in particular) force their own screen. Look for a dedicated field in the panel, or contact support.
• Page too heavy: an overloaded page can render poorly in GMod's engine. Keep your screen lightweight — which is exactly what Lumescreen optimizes for you.

What's next?

Once the screen is hooked up, you can take it further: customize your loading screen (colors, music, staff, rules) so it fits your community, or build a different screen per gamemode if you run several DarkRP, Sandbox, or other servers.

So it's one line in server.cfg and a restart, then you check it in-game. If you just want the fastest route to a ready-to-paste URL, take a look at our plans: you configure your screen in a few minutes and have nothing to host.