ServerSwitcher

ServerSwitcher is a lightweight console launcher for Garry's Mod servers.
It allows you to quickly switch between different server setups by changing the addons folder via symlinks, and start your server with either a .bat file or direct executable command. Perfect for developers and server admins who frequently run multiple local servers.

---

Features

• Select server setup: Easily choose which server configuration to run.
• Automatic symlink management: Updates the addons folder with a symlink to the selected server’s addons. Removes any existing symlink before creating a new one.
• Watchdog mode: Restarts your server after it stops, with confirmation before restart.
• Flexible start command: Run a .bat file or directly start srcds.exe with custom arguments.
• Colorful console output: Easy-to-read, colored status messages.
• Configurable and portable: config.json stays editable even after building the .exe.

---

Warning

Administrator / Developer Mode Requirement

ServerSwitcher must be run as an Administrator or with Windows Developer Mode enabled.

Why?

• On Windows, creating symbolic links (symlinks) requires elevated privileges.
• The app creates a symlink from your global addons folder to the selected server’s addons folder.
• Without admin rights, symlink creation will fail, and the launcher cannot switch server setups properly.

Tip:

• Right-click ServerSwitcher.exe → Run as administrator
• Or enable Developer Mode in Windows Settings → Update & Security → For developers → Developer Mode (this allows creating symlinks without full admin rights).

---

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Windows 10/11
• Python 3.13+ (for building from source)
• Administrator privileges or Developer Mode enabled

Configuration (config.json)

Create a config.json in the same folder as ServerSwitcher.exe (or edit the one in the repo). Example:

{
  "gmod_addons_path": "absolut/path/to/garrysmod/addons",
  "start_exe": "absolute/path/to/srcds.exe",
  "start_args": [
    "-console",
    "-game garrysmod",
    "+map gm_flatgrass",
    "+maxplayers 20"
  ],
  "servers": {
    "StarwarsRP": {
      "addons": "absolute/path/to/catalyst/addons",
      "start_args": [
        "+gamemode starwarsrp",
        "+host_workshop_collection 3368186821"
      ]
    },
    "DarkRP": {
      "addons": "absolute/path/to/starwars/addons2",
      "start_bat": "absolute/path/to/darkrp_start.bat"
    }
  }
}

Explanation:

• gmod_addons_path: Path where the addons symlink is created.
• start_exe: Global path to srcds.exe (can be overridden per server).
• start_args: Global arguments for the executable.
• servers: Server-specific configurations.
• addons: Path to the server’s addon folder.
• start_exe / start_args: Optional, overrides global defaults.
• start_bat: Optional, path to a .bat file instead of direct exe.

Usage

1. Run ServerSwitcher.exe as Administrator or with Developer Mode enabled.
2. Select the server setup you want to run:

   What to run?

   1. StarwarsRP
   2. DarkRP
   ...

   Select server:

3. The launcher will update the addons symlink and start the server with the specified command or .bat file.

---

Building from Source

If you want to compile ServerSwitcher yourself (for example, to include your own icon or modify the script), follow these steps:

Install Python 3.13+

Download and install Python 3.13+ from python.org. Make sure to check "Add Python to PATH" during installation.

Install required packages

Open a terminal or PowerShell in your project folder and run:

python -m pip install --upgrade pip
pip install pyinstaller colorama

Build the executable

Run this command from your project folder:

python -m PyInstaller --onefile --clean --icon=icon.ico --name=ServerSwitcher switcher.py

• Output .exe will be in dist/ServerSwitcher.exe
• Keep config.json next to the .exe for editing