How to Troubleshoot Common Problems on Your SCP: Secret Laboratory Server

If your server does not show up in the server list, players can no longer join after an update or the server keeps restarting, the cause is usually one of a few typical problems. This guide shows you the most common problems, their cause and the matching solution.

Check the console first

Almost every problem leaves traces in the server output. The console in the dashboard is the LocalAdmin console of your server: there you can see the startup output live, including all warnings and errors. The last lines before a crash are usually the important ones. How to read the output afterwards is shown in Read the server log.

Server does not appear in the server list

Symptom: Your server is running, but you cannot find it in the public server list in the game.

Cause: Only servers verified by Northwood are added to the public server list. Typical reasons why your server is missing:

• Not verified: Your server has not been verified yet. On startup, the console then reports Your server won't be visible on the public server list. If contact_email is already set, it also mentions the command !verify static.
• Set to private: A verified server was hidden from the list with !private.
• contact_email missing: The config_gameplay.txt file still contains the default value contact_email: default. The console then asks you to set contact_email and restart the server.
• online_mode disabled: If config_gameplay.txt contains online_mode: false, the console reports Server WON'T be visible on the public list due to online_mode turned off in server configuration.

Solution:

1. Check the console
   Restart your server via the dashboard and read the startup output in the console. The messages listed above tell you which cause applies to you.

2. Make the server public again
   If your server is verified but set to private, enter the following command in the console of the dashboard:

   !public
   

   Your server is then back on the list – in this case you do not need the following steps.

3. Find out the game port
   Open the dashboard of your server and note the game port shown under Overview.

4. Stop the server
   Stop your server via the dashboard.

5. Connect via SFTP
   Connect to your server via SFTP.

6. Check contact_email and online_mode
   Open the following file – replace <Port> with your game port:

   /.config/SCP Secret Laboratory/config/<Port>/config_gameplay.txt
   

   Enter a valid email address for contact_email and make sure that online_mode is set to true (default):

   contact_email: admin@example.com
   online_mode: true
   

7. Start the server
   Save the file and start your server via the dashboard.

8. Apply for verification
   If your server is not verified yet, follow the Get server verified guide. contact_email has to be set for this – otherwise the server rejects the !verify command.

Version mismatch after a game update

Symptom: After an update of SCP: Secret Laboratory, players can no longer join because the server and the game have different versions.

Cause: Either your server is still running the old version because it has not been restarted since the update, or the player's game has not been updated yet. Players also have to bring their game to the current version.

Solution:

1. Restart the server
   Restart your server via the dashboard. On every start, your server is automatically brought to the current version.

2. Check plugins
   If you use EXILED or LabAPI plugins, check in the console after the update whether all plugins were loaded. After a game update, plugins are often temporarily incompatible – see Plugins not loading.

Server crashes or restarts in a loop

Symptom: Your server crashes shortly after starting or keeps restarting without anyone being able to join.

Cause: LocalAdmin automatically restarts the server after a crash. By default, if more than 4 automatic restarts happen within 8 minutes of the first restart, LocalAdmin gives up with the message Restarts limit exceeded. Common triggers for the crashes are:

• Error in a configuration file: e.g. wrong indentation or tabs instead of spaces in a YAML file such as a plugin config (.yml). YAML only allows spaces for indentation.
• Plugins that do not match the version: After a game update, EXILED, LabAPI plugins or individual EXILED plugins can be incompatible.

Solution:

1. Check the log
   Read the last lines before the crash in the console or in the server log. They usually tell you which file or which plugin causes the error.

2. Check the last changed file
   If you changed a file shortly before the problem, check it first: Are the indentation and colons correct, and does it contain no tabs? If in doubt, undo your change.

3. Check plugins
   If an error message points to a plugin, follow the Plugins not loading guide.

Test without plugins

If you cannot find the cause, start your server without plugins as a test. If it then runs stably, the problem lies with a plugin.

1. Stop the server
   Stop your server via the dashboard.

2. Connect via SFTP
   Connect to your server via SFTP.

3. Move the plugins out
   Create a folder in the main directory of your server, e.g. plugins-test, and move the plugin DLLs from the following directories into it:

   /.config/EXILED/Plugins/
   /.config/SCP Secret Laboratory/LabAPI/plugins/global/
   /.config/SCP Secret Laboratory/LabAPI/plugins/<Port>/
   

   Replace <Port> with your game port from the Overview – LabAPI loads plugins both from global and from the folder of your game port. Only move the DLL files of the plugins, not the subfolders such as dependencies.

4. Start the server
   Start your server via the dashboard and watch the console.

5. Put the plugins back one by one
   If the server runs stably, put the plugins back one by one and restart the server after each plugin. This way you find the plugin that causes the crash.

Configuration changes have no effect

Symptom: You changed a configuration file, but nothing changes in the game.

Cause: Usually one of these three causes is behind it:

• Wrong port folder: There can be several port folders in /.config/SCP Secret Laboratory/config/. The server only reads the folder whose name matches its current game port.
• Typo in the key: A misspelled key, e.g. friendlyfire instead of friendly_fire, is a different entry for the server and has no effect.
• No restart or reload: Changes are only applied on the next start of the server. With config reload you can reload the game configuration without a restart, but some changes only take effect in the next round. config reload does not reload plugin configs of EXILED or LabAPI – they need a restart. More on this in Use console commands. A restart is always the safe way.

Solution:

1. Find out the game port
   Open the dashboard of your server and note the game port shown under Overview.

2. Stop the server
   Stop your server via the dashboard.

3. Connect via SFTP
   Connect to your server via SFTP.

4. Check the correct file
   Check whether you edited the file in the correct port folder – replace <Port> with your game port:

   /.config/SCP Secret Laboratory/config/<Port>/
   

   The same applies to plugin configs: they also depend on the game port, e.g. /.config/EXILED/Configs/Plugins/<Plugin-Name>/<Port>.yml for EXILED or /.config/SCP Secret Laboratory/LabAPI/configs/<Port>/<Plugin-Name>/ for LabAPI.

5. Compare the key
   Compare the spelling of the key you changed with the original. Only change the value after the colon and leave the key name unchanged.

6. Start the server
   Save the file and start your server via the dashboard.

"Port Not Registered" error in the console

Symptom: Your server does not appear in the server list, and the following message appears in the console or the server log:

Could not update server data on server list - [SECURITY VIOLATION] Specified port is not registered.

Cause: According to Northwood's official documentation, the error occurs when the IP address of your server is already registered or verified with the central servers of SCP: Secret Laboratory.

Solution: Contact support and provide the IP address and the game port of your server from the Overview as well as the exact error message.

Reset the configuration

If none of this helps and your configuration is so broken that you can no longer find the error, you can reset the game configuration to the default.

1. Create a backup
   Create a backup of your server.

2. Find out the game port
   Open the dashboard of your server and note the game port shown under Overview.

3. Stop the server
   Stop your server via the dashboard.

4. Connect via SFTP
   Connect to your server via SFTP.

5. Rename the port folder
   Rename the following folder, e.g. from 7777 to 7777-old – replace <Port> with your game port:

   /.config/SCP Secret Laboratory/config/<Port>/
   

   By renaming it, your old configuration is kept and you can copy individual settings from it later.

6. Start the server
   Start your server via the dashboard. On startup, the server creates the port folder again with the default files.

7. Check the result
   Check via SFTP whether the folder /.config/SCP Secret Laboratory/config/<Port>/ was created again. Then copy only the settings you really need from the renamed folder – e.g. contact_email and server_name.