Guides6 min read
A Garry's Mod server, addons and all
Workshop collections, the addons that eat memory, and why a full server can feel slower than a busy one. Setup that holds up on a game night.
Garry's Mod is a sandbox in the literal sense: the server runs whatever Lua your addons contain, and the performance you get is a property of that code rather than of the game. Two servers on the same plan can behave completely differently, and the difference is the addon list.
Collections, not files
Point the server at a Workshop collection ID and let it fetch what it needs. Uploading addons by hand works right up until an update, at which point the server and every client disagree about what is installed and nobody can connect.
- One collection for the server, published, and the ID in the launch parameters.
- Keep prop-heavy addons out unless the game mode uses them; they cost memory per client.
- Anything that runs on a timer is worth reading before it goes on a public server.
When a full server feels worse than a busy one
Most game modes are fine at their intended player count and fall apart above it, because a Lua loop that runs per player is cheap at twelve and expensive at forty. If the server drags only when it fills, the addon list is the place to look before the plan is.