Fix: I'm Not Getting Admin Rights (users.ini Ignored)

You added yourself to users.ini, restarted, and you still have no admin. AMX Mod X admin auth is precise about three things: the identity string, the password column, and the account flags that decide how that identity is matched. If any one is off, or if your server authenticates players by a different identity than the one you wrote down, the whole line is ignored. Here is how to diagnose it the way it actually fails.

1. Know which file and which format

Admins live in addons/amxmodx/configs/users.ini. Each line is:

"identity" "password" "access flags" "account flags"

A typical SteamID admin with full access and SteamID auth:

"STEAM_0:1:12345678" "" "abcdefghijklmnopqrstu" "ce"

The fourth column is the account flags and it decides how the identity is matched: c = match by SteamID, d = match by IP, a = no password required, e = the identity is a SteamID. Getting this column wrong is the single most common reason a correct-looking line does nothing.

2. Find your real identity string

Do not guess your SteamID. Connect to the server and, on the server console, run:

amx_who

It lists every connected player with the exact authid AMXX sees for them. Copy that string verbatim into column one. On a non-Steam server this matters enormously: whether players get a real STEAM_ ID or a pending ID depends on your setup. If you run Reunion for non-Steam clients, Reunion must be configured with a SteamIdHashSalt of at least 16 characters or it will not produce stable SteamIDs at all, and everyone shows as pending — no stable ID means SteamID admin auth cannot work.

3. Match the auth method to the flags

If amx_who shows you as STEAM_0:1:..., use SteamID auth:

"STEAM_0:1:12345678" "" "abcdefghijklmnopqrstu" "ce"

If your players do not have stable SteamIDs (a non-Steam server without proper Reunion IDs), fall back to name+password auth:

"MyAdminName" "mypassword" "abcdefghijklmnopqrstu" "a"

With name+password the admin must set the password client-side with setinfo _pw "mypassword", and you drop the e/c flags. Mixing the two — a SteamID in column one but an a account flag, or a name with ce — is a guaranteed silent failure.

4. Reload without a full restart

AMXX does not re-read users.ini on its own. After editing, run on the server console:

amx_reloadadmins

Then reconnect (the check runs at connect/putinserver). If you edited the file but never reloaded, of course nothing changed.

5. Confirm the access flags are the ones you think

The access-flags string maps to specific powers (kick, ban, slay, cvar, rcon, menu, and so on) plus u for the custom/menu access most plugins require. The letters abcdefghijklmnopqrstu grant everything. If a command "does not work" for you specifically, you may hold admin but lack the flag that command requires — check the command's required flag in that plugin's config rather than assuming your line is broken.

6. Are your admins even coming from users.ini?

AMXX can load admins from a database instead of the flat file. If admin_sql.amxx is in your plugins.ini (and admin.amxx is the file-based one), your admins are read from MySQL/SQLite, and edits to users.ini do nothing at all. Check which admin plugin is active:

amxx plugins
amx_cvar amx_mode

If admin_sql is running, add yourself to the admins table (or disable it and use the file). Turning up AMXX's logging also shows exactly why a line was rejected: set the map-config or console to a higher log level and reconnect, and the auth decision is written to addons/amxmodx/logs/.

Common errors

• Line looks perfect, still no admin — the account-flags column does not match the identity type (SteamID with a, or name with ce). Align them.
• Works on Steam, not on non-Steam — no stable SteamID. Fix Reunion's SteamIdHashSalt (16+ chars) or switch that admin to name+password.
• Changes ignored entirely — you never ran amx_reloadadmins, or you edited a users.ini in the wrong game folder.
• Some commands work, others say no access — you are an admin but missing the specific flag; not a users.ini bug.
• Everyone is admin — a stray line with an empty identity or a wildcard, or a second admin plugin. Audit the whole file.

Verification

Reconnect, then on the server console run:

amx_who

Your row should show your access flags filled in rather than empty. In-game, open the admin menu (amx_help lists what you can run) or try a low-risk command like amx_map from the admin menu. If amx_who shows the flags but a command still refuses, it is a per-command flag issue, not an auth failure — and if the flags are still empty, your identity string or account-flags column is still wrong.