---
title: "How to Add an Admin by SteamID"
excerpt: "The reliable way to grant admin in AMX Mod X: find the player's SteamID, add a users.ini line with account flags ce, reload, and verify — plus the amx_addadmin shortcut."
category: "administration"
tags: "admin, steamid"
image: ""
read_time: "7 min read"
---
<p>SteamID is the only admin identity worth using. Names can be spoofed and IPs change, but a SteamID is bound to the account (or, on non-Steam servers, to a stable Reunion ID). This is the exact procedure to promote someone by SteamID in AMX Mod X, including the console shortcut that avoids editing files by hand.</p>

<h2>1. Get the player's SteamID</h2>
<p>With the player connected, run <code>status</code> in the server console or via RCON:</p>
<pre>rcon status</pre>
<p>Each row shows a <code>STEAM_0:x:yyyyyyy</code> authid. From inside the game an admin can also use:</p>
<pre>amx_who</pre>
<p>which prints every online player's SteamID and current flags. Copy the full ID including the <code>STEAM_0:</code> prefix and both colon-separated numbers.</p>
<p>If the player is not on the server right now, you need the ID from another source: their Steam profile URL (the friend/community ID converts to a SteamID), a previous <code>status</code> log line, or your ban/stats database. The one thing you must not do is guess — an off-by-one in the last number silently grants nothing. If <code>status</code> shows <code>STEAM_ID_PENDING</code> next to the name, the client has not finished authenticating yet; wait a few seconds and run it again before you copy anything.</p>

<h2>2. Add the line to users.ini</h2>
<p>Open <code>addons/amxmodx/configs/users.ini</code> and add one line. For a full admin:</p>
<pre>"STEAM_0:0:12345678" "" "abcdefghijklmnopqrstu" "ce"</pre>
<p>The four fields are identity, password, <a href="/tutorials/amxx-admin-flags-reference">access flags</a>, and account flags. The password is empty and the account flags are <code>ce</code>: <code>c</code> says "this is a SteamID", <code>e</code> says "no password needed". For a moderator instead of a full admin, swap the access column, e.g. <code>cdefiju</code>. The field meanings are broken down in <a href="/tutorials/users-ini-explained">users.ini explained</a>.</p>

<h2>3. Reload without changing the map</h2>
<pre>amx_reloadadmins</pre>
<p>Run it in the console or as <code>rcon amx_reloadadmins</code>. The admin list is re-read immediately and connected players are re-evaluated, so the new admin gets access on the spot — no restart, no map change.</p>

<h2>4. The shortcut: amx_addadmin</h2>
<p>You do not have to edit the file by hand. The <code>admincmd</code> plugin provides:</p>
<pre>amx_addadmin &lt;name | #userid | authid | ip&gt; &lt;access flags&gt; [password] [account flags]</pre>
<p>For a connected player you can do it by name and let AMXX resolve the SteamID:</p>
<pre>amx_addadmin "PlayerName" "abcdefghijklmnopqrstu" "" "ce"</pre>
<p>This appends the correct line to users.ini <em>and</em> reloads admins for you. It is the safest route because it writes the SteamID in the exact format AMXX expects, avoiding transcription mistakes.</p>
<p>The trade-off is that <code>amx_addadmin</code> only writes to the flat <code>users.ini</code>; if you have moved admin management into a database with <a href="/tutorials/install-amxbans">AMXBans</a>, add the admin through that system's tables instead, or the two sources will disagree. On a plain users.ini server, though, <code>amx_addadmin</code> is the command to reach for during a live session — no file editor, no path confusion, and the reload happens automatically.</p>

<h2>5. The universe-digit gotcha</h2>
<p>Since the 2023 (25th Anniversary) client update, some setups report SteamIDs with a leading <code>STEAM_1:</code> instead of <code>STEAM_0:</code>. AMXX matches the string literally, so <code>STEAM_0:0:12345678</code> and <code>STEAM_1:0:12345678</code> are treated as different admins. If the player is not recognised, copy the ID exactly as <code>status</code> prints it for <em>your</em> server, or add both variants. On non-Steam servers, <a href="/tutorials/install-reunion">Reunion</a> controls this format via its authid mode.</p>

<h2>Common errors</h2>
<ul>
<li><strong>Admin prompted for a password</strong> — you used account flags <code>c</code> without <code>e</code>. It must be <code>ce</code> for a passwordless SteamID admin.</li>
<li><strong>Nothing happens after editing</strong> — you forgot <code>amx_reloadadmins</code>, or edited a copy of users.ini in the wrong server directory. Confirm the path under <code>addons/amxmodx/configs/</code>.</li>
<li><strong>Player still shows no flags in amx_who</strong> — SteamID mismatch: wrong universe digit, or you typed the numbers slightly wrong. Re-copy from <code>status</code>.</li>
<li><strong>Works, then breaks after a client update</strong> — the leading digit changed. See the universe-digit note above and <a href="/tutorials/fix-admin-not-recognized">admin not recognised</a>.</li>
<li><strong>Non-Steam admin randomly loses access</strong> — without Reunion, non-Steam IDs are not stable. Install and configure <a href="/tutorials/install-reunion">Reunion</a> first.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Verification</h2>
<p>Have the new admin reconnect and type <code>amx_who</code> — their row must show the flag string you assigned. Then have them run one privileged command, for example <code>amx_map de_dust2</code> (needs flag <code>f</code>): success confirms the grant end to end. If <code>amx_who</code> shows them with no flags, the identity line did not match and you are back to step 1 with a corrected SteamID.</p>