---
title: "Fix: 'Server is full' Message on an Empty Server"
excerpt: "Why players get 'Server is full' when the server clearly has open slots, how reserved-slot plugins hide the last slot, the maxplayers vs sv_visiblemaxplayers mismatch, and how to confirm the real slot count."
category: "errors"
tags: "slots, reserved"
image: ""
read_time: "8 min read"
---
<p>Players report <code>Server is full</code> or are dropped with a full-server message, yet the scoreboard shows open slots — sometimes the server looks completely empty. This is almost never a real capacity problem; it is a reserved-slots plugin holding slots back, a mismatch between the advertised and actual slot count, or a hung slot that is occupied by nobody. Here is how to find which, because the symptom is identical for all three.</p><h2>1. Check the real maxplayers</h2><p>Start from ground truth: how many slots does the server actually have? In the console:</p><pre>maxplayers</pre><p>This is set at startup (the <code>-maxplayers</code> / <code>+maxplayers</code> launch value) and <strong>cannot be raised without a restart</strong>. If it reads lower than you think — someone launched with <code>maxplayers 10</code> — then the server genuinely is small and fills fast. If it reads a healthy number but players still get rejected on an apparently empty server, the cause is a plugin or a hidden-slot cvar below.</p><h2>2. Look at reserved slots</h2><p>The most common cause is a reserved-slots plugin (AMX Mod X ships <code>adminslots.amxx</code>). It keeps one or more slots free for admins by <em>kicking a non-admin</em> or <em>refusing the connection</em> when the server reaches capacity minus the reserved count. Its cvars:</p><pre>amx_reservation 1 // number of slots reserved for admins
amx_hideslots 1 // hide the reserved slots from the public count</pre><p>With <code>amx_reservation 1</code>, the last public slot is closed to non-admins — so a 12-slot server effectively fills at 11 for regular players, and the 12th shows <code>Server is full</code> to them. That is working as designed; the confusion is only if you did not know it was enabled. Lower <code>amx_reservation</code> to <code>0</code> if you do not want reserved slots, or explain the reservation.</p><h2>3. Understand sv_visiblemaxplayers</h2><p>The <code>amx_hideslots</code> feature works by lowering the advertised slot count so the reserved slots are invisible in the browser. That is done through <code>sv_visiblemaxplayers</code>:</p><pre>sv_visiblemaxplayers 11</pre><p>If this is set below your real <code>maxplayers</code>, the server browser shows fewer slots than exist — a 12-slot server advertising 11. Combined with a reservation this is intentional; set by accident, it makes the server look full or smaller than it is. Set <code>sv_visiblemaxplayers</code> to <code>-1</code> to advertise the true count, or match it to your intended public capacity.</p><h2>4. Clear a hung / ghost slot</h2><p>Occasionally a slot is occupied by a connection that never fully joined or never cleaned up — a client that crashed mid-connect, a bot slot not released. The server counts it as occupied even though no player is visible. List who the engine thinks is connected:</p><pre>status</pre><p>Compare the player count in <code>status</code> against the scoreboard. If <code>status</code> shows connections with no name or a stuck <code>connecting</code> state consuming slots, that is your phantom capacity. A map change usually clears them; if a specific slot stays wedged, restart the server. Bots also occupy real slots — a bot-filler plugin set to keep the server "full" will do exactly that and reject humans once its quota fills.</p><h2>5. Rule out a bot filler</h2><p>Plugins that add bots to make a server look populated consume real player slots. If such a plugin fills to <code>maxplayers</code>, humans get <code>Server is full</code> even though the "players" are bots. Check its quota cvar and ensure it leaves headroom, or that it kicks a bot when a human connects. This is the one case where an "empty"-looking server (only bots, easy to overlook as empty) genuinely has no room.</p><h2>Troubleshooting</h2><ul><li><strong>Full at maxplayers-minus-one for non-admins</strong> — reserved slots. Lower <code>amx_reservation</code> or accept the reservation.</li><li><strong>Browser shows fewer slots than real</strong> — <code>sv_visiblemaxplayers</code> is below <code>maxplayers</code>. Set it to <code>-1</code> or the intended count.</li><li><strong>maxplayers itself is low</strong> — the server was launched small; change the launch value and restart.</li><li><strong><code>status</code> shows stuck 'connecting' slots</strong> — ghost connections. Change map or restart to release them.</li><li><strong>Full but only bots inside</strong> — a bot filler took every slot. Adjust its quota to leave room for humans.</li><li><strong>Full message only for some players</strong> — they are non-admins hitting the reserved slot while admins get in. Expected with reservations.</li></ul><h2>Verification</h2><p>Read the three numbers that matter together: <code>maxplayers</code> (real capacity), <code>sv_visiblemaxplayers</code> (advertised), and the <code>amx_reservation</code> value. They should describe the situation you intend — for a plain 12-slot public server with no reservation, <code>maxplayers 12</code>, <code>sv_visiblemaxplayers -1</code>, <code>amx_reservation 0</code>. Then have a non-admin connect to what looks like a full-but-really-open server and confirm they get in. If they connect and the counts match your intent, the phantom-full is resolved. If it recurs only at peak, it is the reserved slot doing its job — document it so it stops looking like a bug. For advertising the server correctly to the master list, confirm <code>sv_lan 0</code> as covered in <a href="/tutorials/essential-server-cvars">the essential cvars guide</a>.</p>
