How to host a Call of Duty 4 dedicated server

Call of Duty 4 has the largest surviving player base of the classic CoD servers, and almost all of it runs on CoD4X rather than the original Activision binary. If you are setting up a public server in 2026, install CoD4X and stop thinking about PunkBuster.

Stock 1.7 or CoD4X?

Get CoD4X from cod4x.me. The rest of this guide assumes CoD4X but notes where stock 1.7 differs.

Both the 1.7 and 1.6 patches are on the war24.net downloads page if you need the original files.

What you need

Directory layout

/opt/cod4/
├── cod4x18_dedrun
├── main/
│   ├── iw_00.iwd … iw_NN.iwd
│   ├── localized_english_iw00.iwd …
│   └── server.cfg
└── mods/
    └── pml220/
        └── z_svr_pml220.iwd

32-bit libraries

sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y libc6:i386 libgcc-s1:i386 lib32stdc++6 zlib1g:i386

CoD4X additionally links against 32-bit libcurl and libssl; if it exits complaining about either, install libcurl4:i386 and libssl-dev:i386 (package names vary by release).

server.cfg

seta sv_hostname "^1My ^7CoD4 Server"
set rcon_password "change-me"
set g_gametype "war"
set sv_maxclients 20

set sv_pure 1
set sv_allowDownload 1
set sv_maxRate 25000
set sv_fps 20
set sv_timeout 60
set sv_floodProtect 1
set sv_punkbuster 0            // 0 on CoD4X, PB is unmaintained

set g_allowVote 1
set g_antilag 1
set scr_teambalance 1
set scr_friendlyfire 0
set scr_killcam 1
set logfile 1
set g_log "games_mp.log"
set g_logsync 0

set scr_war_timelimit 15
set scr_war_scorelimit 750
set scr_sd_roundlimit 0
set scr_sd_timelimit 2

set sv_mapRotation "gametype war map mp_crash map mp_backlot map mp_crossfire map mp_vacant"
map_rotate

CoD4 gametype codes are not the same as CoD1/CoD2. Team Deathmatch is war, not tdm, and Headquarters is koth. Using tdm gives you a server that silently refuses to start the gametype. Full list on the cvar reference.

Starting the server

cd /opt/cod4
./cod4x18_dedrun \
  +set fs_basepath /opt/cod4 \
  +set fs_homepath /opt/cod4 \
  +set dedicated 2 \
  +set net_port 28960 \
  +set sv_maxclients 20 \
  +set rcon_password "change-me" \
  +exec server.cfg \
  +map mp_crash

systemd unit

[Unit]
Description=Call of Duty 4 dedicated server
After=network-online.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=cod4
WorkingDirectory=/opt/cod4
ExecStart=/opt/cod4/cod4x18_dedrun \
  +set fs_basepath /opt/cod4 +set fs_homepath /opt/cod4 \
  +set dedicated 2 +set net_port 28960 \
  +exec server.cfg +map mp_crash
Restart=always
RestartSec=5

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Promod

Promod is what competitive CoD4 runs on. It is a mod directory selected with fs_game plus a mode cvar:

set fs_game "mods/pml220"
set promod_mode "match_mr12"

Common modes:

Versions in circulation are Promod LIVE 2.11, 2.14, 2.16 and PML 2.20. Set fs_game before the config exec on the command line so the mod's own cfg is picked up:

./cod4x18_dedrun +set fs_game mods/pml220 +set promod_mode match_mr12 \
  +set dedicated 2 +exec server.cfg +map mp_crash

Fast download

set sv_allowDownload 1
set sv_wwwDownload 1
set sv_wwwBaseURL "http://files.example.com/cod4"
set sv_wwwDlDisconnected 0

The served tree mirrors the paths the client asks for:

cod4fastdl/
├── mods/
│   └── pml220/
│       ├── mod.ff
│       └── pml220.iwd
└── usermaps/
    └── mp_yourmap/
        ├── mp_yourmap.ff
        ├── mp_yourmap.iwd
        └── mp_yourmap_load.ff

Every directory name must be lowercase. CoD4 fast download is case-sensitive, so Mods/ or UserMaps/ produces a 404 and a silent fallback to the slow path. Custom maps go under usermaps/, not main/.

Serving a 20 MB mod over the engine's UDP path takes minutes; over HTTP it takes seconds. See the fast download guide for the nginx side.

PunkBuster

PunkBuster on CoD4 is unmaintained and its master infrastructure is unreliable. On CoD4X, leave sv_punkbuster 0. If you insist on running it on stock 1.7:

set sv_punkbuster 1
set pb_sv_guidRelax 1

Expect a share of legitimate players to be kicked for PunkBuster losing its connection.

Map codes

CoD4 map codes rarely match the display names: District is mp_citystreets, Ambush is mp_convoy, Downpour is mp_farm, Wet Work is mp_cargoship. The full mapping is on the Call of Duty 4 map list.

Common problems

• Awaiting Challenge / Awaiting Connection
• Server appears offline / not in the master list
• PunkBuster kicked player
• Invalid or Expired CD Key
• Full error index