Free MTA: San Andreas server hosting

Multi Theft Auto turns GTA: San Andreas into a multiplayer game. Everything on an MTA server, from the game mode to the admin panel, is a resource: a folder of Lua scripts and files that the server loads and sends to players when they join. Torchlite runs the official MTA server for Linux, so the resources you already have keep working.

Plans

Both are free. Starting or renewing the server shows a short ad break in the panel, 2 ads on Lite and 3 on Turbo. An MTA server with the default resources and a group of friends is comfortable on Lite. Pick Turbo for many players or for heavy roleplay game modes with a database and lots of scripts. The renewal guide explains the Renew timer.

Before you start

• GTA: San Andreas on PC for every player, with the free MTA:SA client installed from the Multi Theft Auto website.
• Optional, your own resources. Each resource is a folder or a .zip with a meta.xml inside.

No key or extra account is needed.

How to start

1. On Create your server, choose a plan, then MTA: San Andreas.
2. Confirm your email with the code we send. The server is built and starts by itself.
3. Log in at game.torchlite.host with the same email and password. The Network page shows the IP and the port.
4. In MTA, open Quick Connect, enter the IP and the port, and join.

The server answers resource downloads over HTTP on the same port number as the game, so players download your resources straight from it and you do not have to set anything up.

Resources and settings

Open Files, or connect over SFTP, and go to mods/deathmatch:

• resources holds every resource. Upload a new one as a folder or a .zip, then type refresh in the console so the server finds it, and start name to run it.
• mtaserver.conf holds the server name, the player limit, the password and the list of resources that start with the server. The port is set by the panel, so leave it as it is.
• acl.xml holds the groups and their rights.

Make yourself admin

1. In the console, type addaccount yourname yourpassword to create an account.
2. Stop the server, open mods/deathmatch/acl.xml and add <object name="user.yourname" /> to the Admin group.
3. Start the server, join, and log in with /login yourname yourpassword in chat.

With the admin resource running, the admin panel then opens with the P key.

Common problems

A resource does not start. The console prints the reason, usually a missing file listed in meta.xml or a Lua error. Fix the file, then refresh and start it again.

Players get stuck downloading. Very large resources take a while on the first join. They are kept by the client afterwards, so the next join is fast.

It stopped on its own. The renewal timer ran out. Press Start, and players reconnect to the same IP and port.