> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.gotempest.app/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.gotempest.app/connect-to-servers/rcon-game-server-admin.md).

# RCON Client for Game Servers

Tempest is a GUI RCON client for Minecraft, ARK, Rust, CS2, Source-engine, Factorio, and BattlEye games such as Arma 3 and DayZ — manage game servers from the same SSH client UI.

Tempest is a **GUI RCON client** for game servers. Add a Minecraft, ARK, Rust, Counter-Strike 2, Source-engine, Factorio, Arma 3, DayZ, or any other RCON-speaking server as a connection, and you get the same tabbed interface as your SSH hosts — only the channel is RCON instead of SSH.

If you've been juggling separate Minecraft Console apps, ARK admin tools, Source RCON tools and a BattlEye admin client per game, Tempest replaces all of them with one client.

<figure><img src="https://3410580572-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FVJ43ZDtCrZnz5xabHcML%2Fuploads%2FwCq1JfHlfSYaldSbyw2C%2FCleanShot%202026-09-16%20at%2010.18.55%20AM%402x.png?alt=media&amp;token=b9047e2d-d938-4ebd-a53e-bc849471d3f1" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

## Two protocols share the name "RCON"

Tempest speaks both, and you pick which one a host uses when you add it:

| Protocol                   | Transport | Games                                                                                     |
| -------------------------- | --------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Source RCON** (default)  | TCP       | Minecraft, Counter-Strike 2, Rust, ARK, Factorio, and anything else Source-engine derived |
| **BattlEye RCON (BERCon)** | UDP       | Arma 2, Arma 3, DayZ, Arma Reforger                                                       |

On a BattlEye server you will also see chat, the admin log, and kick and ban notices arrive on their own, printed above the prompt as they happen.

Hosts you saved before the protocol picker existed are Source RCON hosts — there is nothing to migrate.

## Add an RCON server

1. Click `+` → **RCON**.
2. Choose the protocol: **Source over TCP** or **BattlEye over UDP**.
3.

```
<figure><img src="/files/owwMNbk9KxJR77ULefXp" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>
```

4. Set host and port.
5. Set the RCON password (`rcon.password` in `server.properties`, `RConPassword` in BattlEye's `BEServer.cfg`, or your engine's equivalent).
6. Save and connect.

The tab opens with a command prompt. Type any RCON command supported by your server.

### Ports

| Server                | Typical port                                                 |
| --------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Minecraft Java        | `25575`                                                      |
| Source engine / CS2   | `27015`                                                      |
| BattlEye (Arma, DayZ) | whatever `RConPort` in `BEServer.cfg` says — commonly `2302` |

Switching protocol does not change the port for you. BattlEye has no standard port — it is whatever the server's own config sets — so check `BEServer.cfg` and type it in.

## Common commands

**Minecraft Java**:

```
list                    # list online players
kick PlayerName Goodbye
ban PlayerName
op PlayerName
say Server restart in 5 min
stop                    # graceful shutdown
```

**Source / CS2**:

```
status
say Welcome
mp_restartgame 1
changelevel de_dust2
```

**Factorio**:

```
/players
/silent-command game.print("hello")
```

**Arma 3 / DayZ (BattlEye)**:

```
players                 # list connected players
say -1 Server restart in 5 min
kick 3 Goodbye
#shutdown
```

## Native Rust implementation

As of Tempest 3.6+, RCON is a **native Rust implementation** (no shell-out, no `mcrcon` binary required). Same client works identically on macOS, Windows, and Linux.

Long replies come back in full, and a slow command — a plugin reload, a world save, `paper version` — is waited out instead of dropping the session.

## Proxy support

RCON connections support the same proxy modes as SSH:

* HTTP CONNECT
* SOCKS5 (works for BattlEye hosts too)
* ProxyCommand

Use this if your game server is behind a corporate firewall or a VPN gateway you reach through `cloudflared access` or a Tailscale-like tunnel.

**Test latency** in the host list is available for Source RCON hosts only.

## Why RCON in an SSH client?

Most homelab / indie hosting setups use the same machine for an SSH-managed Linux box and the Minecraft / ARK server it hosts. Tempest lets you keep them in adjacent tabs — type `tail -f /var/log/whatever` on the SSH side, run `say Server restart in 5 min` on the RCON side.

## See also

* [Connect to Telnet servers](/connect-to-servers/connect-to-telnet-servers.md) — same Rust networking layer
* [Open Terminal Here — Folder Context Menu](/connect-to-servers/open-terminal-here-folder-context-menu.md)
* [Tempest Push Notifications](/productivity/tempest-push-notifications.md) — alert when a player joins or a server crashes (via scripted snippets)