Assetto Corsa Mods: Install Cars and Tracks on a Server

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Install Assetto Corsa car and track mods on your PC, put the same files on your server and make every driver match them. Legal sources and join errors included.

A red Ferrari leaning into a corner past red and white kerbs in Assetto Corsa

To run Assetto Corsa mods on a dedicated server, install the cars and tracks on your own PC first, then put the server side of the same cars and tracks in the server's content folder and name them in cfg/server_cfg.ini and cfg/entry_list.ini. Every driver who joins needs exactly the same car and track versions installed, because the server checks the car and track data and kicks anyone whose files differ.

Everything below was checked on 25 October 2026 against the Kunos dedicated server manual, the AssettoServer documentation and Content Manager's own download page. If you have never used Content Manager, read our Content Manager guide first, because most of the steps run through it.

Where to get mods legally

Community mods. The old RaceDepartment download section now lives at OverTake.gg: old racedepartment.com links redirect to the same page there. Read the mod page before you download: note the version number and check whether the creator says anything about servers.

Creators' own sites. Bigger projects publish on their own website or Discord. A well-known example is the Shutoko Revival Project: the AssettoServer beginner's guide calls it "one of the most popular tracks" and sends you to the project's own website for the track and to the AssettoServer Discord for its AI spline.

Kunos DLC. Kunos's extra cars and tracks come as Steam DLC, and every driver needs the DLC for the content they use on your server: the track, and the car they drive. AssettoServer's FAQ says it plainly: "there is no way around buying Assetto Corsa and the DLC's required by the content you want to use". Steam sells the game with all 11 DLC packs as the Ultimate Edition bundle, €55.88 in the Dutch store on 25 October 2026.

Paid mods. Some car and track makers sell their work. Buy it from the creator, tell your drivers where to buy it, and never put the files in a shared pack. AssettoServer's FAQ asks the same of every server owner: "Please use the download links the authors of the content you're using provide unless you're explicitly allowed to reupload them for yourself."

Some car mods are also locked to servers their creator has whitelisted. On any other server those cars "usually do not respond to the gas pedal input", and the same FAQ says the lock "cannot be deactivated by any means". If you want one of those cars on your grid, ask the creator before you plan a league around it.

A site that hands out a paid mod for free is not the creator's site. Do not use those files, and do not build a public server on them.

Install a mod on your PC

Content Manager is the quickest route:

  1. Download the mod archive from the creator's page.
  2. Drag the archive onto the Content Manager window. Its install dialog takes files or links ("Drop files or links to download here"), lists what it found in the archive and installs cars and tracks into the right folders. The same dialog sits under Install from a file… in Content Manager's downloads menu.
  3. If an archive will not open, add Content Manager's 7-Zip plugin. CM's own note says it lets CM "unpack all types of archives".

By hand works too. Car folders go into content\cars and track folders into content\tracks inside your game folder, which is C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\assettocorsa on a default Steam install. The folder name is the ID the server uses: the Kunos manual describes CARS= and MODEL= as "exactly the car folder's name" and TRACK= as "exactly the track folder's name". Never rename a mod's folder, or your copy stops matching everyone else's.

Drive every new car and track once offline before it goes on the server. A mod that crashes in a practice session on your own PC will not behave better online.

Why every driver needs the same files

The server keeps checksums of the car and track data and compares them with what a joining driver has installed. AssettoServer's documentation names the files: each car's data.acd and each track layout's surfaces.ini. The checksums "are required to prevent people from cheating by modifying their car and track data". The Kunos manual describes the result from the driver's side: "If you are kicked from the server because of a mismatch (car or track) you need to update your game OR probably the server is not updated with the latest content."

Three rules keep a modded server joinable:

  • One version per car and track. When a creator updates a mod, update the server and tell your drivers on the same day.
  • One list. Keep a single list of every car and track on the server, with the version number and the creator's download link, pinned in your Discord.
  • No private edits. A driver who tweaked a car's data, or installed a "fixed" version from somewhere else, has a different checksum from the server.

Some car mods ship with an unpacked data folder instead of a data.acd file. The server then has nothing to check that car against. AssettoServer refuses to start with a "Missing car checksums" error until you add the file or tell it to ignore the error, and ignoring it lets players modify that car's data. Content Manager can build the file with its batch action Pack data; the current stable build, 0.8.2782.39874, added an option there to replace an existing data.acd. If you pack a car yourself, put that packed version on your list, so your drivers install the same files as the server.

Three ways to get the mods onto the server

Content Manager, full version

The full version of Content Manager has a Server tab that builds server presets and packs them for upload. The tab is off by default: switch it on in Content Manager's Appearance settings under "Title links and menu". The AssettoServer guide uses this route:

  1. Open Server, create a preset and pick the track and layout.
  2. On the Entry list tab, add the cars with the plus button. Stay at or below the number of pits the layout has: the guide warns that going over "will result in the game crashing when joining the server".
  3. Set the capacity, the sessions and an admin password, then click Save.
  4. Click Pack, choose the target system and untick Include executable. A hosted server already has the server program installed.
  5. Unzip the archive and upload the folders inside it into the server's main folder over SFTP, overwriting the old files.

AssettoServer's docs describe Pack as creating "an archive with all required configs and data files", and say to extract it into the server's root folder.

acServerManager, which comes with the game

Without the full version, use the tool Kunos ships with the game in the server folder of your install (steamapps\common\assettocorsa\server). The Kunos manual says acServerManager.exe can generate and manage both config files, and its routine is short: open acServerManager.exe, click Update Server Content, then upload the server folder to the machine that runs the server. Kunos says to repeat that "whenever Assetto Corsa is updated by Steam".

On a hosted server the server program is already installed, so upload the two folders that change when you add mods: cfg and content. Keep a copy of your server_cfg.ini, entry_list.ini and blacklist.txt first: the manual tells you to back up those three files and copy any new settings into your old ones.

By hand

You can also edit the two config files yourself. The next section shows the lines that decide which mods load.

The lines that have to match

Both the Kunos server and AssettoServer read cfg/server_cfg.ini and cfg/entry_list.ini. The part of server_cfg.ini that picks the content:

[SERVER]
CARS=mod_car_one;mod_car_two
TRACK=mod_track
CONFIG_TRACK=layout_folder
MAX_CLIENTS=12

And one slot in entry_list.ini:

[CAR_0]
MODEL=mod_car_one
SKIN=skin_folder
SPECTATOR_MODE=0
BALLAST=0
RESTRICTOR=0
  • CARS= lists car folder names separated by semicolons.
  • TRACK= is the track folder name. CONFIG_TRACK= is the layout, named after the layout folder you find in content\tracks\TRACK\ui.
  • MAX_CLIENTS can be at most the number of pits on the layout.
  • The entry list needs at least as many [CAR_x] sections as MAX_CLIENTS, numbered from [CAR_0] up. AssettoServer's FAQ adds that you cannot skip or repeat a number.
  • Every MODEL= must also appear in CARS=, and every SKIN= must be a folder name in that car's skins folder.

For a freeroam server with AI traffic, the track also needs an AI spline in its ai folder; our post on setting up AI traffic on AssettoServer covers that part. If you are still choosing between the two server programs, read official dedicated server vs AssettoServer first.

Let drivers download missing content from Content Manager

When a driver lacks a car or the track, Content Manager's server list says so ("Car is missing", "Track is missing"). AssettoServer can give Content Manager the download links: put a content.json file in cfg/cm_content and set EnableServerDetails: true in extra_cfg.yml.

{
  "cars": {
    "mod_car_one": { "url": "https://example.com/mod-car-one", "version": "1.2" }
  },
  "track": { "url": "https://example.com/mod-track", "version": "2.0" }
}

Two details from the AssettoServer FAQ: the version "has to match the version shown in the Author field in the content tab of the car/track", and the cm_content folder is not included when you pack a preset, so upload it separately. With the full version of Content Manager you can fill in the links on the preset's Details tab ("Download URL") instead of writing the file.

Use the creators' own download links there, the same ones that are on your list. On the stock Kunos server, the list in your Discord does this job.

How much server a modded list needs

Assetto Corsa is the lightest game we host, and our plans are sized by how much content you load:

  • Small: 1GB RAM, 5GB NVMe, €1.99 a month. A vanilla content lobby for a small group of drivers.
  • Medium: 2GB RAM, 8GB NVMe, €2.20 a month. Room for custom car and track mods on top of the base content.
  • Large: 3GB RAM, 10GB NVMe, €3.10 a month. A full custom content library, larger grids and longer sessions.
  • Extreme: 5GB RAM, 15GB NVMe, €5.10 a month. A large custom content library and long endurance or league sessions.

Those are the European prices including VAT; in the USA each plan costs €0.10 more per GB of RAM, so Small is €2.09 there. Every Assetto Corsa server comes with full file access over SFTP, which is what the upload steps above need, and you can upgrade when your list grows.

When a driver still cannot join

  • Kicked for a car or track mismatch. That driver's version differs from the server's. They reinstall from the link on your list and rejoin. If every driver gets kicked, the server still has the old version.
  • "Car is missing" or "Track is missing" in Content Manager. The mod is not installed, or it sits in a folder with a different name.
  • The car loads but does not accelerate. A whitelisted car mod on a server its creator has not approved.
  • The game crashes while joining. One known cause, from the AssettoServer guide: more cars in the entry list than the layout has pits.
  • "All cars are taken". Every slot for that car is in use. The driver picks another car, or you add [CAR_x] slots for it within the pit limit.

FAQ

Do players need the same mods as the server?

Yes: the same cars and the same track, at the same versions. The server compares checksums of the car and track data and kicks drivers whose files differ.

Can I use paid mods on my server?

Yes, as long as every driver buys their own copy and nobody shares the files. Some car mods only drive on servers their creator has whitelisted, so ask the creator before you build a grid around one.

Does Content Manager download missing mods by itself?

Only when the server provides the links. AssettoServer does that through cfg/cm_content/content.json; on other servers, drivers install from your list.

Do I need the full version of Content Manager to host a modded server?

No. AssettoServer's own guide says "You can host, configure, and play on the server without the full version of Content Manager." acServerManager from the game's server folder, or editing the two config files by hand, does the same job with more clicks.