Quick answer: If your Workshop collection will not download, check that it is set to Public. Friends Only and Unlisted collections cannot be read by a server, and the error message does not say so. If joining your server takes minutes, you are missing FastDL, which serves custom content over HTTP instead of trickling it through the game server itself. Neither problem is about hardware.
The collection problem
A Steam Workshop collection has a visibility setting, and it defaults in a way that catches people out. A server can only read a collection that is Public. Friends Only and Unlisted both fail, and they fail quietly, which is why so many people assume the server or the host is broken.
So the first check is always the collection page, not the server console.
The second cause is subtler. If the collection is public and most addons load but one item does not, an addon in the collection has probably been removed from the Workshop by its author. A dead item in a collection can stall the rest of the download. This happens more than you would expect on older DarkRP and TTT collections, where some addons have been sitting there for years.
The practical fix is to open the collection and check for items showing as unavailable, then remove them. It is tedious once and then it stays fixed.
Why the first boot is slow, and when to worry
A GMod server mounting a large Workshop collection for the first time genuinely takes several minutes. Every addon downloads before the map loads. That is normal, and it is not a sign of anything wrong.
What should not happen is that same wait on every restart. The content is cached, so a second start should be fast. If every restart takes as long as the first one, something is clearing the cache between boots and that is worth investigating.
Players who join during the first boot see "Server is still loading, please wait", which is accurate but reads to them like the server is down.
FastDL: the difference between a 10 second join and a 3 minute one
This is the single biggest thing you can do for how your server feels to a new player.
Custom models, maps, sounds and materials have to reach the player somehow. Without FastDL, clients pull those files through the game server itself, over the game protocol, one at a time. It is slow by design. A player joining a server with a real custom content list can sit on a loading screen for minutes.
FastDL serves the same files over plain HTTP instead. Same content, ordinary web download, in parallel. A join that took three minutes becomes seconds.
The reason this matters commercially, not just technically, is that most players who leave during a long loading screen never come back and never tell you why. You do not see it in any log. You just have fewer players than your server deserves.
Worth knowing: Workshop addons do not need FastDL, because those come from Steam. FastDL is for content you upload yourself, which on a DarkRP or TTT server is usually a meaningful chunk of it.
How many players a GMod server actually holds
Garry's Mod runs its game logic on a single thread. That is the fact that decides everything about sizing, and it is why adding RAM past a point does nothing for player count.
What limits you is how much work the server does per tick. A Sandbox server with a light addon list is comfortable around 32 players. DarkRP with an economy, jobs, printers and constant entity spawning starts to feel it well before a Sandbox server would, regardless of memory.
So the honest sizing advice is:
| Setup | Realistic RAM |
|---|---|
| Sandbox or Prop Hunt, light addons | 2GB |
| DarkRP or TTT with a real Workshop collection | 4GB |
| Busy server, heavy addon list | 6GB |
Our Garry's Mod hosting starts at EUR 2.20 a month for exactly that reason. GMod does not need an expensive machine, it needs a fast one.
Telling a crash from a map change
New admins panic at the wrong thing here, so it is worth being precise.
A crash drops every player at once with a connection lost message, and leaves a line in the console log explaining itself.
A map change also disconnects everyone briefly, and then lets them straight back in automatically.
If players come back on their own, you had a map change or a scheduled restart, not a crash. Check your rotation and your restart schedule before you go looking for a fault that is not there.
Moving an existing server
If you are bringing a GMod server from somewhere else, three folders carry everything that matters:
garrysmod/datafor saved entities and addon datagarrysmod/settingsfor your admin listsserver.cfgfor your configuration
Workshop addons do not need copying, because they redownload from their IDs. That surprises people who expect to move gigabytes and find they only need to move megabytes.
FAQ
Why does my Workshop collection fail to download? Almost always because the collection is not set to Public. Friends Only and Unlisted cannot be read by a server. If it is public and one item still fails, an addon in it has probably been removed from the Workshop.
Do I need FastDL if I only use Workshop addons? No. Workshop content comes from Steam. FastDL is for custom files you upload yourself.
How many players can a Garry's Mod server hold? Sandbox with light addons is comfortable around 32. DarkRP with a full economy and lots of entities feels the strain sooner. Player count is limited by per tick CPU work, not by RAM.
Why do players see "Server is still loading, please wait"? The server is mounting Workshop content and has not finished. Normal on a first boot after adding a collection, and it should be fast on later restarts.
Did my server crash or did the map change? If players are able to rejoin immediately and automatically, it was a map change or a scheduled restart. A crash leaves an entry in the console log.
How much RAM does a DarkRP server need? 4GB is the comfortable starting point for DarkRP with a real Workshop collection. 2GB is fine for Sandbox or Prop Hunt.
Related reading: Garry's Mod hosting plans from EUR 2.20 a month across four regions.