How to ban players on an s&box server in any game (no RCON needed)

Banned players keep rejoining your s&box server because s&box has no RCON and most s&box games have no ban command at all. RCON Hub fixes it: its s&box Manager keeps its own ban list and kicks a banned player the moment they join, in every game, on every server you run.

Why bans break on s&box

The s&box dedicated server has no RCON. You can only type commands into the server's own console window.

kick works in every game. ban doesn't. Only Facepunch's Sandbox ships a ban command, and it has no unban. Sandbox keeps its bans in data/facepunch/sandbox/bans.json, and it rewrites that file from memory. Edit it while the server runs and your change is gone at the next ban.

Every other game leaves you with kick. A kicked player can rejoin straight away.

So the manual fix looks like this:

• Keep the console window open all day.
• Kick the same person again every time they come back.
• Stop the server to hand-edit a JSON file when you want to unban someone.

It doesn't scale, and it stops working the moment you walk away.

What the game and other tools leave out

• No RCON. s&box only takes commands typed into a real console window, so plain RCON tools can't reach it. s&box Manager runs each server inside a small console host that types commands for you and reads the answers from the server's log.
• No ban outside Sandbox. Every other game only has kick, and a kicked player can rejoin straight away. s&box Manager keeps its own ban list and kicks on join, in any game.
• No unban in Sandbox. Sandbox rewrites bans.json from memory, so editing it while the server runs does nothing. s&box Manager keeps bans.json in step before every start, which gives Sandbox a real unban.
• Bans stop at one server. A ban typed into one server's console, or a hosting panel's, stays on that server. s&box Manager shares bans across all your s&box servers.

How RCON Hub fixes it

The console host keeps each server running when you close the app, and the next start finds it again. The ban list works by SteamID64, so you can ban a player who's offline. Timed bans lift by themselves, and in Sandbox, bans made in the game are read into your list.

Step-by-step setup

1. Install RCON Hub. Download it from rconhub.gg and run the installer. It's free for Windows 10 and 11.
2. Add the s&box game pack. Open RCON Hub. On Your games, click Add game, pick s&box and click Install.
3. Set up your server. Open the s&box card. Click Install it for me to download the dedicated server with SteamCMD (about 2.6 GB). Already have one? Paste the folder that holds sbox-server.exe instead.
4. Pick the game and start. On the Server page, set Game to an sbox.game package, like facepunch.sandbox. Click Save, then Start server.
5. Ban the player. Open the Players page. Find the player (or use Ban… with their SteamID64 if they're offline). Give a reason and pick how long: until unbanned, 1 hour, 1 day, 1 week or 30 days.
6. Check it works. They're kicked at once. Every time they rejoin, they're kicked again, on every s&box server you run.
7. Unban when you're ready. Open the Bans tab on the Players page and lift the ban. In Sandbox, the entry leaves bans.json at the next restart.

Renting your server? Add it on the Servers page with its Pterodactyl panel and file access. Kicks and bans go through the panel's console.

Is it safe?

Yes.

• It runs locally. RCON Hub and s&box Manager run on your own Windows PC. The server's console is reached on the same PC, and no admin port is ever opened.
• No injection. RCON Hub never touches the game client or your players' games. There's nothing for anti-cheat to flag, so it won't get anyone banned.
• Your secrets stay put. Server tokens and panel keys are stored encrypted on your PC and never shown again.

It's beta software. Back up your server's settings and data before you change things.

Stop kicking the same player twice

Your ban list should work in every game, not just Sandbox. Download RCON Hub, add the s&box pack, and make your bans stick.

Download RCON Hub 0.3.13 More guides