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Connect your Windows VPS to the control panel

By Tom PearceNovember 13, 20262 min read

Most of the panel's tools, like game installs, backups, file uploads and Fix my server, work by talking to a small helper on your server called the HTN agent. Most servers already have it. If yours doesn't, the panel asks you to connect it once, and that's it.

Do I need to do this?

Open your server in the panel and click Game installs. If you see a banner saying Connect this server first, follow the steps below. If you don't, you're already connected and can skip this guide.

The Connect this server banner
If your server isn't connected yet, you'll see this banner.

Connect your server

  1. On the Game installs tab, click Connect this server.
  2. Click Download HTN-Connect.cmd. This small file is made for your server only.
  3. Connect to your server with Remote Desktop, and copy the file across. Copy and paste works, or you can open the panel in a browser on the server and download it there.
  4. On the server, double-click HTN-Connect.cmd and click Yes when Windows asks for permission.
  5. Wait about a minute. A window tells you when it's connected, and the box in the panel closes by itself.
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Tip: If Windows says it protected your PC, click More info, then Run anyway. It shows that message for any file downloaded from the internet.

Prefer PowerShell?

In the connect box, click Use a PowerShell command instead. Copy the command and run it in PowerShell as Administrator on the server. It does exactly the same as the file.

What the agent does (and doesn't do)

  • It only connects out to the panel. Nothing new listens for connections on your server.
  • It only runs the actions you start in the panel, and it double-checks each one before running it.
  • It keeps itself up to date automatically, so new panel features reach your server without you doing anything.
  • Everything it does is logged on the server in C:\HTN\logs.

Good to know

  • The code in the file expires after 30 minutes. If it's too old, click Connect this server again for a fresh one.

If the panel later says Server agent offline, your server is switched off, still starting, or has lost its connection. Click Reconnect to get a new file if it stays that way.