Install add-ons for Garry's Mod

Add-ons are the heart of Garry's Mod: new weapons, vehicles, admin tools, jobs for your DarkRP server... They are what makes your server stand out. There are two main families of add-ons: Steam Workshop items, which load through a collection linked to your server, and so-called "scripted" addons, sold as files (usually a .zip archive) on platforms like GmodStore. This guide covers the second family: manually installing an addon into your server's files hosted at Lordhosting.

Prerequisites

Before you start, make sure you have:

• an active Garry's Mod server at Lordhosting, with your game panel credentials;
• the addon you want to install, usually a .zip or .rar archive provided by the seller;
• optionally an SFTP client such as FileZilla or WinSCP, useful for transferring large addons.

Install an addon step by step

First, you need to go to your game panel, log in, and follow these steps:

1. Download the add-on of your choice from https://www.gmodstore.com/ or pay a developer. You usually receive an archive containing the addon's folder.
2. Extract the archive on your computer and check its structure: the addon folder must directly contain subfolders such as lua, materials or models. If extraction created a folder nested inside another one with the same name, the deepest folder is the one you need to upload.
3. Open the "Files" tab of your server on the panel, then browse to the garrysmod/addons folder.
4. Transfer your files into this folder: either by dragging and dropping the addon folder directly into the interface, or by uploading the archive and extracting it in place from the file's menu. For large archives, prefer SFTP: your connection credentials are shown in the "Settings" tab of the panel.
5. Wait for the upload to finish, then restart your server from the "Console" tab using the "Restart" button.
6. Check the startup: in the console, the addon must load without showing Lua errors (red lines). Then join the game to confirm it works.

Common issues

The addon does not appear in game. Most of the time, the cause is a wrong folder structure. The correct path is garrysmod/addons/addon-name/lua/...: if an extra folder slipped in between after extraction, the server loads nothing. Move the content to the right level and restart.

Lua errors show up in the console. Many paid addons depend on a library or framework that must be installed separately (this is stated on the product page). Make sure all dependencies are present in garrysmod/addons and that your addon version is up to date.

The transfer fails or gets stuck. Very large archives can exceed the limits of the web upload. Use SFTP with FileZilla or WinSCP instead: the transfer is more reliable and resumes after an interruption. Also check your server's remaining disk space in the panel.

Conclusion

Installing an addon on your Garry's Mod server comes down to three actions: download, drop into garrysmod/addons, restart. Get into the habit of checking the folder structure before uploading and the console after each restart: you will avoid the vast majority of problems, and you can then chain installations to build a unique server.

❗Always good to know

• If an error appears or your plugin does not work, please contact our support team via ticket or Discord.

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