pawnserver

README

pawnserver

pawnserver packages and operates SA-MP and open.mp server installations. A bundle records the server binary, AMX entry points, native extensions, configuration, checksums, and files that must survive an update.

Install

Download a release archive or install from source:

go install github.com/pawnkit/pawnserver/cmd/pawnserver@latest
pawnserver --version

Release archives are available for Linux, macOS, and Windows on amd64 and arm64.

PawnKit's tested server set pins the supported archives and checksums: server-preview-2026-07-29 in pawnkit-spec v0.1.42. RFC 0020 runtime indexes separately pin clean upstream server downloads.

Build and inspect a bundle

Prepare a directory containing pawn-bundle.json and every declared file:

pawnserver verify ./release
pawnserver pack ./release game.pawnbundle
pawnserver inspect game.pawnbundle

Packing is deterministic and refuses to write the archive inside its source directory. Verification accepts either a directory or a .pawnbundle archive.

Install and update

Install and update are plan-only unless --apply is present:

pawnserver install game.pawnbundle ./server
pawnserver install --apply game.pawnbundle ./server
pawnserver update --apply next.pawnbundle ./server
pawnserver rollback ./server

An update keeps the previous installation at ./server.rollback. Paths listed under persistence.paths are copied into the staged update before it replaces the current installation.

Operate an installation

pawnserver doctor ./server
pawnserver configure ./server
pawnserver run ./server
pawnserver export-container ./server Dockerfile

configure prints the declared configuration path and schema. run executes the verified server binary directly without a shell. Container export defaults to FROM scratch; pass --base debian:bookworm-slim when the server needs a runtime image.

See the operator guide, bundle format, and compatibility policy.

Contributing

Operator feedback and small archive fixtures are welcome. See CONTRIBUTING.md.