Synix Control Panel makes hosting personal game servers approachable for people who do not want to learn command-line tools, write batch files, or manually manage SteamCMD.
Choose a server profile, enter the settings you want, and let Synix handle installation, startup commands, updates, monitoring, backups, and common maintenance tasks from one Windows application.
- No subscription is required.
- No paid server-instance slots are required.
- No permanent administrator access is required.
- Your servers and settings stay on your own computer.
Synix is built for personal, non-commercial game-server hosting. The number of servers you can run is determined by your computer, storage, network, and the requirements of each server.
Running a dedicated server normally means finding the correct Steam App ID, installing SteamCMD, building startup commands, tracking ports, watching processes, and maintaining backups yourself. Synix brings those jobs together behind a straightforward desktop interface.
| Without a Server Manager | With Synix |
|---|---|
| Install and configure SteamCMD manually | SteamCMD is checked and installed automatically |
| Search for App IDs and startup arguments | Select from 220 built-in server profiles |
| Write and maintain batch files | Configure the server through normal forms and controls |
| Watch Task Manager for crashes | Use built-in process and resource monitoring |
| Remember updates, backups, and restarts | Enable automatic maintenance options per server |
| Move server files and settings by hand | Export, verify, and import your Synix installation |
- Install or open Synix. Choose the MSI, WinGet, or standalone version.
- Add a server. Select a supported profile and give the server a name.
- Choose your settings. Enter ports, player limits, passwords, map options, and other available settings.
- Install and start. Synix prepares the files, runs the required tools, launches the server, and begins monitoring it.
Synix keeps the management experience local. The main Synix data folder is C:\Synix, while custom game-server locations can be placed on another SSD, NVMe drive, or storage folder.
Open Command Prompt or PowerShell and run:
winget install --exact --id ubidzz.SynixTo uninstall:
winget uninstall --exact --id ubidzz.SynixDownload SynixSetup.msi from the latest release.
The MSI version:
- Installs Synix for the current Windows user.
- Provides a setup wizard with the full Synix license agreement and an application-folder picker. The agreement checkbox starts unchecked; users must accept the terms before the wizard allows them to continue.
- Defaults to
%LocalAppData%\Programs\Synix; updates remember the chosen application folder. - Shows Install Synix when no copy is installed, Repair or Uninstall for the same version (including a rebuilt MSI), and Update Synix only when the installer is newer. Older installers cannot replace a newer installed version.
- Adds Synix to the Start Menu.
- Adds Synix to the Windows Apps list.
- Supports normal Windows installation, upgrade, and uninstall behavior.
The installer location applies only to the Synix application. Existing game servers, worlds, saves, configurations, backups, and Synix data stay at their existing paths. Choosing an app folder during a fresh installation does not move or recreate server data. Updates and repairs reuse the registered app folder, including silent WinGet and in-app updates. To change an existing app's location, choose app-only uninstall and then install in the new folder; keep the server list and server data.
For a republished MSI with the same displayed version, Repair uses the application
files embedded in that new installer and replaces the previous app registration. It does
not launch a repair of the overwritten original MSI. The exact installed MSI still uses
normal Windows maintenance. Repair keeps app settings, the server list, game servers,
and backups. Unattended repair of a rebuilt package requires SYNIX_REPAIR_CONFIRMED=1;
without that explicit choice, setup stops before changing anything. Windows Installer's
registered package cache is still required: an already damaged or deleted cache may need
the matching original installer to recover.
Interactive uninstall defaults to app only. It removes the installed program, shortcuts,
app registration, this copy's startup entry, app cache, recognized temporary files, and
app preferences for this installation's current and older versions. It keeps all of
C:\Synix, default and custom game-server folders, server configurations, prerequisites,
backups, and server recovery files. Close Synix before uninstalling; app-only removal does
not require stopping the game servers.
In particular, C:\Synix\SynixData\servers.json is preserved unchanged. This is the
server list and saved server settings, not the disposable application preferences.
When Synix is reinstalled, it loads that existing list automatically, including servers
at custom locations, even if a different application folder is chosen. Reinstall under
the same Windows account to continue using the saved, Windows-protected passwords.
The game folders and supporting Synix server data remain in their original locations;
there is no need to add or download those servers again.
The optional app, managed servers, and Synix data removal shows the exact paths first. If known server backups or recovery copies exist, a separate delete backups option is shown and starts unchecked. Default, current custom, and historical backup locations recorded in this installation's preferences are checked. Keeping backups also protects them when nested inside a server or data folder. Backup selection changes require a new acknowledgement, followed by a separate permanent-deletion confirmation.
Stop all game servers before choosing server removal. Unregistered server folders, other servers' backup folders, and shared parent folders are not swept. Unknown locations and backups saved elsewhere are not guessed or searched across the disk. Unsafe, linked, unreadable, or changed locations block removal instead of broadening its scope. Interrupted server-restore copies retain their recovery records unless explicitly selected for removal. Only known, empty app containers are pruned; Windows-managed caches, other users' profiles, other installations' registrations, and shared system components are left alone.
Silent uninstalls perform app-only cleanup and keep server data and backups. Upgrades and repairs never run this cleanup. Data deletion cannot be rolled back if Windows later fails to uninstall the application.
Download Synix.Control.Panel.exe from the latest release and run it from any folder.
- No installation is required.
- The executable can be placed wherever you prefer.
- Synix server data remains stored separately inside
C:\Synix. - In-app updates download the standalone EXE and replace the running copy in its existing folder; they do not install the MSI, even when another Synix copy is installed elsewhere.
- Installed-copy detection uses the registered application folder, including custom locations. If a release lacks the correct standalone download, Synix does not substitute an installer.
.NET 10 is included with Synix. Official Windows releases are self-contained and package the required .NET 10 runtime inside the published Synix executable, so users do not need to install .NET separately.
SynixSetup.msicontains that same self-contained executable. Including the runtime is why the published application increased from roughly 40 MB to about 119 MB; the MSI download can remain smaller because the installed executable is compressed inside the installer.
Upgrading from v1.0.20 or earlier: Older installed releases used the Inno Setup
SynixSetup.exeinstaller. Uninstall that installed version first, then installSynixSetup.msi. This does not remove the servers and settings stored insideC:\Synix.
Synix is intended to make common server-management jobs understandable without hiding important information from the user.
- Guided server setup: Configure supported servers without building every command manually.
- Central dashboard: Install, start, stop, update, back up, and monitor servers from one place.
- Automatic SteamCMD setup: Synix downloads and configures SteamCMD when it is missing.
- Clear status information: See whether a server is stopped, starting, running, updating, or experiencing a problem.
- Built-in help: Learn about setup, ports, networking, backups, updates, watchdog behavior, and supported server options inside the application.
- No artificial instance limit: Synix does not charge for or restrict the number of server entries you create.
Synix includes 220 built-in dedicated game-server profiles, with additional profiles and corrections added over time.
Popular profiles include:
| Game | Game | Game | Game |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Days to Die | ARK: Survival Evolved | ARK: Survival Ascended | Arma 3 |
| Arma Reforger | Conan Exiles | Core Keeper | DayZ |
| Dune: Awakening | Enshrouded | Garry's Mod | Icarus |
| Palworld | Project Zomboid | Rust | Satisfactory |
| Soulmask | Space Engineers | Squad | Stationeers |
| Terraria | Unturned | Valheim | V Rising |
See the generated game list for this branch, including SteamCMD download IDs, branch selectors, and account requirements. The list and profile count are generated from Synix's game database; catalog inclusion is not a live-server certification.
- Select a server and choose Server history in the Activity & Diagnostics panel or the server menu. Search by activity or date, or show only failures and warnings.
- History saves per-server startup checks, tracked processes, normal/forced shutdown results, connection-probe results, errors, update results, backup locations/results, restores, and lifecycle events across app restarts. Select an entry to read and copy its full details. Up to 1,000 recent entries are retained, within a 512 KiB limit per server. Detailed records begin with this build; existing basic events remain readable and old text logs are not converted.
- Records contain timestamps, translated message identifiers, and sanitized diagnostic details. Known passwords, credentials, webhook URLs, and labeled secrets are removed before saving; launch commands, raw console output, and configuration documents are excluded. Records stay in
C:\Synix\SynixData\ActivityHistory. History follows the server installation folder, so renaming a server keeps its history; moving the server to a different folder starts a separate history. - The dashboard's Backups column shows the age of the latest completed backup and highlights failed attempts, missing backups, and backups older than seven days. Hover over the cell for dates and details. Files without a completion receipt are shown as unverified.
- Backup status checks local files and receipts in the current and default backup folders in the background. It does not run a new integrity check, create backups, or change retention settings. Use the existing backup manager to verify an archive or restore it.
Synix includes 27 interface languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, Polish, Russian, Turkish, Dutch, Swedish, Czech, Ukrainian, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian Bokmål, Greek, Hungarian, Romanian, Hindi, and Thai.
Choose a language in Synix Settings. The new history and backup status text is included in every language. General settings cards adapt to wrapped translations, drop-down lists expand to fit their items, and shared action buttons support keyboard focus. Game names, user-entered values, file paths, and technical log files are not translated. Translation completeness does not replace native-speaker review.
Dedicated servers change over time. A profile may need updated arguments after a game or server update. Synix records locally verified install, start, stop, and monitoring results to help identify what has been tested on your computer.
Minecraft support is isolated from other game-server workflows and includes:
- Separate Java and Bedrock setup, installation, importing, ports, icons, configuration, and connection guidance.
- Automatic Java and loader selection for Vanilla, Fabric, Forge, and compatible NeoForge 1.21+ releases.
- Installation of Microsoft's official Bedrock Dedicated Server package.
- Managed
server.propertiesand Bedrock configuration values for names, ports, maximum players, worlds, seeds, RCON, supported local-management settings, and native game modes. - Native Survival, Creative, and Adventure choices instead of generic PVE/PVP values.
- A local Minecraft Server Console that works with Synix-managed hidden windows, supported localhost management, or optional RCON.
- Prepared commands for announcements, player lists, moderation, operators, allowlists, world time, weather, saving, help, and clean shutdown.
- Player-name management when the selected Java server exposes an authenticated local management or RCON channel.
Synix uses game and framework profiles instead of maintaining a database of every individual mod. Initial support includes Rust Oxide/uMod files, Minecraft mod and plugin folders, 7 Days to Die mod packages, ARK: Survival Evolved Steam Workshop IDs, and ARK: Survival Ascended provider mod IDs.
- Discovers add-ons already installed in supported folders.
- Imports supported local files and ZIP packages through guarded staging.
- Opens supported external catalogs in the user's browser; Synix does not download catalog files or require catalog API credentials for those links.
- Records SHA-256 values and rollback information for changes made by Synix.
- Blocks unsafe archive paths, symbolic links, disguised libraries, prohibited executable or script types, oversized packages, duplicate destinations, and confirmed antivirus detections.
- Treats an unavailable or inconclusive Microsoft Defender review as a warning instead of claiming that malware was found.
Mods and plugins execute with the game server's Windows permissions. A clean scan cannot prove that third-party code is trustworthy. Install add-ons only from sources you trust, and run Synix with standard Windows permissions.
- Installs supported Steam servers through SteamCMD.
- Handles anonymous or authenticated SteamCMD installation workflows when required.
- Checks for missing SteamCMD components automatically.
- Supports
Update on Startfor servers that should be checked before launching. - Can validate and repair supported server installations through SteamCMD.
- Keeps the Synix application updated through its dashboard update button.
- Supports standalone, MSI, and WinGet installation types.
- Verifies downloaded Synix updates before applying them and can roll back a failed update.
- Builds the required startup command from the selected profile and user settings.
- Tracks the server from
StartingtoRunninginstead of assuming a launched process is ready. - Sends a normal close request first so supported servers have time to save.
- Tracks the complete verified process group and uses a staged process-tree fallback when a server cannot close normally.
- Prevents duplicate launches and common port conflicts.
- Allows a startup attempt to be cancelled without creating a restart loop.
- Keeps a private local command channel for supported Minecraft servers even when their command window is hidden.
- Displays overall and per-server CPU and memory information.
- Monitors running server processes through the Synix Watchdog.
- Can record crashes and begin configured recovery behavior.
- Uses A2S, TCP, UDP, HTTP, process, or socket checks where supported.
- Supports Discord webhook notifications for server lifecycle and maintenance events.
- Helps prevent new server launches when the host is already under heavy resource pressure.
- Can use an optional background agent at Windows sign-in for scheduled monitoring without leaving a ghost Synix process after an explicit shutdown.
- Backup on Start: Create a server backup before a manual launch.
- Custom backup locations: Store backups on another drive or folder.
- Scheduled maintenance: Configure server restarts for selected days and times.
- Encrypted Synix export: Package
C:\Synixinto a password-protected transfer file for another PC. - Normal export option: Create an unencrypted package when speed and temporary disk usage matter more than package privacy.
- Size and free-space checks: Review estimated package size, working-space requirements, and approximate time before transferring.
- Package verification: Check a transfer package before importing it.
- Crash-safe importing: Stage changes and automatically roll back incomplete imports when possible.
- Protected Synix passwords: Passwords and Discord webhooks saved by Synix are protected for the current Windows user.
- Automatic migration: Older plaintext Synix records and legacy server-data formats are upgraded when loaded.
- Migration backup: Before a server-data schema upgrade is saved, Synix preserves the original file as
servers.json.before-data-v<version>.bak.
Some game servers require passwords in their command line or configuration files. Synix protects its own saved values, but it cannot change how third-party game-server software stores or receives those values.
- Checks for duplicate ports in Synix and ports already being used by Windows processes.
- Tests local server connectivity and supported public connection paths.
- Explains common NAT hairpinning and router-loopback behavior.
- Queries player counts and server information through A2S where supported.
- Uses fallback checks for servers that do not provide a normal A2S response.
- Manages
steam_appid.txtfor profiles that require a Steam API handshake.
Games that expose server discovery only through Epic Online Services may show N/A for player counts and hide unsupported Player Management or LAN/WAN connection-test actions. Synix does not ask normal users to provide EOS integration data that is not available through the normal server installation.
Network Guard watches for unusual bandwidth and resource conditions that may affect the host computer. It is aware of SteamCMD activity to reduce false warnings during large installations and updates.
Network Guard is an experimental warning system. It is not a firewall and cannot block or stop a DDoS attack.
Synix is designed to run as a normal Windows user for routine server management.
- Normal server installation and management do not require Synix to remain elevated.
- Server files stay organized under
C:\Synixor a location selected by the user. - Optional Windows-level actions can request permission only when Windows requires it.
- Synix does not upload your server list or passwords to a Synix-hosted cloud service.
Synix is an independently developed application and does not currently have a paid code-signing certificate. Microsoft Defender SmartScreen may therefore show a warning while a new release builds reputation.
- Download Synix only from the official GitHub releases.
- Confirm that the download came from the official Synix project.
- If SmartScreen provides the option and you trust the download, select More info and then Run anyway.
- Do not disable Windows security features solely to run Synix.
- Report unexpected security warnings so they can be investigated.
Synix includes automated tests and release-readiness checks, but one developer cannot test every supported server after every game update.
If a server fails to install, start, stop, update, or report its status correctly:
- Open Settings → Report a Problem in Synix.
- Select the action that failed.
- Review the generated report and remove anything you do not want to share.
- Submit it through GitHub, copy it for Discord, or open the community support links.
Reports can also be submitted through:
Please include the correct startup arguments or a link to official server documentation when you know the solution. Never include passwords, authentication tokens, Discord webhooks, or other private information.
The Synix knowledge base is included directly in the application and covers:
- First-time setup and dashboard controls
- Server installation and configuration
- Ports and port forwarding
- Local and public connection checks
- NAT hairpinning
- Steam server queries
- Backups and updates
- Scheduled maintenance
- Discord webhooks
- Watchdog and Resource Guard behavior
- Windows Firewall and SmartScreen
- Game-specific guidance
- Application: C# with .NET 10 and Windows Forms
- Architecture: Shared, asynchronous server-management engine with a local desktop interface
- Game definitions: Strict embedded JSON profiles with validated capabilities and no arbitrary script, plugin, assembly, or DLL loading
- Controller selection: Manifest-driven built-in lifecycle, console, configuration, and player controllers
- Installer: WiX-based per-user MSI
- Distribution: GitHub Releases and WinGet
- Publishing: Self-contained .NET 10 Windows x64 single-file executable; the runtime is included with both the standalone application and
SynixSetup.msi - Data: Local versioned JSON persistence with sequential migrations and pre-migration backups; no SQL database required
- Password protection: Windows user-bound encryption with portable encrypted transfer support
- Monitoring: Windows process, CPU, memory, socket, and WMI integration
- Networking: A2S and additional UDP, TCP, HTTP, and local process checks
- Quality checks: Automated tests, CodeQL scanning, package hashes, and a release-readiness report
Official Synix release packages include the .NET 10 runtime and do not require users to install .NET separately. Developers building Synix from source still need the .NET 10 SDK.
Synix is developed independently and made available for personal use without a subscription.
- Join the Synix Discord
- Report a problem or request an improvement
- Donate through PayPal
- Watch the video showcase
Synix Control Panel is source-available for personal, non-commercial use under the Synix Limited Proprietary License.
You may view the source and make private personal modifications. Redistribution, public modified releases, rebranding, and commercial use require written permission from the copyright holder.
Synix Control Panel — spend less time maintaining commands and more time running your servers.