Team Fortress 2 has many options available for team balancing, and whether players prefer to play in smaller groups or on larger servers, there are plenty of opportunities to ensure that the matches are fair and fun. One of the more popular server features is team autobalancing, which automatically moves players based on the team balance. In addition, there are available commands to fill servers up with bots while kicking them as players join. This ensures the games will always be lively, regardless of the active player count.

Requirement: RCON access is required to use commands from in-game.

How to Add Bots on a Team Fortress 2 Server

1. Log in to the BisectHosting Starbase panel.

2. Go to the Console tab.

3. Run the following command to add bots to the server: tf_bot_add <amount> <team> <class>

<team> and <class> values are optional. Options for these fields are as follows:

• <team> = red, blue
• <class> = scout, soldier, pyro, demoman, heavyweapons, engineer, medic, sniper, spy

Note: The command will only add bots if a player is logged in to the server. 

How to Add Bots on a Team Fortress 2 Server with RCON 

1. Join the server.

2. Press the Tilde (`) Key to open the console.

3. Run the following command to login to RCON: rcon_password [password]

4. Run the following command to add bots to the server: rcon tf_bot_add <amount> <team> <class>

Note: The console will not show whether commands go through when entered.

How to Add Bots to a Team Fortress 2 Server Automatically 

1. Log in to the BisectHosting Starbase panel.

2. Stop the server.

3. Go to the Files tab.

4. Find the following directory: /home/container/tf/cfg .

5. Open the server.cfg file.

If not present, choose Create and select Create File.

6. Enter the following lines, replacing <X> with the desired number of bots.

tf_bot_quota "<X>"
tf_bot_quota_mode "fill"
tf_bot_auto_vacate "1"

7. Press the Save button.

If creating for the first time, name the file server.cfg and click Create File.

8. Start the server. The server will automatically fill with bots and disconnect to make room for real players.