Dedicated Servers: Running Local Projects with Hidden Serverside Code

s&box dedicated servers can run entirely local projects as the game using the command line argument:

+game c:/git/sbox-mygame/.sbproj

Assets are still fetched from the cloud version of the game. Missing assets are sent directly from the server to clients, including code.

Serverside Code

This is the only opportunity for running serverside code that can be safely hidden from clients. When publishing a game, s&box strips out serverside code — running your own dedicated server with a local project gives you control over code that clients never see.

This is useful for anti-cheat logic, server-authoritative game rules, or any sensitive code you don't want distributed to players. The local project approach means you can iterate quickly on server code without publishing updates to the platform.