> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://wiki.stmod.net/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://wiki.stmod.net/launcher/server-profiles.md).
# Server profiles
A **server profile** is one saved Metin2 server: its name, which client binary STMod should start, whether it's a private or an Official server, and any command-line argument that client needs. Every profile keeps its own settings, so switching between servers never mixes up your farming lists, hotkeys or antiban rules.
You need at least one profile before you can start a client, so this is the first thing you do after installing STMod.
## The login window
This is the window that opens when you start STMod and log in.
STMod login window (build v131026)
* **Search server** — Type part of a profile name to jump to it in the list below.
* **Profile list** (the dropdown) — Every profile you've created. Picking one loads its saved client path, server type and arguments into the fields underneath.
* **Add new server** — Creates a new profile. See [Creating a profile](#creating-a-profile) below.
* **X** — Deletes the selected profile.
* **Language** — The interface language. The list is built from the language files STMod downloads into `Data\Languages`.
* **Client settings:**
* **Server name** — The profile's name. It's also used as its folder name on disk.
* **Client path** — The game client STMod will start and attach to. **`...`** re-opens the file picker if you need to point the profile at a different binary (for example after moving your Metin2 folder).
* **Special arguments** — For protected clients that refuse to start on their own and tell you to "open the client with the autopatcher". Those clients are started by the patcher with a command-line argument; tick this box, put that argument in the field, and STMod can start the game directly without going through the patcher. The [Argument dumper](/launcher/launcher-menus.md#argument-dumper) reads the argument off a running client for you, and **`?`** repeats this explanation.
* **Private servers / Official servers** — Which kind of server this profile is. STMod sets this for you when the profile is created, based on the client it finds.
* **Auto start on new launch** — Skips this window next time: STMod goes straight into the launcher with the profile that was last used.
* **Next** — Opens the launcher with the selected profile.
{% hint style="warning" %}
**X** deletes the profile's whole folder under `Data\Servers`, including everything saved in it — its settings, lists and recordings. It asks first, but there's no undo.
{% endhint %}
## Creating a profile
You can start this from either window:
* the login window's **Add new server** button, or
* the launcher's **File → Settings → Switch profile** window, using its **Add new** button.
{% hint style="info" %}
Both buttons open the same **Add new server** window and do the same thing. The only difference is what happens when it finishes: started from **Switch profile**, STMod also switches straight over to the new profile.
{% endhint %}
### 1. Name the profile
Add new server — type the server's name
Type the server's name and press **Add new server** (or just hit `Enter`).
The name becomes a folder name, so STMod rejects anything Windows can't store: the characters `\ / : * ? " < > |`, a name ending in a dot, and reserved names like `CON`, `NUL`, `COM1` or `LPT1`.
### 2. Pick the game client
Pick the client itself — not the patcher
Browse to your Metin2 folder and select the client binary — usually `metin2client.exe`, `metin2client.bin` or something like `Client.exe`.
{% hint style="warning" %}
Pick the **game client**, not the patcher or launcher. STMod attaches to the game itself; the patcher only downloads files and then starts the game. STMod inspects the file you chose and warns you when it looks like a patcher — it also lists the files in the same folder that look more like the real client.
If you're not sure which file it is: start the game normally through the patcher, open Task Manager (`Ctrl+Shift+Esc`), and the process that appears once the game window opens is your client.
{% endhint %}
### 3. Confirm what STMod detected
Depending on what you selected, you may see one or more of these:
* **"The server name does not match the client you selected"** — STMod compares your profile name against the binary's name and the folder it sits in. It suggests names it worked out from those, and you can either continue with your own name or answer **No** to have the best suggestion filled in for you.
* **"This looks like the patcher"** / **"Not recognised as a Metin2 client"** — Answer **Yes** only if you're certain. Some servers protect their client so it can't be identified, which is a legitimate reason to continue anyway.
* **"A profile named ... already exists"** — Shows what that profile currently points at, and asks whether to re-point it at the client you just picked.
* **"You must select the correct metin2client binary"** — A few servers are known to need one specific binary. STMod checks that list and tells you exactly which file to pick.
* **"You must select metin2client.exe!"** — Shown on GameForge clients, where the binary always has that name.
Once you confirm, the profile is written to disk and selected for you. Nothing is saved until this point, so cancelling the file picker leaves no half-made profile behind.
{% hint style="info" %}
**Private or Official is detected, not asked.** STMod looks for a GameForge-style locale folder in the client's path (`de-DE`, `ro-RO`, `en-GB`, `tr-TR` and so on). If it finds one, the profile is created as an Official-servers profile; otherwise it's a private-server profile.
{% endhint %}
{% hint style="warning" %}
Your Metin2 folder must not contain non-English characters anywhere in its path. STMod checks this and refuses, because the game client will not work correctly from such a path. Move the folder somewhere plain, like `C:\Metin2`.
{% endhint %}
```mermaid
flowchart TB
A[Add new server] --> B[Type the profile name]
B --> C{Valid folder name?}
C -->|No| B
C -->|Yes| D[Pick the client binary]
D --> E{Path has special characters?}
E -->|Yes| F[Refused: move the Metin2 folder]
E -->|No| G{GameForge locale folder in the path?}
G -->|Yes| H[Official servers profile]
G -->|No| I[Inspect the binary: client, patcher or unknown?]
I --> J[Confirm name / patcher / overwrite]
J --> K[Private servers profile]
H --> L[Profile saved and selected]
K --> L
```
## Switching profiles
Once a client is running you don't have to restart STMod to change servers. In the launcher, open **File → Settings → Switch profile**.
Switch profile
* **Search** — Type part of a profile name; the list jumps to the first match. Pressing `Enter` switches to it straight away.
* The dropdown lists every profile; it opens on the one you used last.
* **Add new** — Creates a new profile and switches to it (same flow as above).
* **Select** — Switches to the profile shown in the dropdown.
Switching reloads that profile's settings, re-applies the theme, and updates **Current server** in the launcher's status bar. If the profile's client binary is no longer where it was saved, STMod says so and asks you to browse for it, then finishes the switch.
{% hint style="info" %}
Your current settings are saved before the Switch profile window opens, so you won't lose anything by switching.
{% endhint %}
## Where profiles are stored
Each profile is a folder under STMod's `Data\Servers` directory, named after the profile, holding that profile's own `settings.st`. The file next to those folders, `Data\Servers\settings.st`, only remembers which profile was used last.
{% hint style="warning" %}
**File → Settings → Reset settings** deletes STMod's entire `Data` folder — every profile, every saved list, every recording. It is not a "reset this profile" option. See [Launcher menus](/launcher/launcher-menus.md#settings).
{% endhint %}
