How to join an Anne server

Turn the console on first

You join by pasting connect in the console, not from an old Steam favorite. If the console is off, turn it on in game settings.

1. Options → Keyboard/Mouse → Allow Developer Console, turn it on.
2. Back in game, press ` or ~. If nothing opens, switch the IME so Chinese input is not eating the key.
3. Once you can type, copy the address below.

Copy connect from this site

Open the Server IP page or home, find the server, copy the full connect command, paste it in the console, and press Enter. Anne may give different endpoints by route. Guessing the port will not help.

1. If one server has several routes, start with the one closer to your network.
2. Old addresses in Steam favorites, history, and friend invites often die, especially after a tri-line endpoint change.
3. After you join, type !ip to see other open slots in the same group.

Open the Server IP page

What the connect command looks like

The whole command is connect plus one "address:port", separated by a single space. Nothing else. Paste the string from the IP page as-is — do not retype it, and do not paste only the IP and drop the port. Without a port the game tries the default 27015, and Anne runs a dozen servers on the same machine, so 27015 is probably not the one you want.

Nothing happens and the console shows no error

You probably pasted into the chat box, not the console. The console takes up the top half of the screen with one input line and a large scrollback area. The chat box is a single line that only appears when you press Y or U.

It says Unknown command: connect

The developer console is not actually enabled, or you typed it somewhere other than the main menu. Go back to the options and tick "Allow Developer Console" again.

It says the server is running a different version

Either your game or the server was just updated. Wait a bit and try again, or have Steam verify the integrity of your L4D2 files.

You connect and get dropped straight back to the main menu

That is not an address problem. Work through the troubleshooting article in order instead of reconnecting over and over.

Steam matchmaking often misses us

L4D2 lobby matchmaking looks at region, ping, tags, and player count. Missing Anne servers is common. The server is not down. Direct connect is the reliable way. A match that drops you in another lobby may not even be the same box.

A few situations make matchmaking almost guaranteed to miss the server: it is running a custom map (not on the official list), it is full, or it is in the十 seconds right after a map change. The lobby is simply empty then. Refreshing will not help — connect directly using the address from the IP page.

Why favorites keep taking you to the wrong place

Steam favorites and history store the exact "address:port" you last connected to. Anne hands out different entry points per route, so after a relay change or a port adjustment that saved entry may now point at a different server, or at a port that no longer exists. Friend invites are the same: correct the moment they were sent, not necessarily two weeks later.

• If you always want the same server, still copy from the IP page each time — that page follows the actual configuration.
• If you do keep a favorite, re-check it now and then. When it fails, suspect a stale address before you suspect your network.
• If an address someone gave you does not work, check the IP page to see whether that server is still listed.

Three things to check after you get in

1. Read the chat. Many rooms print the current mode and its limits when you join. Read it before you move.
2. Type !xx or !x to see which config the room actually loaded. Room names not matching the actual config is common.
3. Check the scoreboard to see whether you are a survivor or a spectator. Type !join to take a slot, !away to step out for a moment.

All three take under ten seconds, and they clear up most of the "why am I spectating" and "why is this room so hard" confusion.

Full, or you still cannot get in

If it is full, do not keep shoving. Check other servers in the group on the IP page, or join any one and type !ip to move. Cannot connect, stuck loading, or a custom map will not load? Use the troubleshooting article. Reconnecting alone will not fix it.

Anne's servers are arranged in groups: a few machines in the same group run similar modes, and the player counts are often very uneven. Both the IP page and !ip list the servers in a group along with their current counts. Switching to another one is usually much faster than hammering reconnect on the full one.

If you cannot connect, follow these steps