You can control your game servers from your game client, a custom backend service, or any other application by using the PlayFlow API. We provide two primary ways to interact with the API:
  • Unity SDK: A convenient C# wrapper for developers using Unity.
  • REST API: For all other game engines and custom backends.

Game Servers REST API Reference

Explore the full REST API for endpoints, parameters, and responses.

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Unity SDK Examples

The following examples use the PlayflowServerApiClient class from the SDK.

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Initialization

First, you need to initialize the client with your PlayFlow API key. 
using PlayFlow.SDK.Servers;

// Your API key from the PlayFlow dashboard
string playflowApiKey = "YOUR_API_KEY_HERE"; 

private PlayflowServerApiClient _apiClient;

void Start()
{
    _apiClient = new PlayflowServerApiClient(playflowApiKey);
}

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Starting a Game Server

To start a new server, you provide a configuration that specifies the server’s name, region, and any custom data you want to pass to it. 
private async void StartNewServer()
{
    var serverRequest = new ServerCreateRequest
    {
        name = "MyCustomServer",
        region = "us-east",
        custom_data = new Dictionary<string, object>
        {
            { "map_name", "castle_siege" }
        }
    };

    try
    {
        ServerStartResponse response = await _apiClient.StartServerAsync(serverRequest);
        Debug.Log($"Server is starting! Instance ID: {response.instance_id}");
    }
    catch (PlayFlowApiException e)
    {
        Debug.LogError($"Failed to start server: {e.Message}");
    }
}

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Stopping a Game Server

To stop a running server, you just need its unique instance_id. 
private async void StopServer(string instanceId)
{
    try
    {
        ServerStopResponse response = await _apiClient.StopServerAsync(instanceId);
        Debug.Log($"Server stop initiated. Status: {response.status}");
    }
    catch (PlayFlowApiException e)
    {
        Debug.LogError($"Failed to stop server: {e.Message}");
    }
}

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Listing Game Servers

You can get a list of all your currently running servers. This is perfect for building a server browser. 
private async void ListAllServers()
{
    try
    {
        ServerList response = await _apiClient.ListServersAsync(includeLaunching: true);
        Debug.Log($"Found {response.total_servers} total servers.");

        foreach (var server in response.servers)
        {
            Debug.Log($"- Server: {server.name}, Status: {server.status}");
        }
    }
    catch (PlayFlowApiException e)
    {
        Debug.LogError($"Failed to list servers: {e.Message}");
    }
}