How To Host A Valheim Dedicated Server

A Valheim dedicated server keeps your world online so your group can play without the host being in the game. This guide follows Iron Gate's own instruction manual, the one that ships with the server, and the scripts that come with it. Where we ran something ourselves to check it, we say so. Expect about 30 minutes, most of it the download.

What You Need

• A Windows or Linux machine that can stay on while people play. The server is a free tool on Steam: you do not need a second copy of the game.
• About 2 GB of disk space for the server itself. Our test install on 4 October 2026 was 2.1 GB on Linux and 2.0 GB on Windows, plus room for worlds and backups.
• Memory. Iron Gate publishes no hardware requirements for the server. Our test server used about 1.3 GB of RAM with a fresh, empty world, and took about a minute to start on one CPU core. A world that has been played for weeks will need more.
• Up to 10 players. Valheim is a game for 1 to 10 players, and there is no launch option to change that.
• On Linux, the packages libatomic1, libpulse-dev and libpulse0, and GLIBC 2.29 and GLIBCXX 3.4.26 or newer. Older systems can use the Docker script that ships with the server (see Common Problems).

Install The Server With SteamCMD

On a desktop with Steam, the simplest route is Iron Gate's: in your Steam Library, open the dropdown at the top left, tick Tools, find Valheim Dedicated Server and click Install.

On a machine without Steam, such as a Linux VPS, use SteamCMD, Valve's command-line Steam client. The Valheim Dedicated Server is app 896660 and downloads with an anonymous login, so you do not sign in with your own Steam account.

Linux:

steamcmd +force_install_dir ~/valheim-server +login anonymous +app_update 896660 validate +quit

Windows (from the folder where you unpacked SteamCMD):

steamcmd.exe +force_install_dir C:\valheim-server +login anonymous +app_update 896660 validate +quit

Run the same command again whenever Valheim updates. It downloads only what changed.

Ports And Firewall

Iron Gate's manual says the server uses the port you choose and the one above it: 2456 and 2457 by default. The start scripts that ship with the server go one further and say to forward 2456 to 2458. Forward all three and you have covered both.

Neither document names the protocol. When we ran a test server on 4 October 2026 it listened on UDP only, with no TCP port open to the outside, so forward UDP.

• On your router, forward the ports to the machine running the server. Iron Gate does not give router steps because every router differs, so check your router's manual.
• On Windows, a Windows Firewall prompt appears the first time the server starts. The manual says to tick every box so the server can reach the internet.
• With crossplay on, you do not need port forwarding at all, because the server talks through a relay (see Crossplay). The port number still matters if you run several servers on one IP address.

Configure The Server

Valheim has no settings file. Everything is a launch option on the line that starts the server, so configuring it means editing that line:

The password needs at least 5 characters and must not appear in the server name. The shipped start scripts say so, and the server will not accept it otherwise.

Presets and modifiers set the world's difficulty. A preset such as Hard or Casual sets several modifiers at once, and any -modifier you add must come after the -preset, because setting a preset overwrites earlier modifiers.

Tip: Our free Valheim Server Settings Generator writes this line for you, checks the password rules, and puts presets and modifiers in the right order.

Start The Server

The server ships with a start script: start_headless_server.bat on Windows and start_server.sh on Linux.

1. Make a copy of the script with your own file name and edit the copy. Steam resets the original every time the server updates. The one catch, per the manual: Steam's launch button only runs the original, so start your copy yourself.
2. Edit the line that starts valheim_server. Set the name, world and password at least. The shipped scripts as of 4 October 2026 include -crossplay; remove it if you only want Steam players and the server browser.
3. Run the copy. On Windows double-click it. On Linux, open a terminal in the server folder and run it, for example ./start_my_server.sh.
4. Wait for "Game server connected". That message means the server is ready for players. On our test server it took about a minute the first time, while the world was created.

To stop the server, press CTRL+C in its window. The manual warns that closing the window with the X may leave the server running in the background.

Join Your Server

How players join depends on how the server is set up:

• Server browser: with -public 1 on the Steam backend, the server is listed in Valheim's community server list.
• Join IP: players click Join IP and enter your public IP address and port. This is the only way in when the server runs with -public 0.
• On your own network: with -public 0, players on the same network can join with the server's local IP address. Iron Gate suggests this for a LAN server.
• Crossplay servers: players join with the server's join code, its public IP address and port, or from the server list. A crossplay server cannot be joined with a local or loopback IP address, even from the same network.

Crossplay

Add -crossplay to the start line to run the server on the crossplay backend (PlayFab), which lets players on any platform Valheim supports join. Without it, the server uses the Steam backend, and only Steam players can see and join it.

• No port forwarding: a crossplay server sends its traffic through a relay server.
• Several servers on one machine: if you run more than one crossplay server with the same port from the same machine, give each a different -instanceid so each gets its own PlayFab ID.
• Joining on the same network: use the join code or public IP, because local IP addresses do not work with crossplay.

Admins, Backups And Updates

Admins, bans and the permitted list

Three text files in the save folder control who can do what: adminlist.txt, bannedlist.txt and permittedlist.txt. Add one Platform User ID per line. The ID looks like [Platform]_[User ID], is case sensitive, and is shown in the server log or in game in the F2 panel.

Adding anyone to permittedlist.txt turns it into a whitelist: everyone not on it is locked out.

Admins can open the console in game with F5 and use kick, ban and unban with a player's name, or banned to list banned players.

Where your world is saved

Unless you set -savedir, worlds and the three lists are kept here:

• Windows: %USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\IronGate\Valheim
• Linux: ~/.config/unity3d/IronGate/Valheim

Since Valheim 1.0, each world is saved as a folder in worlds_local, not as a single file. Copy the whole folder when you move or back up a world.

Backups

The server saves every 30 minutes and keeps four automatic backups by default: one that is 2 hours old and three that are 12 hours apart. Change this with -saveinterval, -backups, -backupshort and -backuplong, all in seconds. Our test server made its first automatic backup as a separate folder next to the world. Copying the save folder somewhere else from time to time protects you if the disk itself fails.

Updates

When Valheim updates, update the server too. Stop it, update it (Steam does this for you; with SteamCMD, run the install command again), then start your copy of the start script.

Common Problems

The server will not take my password

The password must be at least 5 characters and must not appear anywhere in the server name. Change one of them.

My settings disappeared after an update

You edited the original start script, and the update reset it. Put your settings in a copy with a different file name, as above.

Friends cannot find or join the server

Check that UDP ports 2456 to 2458 are forwarded to the right machine and allowed through the firewall, and that the server showed "Game server connected". With -public 0 the server is not listed; players must use Join IP. If none of that helps, try -crossplay, which needs no port forwarding.

I cannot join my crossplay server from my own network

Crossplay servers do not accept local or loopback IP addresses. Join with the join code or your public IP address instead.

The server keeps running after I close it

Closing the window with the X may leave it running in the background. Stop it with CTRL+C, or end valheim_server in Task Manager.

It will not start on an older Linux system

The server needs GLIBC 2.29 and GLIBCXX 3.4.26 or newer. If your system is older, Iron Gate's answer is Docker: run ./docker_start_server.sh start_server.sh (or your copy) from the server folder. The first run builds the container and takes a few minutes. Worlds and lists are kept in the volume set by DOCKER_DATA_VOLUME in that script.

SteamCMD says "Missing configuration"

In our tests SteamCMD sometimes failed this way on the first run, then installed the server when we ran the same command again.

Or Rent A Server Instead

Hosting it yourself is free, but the machine has to stay on, you handle the ports, updates and backups, and everyone's connection runs through your internet. A rented Valheim server stays online on the host's hardware and network, and you set it up from a control panel, where you paste the same launch options. Compare what each host includes, such as backups and server locations, before you buy.

Compare Valheim server hosts on price, locations, backups and support. When your server is running, add it to the Valheim server list for free so players can find it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

Checked on 4 October 2026 against:

• Iron Gate, A Guide to Dedicated Servers, and the Valheim Dedicated Server Instruction Manual that ships with the server
• The start_headless_server.bat and start_server.sh scripts that ship with the server
• Valheim on Steam for the player count, and Iron Gate's patch notes for the 1.0 changes
• Valve, SteamCMD
• Our own test install and test server, run on Linux on 4 October 2026