Terraria Server Hosting

What a Dedicated Terraria Server Changes

Most Terraria groups start with Host & Play: one player opens their world and the rest connect to that PC. It works, but the world exists only while the host is in it. When they quit, everyone else is thrown out, and nobody can farm, fish or build while the host is away. A dedicated server is a separate program, the official Terraria server, that runs the world on its own with no player needed at the keyboard.

You can run that program at home, and Re-Logic's official wiki explains how. In practice it means a computer left switched on, port 7777 forwarded on the router, and your home upload shared with every visitor. A rented server puts the world in a data centre with a fixed address, stable bandwidth and a control panel, so the only job left is playing.

Vanilla, TShock or tModLoader: Picking Your Server

Three kinds of Terraria server are in common use, and the choice decides who can join and what the world can do.

TShock and vanilla look the same to a player, because TShock works on the server side only. tModLoader is different: it is a separate free app on Steam, published by Re-Logic together with the tModLoader team, and its own Steam page states that vanilla players cannot play with tModLoader players. If even one friend refuses to install it, a modded world is off the table.

The Settings in serverconfig.txt

The official server reads its options from serverconfig.txt, which you open from Configuration Files in the panel. Stop the server before editing, or the changes will not be picked up. These are the lines most owners touch:

World Size, Difficulty and Seeds

Size, difficulty and seed are baked into a world when it is generated, so think about them before the first start. A small world suits a handful of players and keeps travel short. A large world gives a big group room to spread out and more of every biome to explore, at the cost of longer trips and a heavier load on the server.

Difficulty works the same way. Classic is the traditional experience, Expert and Master make enemies and bosses tougher and add extra rewards, and Journey adds powers such as time control and item duplication, with the journeypermission settings deciding who may use each one. Bigger & Boulder added a World Seed menu with a new Skyblock seed and special seeds that can be combined, so a second, stranger world for a weekend challenge is easy to set up beside your main one.

• Keep one world: the simplest option, and what most friend groups do.
• Run a second world: back up the first, change the world line in the config, and switch between them with a restart.
• Start over for a new update: fresh worlds generate every new structure, while older ones keep everything you built.

Admin Commands, Bans and Passwords

The vanilla server has no in-game admin list. It is controlled from its console, which on our servers is the Web Console in the panel. Useful commands include:

• playing lists who is online, and say sends a message to everyone.
• kick and ban remove a player; bans are written to banlist.txt.
• save writes the world to disk, and exit saves and shuts down.
• dawn, noon, dusk and midnight set the time; settle settles all water.
• password and motd change the join password and welcome message on the fly.

To lift a ban, open banlist.txt in the File Manager and delete that player's name and IP. If you want admins who can act from inside the game, with logins, groups and permissions, TShock is the usual answer: start it once, read the setup code from its config folder, type /auth with that code in game, then create your own superadmin account.

Running tModLoader Mods on a Server

tModLoader is officially endorsed by Re-Logic and ships monthly updates. Its stable builds are based on Terraria 1.4.4.9, and a 1.4.5 preview branch is being worked on, so a modded server runs the 1.4.4 build until tModLoader moves up.

1. Stop the server and install tModLoader from the Mod Manager.
2. Find the mods you want on the tModLoader Steam Workshop and copy their IDs.
3. Paste the IDs, separated by commas, into the Workshop installer and run it.
4. Start the server and type modlist in the Web Console to confirm everything loaded.
5. Players join with tModLoader, which downloads any mods they are missing.

Big content mods often depend on other mods, so read each Workshop page for dependencies. You can also upload .tmod files from elsewhere into the Mods folder and list them in enabled.json. Add mods one or two at a time and take a backup before each change, so a broken combination costs minutes rather than a world.

Saves, Backups and Moving a World

The server autosaves while people play, saves when you use the exit command, and since 1.4.5.0 also saves as the last player leaves. When nobody is online it hibernates, so the clock stops and crops wait for you. On top of that, panel backups and scheduled backup tasks give you restore points, and we keep offsite copies for the last 7 days.

Moving a world is a file copy. On Windows, single-player worlds live in Documents, My Games, Terraria, Worlds; on macOS in Library, Application Support, Terraria, Worlds; and on Linux in .local/share/Terraria/Worlds. Upload the .wld file, set the world line in serverconfig.txt to match, and start the server. Characters stay on each player's own device, so everyone keeps their gear.

Crossplay in 2026: Where It Stands

Re-Logic is rolling crossplay out in phases. Phase One is about joining a server by IP and port: in its February 2026 State of the Game the studio said this was already in place on PC, the dedicated server and mobile, with consoles to follow. The console side is planned as the 1.4.6 update, which Re-Logic says should arrive in the near future but has not dated. Phase Two is meant to add session IDs or join codes for any player on any platform.

Two practical points follow. Every device must run the same Terraria version as the server, and mobile and console patches can arrive weeks after PC. Crossplay also only applies to vanilla-compatible servers, because tModLoader runs on PC alone.

What to Compare Before You Rent a Terraria Server

Terraria hosting offers can look identical on a price list. These details decide whether the server still suits you after the first few bosses.

1. Memory for your mod listVanilla Terraria is light, but large tModLoader packs are not. Check how much RAM the price includes and what the next tier costs.
2. TShock and tModLoader supportMake sure you can install either from the panel and still reach the files directly when a mod needs a manual fix.
3. Console accessVanilla admin happens in the server console. You need a web console that accepts commands, not just a start button.
4. World uploadsLook for SFTP or a file manager, so moving a .wld file onto the server takes a minute rather than a ticket.
5. Locations you can testRun a ping test from where you play, because latency matters more to combat and building than headline hardware.
6. Backups you controlCheck you can take and restore backups yourself, and how many days of offsite copies are kept.
7. Billing termsCompare monthly and longer terms, and check for setup fees and minimum contract lengths.

Terraria Server Glossary

Dedicated server

The official Terraria server program, which runs a world with no player needed at the host machine.

Host & Play

The in-game way to host, where the world closes when the host leaves.

serverconfig.txt

The file holding the server's settings, such as maxplayers, world, password and difficulty.

.wld file

A Terraria world save, which you upload to move a world onto a server.

TShock

A community server that adds logins, permission groups and plugins while players use the normal game.

tModLoader

The free, Re-Logic endorsed mod platform with its own Steam Workshop. Players need it to join a modded server.

Journey Mode

A difficulty with powers such as time control and duplication, controlled on servers by journeypermission settings.

Expert and Master

Harder difficulties with tougher enemies and bosses and extra rewards.

Seed

The code a world is generated from; 1.4.5 added a World Seed menu with a Skyblock seed.

npcstream

A server setting that reduces enemy skipping by sending more data.

Slots

How many players can be on the server at the same time.

Terraria Server Help and Next Steps

Useful pages for setting up and looking after your world.

• Terraria wiki: ServerEvery config option and console command, on the official wiki.
• Terraria wiki: MultiplayerHow players connect by IP or through Steam.
• tModLoader on SteamThe free mod platform every modded player needs.
• Gaming Deluxe control panelWhat the panel does and how to log in.
• Our server locations
• Contact support24/7 help with setup, mods and moving worlds.