Valheim Server Setup

Your first hour: from order to your crew on the beach

Your server is created automatically once payment clears, normally within 20 minutes. Five steps then give you a named, password-protected world your friends can join.

1. Sign in and stop the serverLog in to the game panel at cpdeluxe.com and stop the server first: Valheim reads its launch line only when it starts.
2. Name it and set a passwordOpen Configuration Files, edit Start.bat, change the server name and password, and press Save.
3. Choose the worldKeep the default world, upload your own, or create one from a seed with the World Manager, then pick it in the Load World field of Start.bat. The worlds chapter covers all three.
4. Start itPress Start. A new world is generated on the first boot, so give it a moment before you try to join.
5. Join by IPCopy the IP and port from Connection Info in the panel. In Valheim open Join Game, press Join IP, paste the address and connect. Valheim's server list does not show every server, so joining by IP is the dependable route.

Around the panel: the Valheim buttons and what they do

A Valheim server is run from a small set of buttons. These are the ones our Valheim guides use.

Plan changes (slots, memory, CPU priority) are made in the client area under Upgrade/Downgrade options rather than in the panel. If a friend helps run the world, create them a panel sub user with just the permissions they need instead of sharing your password.

Server settings: the launch options Valheim reads

Valheim has no big config file. The dedicated server takes its settings as options on its launch line, which Iron Gate documents in the guide that ships with the server. On our panel that line lives in Start.bat.

The essentials

Saving and backups

Crossplay and the rest

The name, password and world are fields in the Start.bat editor, as our password guide shows. If you need one of the other options and cannot see where it goes, ask our support team to add it to your launch line. World modifiers are launch options too; they have their own chapter.

Worlds: a fresh seed, your own upload, or 1.0 from scratch

The world is the one thing your crew will not forgive you for losing. There are three ways to get one onto the server, and Valheim 1.0 changed how worlds are saved.

Create one from a seed

1. Generate itStop the server, open the World Manager, choose Generate New World, type a world name and the seed you want, and press Execute.
2. Load itOpen Configuration Files, edit Start.bat, select the new world in the Load World field, save and start.

Short of ideas? Our seed guide lists ten seeds we like for 1.0. Four of them, to show the range:

Upload a world from your PC

1. Find the filesOn Windows, worlds are kept under %UserProfile%\AppData\LocalLow\IronGate\Valheim. Upload every file that belongs to the world, not just one: for older worlds that is the .db and .fwl pair.
2. Upload themStop the server and put the files in the server's worlds folder. The File Manager has an Upload button, but SFTP avoids corrupted uploads, as our import guide recommends.
3. Select itPick the world in the Load World field of Start.bat, save and start.

What 1.0 changed

Valheim 1.0, released on 9 September 2026, introduced a new save system that splits world data into chunks to write less at a time and survive a failed write. An older world converts the first time 1.0 loads it, and the game keeps a backup from that moment. That backup mattered early on: a conversion bug, fixed in patch 1.0.12, cost items on item and armour stands their upgrade levels, and Iron Gate pointed affected players back to it. Before you load a precious pre-1.0 world on the server, download a copy.

Old worlds still get the new content, but biomes only generate properly in areas nobody has explored, which is why Iron Gate recommends a fresh world for the Deep North. On a server you can have both: keep the old world as a backup and start a new one beside it.

World modifiers: difficulty presets and custom rules

World modifiers change how hard and how generous a world is. On a dedicated server they are launch options, so the whole crew plays by the same rules.

Presets

-preset sets several modifiers at once and overwrites any set before it. The values are Normal, Casual, Easy, Hard, Hardcore, Immersive and Hammer.

Single modifiers

Put modifiers after a preset if you combine them, so the preset does not wipe them out. For example, -preset hard -modifier raids none gives a hard world without raids.

On and off switches

-setkey turns on a checkbox modifier: nobuildcost, playerevents, passivemobs or nomap. With nomap there is no map to lean on, so the crew finds its way by landmarks.

Crossplay or Steam: choosing the backend

Since 1.0, Valheim supports crossplay between every platform it is sold on. Whether your server uses it depends on one launch option, and the choice changes how people join.

Joining with a code

Once the server runs on the crossplay backend, anyone already inside can open the pause menu and click the join code to copy it. Friends then go to Join Game, press Add server and paste the code.

Three things to know

• Consoles join, they do not host: Iron Gate's crossplay FAQ says you cannot run a dedicated server on an Xbox. Console players join a server like yours, with crossplay on at both ends.
• Mods and consoles do not mix: there is no mod support on consoles, so a world whose mods every player must install is in practice a PC-only world.
• Patches land at different speeds: with patch 1.0.20, Iron Gate warned that Mac App Store players could not crossplay until that store caught up. When a patch is staggered, crew members on the slower platform cannot join until their store has it.

Mods: BepInEx, Thunderstore and Valheim Plus

Iron Gate does not officially support mods, and there is no Steam Workshop for Valheim. The PC community runs a large mod scene on BepInEx anyway, and our panel has three routes in.

From Thunderstore, automatically

1. Install BepInExStop the server and install BepInEx from the Frameworks category of the Mod Manager. Do not install BepInEx or HookGenPatcher as Thunderstore mods: they are loaders, and installing them as mods breaks the server.
2. List your modsOpen Valheim.mods under Configuration Files with the text editor and add one mod per line, written as the part of its Thunderstore address after "package", for example RandyKnapp/EquipmentAndQuickSlots/.
3. Install themPress the ThunderStore.io Mods button and wait for the installs to finish.
4. Start and configureStart the server once so each mod writes its settings, then adjust them in BepInEx/config. A few mods keep theirs in their own folder under BepInEx/plugins.

From anywhere else, by hand

Mods from Nexus Mods or elsewhere are uploaded over SFTP: put the folder that holds the mod's plugin.dll, plus every file that came with it, into BepInEx/plugins, then start the server to generate its config. Our mod guide covers the awkward zips with folders inside folders.

Valheim Plus

Valheim Plus bundles dozens of tweaks, from building to stamina, and is one of the ways to raise the player cap. Install it from the Mod Manager and follow the prompts. Its config file has a [Server] section, and with enforceMod on, which its authors strongly recommend, every player needs Valheim Plus as well. The community-maintained build released version 0.10.3.0, for Valheim 1.0.20, on 16 October 2026; check that your version matches the game before you update the server.

Keeping a modded world healthy

• Add one mod, test it, then add the next. Thirty mods at once means that when one breaks, you cannot tell which.
• Read each mod's description for dependencies and extra steps, and avoid mods that have gone a long time without an update.
• Players can grab the server's mods and configs in one go: the Download BepInEx ModPack button builds an installer they run in their Valheim folder.
• After a Valheim update, wait for your key mods to catch up before updating the server, or pin the old version (see the updates chapter).
• For mods installed through Thunderstore, an Update ThunderStore.io Mods scheduled task keeps them current automatically.

Admins, bans and private worlds

Valheim handles permissions with three plain text files in the server's save folder. Each takes one Platform User ID per line.

Making yourself admin

1. Find your IDJoin the server and press F2. Your ID is in the list, written as platform and number, for example Steam_76561198000000000. It is case-sensitive.
2. Add itStop the server, open adminlist.txt under Configuration Files and put your ID on its own line. Save and start.
3. Enable your consoleOn Steam, add -console to Valheim's launch options (right-click the game, Properties, General). On Xbox the console is on by default.
4. Use itIn game, press F5 to open the console.

Admin commands

• kick <name> removes a player from the server.
• ban <name> bans a player, and unban <name> lets them back.
• banned lists everyone who is banned.

Three ways to keep a world private

• A password: the everyday lock, set in Start.bat. Share it only inside the crew.
• Off the list: -public 0 hides the server from the browser, so only people with the address can try to join.
• A permitted list: the strictest option. Only the IDs in permittedlist.txt get in; everyone else is turned away.

Most other console commands only work after devcommands. Since 1.0, using them marks your character and world as cheated and locks them out of achievements, and the game asks you to confirm before it does. Commands such as freefly are exceptions. Use them on a test world, not your crew's main save.

Slots, memory and the 10-player limit

Valheim is built for 1 to 10 players per world, and Iron Gate kept it that way at 1.0. Our plans go higher because mods can lift the cap; this is what that takes and how to size memory.

• Slots: 10, 24, 32, 48 or 64 players.
• Memory: 10GB included, with 12GB, 14GB, 16GB, 20GB, 24GB and 32GB on the order form. Our plan cards pair more memory with more slots.
• CPU: 5.0GHz included, 5.2GHz+ and 5.6GHz+ upgrades, and High or Realtime CPU priority.
• Storage: NVMe at 7,500MB/s with up to 100GB included.

Going past 10 players

The order form says it plainly: above 10 slots you need a BepInEx plugin or Valheim Plus from the Mod Manager, configured to allow the higher number. With Valheim Plus that is the maxPlayers line in the [Server] section of its config, 10 by default. Because Valheim Plus normally has to be on every player's PC too, a server above 10 is a PC crew's server.

[Server]
enabled=true
maxPlayers=24
enforceMod=true
serverSyncsConfig=true

With serverSyncsConfig on, also the default, the server pushes its Valheim Plus settings to every player who connects, so the whole crew plays by the same rules.

How much memory?

Iron Gate does not publish memory figures for the dedicated server. Usage typically grows with how much of the world is active at once: players spread across distant bases, big builds, and mod packs that add creatures, items or build pieces. Start on the included 10GB, watch Activity and Stats on busy evenings, and step up a tier when memory sits near the ceiling. Upgrades are made in the client area under Upgrade/Downgrade options, and the memory guide has the clicks.

Versions, updates, restarts and backups

Iron Gate has been patching 1.0 quickly: 1.0.14 to 1.0.17 in the weeks after launch, and 1.0.20 on 15 October 2026. Every patch means the server has to match the players' version.

Updating, or holding back

1. Stop the serverUpdates and version changes need it stopped.
2. Pick the versionTo stay current, skip this step. To run another build, open Service Settings, pick it in the Server version drop-down and press Execute. Older builds and public test builds are both there.
3. Steam UpdatePress Steam Update and let it finish.
4. Start and testStart the server and join before your crew does.

A world generated on a newer version will not load on an older one, so roll back with care. Mods can break on a different version too; when a patch lands, players who update first cannot join an older server until it catches up.

Restarts and automatic updates

Scheduled Tasks can restart the server on a timer and run Steam updates for you: pick the first time, then repeat every few hours across the day. Tasks follow the server's clock, so set your panel profile's time zone to match; our restart guide shows how. For a modded world, an Update ThunderStore.io Mods task keeps those mods current as well.

Backups

Valheim saves every 30 minutes and keeps its own rolling backups, as the launch options chapter shows. For a copy of your own, download the world's files from the worlds folder over SFTP, especially before a major patch or a version change. Remember that a Reinstall returns the server to default and deletes its files.

When it breaks: the Valheim fixes we try first

Most Valheim tickets we see have one of these causes. Work through them before you reinstall anything.

• The server is not in the listValheim's list does not show every server, and that is normal. Join with Join IP and the address from Connection Info, or with the join code on a crossplay server.
• Incompatible version when joiningThe server and the player are on different builds. Update the server, check the Server version setting, and make sure the player has not opted into a beta.
• Modded players get an incompatibility errorTheir mods do not match the server. Have them install the server's pack with the Download BepInEx ModPack button.
• The server broke after adding modsRemove the newest mod and start again. Check that BepInEx or HookGenPatcher were not installed as Thunderstore mods.
• The uploaded world does not loadPick it in the Load World field of Start.bat, and check that every file of the world was uploaded, not just one.
• Crossplay friends cannot joinThe server needs the crossplay backend, and a local IP address does not work with it. Use the join code or the public IP. After a staggered patch, players on the slower platform have to wait for their store to catch up.
• Admin commands do nothingCheck the ID in adminlist.txt, including the platform prefix and capitals, and restart. On Steam, the console needs the -console launch option.
• More than 10 players cannot joinVanilla Valheim stops at 10. Install Valheim Plus or a similar plugin and raise its player limit, and give players the mod too.
• Config changes are ignoredThey were saved while the server was running. Stop it, save again, start it.

Hosting Valheim yourself or renting: an honest comparison

The Valheim Dedicated Server is a free tool on Steam, and many crews start by running it at home. Whether that keeps working depends on who hosts it and when the others want to play.

At home you install Valheim Dedicated Server from the Tools section of your Steam library, edit a copy of start_headless_server.bat (the original is reset by each update), and forward ports 2456 and 2457 unless you use crossplay. Iron Gate also asks you to stop it with Ctrl+C rather than closing the window, or it may keep running in the background. Running the server on the PC you play on has a known cost: patch 1.0.20 fixed a bug where a dedicated server ran at an uncapped frame rate if v-sync was on in a client on the same computer.

For a couple of friends who always play together, the host's PC works well enough. Once someone wants to log in while the host is offline, a rented server pays for itself in arguments avoided. Plans and prices are on our Valheim Server Hosting page.