Enshrouded dedicated server: config and ports

An Enshrouded dedicated server is a free Windows application (Steam app 2278520) configured by one file, enshrouded_server.json, in its install folder. It holds up to 16 players, needs one UDP port open (the query port, 15637 by default), and stores its world in a savegame folder as a small set of files with hex names. Access is controlled by user groups: each group has its own password and its own permissions, and the password a player types decides which group they join as. There is no admin console and no RCON - kicking and banning happen in the in-game player list, by players whose group allows it. It runs comfortably in 6-8 GB of memory for a full group. The rest is detail, and the detail is where a world gets lost.

How hosting Enshrouded works#

Enshrouded can be played in three ways: alone, hosted from inside the game by one player, or on a dedicated server. In-game hosting ties the world to the host's PC; when they log off, the world goes with them. A dedicated server keeps the world running with nobody online and lets anyone in the group play on their own schedule.

Two things about Enshrouded's design shape the rest of this guide:

• Characters are stored on each player's PC, not on the server. The server holds the world - terrain, buildings, chests, NPCs, progress flags. A character's inventory and skills come with the player. That is why one character can visit several worlds, and why the server cannot stop someone from arriving with gear from elsewhere.
• The server binary is Windows-only. Keen Games ship a Windows build. On a Linux machine it runs under Wine or Proton, which works and costs some memory. Wine and Proton for Windows-only servers covers that setup in general.

The game is in early access, and the server's config file has changed shape more than once. Old guides refer to a single password field and a separate game port. Current builds use user groups and only the query port. Where this guide gives a default, check it against the file your own server generates.

Requirements#

Enshrouded's server is lighter than its graphics suggest, but voxel terrain that players dig and build in grows the save and the memory.

Add a little memory if the server runs under Wine. The install is several gigabytes and grows with updates; the save itself is small at first and grows as the world is terraformed and built on. As with most survival games, a fast core matters more than many cores. Before blaming the server for lag, find out whether it is actually at a limit - CPU vs RAM for game servers shows how to read that off the graphs.

Installing and first start#

On your own machine, SteamCMD fetches the server anonymously. Because it is a Windows build, force the Windows platform when downloading on Linux:

$ steamcmd +@sSteamCmdForcePlatformType windows \    +force_install_dir /home/enshrouded/server \    +login anonymous +app_update 2278520 validate +quit

Start enshrouded_server.exe once (under Wine on Linux) and let it run until it reports it is ready, then stop it. The first start writes enshrouded_server.json with defaults and creates the savegame and logs folders. Edit the file only with the server stopped; the server reads it at startup. SteamCMD explained covers the download step in more depth.

enshrouded_server.json, key by key#

A freshly generated file on a current build looks broadly like this (trimmed):

{  "name": "Longship Enshrouded",  "saveDirectory": "./savegame",  "logDirectory": "./logs",  "ip": "0.0.0.0",  "queryPort": 15637,  "slotCount": 16,  "gameSettingsPreset": "Default",  "gameSettings": {    "playerHealthFactor": 1,    "enemyDamageFactor": 1,    "shroudTimeFactor": 1,    "tombstoneMode": "AddBackpackMaterials",    "dayTimeDuration": 1800000000000,    "nightTimeDuration": 720000000000  },  "userGroups": [    {      "name": "Admin",      "password": "change-this-admin-pass",      "canKickBan": true,      "canAccessInventories": true,      "canEditBase": true,      "canExtendBase": true,      "reservedSlots": 0    }  ]}

The top-level keys:

JSON is strict. A trailing comma after the last item in a list, a missing quote or a comment line is enough for the server to refuse the file or fall back to defaults. Paste the file into a JSON validator, or a code editor that flags syntax errors, before you start the server - syntax highlighting alone makes a missing bracket easier to see, but it will not always tell you.

Game settings#

gameSettingsPreset picks a bundle. To use individual values, set it to Custom and edit gameSettings; with a named preset, the individual values are ignored. A selection of the settings players ask about:

The time values catch people out: they are in nanoseconds, so 1800000000000 is 30 minutes. Add or remove zeros carefully. The set of available settings has grown with updates; the file your server writes on first start lists every one your version understands, and that is the reference to use.

tombstoneMode is the one to agree as a group. AddBackpackMaterials drops materials on death but keeps equipment; Everything drops it all; NoTombstone drops nothing. For a casual group, the default is fair. For a group that wants risk, Everything makes the Shroud genuinely dangerous.

User groups, passwords and permissions#

User groups replace the single server password of early versions. Each group has:

• name - shown to admins, not players.
• password - what a player types when joining. The password decides the group.
• canKickBan - can kick and ban from the in-game player list.
• canAccessInventories - can open other players' chests.
• canEditBase - can build and change existing bases.
• canExtendBase - can place flame altars and extend bases.
• reservedSlots - slots held back for this group, so they can join a full server.

A sensible layout for a group of friends is three groups: an Admin group for one or two people with every permission and a reserved slot; a Friend group that can build and open chests; and a Guest group for visitors that can play but cannot touch bases or chests. Give the Admin password to as few people as possible - anyone with it can kick and ban everyone else. Later builds have added further permissions; your generated file shows what your version has.

Kicking and banning happen in game: an admin opens the player list and acts on the player. There are no console commands for it and no RCON. Changing a group's password is the blunt but reliable way to lock out everyone who had it.

Ports and connecting#

Current builds use the query port only. If your generated config contains a gamePort key, your build still uses it and both ports must be open. Both are UDP; a TCP rule is the classic reason a server is running but unreachable. Game server ports explained covers why query ports exist.

Players find the server in the in-game browser by searching its name, or join by entering the address and port directly. A new server takes a few minutes to appear in the list. If a direct connection works and the list does not show the server, the server is fine and the list is slow.

Moving a local world onto the server#

A world played locally or hosted from the game can be moved to the dedicated server. Local worlds are saved by the game client - on a Steam copy, under Steam's userdata folder for app 1203620, or under Saved Games\Enshrouded in your user folder, depending on settings and version.

1. Stop the server and back up its savegame folder.
2. On your PC, find the world you want: a hex-named file plus files with the same name and suffixes such as -index and numbered backups. Copy them.
3. The server loads the world with the name 3ad85aea from its save directory. Rename your world's main file and its -index file to that name, keeping the suffixes.
4. Upload them into the server's savegame folder, replacing what is there.
5. Start the server and join. You should see your world, with your bases.

Characters do not need to move; they come with each player. If a player has played the world locally as the host, their character is on their own PC and works on the server as is.

Upload over SFTP or the file manager - SFTP and the file manager has the details. The world files are small enough that either works.

Saves, backups and updates#

The server writes the world to savegame on its own schedule and keeps a handful of rolling backups next to it, as numbered copies of the world file. Those protect against a corrupt write, not against a deleted server or a mistake: they are on the same disk.

• Stop cleanly. A clean stop writes the world. A killed process loses whatever happened since the last save.
• Back up somewhere else, daily, and before every game update. Early-access updates have changed the save format; a save from before an update is your way back.
• Restore occasionally, to prove the backup works. Backups that actually restore explains why that matters.
• Update the server when the game updates. A client on a newer version cannot join an older server.

Restarts and long-running worlds

Enshrouded's server, like most early-access survival servers, tends to use more memory the longer it runs and the more of the world players have dug into. A weekly or daily restart at a quiet hour keeps that flat and costs a minute. Schedule it rather than relying on someone to remember, and announce it in your group chat - there is no in-game broadcast command to warn players first, so a restart with people online simply disconnects them. Restart schedules that help has the timing.

Terraforming is the expensive thing players do. Every voxel dug or filled is a change the world stores, and a group that levels a mountainside for a base produces a larger save and a heavier area to load than one that builds on natural ground. If the server stutters when everyone gathers at the main base and is smooth elsewhere, that is usually why, and no setting changes it.

Before a game update, take a backup and keep it until everyone has played on the new version for a few days. After a big content update, some groups decide to start a fresh world so they meet the new content from the beginning rather than halfway through. Keeping the old save means that decision can be reversed if the new start loses its appeal after a week.

Enshrouded does not officially support mods on dedicated servers. Community mods exist for the client, mostly cosmetic or single-player; plan your server as vanilla.

Running Enshrouded on a panel host#

On a Pterodactyl-based panel, the server's settings live in enshrouded_server.json, edited in the file manager. Enshrouded does not have its own line in RE:NODE's catalogue, so check the game server list for what is offered. The general points hold on any host: give it 6-8 GB for a full group, open the query port as UDP, and back up the savegame folder off the machine. On RE:NODE, backup slots come with every game plan, and the Schedules tab can run a nightly backup and restart; a server at its memory limit is stopped and restarted clean rather than left to swap, which for Enshrouded means losing anything since the last save, so size with headroom.

Troubleshooting#

The server is not in the browser. Check the query port is open as UDP, check queryPort matches the allocation, and wait a few minutes. Test with a direct connection.

Players cannot join with the right password. Two groups share a password, or the JSON did not load and the server is on defaults. Check the log for a config error.

The server ignores my game settings. gameSettingsPreset is not Custom.

My uploaded world did not load; I got a new one. The files were not renamed to 3ad85aea with their suffixes, or were placed in the wrong folder.

Days last minutes, or hours. dayTimeDuration and nightTimeDuration are in nanoseconds; a missing or extra set of zeros changes them by a factor of a thousand.

Server will not start after editing the config. Invalid JSON. Look for a trailing comma or missing quote.

FAQ#

How many players can an Enshrouded server hold?

Sixteen. slotCount cannot go higher. Reserved slots let an admin group join a full server.

Is there an admin command console in Enshrouded?

No. Admin power comes from user groups: a group with canKickBan can kick and ban from the in-game player list. There is no RCON.

Do characters transfer to a dedicated server?

Characters are stored on each player's PC and come with them. Only the world needs moving.

Can I run an Enshrouded server on Linux?

Only through Wine or Proton, because the server is a Windows build. It works for many people and uses a bit more memory.

Does Enshrouded support mods on a server?

Not officially. Plan for a vanilla server and check the game's patch notes for changes.