How to join a Valheim server: IP, favourites and join codes

There are four ways into a Valheim dedicated server, and they are not equally reliable. Joining by address - Join Game, Add Server, then ip:2456 - is the most dependable for Steam players and saves the server to your in-game favourites, so you type it once. Steam's own server browser can hold the same address as a favourite and shows whether the server answers queries at all. Joining through a Steam friend who is already on the server works when Steam's presence information is up to date. And on a crossplay server, a six-digit join code gets anyone in, on any platform, without an address. The community list is the fifth option and the worst: thousands of entries, a weak filter and a delay of minutes before a new server shows up.

This post covers each method step by step, which ports each uses, what to give your group so nobody has to ask twice, and what to check when a method fails.

Which method to use#

For a group of friends the right answer is usually two lines pinned in your chat: the address with its port, and on a crossplay server the current join code. Nearly every "how do I get in" question disappears.

Every method ends in the same place: a password prompt. Reaching it proves the address, port, server and version are all fine. If a player never sees a password prompt, the problem is before the password, and failed to connect errors goes through the causes.

Add Server: joining by address in the game#

This is the method to teach everyone on Steam first.

1. Start Valheim, pick a character, and choose Join Game.
2. Click Add Server at the bottom of the server list.
3. Type the address and the game port, for example 203.0.113.10:2456.
4. Confirm, then select the server and connect.
5. Enter the server password when asked.

Earlier versions of Valheim labelled this button Join IP and connected straight away rather than saving the entry; current versions save it to the Favourites tab, so next time you only pick it from the list. Button labels have moved between updates, so if your version looks different, look for the field that accepts an address.

Which port to type: the game port, which is 2456 unless the server was started with a different -port. The server also listens on the port one above (2457), which is the Steam query port that browsers talk to. Players normally connect to the game port. If a host gives you an address with a non-standard port, use exactly that port; servers sharing one IP are told apart only by port.

Both ports are UDP. If you run the server yourself and joining by address fails with "Failed to connect", the most common cause by far is a firewall or router rule that is TCP-only, or forwards only one of the pair. Valheim ports 2456-2458 covers forwarding at home and multiple servers on one address.

Joining a server on your own network

If the server runs on a machine in your house, players outside join by your public IP, but you may not be able to. Many home routers do not support hairpin NAT (also called NAT loopback): a connection from inside the network to the network's own public address is dropped instead of being turned around. The symptom is a server everyone else can join while you get "Failed to connect".

The fix is to join by the server machine's local address instead, for example 192.168.1.20:2456, and keep a second favourite with that address. If the server runs on the same PC you play on, 127.0.0.1:2456 works. Anyone on the same network does the same; everyone else keeps using the public address. If you are behind carrier-grade NAT, nobody outside can reach a home server by IP at all, which is one of the reasons covered in home hosting vs a rented server.

Favourites and Recent

The Join Game screen has tabs that are separate lists, not filters of one list. Favourites holds servers you added by address or starred. Recent holds servers you have joined. Friends shows servers your Steam friends are on. Community is the public list.

The common mistake is searching the Community tab for a server that was added by address - it is in Favourites, and may not be in Community at all if it runs with -public 0. The reverse also happens: someone looks in Favourites for a server they have only ever seen in the community list.

Steam's server browser and favourites#

Outside the game, the Steam client has its own server browser: View, then Game Servers (Servers on some client versions). It is a different tool from the in-game list and is useful for two jobs.

First, as a favourite list kept by Steam:

1. Open View, Game Servers, and the Favourites tab.
2. Click Add a Server and type the address with a port.
3. Steam queries it and, if it answers, shows its name, player count and ping.
4. Select it and Connect, which launches Valheim and connects.

Second, as a test. Steam's browser talks to the server's query port, so if the server appears here with its name, the query port is open and the server is registered with Steam. Players report that some Valheim setups show up when added with the query port (2457) and not with the game port; if adding ip:2456 shows nothing, try ip:2457 before concluding the server is down. If neither shows anything but joining in-game by address works, the server is fine and only the query side is blocked or slow.

When you connect from Steam's browser, Valheim may open to the main menu and then join, or may need you to pick a character first, depending on version. If it opens and simply sits in the menu, use the in-game Add Server instead. Server browser visibility and the Steam master server explains how the query port and the master list fit together.

The +connect launch option

Valheim also accepts +connect in its Steam launch options, which tells the game to join an address at start-up:

+connect 203.0.113.10:2456

Set it in Steam: right-click Valheim, Properties, General, Launch Options. The password is still typed in the game after it connects. It is a convenience for one player who always joins the same server, and an annoyance when they want to play anywhere else, because the game tries to join that server every time it starts. Remove the line when you switch servers. How connect links work in Steam games generally is in Steam connect links and direct connect.

Joining through Steam friends#

If a Steam friend is already on the server, you can often join them directly:

• From the Steam friends list: click the arrow next to their name and choose Join Game. Steam launches Valheim and connects to the server they are on.
• From the in-game Friends tab under Join Game, which lists servers your friends are playing on.

This depends on Steam's presence information being current and on the friend's privacy settings allowing it, and it fails quietly when either is not true. It is a good shortcut for the first evening, when a new player has nothing saved yet; after that, they should add the server by address so they can join when nobody else is on. On a crossplay server, joining through friends only helps between Steam friends; Xbox and Microsoft Store players use the code.

Join codes for crossplay servers#

A server started with -crossplay registers with PlayFab and gets a six-digit join code. The code is how Xbox and Microsoft Store players get in, and Steam players can use it too.

1. Choose Join Game in the main menu.
2. Use the add-server field and type the six-digit code instead of an address.
3. Connect, then enter the server password.

The code is printed in the server log at start-up, in a line with the server name, address and player count:

Session "Ravenhold" with join code 483920 and IP 203.0.113.10:2456 is active with 0 player(s)

Two things trip groups up:

• The code changes on every restart. A code pinned in Discord last week is wrong after the next restart. Either update it after each restart, or restart at a fixed time so the group knows when to look. Scheduled restarts and automation helps here.
• Code joins are relayed. Traffic for code joins goes through PlayFab's relay rather than straight to the server, which adds a hop. If PlayFab is slow, Steam players on a crossplay server can still use Add Server with the address to connect directly.

A code is not a password. Anyone with the code reaches the password prompt, which is why a crossplay server whose code is posted publicly needs a strong password - see Valheim server password rules. Console-specific steps, privacy settings on Xbox and the PlayFab side are in crossplay and Xbox players.

The community list, and why it is last#

With -public 1, the server registers with the community list. The in-game Community tab then lists it - eventually.

• It takes time. A new or restarted server can take several minutes to appear.
• The list is huge. Thousands of servers, and the search box matches on name. Give your server an unusual word in its name and search for that.
• Filters hide things. Version and crossplay settings affect what is shown. If a player is on a different version, the server may not appear for them at all.

Nothing about joining from the list is different once you find it. If a server is missing, test by address first: if that works, the server is fine and the list is the problem. Server not showing in the list goes through every cause. For a private group, -public 0 is often better - it stops strangers trying passwords and changes nothing for players who join by address or code.

What to give your group#

A short message, kept current, ends most joining questions:

Ravenhold - ValheimAddress: 203.0.113.10:2456   (Steam: Join Game > Add Server)Join code: 483920            (Xbox / Game Pass; changes on restart)Password: in the pinned DMVersion: must match the latest Steam update

Keep the password out of public channels; post the code and address, and send the password privately. When the server moves or the port changes, update this message before anyone notices. On RE:NODE the server's ports are listed on the Network tab, crossplay is already on, and the join code appears in the live console after every start, so whoever maintains this message can copy both from one place.

When a method does not work#

The version error affects every method equally, because the check happens after the connection. After a Valheim patch, the server has to be updated before anyone on the new client can join - updating the server and version mismatch covers the timing.

A server that is still starting is the other quiet cause. A large world can take tens of seconds to load after the process starts, and joining during that time fails as if the server were down. Wait for the session line or the join code in the log, then join.

FAQ#

Which port do I use to join a Valheim server by IP?

The game port, 2456 by default, in the form ip:2456. If the server uses a different -port, use that number. The port one above it is the query port, which the Steam server browser uses.

Where did my server go after I added it?

Into the Favourites tab under Join Game. The tabs are separate lists, so a server added by address will not necessarily be in the Community tab.

Can Xbox players join by IP?

No. Console players join a crossplay server with the six-digit join code, or through the community list. Steam players can use either the code or the address.

Why does the join code stop working?

It is regenerated every time the server restarts. Read the new one from the server log or console after each restart, or schedule restarts at a fixed time.

Is joining by code slower than joining by IP?

It can be. Code joins are relayed through PlayFab, which adds a hop; joining by address connects directly. For Steam players on a crossplay server, the address is usually the lower-latency choice.