Valheim Dedicated Server Setup: Step-by-Step Guide

Valheim dedicated server setup takes five steps: install Valheim Dedicated Server (Steam app 896660) from the Tools section of your Steam library or with SteamCMD, copy start_headless_server.bat (Linux: start_server.sh), set -name, -world and a password of at least 5 characters, forward ports 2456–2458 or add -crossplay, and start it. When the window prints Game server connected, your friends can join.

This guide follows the official manual that Iron Gate ships inside the server folder, plus the launch script itself. You will see every startup flag that matters, how to bring the world you already play, how admins and whitelists work, and how the same setup looks on a hosted server where you never touch a router. It is current for Valheim 1.0, which launched on September 9, 2026.

What you need before you start

That last line is the real cost. A dedicated server is a separate program that keeps the world running without anyone playing on that machine, which is what a dedicated game server means. Iron Gate does not run official servers, so it is your PC or a host.

Valheim dedicated server setup on your PC, step by step

Step 1: Install the server

With the Steam client: open your Library, tick Tools in the filter dropdown, find Valheim Dedicated Server and click Install. On a machine without the Steam client (a Linux box, for example), use SteamCMD:

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

Run the same command again to update the server when a new Valheim version comes out. If you bought Valheim on the Microsoft Store or PC Game Pass, the server is already in C:\XboxGames\Valheim\Content\Server and the script there is called StartHeadlessServer.bat.

Step 2: Copy the start script

In the install folder (Steam: right-click the tool, Manage, Browse local files) make a copy of start_headless_server.bat and edit the copy. Steam resets the original on every update, which would wipe your settings. The only catch: Steam's Launch button points to the original, so you start the copy yourself.

Step 3: Set the name, world and password

The line you edit looks like this out of the box:

valheim_server -nographics -batchmode -name "My server" -port 2456 -world "Dedicated" -password "secret" -crossplay

Change the values to your own. Two password rules come straight from the comment in Iron Gate's script: at least 5 characters, and the password cannot be contained in the server name. A server called "Vikings" with the password "vikings123" will not work. The -world value is the world's file name: if a world with that name exists in the save folder, it loads; if not, a new one is generated.

Step 4: Open ports or turn on crossplay

You have two ways to let people in from outside your home network:

If you go the Steam route and have never forwarded a port, the router steps are the same as in our port forwarding walkthrough: give the PC a fixed local IP, then add a rule for UDP 2456–2458 instead of Minecraft's port. Also allow the server when Windows Firewall asks, ticking every box.

Step 5: Start it and connect

Run your copy of the script. When the window shows Game server connected, the server is ready. To stop it, press CTRL+C in that window so it saves; closing it with the X can leave it running in the background.

To join, open Valheim, go to Join Game, click Add server and enter your-public-ip:2456 or the join code. With crossplay on, the join code appears in the pause menu (click it to copy) and the server log prints a line such as Session "My server" with join code … is active.

Every Valheim server startup parameter

These are the flags Iron Gate documents in the server manual. Add them to the same line in your script:

World modifiers: -preset, -modifier and -setkey

The server can change the difficulty without any mod. -preset accepts Normal, Casual, Easy, Hard, Hardcore, Immersive and Hammer, and overwrites any earlier modifier. -modifier changes one setting and must come after the preset:

For example, -preset hard -modifier raids none -modifier resources more gives a hard world without base raids and with extra drops. -setkey turns on checkbox options: nobuildcost, playerevents, passivemobs or nomap. Iron Gate notes that Hammer mode blocks certain 1.0 achievements.

How to move your co-op world to the dedicated server

A Valheim world is two files with the same name: .db (terrain, buildings, everything you changed) and .fwl (name, seed and metadata). Local saves on Windows live here:

%USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\IronGate\Valheim\worlds_local

On Linux the base folder is ~/.config/unity3d/IronGate/Valheim. To use the world you built while hosting from the game menu:

1. Close the game so both files are fully written.
2. Copy YourWorld.db and YourWorld.fwl into the server's worlds_local folder (inside its save path or -savedir).
3. Set -world "YourWorld" exactly like the file names, with the same capital letters.
4. Start the server. Characters stay on each player's own device; only the world moves.

If the server generates a fresh world instead, the name in -world does not match the files.

Admins, bans and whitelist

Three text files sit in the save folder: adminlist.txt, bannedlist.txt and permittedlist.txt. Put one Platform User ID per line, in the format [Platform]_[User ID], for example Steam_7656119…. The format is case sensitive. You find each player's ID in the server log or in game with the F2 panel.

Be careful with permittedlist.txt: as soon as one ID is in it, everyone else is blocked, so it works as a whitelist. Admins open the console with F5 and can use kick, ban, unban and banned (lists bans).

Crossplay with Xbox, PlayStation and Game Pass

Valheim 1.0 supports crossplay between all of its platforms. Two rules apply. First, only the server can enable it: start it with -crossplay, or console players will not even see it. Second, consoles cannot host a dedicated server, but they can join one if crossplay is allowed on the console; on Xbox that setting can be blocked by parental controls. Valheim has no official mod support, and consoles cannot run mods, so a crossplay server works best without client-side mods.

Hosting it at home vs on a game server host

Skip the setup: run Valheim on TheGameHosting

On a hosted server the same flags exist, but you fill them in a form. Pick a plan from 4 GB of RAM (Valheim's minimum on our list; we suggest 6 GB for bigger bases), and the server is ready about 60 seconds after payment. In the panel, choose Valheim with Game Changer if the server runs another game, open Startup to set the server name, world name, password and crossplay, upload your .db and .fwl with Files or sFTP, and restart. The Console shows the join code, and Backups saves the world before a boss fight or an update. Slots are unlimited, so the game's 10-player cap is the only limit. Read more on our Valheim server hosting page.

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