Enshrouded Dedicated Server: How to Host One for 1.0 (Self-Hosted or Rented)

Yes, Enshrouded has dedicated servers, and the Enshrouded dedicated server software is free. It's a separate tool on Steam, and you run it on a PC that stays on or on a rented machine. Friends can then play whenever they like, even when you're offline. The game itself is still what everyone needs to join.

The question that picks your route is the same one as in most co-op games: should the world still be there when the host's PC is off? Here's how it all works as of October 2026, right after the 1.0 launch on October 15.

In-game hosting, dedicated server or rented host

Hosting from the game's own menu is the zero-setup option, and it's fine for a Friday night with two friends. The dedicated server holds the world's progression. Each player's character progress stays on their own client, so nobody loses their character if you change servers.

Does an Enshrouded dedicated server run better?

Sort of, and it depends where you run it. It takes the hosting load off your gaming PC and the world is always on, which is the real upgrade. But the server itself is CPU hungry. Run it on the same PC you're playing on and you're just splitting one machine between two jobs. It runs best on its own box.

Keen's own recommendation for a 4 to 6 player group is a 6-core, 12-thread CPU at around 3.2 GHz, 16 GB of RAM and an SSD with 30 GB free. For a full 16-player server they ask for 8 cores and 16 threads at a higher clock. Those specs were written before 1.0, so treat them as a starting point. Budget roughly 2 Mbit/s of upload per player too.

How to host a dedicated server in Enshrouded (Windows)

Keen supports Windows for the server. If you own the game, the easy way is Steam:

1. In your Steam library, tick Tools in the filter and find Enshrouded Dedicated Server. Install it.
2. Right-click it, then Properties, Installed Files, Browse.
3. Run the server executable directly. Keen recommends that over Steam's Launch button.
4. The first run creates enshrouded_server.json next to the exe.

The other route is SteamCMD, which is handy on a machine without a Steam client. The tool is app ID 2278520 and an anonymous login works:

steamcmd.exe +force_install_dir "C:\GameServers\Enshrouded" +login anonymous +app_update 2278520 +quit

Add validate after the app ID if an install looks broken. You'll see Success! App '2278520' fully installed. when it's done. You'll know the server is ready when the log shows [Session] 'HostOnline' (up)!. There's a console window, so don't close it unless you mean to stop the server.

Enshrouded server on Linux

Keen's own install page says Windows only, with Linux planned for later. People do run it on Linux anyway, through Wine or a community-made Docker image. Those are unofficial setups, so expect to troubleshoot them yourself, and expect them to wobble after updates. If you want a Linux box and zero fuss, a rented host is the easier path.

enshrouded_server.json: the settings that matter

Stop the server first (Ctrl+C in the console, then wait for it to exit). The server rewrites the file when it shuts down, so edits made while it's running can get overwritten. A fresh file starts with these keys:

Presets are the quick way to set the difficulty. Relaxed is for builders (fewer enemies, more resources and loot), Hard and Survival are meaner, and Default is where I'd start a first server. Custom unlocks the individual game settings.

1.0 added and reworked some of those settings, and the guides floating around haven't all caught up. Keep the file your server generated and edit that. Don't paste an older example config over it. If the file ever gets mangled, delete it and let the server write a fresh one.

Passwords live in user groups

Plenty of older guides tell you to set a plain password key. That's gone for dedicated servers. Passwords now sit in the userGroups array, and the password a player types when joining decides what they're allowed to do. A new file comes with three groups:

• Admin: base changes, containers, kick and ban.
• Friend: base changes and containers.
• Guest: no base changes, no containers.

Each group has its own password, and the defaults are randomised, so set ones you can share. Flags like canKickBan, canAccessInventories, canEditBase and canExtendBase control what the group can do, and reservedSlots keeps room for Admins and Friends if Guests fill the lobby. Leave a group's password empty and anyone can join at that group's permissions.

Enshrouded server port: forward UDP 15637

Keen's FAQ lists one default port, 15637, the queryPort in the config. Forward UDP 15637 on your router to the machine running the server. The server uses IPv4 only. Some older guides and host pages mention a second game port, 15636, from before the config changed. Keen's docs only list 15637.

1. Give the host PC a reserved address in your router so it doesn't change.
2. Forward UDP 15637 to that address.
3. Allow the same port in the Windows firewall.

Behind two routers, you forward on both. If your ISP uses CGNAT (many customers sharing one public address), port forwarding won't work at all. Then you need a tunnel, or a rented host. If you've never touched router settings, my Terraria server hosting guide covers port forwarding, CGNAT and whether opening a port is safe, and it all carries over with a different number.

Don't trust an online port checker here. Most of them test TCP, so they'll say "closed" for a UDP server that works fine. The only real test is joining from a different connection, like a friend's house or your phone on mobile data.

How friends join your server

1. From the main menu, go to Join and turn on Show dedicated server in the filter. Look for your server by name and star it.
2. If it isn't listed, use Join, then search by IPv4 or domain, and enter IP:15637. On the host PC use 127.0.0.1:15637. On the same network use the host's local address. From outside, use your public IPv4.
3. Still nothing? In the Steam client, go to View, Game Servers, Favorites, add a server, and enter the IP with port 15637. It then shows near the top of the in-game list.
4. Type the group password.

One catch: at 1.0, Enshrouded isn't cross-platform. Keen is working on it but hasn't given a timeline, so console players can't join a Steam-hosted server. My is Enshrouded cross-platform page has the current state.

Backups, updates and the 1.0 save conversion

Stop the server, then copy the whole save folder (./savegame by default), enshrouded_server.json and any launch scripts into a dated folder somewhere else. A server backup doesn't include characters, since those live on each player's machine. The server autosaves every five minutes, and a world save is small, anywhere from 1 to 100 MB.

To update, stop the server, back up, run the SteamCMD command again (or let Steam update the tool), start it, and update your players' game too. If the server and clients are on different versions, nobody gets in.

Early Access saves carry into 1.0. They get converted to a new, more efficient format, and Keen suggests that starting fresh is nice because the world itself was improved. Take a manual backup before the first launch on the new version, because a converted save may not go back to an older build. The 1.0 format change also means some old save-file tricks from forum guides no longer apply. A hotfix, 1.0.0.2, landed on October 16 to fix a launch-week bug with editing world settings.

Do you have to pay for an Enshrouded dedicated server?

The server tool is free, and you need the game to play on it. Self-hosting costs whatever your machine does: electricity for a PC that stays on, plus the connection. Renting adds a monthly fee. Prices move around, so check a few current price lists. For the general logic of what rented servers cost, my Minecraft server cost breakdown works the same way.

What a rented host buys you: the world is up around the clock without your PC, no router settings or CGNAT headaches, and a control panel. Providers differ on updates and backups, so check what's included before paying. I'd self-host if you've got a spare machine and don't mind tinkering. If you don't, rent.

Still deciding what to play with that server? Here are my picks for games like Enshrouded.