Terraria Server Hosting: How to Host a Dedicated Terraria Server (Free, Self-Hosted or Paid)

Yes, you can host a Terraria server, and the software for it is free. Terraria server hosting comes down to three routes: Host & Play from inside the game, the official dedicated server (TerrariaServer) on your own PC or a VPS, or a paid host that runs it for you. The one question that picks between them: should the world still be there when your PC is off?

If the answer is no, Host & Play is all you need. If it's yes, you need a machine that stays on, which means your own always-on computer, a VPS, or a rented server. Here's how each works as of October 2026, when Terraria is on 1.4.5.8.

Three ways to host a Terraria server

Host & Play: the zero-setup option

Start a multiplayer game from the Terraria menu and pick Host & Play. Your friends join through you. It costs nothing and takes a minute, and it's what I'd use for a quick weekend session. The catch is in the name: the world lives on your game, so when you quit, everyone gets booted.

How to make a Terraria dedicated server on Windows

The server files ship with the game, so you don't download anything extra:

1. In Steam, right-click Terraria, then Manage, then Browse local files.
2. Run TerrariaServer.exe. A console window opens and walks you through picking a world (or making one), a player limit, a port and a password.
3. Leave that window open. Closing it ends the server.

You can also grab the standalone dedicated server zip, free, from the Terraria site at terraria.org. Download the current one, because the filename changes with every patch.

How to host a Terraria server on Linux

Two routes work. The first is Re-Logic's standalone archive from terraria.org (look for the PC dedicated server download). Unzip it, then in the Linux folder:

chmod +x TerrariaServer.bin.x86_64

./TerrariaServer.bin.x86_64 -config serverconfig.txt

The second is SteamCMD with an anonymous login. The app ID is 105600:

steamcmd +login anonymous +force_install_dir ~/terraria/server +app_update 105600 validate +quit

Then cd ~/terraria/server/Linux, make the binary executable and launch it the same way. To update later, run the same SteamCMD command again. On Debian or Ubuntu you'll need the 32-bit architecture enabled (dpkg --add-architecture i386) and the steamcmd package.

Run it as a normal user, never root. If you want it to restart after a crash, wrap it in a systemd service.

The serverconfig.txt file

Rather than answer the console wizard every time, point the server at a config file with -config serverconfig.txt (on Windows, TerrariaServer.exe -config serverconfig.txt). A minimal one looks like this, one setting per line:

world=/path/to/MyWorld.wld

autocreate=2

worldname=MyWorld

difficulty=0

maxplayers=8

port=7777

password=pick-something-real

secure=1

• autocreate builds a world if none exists: 1 is small, 2 is medium, 3 is large.
• difficulty runs 0 to 3: Classic, Expert, Master, Journey.
• maxplayers=8 is just the number in this example. Set it to whatever your hardware and group can handle.

The file is only read at startup, so restart the server after editing it. Already have a Host & Play world? Copy the .wld file from your Terraria Worlds folder (on Windows, Documents/My Games/Terraria/Worlds) to the server and point world= at it.

Port 7777: forwarding, CGNAT and whether it's safe

Terraria's default port is 7777. On a home network, give the server a fixed local IP, then forward 7777 on your router to it. Open it for both TCP and UDP. Guides disagree on whether TCP alone is enough, and opening both costs you nothing. Friends join with Multiplayer, then Join via IP, using your public IP, not a 192.168.x.x or 10.x.x.x address.

Never touched your router's admin page? My guide on how to make a Minecraft server walks through the port-forwarding steps. Swap Minecraft's 25565 for 7777 and they're the same.

Test from outside your network, like your phone on mobile data. Working on your own LAN proves nothing about the port.

If your router is set up right and friends still can't connect, check for CGNAT. Some ISPs put many customers behind one shared public address, and port forwarding can't work there. Your options are asking the ISP for a public address, using a tunnel, or putting the server on a VPS or a rented host instead.

On a VPS there's a second firewall to deal with: your provider's security group on top of the OS firewall. With ufw that's sudo ufw allow 7777/tcp and sudo ufw allow 7777/udp, plus the same rule in the provider panel.

Is opening port 7777 safe?

My honest take: reasonably, if you do it properly. You're exposing one game service, not your whole network. Anything on a public IP gets poked by scanners, so set a password, keep the server updated, run it as a non-root user and don't expose any remote console or admin API to the open internet. Opening a port at home does tell the world your home IP, which is another point in favor of a VPS or paid host if that bothers you.

TShock: permissions, bans and plugins

TShock replaces the vanilla server program and adds permission groups, region protection, bans and a plugin system. It's server-side only, so your players join with a normal, unmodified Terraria. The current release is TShock 6.2.1 for Terraria 1.4.5.8. Each TShock build targets one Terraria version, so after a Terraria patch you wait for the matching release. Get it from the TShock releases page on GitHub, and there's a Docker image at ghcr.io/pryaxis/tshock:stable if you prefer containers.

Before upgrading, back up tshock.sqlite and the tshock folder, then overwrite the files with the new release.

tModLoader servers for mods

Mods mean tModLoader, and its server is a separate build, not a switch on the vanilla one. You launch it with the tModLoader start script (start-tModLoaderServer.sh on Linux, start-tModLoaderServer.bat on Windows), not TerrariaServer.exe. Players need the same tModLoader version and the same mods as the server. Big mod packs want noticeably more RAM than vanilla; plan on 4GB or more for the heavy ones.

tModLoader's stable builds don't always track the newest Terraria patch, so check the tModLoader release page to see which Terraria version it supports before you plan a modded server.

How much RAM does a Terraria server need?

It's small. As a rough rule of thumb from hosting guides, a vanilla server for a handful of friends is comfortable with around 2GB, and TShock with plugins or a modded setup wants more. Beyond RAM, you want one fast CPU core, a few GB of storage and a stable upload connection.

Is Terraria server hosting free? And what does it cost?

The server software is free, and so is Host & Play. Self-hosting costs whatever your machine does: the electricity for a PC you leave on, or the monthly bill for a VPS. Paid hosts charge a monthly fee, and prices move around, so compare a few hosts' current price lists before you pick one. Free hosts exist too, and they usually trade something away, whether that's uptime, player slots or mod support. My guide to free Minecraft server hosting goes through the same trade-offs in detail, and the logic carries over. The same goes for what a Minecraft server costs.

A paid host makes sense when you want the world up 24/7, can't forward ports (CGNAT) or just don't want to be the sysadmin. Self-host if you like tinkering and already have a machine that stays on.

Keeping the server healthy

• Stop it cleanly. Type exit in the server console so it saves. Don't just kill the window.
• Back up the .wld and .bak files while the server is stopped, and keep a copy off the machine.
• Update after patches. If your players updated Terraria and the server didn't, they'll get rejected. Update the server files to match.

Setting up a world to play on? My Terraria skyblock seed guide is a fun place to start, and if your group is split across platforms, check whether Terraria is cross-platform before you pick where to host.