How to make a Palworld server for friends

Palworld gives you two ways to play with friends: an invite code from your own game, or a dedicated server that stays up without you. A Play Your Way server is the second kind, so your group joins by its address or, on Xbox and PS5, from the community server list.

Invite code or dedicated server?

Invite code (co-op). The host starts a multiplayer world from their own game and shares a code. It costs nothing, but the world only runs while the host is playing, and co-op tops out at 4 players. When the host logs off, everyone else is disconnected.

Dedicated server. The world runs on its own machine and stays up whether anyone is playing or not. Palworld caps a dedicated server at 32 players (the Max Players setting in Startup), anyone in your group can join at any time, and nobody has to leave a PC running. How big a server do you need? covers the plan sizes.

If the same three or four friends always play together, an invite code is enough. If people play at different times, or you want more than four, use a dedicated server.

Find your server address

1. Log in, open your server from the dashboard and wait until the status in the left rail reads Running.

2. The Server address sits under the server name: a host name or IP, a colon, then the port. The port is your server's own and may not be Palworld's default 8211, so players need it too.

3. Press the copy button beside it.

   

Join by address from Steam or Mac

1. Open Palworld and go to the server list for joining a multiplayer game.
2. Paste the full address into the connection box at the bottom of the list and connect.
3. If you set a Server Password, the game asks for it.

While the Console is open, it prints <name> joined the game as each player connects.

Let Xbox and PS5 players in

Xbox and PS5 players join from the in-game community server list, not by address. Our Palworld servers are listed there from their first start, with Steam, Xbox, PS5 and Mac allowed.

1. Open the Startup tab and find Crossplay Platforms. Each platform is a toggle; a ticked one can join. Keep at least one on, then press Save.
2. Set a name your friends will recognise in Server Name and press Save.
3. Restart the server. Startup changes apply on the next start.
4. Send your console players the exact Server Name. In Palworld's server list they choose Community server on the left, search for that name and join.

Server password and admin password

The Startup tab holds two passwords that do different jobs:

• Server Password keeps the server to your group. It's empty on a new server, so anyone who finds the listing can walk in. Set one (letters, numbers, dashes and underscores, up to 30 characters) and press Save. After a page reload it shows in the left rail as Join password, with an eye button to reveal it and a copy button, and restart the server so it takes effect.
• Admin Password is generated when the server is created. It unlocks admin commands in chat, and the panel's Console uses it to send commands for you. How to become admin and use admin commands on your Palworld server lists them.

Tune the world

The World Settings tab turns PalWorldSettings.ini into labelled controls for rates, difficulty, survival, day length, bases and PvP. Presets offers Casual and Hardcore, and Reset to defaults undoes both. Press Save settings, then restart. Palworld server settings and best presets explains every key.

Name, passwords, player cap, autosave and crossplay aren't on that tab. The server rewrites them from Startup on every boot, so change them there.

Saves and backups

The world autosaves every 120 seconds by default; Autosave Interval (seconds) in Startup takes 30 to 3600. Palworld's own backup copy on every save (In-game Backup Saves) is off by default, since Pocketpair notes it adds disk load. Use panel backups instead:

For restore points, press Create backup on the Backups tab before any big change or update. With Overwrite oldest when full on (the default), a backup made at your plan's limit replaces the oldest unprotected one, so Download any you want to keep. How to create and restore backups covers restoring, and Schedule automatic restarts and tasks puts backups on a timer.

Can't join after a Palworld update (version mismatch)

When Pocketpair releases a Palworld update, players who have installed it usually can't join a server still on the old build. Patches have arrived every few weeks since Palworld 1.0 launched on 10 July 2026, so this is the usual reason a 1.0 server that worked yesterday won't let anyone in today. On our servers the update happens on restart:

1. Take a backup from the Backups tab.
2. Restart the server. Before the world loads, it compares its build with Steam's current one. The Console prints [PYW] Server is on the current build when nothing is needed, or [PYW] Running SteamCMD update while it installs the new one.
3. When the status reads Running, type Info in the Console (no slash) to see the server's version, and compare it with the version on your game's title screen.

If the server is already current, the player's game is behind: update Palworld on that device and try again. Use your server console and send commands covers the Console in full.

Server not in the community list, or can't connect

• Missing from the community server list - check the status reads Running and search for the exact Server Name. Steam players can join by address meanwhile.
• Only console players can't join - check Crossplay Platforms still has Xbox and PS5 ticked, and that you restarted after saving.
• Nobody can join after a patch - that's usually the version mismatch above. Restart the server.
• Wrong password - press the eye on the Join password row in the left rail to see the saved password (reload the page after changing it in Startup). The server only uses a new password after a restart.
• Connection times out - check the address includes your server's own port. Can't connect to your game server? Fix it covers the other causes.
• A player with mods turned on can't join - the server has to allow client mods (bAllowClientMod). Palworld 1.0 mods: what works on a server shows where to set it, and why server-side mods don't run on our Linux servers.

If players still can't join

Before you ask for help, note down:

• your server name
• the Palworld version on the player's title screen, and what Info returns in the Console
• which platform the player is on (Steam, Xbox, PS5 or Mac)
• the exact message on the join screen, and when it started

How big a server do you need?

Our Palworld plans are sized by group: 4 GB for up to 4 players, 6 GB for up to 8, and 8 GB for up to 16. Memory use grows as bases fill with Pals and buildings, so a world that runs smoothly in week one can lag later. To move up, use the Plan and game card in Settings or go through Billing. Current plans and prices are on the Palworld plans page.