How to make a Valheim dedicated server

Your Valheim server is online, and crossplay is on from the first boot. Since Valheim 1.0, the game supports crossplay between Steam, the Microsoft Store, Xbox, PS5 and Switch 2, and players join a crossplay server with its join code. Here's how to share that code, move an existing world onto the server and add mods.

Find your join code (or server address)

1. Log in to the dashboard and open your server.
2. With crossplay on (the default), the six-digit join code sits in the panel's left rail, right under your server's name, once the server is up. With crossplay off, that slot shows the server address instead - an IP or a name, then a colon, then a port (it looks like 27.124.105.40:25588).
3. Press the copy button beside it so you take the whole thing (for an address, that includes the number after the colon).

Join from Valheim

Crossplay is on from the first boot, so your crew joins with a six-digit join code rather than an IP address:

1. Find the join code in the panel's left rail, where the server address normally sits - it appears within a minute of the server starting, and it changes on every restart.
2. Open Valheim and pick your character.
3. On the Start Game screen, switch to the Join Game tab, click Add server, enter the code and click Connect. It works the same on Steam, the Microsoft Store, Xbox, PS5 and Switch 2.
4. Type the Join password when asked - it's shown right under the join code in the dashboard's left rail (press the eye to reveal it).

Prefer plain join-by-IP for a Steam-only crew? Set Crossplay to 0 in the Startup tab, click Save, restart the server and reload the page: the rail then shows your server address, and in Valheim you click Join IP, paste the full address (including the port) and click Connect.

Server not showing in the server list

With crossplay on (the default) you don't need the list at all: share the six-digit join code from the panel's left rail, and players enter it under Join Game > Add server. If you want the server listed, or you're looking for it there:

1. Check it's set to be listed. Visible in Server List in the Startup tab is 1 on a new server. At 0 the server is hidden from the list on purpose, and players join it directly instead.
2. Check it's running. The server can only show in the list once it's up, so wait for DungeonDB Start in the console, then check the list again.
3. Look for your exact name. The list shows your server under the Server Name from your Startup tab.
4. Friends can't see it? Skip the list and send them the join code (or, with crossplay off, the full address for Join IP). The join code changes every time the server restarts, so always share the current one.

The password

Every server gets its own randomly generated password, shown as Join password in the dashboard's left rail under the join code (or under the server address with crossplay off) - reveal it with the eye button and share it with your crew. Valheim requires 5+ characters and refuses to start if the password appears inside the server name; change it any time in the Startup tab.

Bring an existing world across

Valheim saves a world in one of two ways. Current versions keep it as a folder named after the world, holding files like _main.75.fwl2, _main.75.db2 and a set of .chunk files. Older saves are a pair of files instead: a .db (the world itself) and a .fwl (its name tag). Your PC can hold both for the same world, and when it does, the folder is the save you've been playing and the pair is usually an older copy without your latest base.

1. On your PC, press Win+R and paste %userprofile%\AppData\LocalLow\IronGate\Valheim\worlds_local - that folder holds your local worlds.
2. Look for a folder with your world's name, Midgard say. If it's there, zip that folder: the File Manager uploads files, not folders. If there's no folder, only Midgard.db and Midgard.fwl, use that pair.
3. Stop the server from the dashboard.
4. In the File Manager, open .config/unity3d/IronGate/Valheim/worlds_local. (The folder appears after the server's first start - boot it once if it's missing.) If the server already holds a world with the same name, delete its folder and its .db, .fwl and .old files first, so only your copy can load. Take a backup in the Backups tab beforehand if you've played on it.
5. Upload the zip, click Extract here, then delete the zip. You should end up with worlds_local/Midgard/ holding the _main files, not a Midgard folder inside another Midgard folder. For a pair, upload the .db and .fwl straight into worlds_local.
6. In the Startup tab, set World Name to the folder or file name exactly, without any ending: Midgard for the Midgard folder, or for Midgard.db + Midgard.fwl.
7. Start the server and wait for DungeonDB Start in the console - that line means the world is loaded and you can join.

Your character is saved on your PC, not in the world, so your inventory, skills and boss powers come with you whichever world loads. If those are there but your base isn't, the server is running a different copy of the world: see the first-boot problems below.

Crossplay (Steam, the Microsoft Store, Xbox, PS5 and Switch 2)

Crossplay is on by default on our Valheim servers, and since Valheim 1.0 (9 September 2026) it covers every platform the game runs on. A server created before 8 September 2026 keeps Crossplay at 0 until you change it in Startup.

1. The Startup tab's Crossplay setting is 1 on a new server - leave it there.
2. Once the server is up, the six-digit join code shows in the panel's left rail (the console prints it too, as Session "yourserver" registered with join code 123456). Share that code with everyone who's joining.
3. Players pick Join Game > Add server in Valheim and enter the code (the password prompt appears while connecting).

Two things to know:

• Share the join code. While crossplay is on, the game runs your server on its crossplay network, and the left rail shows the join code in place of your server address. Valheim's own server guide says a crossplay server can also be reached by its public IP address and port, or through the server list, but the code is the simplest way in. The code also changes on every restart, so share the fresh one from the rail after each boot.
• Turn it off on modded servers. Joining players need the same mods, console players can't install mods at all, and mods don't mix reliably with crossplay networking. Set Crossplay to 0 in the Startup tab, click Save and restart: Steam players then join directly by IP, still the simplest path for a Steam-only crew.

Valheim 1.0 (9 September 2026)

Valheim's full release adds the Deep North biome and brings PS5 and Switch 2 players into the same crossplay pool. What it means for your server:

• Back up your world first. Create a backup in the Backups tab before the update, so you can roll back if anything goes wrong.
• Restart to update. Steam pushes 1.0 to every player on release day, and a server still on the old build can't be joined until it updates. Our servers check for the new build on every start, so a Restart from the dashboard is all it takes.
• Mods may break. BepInEx and most mods need their own 1.0 updates; if a modded server won't boot after the update, move the BepInEx folder out through the File Manager until the mods catch up.
• Existing worlds carry over. The Deep North only generates in parts of the map nobody has explored yet, so a well-travelled world keeps its terrain and gets the new biome where the fog still is.
• A console player can't join after a patch? Everyone in a crossplay game needs the same build, and a hotfix doesn't always reach every platform on the same day (the Switch 2 patch for the 1.0.10 and 1.0.12 hotfixes arrived late). Restart your server so it has the new build, and have that player check their console has downloaded the update.

Install mods (BepInEx)

Valheim mods load through BepInEx. You install it once through the File Manager - the server spots it on the next start and loads it automatically:

1. Download BepInExPack Valheim from Thunderstore and extract the zip on your PC.
2. Open the extracted folder, then the BepInExPack_Valheim folder inside it.
3. Upload everything inside that folder (the BepInEx folder, doorstop_libs and the loose files) to your server's home folder in the File Manager.
4. Restart the server. The console shows [PYW] BepInEx detected - loading it with the server. on the way up.
5. Drop mod .dll files into BepInEx/plugins and restart again to load them.

How to install BepInEx and mods on your Valheim server covers keeping every player's mods matched to the server's, and the errors a mismatch causes.

How much RAM does a Valheim server need?

Our Valheim plans start at 4 GB, which suits a small crew. Pick by the size of your group and whether you run mods:

If the server starts to stutter as your world grows or your mod list gets longer, upgrade the plan from the dashboard. Your world comes with you. If only one player lags, check their ping before you upgrade: Australian game server latency: what ping to expect from each city lists what's normal from each capital.

Common first-boot problems

1. "Wrong password" straight away - passwords are case-sensitive, and a fresh change needs a server restart to take effect.
2. The server won't start after a settings change - the password must be 5+ characters and must not appear inside the server name; fix either in the Startup tab.
3. Your uploaded world generated fresh - the server found no world under World Name, so it made a new one. In the Console, the Load world: line names the world it looked for, and a missing line under it means it found none. Load world: Dedicated means World Name is still the default. Set it to your world's name exactly, and check the world's folder (or its .db + .fwl pair) sits directly in worlds_local. A _main.0.fwl2 file turning up in a folder there is that fresh world's first save: the number counts saves, so a world you've played has a much higher one. Deleting it doesn't help.
4. Your world loaded, but your base is gone or the map is different - you uploaded an older copy. If your PC's worlds_local has a folder with the world's name, that folder is the current save and the .db + .fwl pair beside it is older. Stop the server, delete the pair and any .old files from the server's worlds_local, then upload the folder as in Bring an existing world across above.
5. Can't see the server in the in-game list - see Server not showing in the server list above. The join code works as soon as it shows in the left rail, and with crossplay off Join IP works as soon as DungeonDB Start appears in the console.

If your problem isn't on this list, copy the exact error from the Console and paste it into your support ticket.