Dedicated Servers

5:54 The Enshrouded Dedicated Server is a free Windows program that comes with every Steam copy of Enshrouded and keeps a world online without its owner playing; you configure it in one file, enshrouded_server.json, and Keen documents a single network port, query port 15637, with 1 to 16 player slots. Keen's developers explained in a Spring 2024 recap of their Reddit AMA that "there's always a server running in the background to simulate the game" even in single player, which is also why the game cannot really be paused. A dedicated server simply moves that server onto a machine of its own, so friends can play when the host is offline. Hosting from inside the game is the other way to play together; see Multiplayer and Co-op.

Quick facts

Everything quoted from Keen's support knowledge base on this page was read on Oct 20, 2026; the articles were last updated between Oct 15 and Oct 20, 2026, after the 1.0 release.

How to install the dedicated server

Keen's installation article is short. Owning Enshrouded on Steam "will automatically unlock the dedicated server in the 'Tools' section of the Steam library", which only shows once you tick Tools in the library filter (Keen).

1. Tick Tools in the Steam library and install Enshrouded Dedicated Server.
2. Right-click it, choose Properties, then Installed Files and Browse to open its folder.
3. Start enshrouded_server.exe from that folder. Keen recommends this over Steam's Launch button.
4. The first run creates enshrouded_server.json in the same folder. Stop the server, edit the file in any text editor, and start it again.

The server runs "headless" but keeps a console window open. It is up when the window and the log show [Session] 'HostOnline' (up)! (Keen).

The enshrouded_server.json file

A fresh file holds the server's name, folders, network settings, chat, difficulty and user groups. Keen's support article prints the default file of version 0.9.0.0 (the last early access versions), shortened here (Server Gameplay Settings):

{
"name": "Enshrouded Server",
"saveDirectory": "./savegame",
"logDirectory": "./logs",
"ip": "0.0.0.0",
"queryPort": 15637,
"slotCount": 16,
"tags": [],
"voiceChatMode": "Proximity",
"enableVoiceChat": false,
"enableTextChat": false,
"gameSettingsPreset": "Default",
"gameSettings": { ... },
"userGroups": [ ... ],
"bans": []
}

The descriptions are Keen's (Dedicated Server Configuration). Keen also warns that an older file "can sometimes be incorrectly updated"; deleting it lets the server write a fresh one on the next start (Keen).

User groups and passwords

2:04 Roles with passwords arrived in Melodies of the Mire on Jun 5, 2024, mainly "to protect player bases and chests from unwanted interference on dedicated servers", as Keen's highlights video put it. Each user group in userGroups has a name, its own password and a set of permissions, and the password a player types decides which group they join (Server Roles Configuration).

These are the defaults a fresh 0.9 file writes (canKickBan, canAccessInventories, canEditWorld, canEditBase, canExtendBase), with placeholder passwords to replace (Keen). Every group can still fight, loot, mine and quest outside the bases. "Extend base" means adding, upgrading or removing Flame Altars. A group may also hold reservedSlots, so that admins or friends can get in when guests have filled the server (Keen). The Visitor group came with Wake of the Water on Nov 10, 2025, to stop strangers flooding or digging up the world (Keen).

Two traps from old setups: the single "password" line near the top of older files no longer sets the server password; if the game finds one, it makes a group called "default" with Friend rights. And Keen says plainly: "It is highly recommended to set a password. Every player can see the server and can access it, if no password is set" (Keen).

At 1.0, players hosting from the game gained promote and demote buttons during play, but "On dedicated servers, the user groups with the associated passwords work as before - promoting and demoting is not possible while playing on the server" (1.0 changelog).

Difficulty presets and custom settings

The presets came with Back to the Shroud on Jul 29, 2024. Keen describes them so: Default is "the recommended setting for first-time players"; Relaxed has fewer enemies and more loot, for builders; Hard has more and more aggressive enemies; Survival adds survival mechanics on top. Only with "gameSettingsPreset": "Custom" does the server read the individual values under gameSettings (Keen).

All values are from Keen's Server Gameplay Settings article. A value outside its range is clamped; invalid text stops the server from booting and names the bad value in the console. The 1.0 "Automatic" enemy amount scales each encounter to the players actually nearby, "Players in other areas of Embervale are not counted" (1.0 changelog).

6:08 1.0 also made the Updraft charge time a world setting, "including the old instant version", so "server hosts can choose the options that suits their world", Keen's 1.0 highlights video says. Keen had added the charge-up in Forging the Path and players disliked it; see Glider, Grappling Hook and Fast Travel.

Ports, firewall and finding the server

Keen documents one port: "queryPort": 15637, which can be changed, "Additionally, Steam is using the ports described in their Required Ports for Steam article" (Keen). Other ports quoted by hosting companies are not in Keen's articles. The server uses IPv4.

Players join through Join in the main menu, with "Show dedicated server" ticked in the server filter. Favorites (the star icon) sort to the top; if the server does not appear, add its IP in the Steam client under View, Game Servers (Keen).

2:15 Searching by IP address arrived with the first update, Hollow Halls, on Mar 26, 2024, together with an option to conceal the address "for those of you that stream", as Keen's highlights video puts it.

3:22 Wake of the Water (Nov 10, 2025) gave admins filter tags, so players can find "the just perfect new home", and made bans survive a server restart, which Keen said "should notably help protect resource worlds from griefing". Tags include "LookingForPlayers", "BaseBuilding", "Exploration", "Roleplay" and language tags (Keen).

Hardware: Keen's recommended specs

Source: Keen's Recommended Server Specifications (read Oct 20, 2026). Keen's FAQ adds that the process uses about 4.4 GB of RAM idle and up to 100 MB per player, and "should not use more than 6GB of physical RAM" in total (Keen). Each saved world needs up to 100 MB of disk.

Saves and backups

The server stores only the world: "Character progression is stored only on clients", and a save is written every 5 minutes. A world file runs from 1 MB at the start to about 100 MB for worlds "with a lot of big bases" (Keen). Back up the savegame folder by copying it while the server is stopped. Because characters live on players' PCs, a character carries its gear, levels, skills and Shroud Roots from one world to another, while survivors and most recipes belong to the world (Keen FAQ).

3:08 Restarting a server no longer rerolls loot. Keen's senior game designer Christoph said in the 2025 dev update that from Update 7 on, loot chests "save their looted state, which means players won't be able to reload the game or restart the server to try their luck again"; the contents respawn eventually.

1.0 brought a new save format with smaller files. The first time 1.0 loads a save from 0.8 or earlier, it backs it up and migrates it (1.0 changelog). Hotfix 1.0.0.2 of Oct 16, 2026 fixed a rare crash in that migration and skips corrupted characters for now (Keen).

Renting a server: G-Portal and others

"We have also partnered with GPortal to offer dedicated servers you can rent directly from within the game, but it will also be possible to rent servers through your favorite providers" (Keen FAQ). A rented server is the same program, edited through the host's panel; tools that write the file for you must follow the user-group format Keen introduced in Update 2 (Keen).

Linux, PS5 and Xbox

Linux: Steam lists the server tool for Windows only, and Keen's article still says "Linux support is planned for later" (read Oct 20, 2026). No date is given.

PS5: PlayStation 5 players cannot join a PC dedicated server. Enshrouded "will not be cross-platform at launch", and Keen has "no current estimate" for cross-play (Launch FAQ, Oct 13, 2026). On PS5, co-op is up to 8 players with PS Plus (PlayStation Store); see PS5 Version. Keen has not published a PS5 dedicated server, as of Oct 20, 2026.

Xbox Series X|S is planned for spring 2027 with no date, so nothing about Xbox servers is known yet.

Frequently asked questions

How do I set up an Enshrouded dedicated server? Tick Tools in your Steam library, install Enshrouded Dedicated Server, run enshrouded_server.exe once from its folder, then edit the enshrouded_server.json it creates (name, passwords, slots, preset) and start it again. It is ready when the log shows "HostOnline (up)".

What port does an Enshrouded server use? Keen documents query port 15637, set by queryPort in enshrouded_server.json, plus the ports Steam itself needs. Keen's articles name no other port.

Can you run an Enshrouded dedicated server on Linux? Not officially. Keen's dedicated server is Windows only, and Linux support is "planned for later" with no date, as of Oct 20, 2026.

How much RAM does an Enshrouded server need? Keen says the server process uses about 4.4 GB idle plus up to 100 MB per player, no more than 6 GB in total, and recommends 16 GB of RAM in the machine for 4 to 6 or for 16 players.

How many players can join an Enshrouded dedicated server? Up to 16, set by slotCount (1 to 16). The PC game supports up to 16 players in co-op and the PS5 version up to 8.

Can PS5 players join an Enshrouded PC server? No. Enshrouded has no cross-play at launch, so PS5 players cannot join PC servers or games; Keen is working on cross-play with no estimate, as of Oct 13, 2026.

Where does an Enshrouded server save the world? In the savegame folder beside the server exe unless saveDirectory points elsewhere, every 5 minutes. Characters are not saved on the server; they stay on each player's PC.

Sources

• Dedicated Server Installation on Steam, Dedicated Server Configuration, Dedicated Server FAQ, Recommended Server Specifications, Server Roles Configuration, Server Gameplay Settings and Frequently Asked Questions, Keen Games support, read Oct 20, 2026
• Release trailer, changelog... everything you need to wait for tomorrow!, Keen Games on Steam, Oct 14, 2026
• Enshrouded Launch FAQ: Early Access reward, world, Keen Games on Steam, Oct 13, 2026
• Hotfix 1.0.0.2, Keen Games on Steam, Oct 16, 2026
• Wake of the Water patch notes, Keen Games on Steam, Nov 10, 2025
• Enshrouded Dedicated Server (app 2278520), Valve, read Oct 20, 2026
• Enshrouded on PlayStation Store, Sony Interactive Entertainment, read Oct 20, 2026
• Enshrouded developers answer your questions!, Enshrouded, Spring 2024 (video)
• Enshrouded - Melodies of the Mire | Update 2 Highlights, Enshrouded, Jun 5, 2024 (video)
• Enshrouded - Hollow Halls | Update 1 Highlights, Enshrouded, Mar 26, 2024 (video)
• Enshrouded - Wake of the Water | Update 7 Highlights, Enshrouded, Nov 10, 2025 (video)
• Enshrouded - Dev Update | 2025, Enshrouded, Oct 23, 2025 (video)
• Enshrouded 1.0 - Update Highlights, Enshrouded, Oct 15, 2026 (video)