How to set up an Unturned server: a step-by-step guide
This guide takes you from nothing to a working Unturned server: choosing an operating system, installing through SteamCMD, configuring it through Commands.dat, adding Workshop maps and plugins, opening ports and the mistakes most often made on first boot. Unturned is technically a light game, which makes it a good starting point for a first server; that said, every classic trap — including the server not showing up in the list — is here too.
Before you start
- A server. With a curated map and a light plugin list, 24 players run comfortably on 4 GB / 2 vCPU. Once you move to 48 players and large custom maps, the 8 GB / 4 vCPU step is what you need. The general logic of sizing: how many vCPUs and how much RAM?
- A decision about which map you will run. Workshop maps can need noticeably more memory than the official ones, and settling the map before picking a plan avoids landing one step off.
- Your own Steam64 ID. You have to write it into the configuration to be an administrator on the server.
1. Operating system
Ubuntu 22.04 LTS is the practical choice. The Unturned dedicated server runs 64-bit, so the 32-bit library trouble of older Source-based games does not apply here, and the server needs no graphical interface. We have covered how a VDS installed from an Ubuntu template is managed, and why the LTS release choice matters, on a separate page: Ubuntu VDS
2. Installing through SteamCMD
The server files are downloaded anonymously through SteamCMD; the app ID for the Unturned dedicated server is 1110390:
./steamcmd.sh +force_install_dir /home/unturned/server +login anonymous \
+app_update 1110390 validate +quitThe server is started through the ServerHelper.sh script together with an instance name. For a publicly listed server, internet mode is what you want:
./ServerHelper.sh +InternetServer/ServerNameThe first time this runs it generates the configuration folder under Servers/ServerName/. If you plan to install plugins, boot the server once clean first: RocketMod's or OpenMod's own configuration files are also created on that first boot, and dropping plugins in before ever starting usually leaves a half-formed folder structure.
3. Configuration and Workshop content
The server's behaviour is set by the lines in Servers/ServerName/Server/Commands.dat. The ones that matter in practice:
Name Server name
Map Washington
MaxPlayers 24
Port 27015
Mode Normal
Perspective Third
Owner 7656119XXXXXXXXXXThe Owner line is not just a label: the Steam64 ID you write there is the server's administrator. Skip it and the server runs, but nobody can use admin commands, and fixing it means restarting the server.
Workshop maps and mods are added by ID to the WorkshopDownloadConfig.json file in your server instance's folder, and the server downloads them itself on boot. Two details matter: the map name on the `Map` line has to match the downloaded map's own name exactly, and large map packs noticeably lengthen the first boot. Interrupting the process because the first boot is taking a while leaves half-downloaded content behind.
On the plugin side, RocketMod was the standard for years; on current projects OpenMod is more common. Whichever you pick, plugins run on the main thread, so growing the plugin count without control shows up directly in tick time.
4. Ports
| Port | Protocol | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| 27015 | UDP | Game traffic |
| 27016 | UDP | Query / server list |
Both ports need to be reachable from outside: with only the game port open the server runs but never appears in the public list, and that is the single most reported problem on new servers. If you run a second server on the same machine, shift the port pair and give each instance its own working directory. If you are on Datafex, port management is handled from the customer panel.
The most common first-boot mistakes
- Only the game port was opened. The server is up and missing from the list.
- The `Owner` line was never written. Admin commands do not work.
- The map name does not match the Workshop name. The server falls back to the default map or fails to start.
- Plugins were copied in before the first clean boot. The configuration folder is generated incomplete.
- The Workshop download was interrupted. The content stays broken, and the fastest fix is deleting that folder and letting it download again.
- No backups. Player progress is held server-side, and "it's my first server" does not change that. The full approach: server backup strategy
On the DDoS side
Unturned servers are scanned constantly through the query port and are exposed to UDP-based floods. Because source addresses can be forged in UDP, blocking attacking addresses one by one does not help — the address you block is most likely an innocent third party. Filtering has to happen at the network layer: what is DDoS protection?
On Datafex servers, layered Fexwall DDoS protection is included free on every plan.
Next step
On Unturned the real sizing question is not "how many players" but "which map and how many plugins". We have put which step covers which combination of those two on one page: Unturned server plans. If you plan to run several instances on the same machine, the vCPU steps on the virtual server plans become your decision point.