How to Set Up an Enshrouded Dedicated Server on Windows

Clearing the Shroud with a full party of 16 is a lot of fun until the one person hosting has to go to bed. A dedicated server keeps Embervale running without anyone's gaming PC attached to it, so your Flameborn can log in whenever they like and pick up where the group left off.

This guide covers installing the Enshrouded dedicated server, editing its config file, setting up passwords and user groups, opening ports, protecting your world saves, and fixing the problems people hit most. Keen Games' Enshrouded support site is the official reference. Enshrouded reached version 1.0 on October 15, 2026, and Keen keeps patching it, so check there if something here no longer matches what you see.

Why Run a Dedicated Enshrouded Server?

The world outlives the host. In a peer-to-peer session the world is only up while the host is playing. On a dedicated server, the world progression is stored on the server, so anyone can drop in.

No host PC taking the hit. Keen notes that every player slot adds load to the server. Running the server on its own machine means your game and the world simulation stop fighting over the same CPU and RAM.

Passwords and permissions. Dedicated servers support user groups, each with its own password and its own permissions. You can let a friend edit your base while a stranger can only look around.

Up to 16 players. Enshrouded is built for up to 16 players, and the server's slotCount setting accepts any number from 1 to 16.

What You'll Need

• A Windows machine for the server. Keen's install page says that for now only Windows is supported, and that Linux support is planned for later. The server's Steam page lists Windows only as well.
• Steam or SteamCMD. The server is bundled with the game, and the Enshrouded Dedicated Server (Steam app ID 2278520) is free to download.
• Hardware. Keen publishes recommended specs. For 4 to 6 players: an Intel Core i7 at 3.2 GHz or equivalent AMD CPU with 6 cores (12 threads), 16 GB of RAM, and an SSD with at least 30 GB free, plus up to 100 MB for each additional saved world. For 16 players Keen recommends a stronger CPU: an i7 at 3.7 GHz or equivalent with 8 cores (16 threads), still with 16 GB of RAM.
• Bandwidth. Keen recommends 2 Mbit/s of upload per player, with download roughly matching.
• IPv4. The server uses IPv4, and Keen's network troubleshooting page says multiplayer currently uses IPv4 only.
• A text editor that can save plain JSON.

How much RAM does it actually use?

Keen's Dedicated Server FAQ gives numbers worth knowing:

• An idle server process uses about 4.4 GB of physical RAM.
• Each player needs up to 100 MB more.
• In total the server should not use more than 6 GB of physical RAM.
• The uncompressed server files are about 13 GB, and Keen recommends 30 GB of free space.

The 16 GB figure in the recommended specs is the machine, not the server process, so leave room for Windows and anything else running on the box.

Step 1: Download the Enshrouded Dedicated Server

With the Steam client

Buying the game unlocks the server in your Steam library. Per Keen's installation guide:

1. In your Steam library, turn on the Tools checkmark so the Tools section shows up.
2. Find the Enshrouded dedicated server and install it.
3. Right-click it, choose Properties, open Installed Files and click Browse.

Keen recommends not using Steam's Launch button. Run the server executable from that folder instead.

With SteamCMD

If you would rather not have the Steam client on the server machine, SteamCMD is Valve's command line tool for this. Set the install directory before logging in, then install the app:

force_install_dir C:\enshrouded
login anonymous
app_update 2278520 validate
quit

2278520 is the dedicated server's app ID. validate checks the files against Steam's copies and overwrites any you changed, so leave it off if you have edited files inside the install folder and want to keep them. Your config and saves live outside the files Steam manages, but back them up anyway before a validate.

Step 2: Start Once to Create the Config

Run the server executable one time. Keen's guide says that after you start it once, it creates a file called enshrouded_server.json next to the executable. Close the server, then open that file in a text editor.

Keen's FAQ lists the signs that a server finished starting. Look in the console window or the log for lines like these:

[Session] 'HostOnline' (up)!
[Session] finished transition from 'Lobby' to 'Host_Online' (current='Host_Online')!

Keen says the server can run headless, in the background with no UI on the desktop, but there will still be a console window.

Step 3: Configure enshrouded_server.json

Here is the example structure from Keen's server roles article:

{
  "name": "Enshrouded Server",
  "password": "",
  "saveDirectory": "./savegame",
  "logDirectory": "./logs",
  "ip": "0.0.0.0",
  "queryPort": 15637,
  "slotCount": 16,
  "userGroups": [
    {
      "name": "Admin",
      "password": "Randomized password 01",
      "canKickBan": true,
      "canAccessInventories": true,
      "canEditBase": true,
      "canExtendBase": true,
      "reservedSlots": 1
    },
    {
      "name": "Friend",
      "password": "Randomized password 02",
      "canKickBan": false,
      "canAccessInventories": true,
      "canEditBase": true,
      "canExtendBase": true,
      "reservedSlots": 3
    },
    {
      "name": "Guest",
      "password": "Randomized password 03",
      "canKickBan": false,
      "canAccessInventories": false,
      "canEditBase": false,
      "canExtendBase": false,
      "reservedSlots": 0
    }
  ]
}

The configuration article explains the main entries:

• name: The server name shown in the in-game server list. Everyone can see it, so keep it friendly.
• saveDirectory: Where the world is saved. The default is the savegame folder next to the server.
• logDirectory: Where logs go. The default is logs, with older logs archived automatically in logs/backup.
• ip: Defaults to 0.0.0.0. Keen says to change it only if your internal network setup needs it.
• queryPort: The port players and Steam use to find your server. Default 15637. You can change it to match your firewall.
• slotCount: How many players can be on at once, from 1 to 16. Keen says each slot adds load, so if CPU or RAM is the bottleneck, lowering this can help.
• voiceChatMode: Proximity or Global.
• enableVoiceChat and enableTextChat: true or false. Both are false in Keen's sample.
• gameSettingsPreset: The difficulty preset, covered below.

Difficulty presets

gameSettingsPreset takes one of five values:

• Default: The original Enshrouded settings, and what Keen recommends for first-time players.
• Relaxed: Fewer enemies and more resources and loot, aimed at players who mostly want to build.
• Hard: More enemies, and more aggressive ones.
• Survival: Extra survival mechanics on top of more aggressive enemies.
• Custom: Unlocks the long list of individual settings in the gameSettings section.

With Custom, the Server Gameplay Settings article lists each option and its allowed range. A few examples are playerHealthFactor, enableDurability (set it to false and weapons stop breaking), enableStarvingDebuff, weatherFrequency, randomSpawnerAmount and fishingDifficulty. Values outside the allowed range are clamped to the minimum or maximum. Invalid text is worse: the server refuses to boot and prints the bad value in the console window.

Step 4: Passwords and User Groups

Keen's advice is blunt: set a password. If you do not, every player can see your server and join it.

Permissions are handled with user groups. Each group has a name, a password, and a set of permissions, and the password a player types when joining decides which group they land in. The flags in each group are:

• canKickBan: kick and ban other players
• canAccessInventories: open chests and other containers
• canEditBase: change the player bases
• canExtendBase: extend the bases
• reservedSlots: slots held back for that group

Keen points out that every group has full access to the world outside the bases. Combat, gathering resources, digging and solving quests are open to everyone, so groups are about bases and moderation, not about who can fight.

reservedSlots is worth a minute. When a group has reserved slots, the lobby shows as full to players joining under other groups once the unreserved slots are taken. In the sample above, one slot is held for Admin and three for Friend, so your friends can still get in when a crowd of Guests has filled everything else.

Two more notes from Keen:

• The old top-level "password" line no longer sets the dedicated server password by itself. If the game finds a password there, it creates a user group called default with the same permissions as Friend, so older setups keep working.
• On dedicated servers, promoting and demoting players while the game is running is not possible. Groups and passwords are changed in the file.

Step 5: Open Your Ports

Keen's FAQ and network troubleshooting page name one default port:

Port	Use
15637	Query port (queryPort)

Keen does not state the protocol for this port, so when you open it, open both UDP and TCP. Steam also uses its own ports, described in Valve's Required Ports for Steam article, which Keen links to.

If the server runs behind a home router, forward 15637 to the server's local IP. In Windows, allow the server executable through Windows Defender Firewall when it asks, or add a rule yourself in PowerShell as Administrator:

New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Enshrouded Server" -Direction Inbound -Action Allow -Protocol UDP -LocalPort 15637
New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Enshrouded Server TCP" -Direction Inbound -Action Allow -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 15637

If you changed queryPort, use your own value. On a VPS or cloud machine, open the same port in your provider's firewall settings too.

Step 6: Join Your Server

Per the FAQ:

1. In Enshrouded, choose Join from the main menu.
2. In the server filter, enable Show dedicated servers.
3. Find your server in the list and enter your password.

The list can also filter by password protection, friends' sessions, empty servers and a minimum number of free slots. If your server does not show up, favorite it through Steam instead, as Keen describes in Favorite Server via IP:

1. Write down the server's IP and query port.
2. In the Steam client, open View, then Game Servers, then the Favorites tab.
3. Click the + button and enter IP:queryPort.

Servers you favorite appear at the top of the in-game list.

Saves and Backups

Know where the data lives, because it decides what you back up.

• World data lives on the server. Keen's FAQ says the world progression is stored on the dedicated server, but character saves are not. Character progression is stored only on each player's own client.
• Saves are written often. The FAQ says save files are created every 5 minutes. A typical save is between 1 MB and 100 MB, and a world with many big bases is closer to 100 MB.
• File names are fixed. Keen's Save Game Management article says world saves are static hexadecimal names given in order of creation. World 1 is 3ad85aea, world 2 is 3bd85c7d, and so on up to ten worlds.
• Rolling copies. Each world save has 10 numbered rolling copies. Per that article, a new copy is made every 10 minutes or when the game shuts down, overwriting the oldest.

Rolling back a world

Each world has an accompanying -index file that records the active save number under latest. To roll back, open that file in a text editor and change the number to a value from 0 to 9. Keen strongly recommends copying all the save files first, so a typo cannot cost you the world.

Your own backups

The rolling copies live in the same folder as the world, so a failed disk takes them with it. Stop the server, copy the whole savegame folder somewhere else, and do it before every update and before every config experiment.

Updating the Server

Enshrouded patches regularly, and some patch notes say dedicated servers do not require an update for that particular patch. When one does, run the SteamCMD app_update 2278520 command again, or update through Steam, then start the server. Back up savegame first.

If a config edit goes wrong after a big update, Keen suggests deleting enshrouded_server.json and letting the server create a fresh one on the next start, because older files can sometimes be updated incorrectly. Copy your settings out first so you can paste them back in.

Troubleshooting

The server does not appear in the list. Check that "Show dedicated servers" is enabled in the filter. Confirm queryPort (15637 by default) is open on the firewall and forwarded on the router. Then try favoriting the server in Steam by IP and query port.

Random drops, or the list is empty. Keen's network troubleshooting page suggests clearing Steam's download cache, flushing DNS with ipconfig /flushdns, and trying Google DNS (8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4). It also notes that Wi-Fi with high packet loss causes drops, so a wired connection is better for the server.

The server will not boot after editing the file. Invalid text in a gameplay setting stops the server and prints the bad value in the console. Fix that value, or delete the config file and let the server recreate it.

Lag when the party is large. Keen warns that each slot adds load, and that a stronger CPU is recommended for 16 players. Lower slotCount if your CPU or RAM is the bottleneck. Keen's 1.0 notes also mention reworked server performance warnings and a reduction in the memory used for server and client communication, so make sure you are on the current version.

Players cannot open chests or build. That is the user group working as designed. Check which password they used and which permissions that group has.

FAQ

How many players can an Enshrouded dedicated server hold?

Up to 16. The slotCount setting accepts any number from 1 to 16.

Is there a Linux version of the Enshrouded server?

Keen's installation guide says that for now only Windows is supported and that Linux support is planned for later. The server's Steam listing shows Windows only.

Do characters transfer between servers?

Keen says character progression is stored on the client, not on the dedicated server. Your character goes with you; the world stays on the server.

Enshrouded Hosting on EZ Game Host

If you would rather skip the Windows box, the firewall rules and the port forwarding, our Enshrouded server hosting runs on Ryzen 9950X cores with NVMe storage and always-on DDoS protection. Plans start at Pro with 16GB of RAM for up to 8 players, with Premium for a full 16. Every plan has 3 backup slots, a panel with a console, file manager and schedules, and 24/7 support. At checkout you set the server name, an optional password and the maximum number of players, from 1 to 16. Pay monthly and cancel any time.

Your world files live in the savegame folder, which you can reach in the file manager. If you already have a world, you upload its files yourself. Either way, keep your own off-server copy of anything you cannot replace.