How to host an ARK: Survival Evolved server (2026)

Short answer. You can host an ARK: Survival Evolved server yourself for free: install Steam app 376030 with SteamCMD using an anonymous login, start ShooterGameServer with your server name and passwords, and open UDP 7777, UDP 7778 and UDP 27015. Or rent an ARK: Survival Evolved server and skip the install and the firewall.

Players find the server by searching the game's unofficial server list for its name, or by adding its address and query port to their Steam server favorites.

Checked on 5 November 2026.

This guide uses two sources: the dedicated server pages of the ARK Official Community Wiki, and what we run on every ARK: Survival Evolved server we host. This is the original ARK, not ARK: Survival Ascended, which is a different game with a different server. To skip to the rental route, go to Option 2.

What you need

• The server software: "ARK: Survival Evolved Dedicated Server", Steam app 376030. It is free. The wiki notes that Steam may give anonymous logins low priority or refuse them, most often when many mods download at once, and suggests logging in with a Steam account in that case.
• A machine that stays on: a spare PC, a home server or a cloud virtual machine. The wiki says the server needs a 64-bit operating system. This guide uses Linux, which is what we run.
• RAM and CPU: the wiki says memory use depends on the map, the player count, how old the world is, your settings and your mods, and that every connected player adds more. Size the machine for your map and mods, and leave room for the operating system.
• Disk: the wiki lists about 18 GiB for the server files, plus space for saves, logs, updates and mods.
• Network: UDP 7777 (game), UDP 7778 (peer, the game port plus one) and UDP 27015 (query, used by the server browser), reachable from the internet. TCP 27020 is for RCON and is optional.

Option 1: host it yourself

These steps are for Debian or Ubuntu. The download command, library copy and start command follow what our servers use.

Install the server

1. Install what SteamCMD needs and create a user for the server.

   sudo apt update
   sudo apt install curl lib32gcc-s1 ca-certificates -y
   sudo useradd -m -s /bin/bash -U ark
   sudo su - ark

2. Install SteamCMD.

   mkdir -p ~/steamcmd ~/server
   cd ~/steamcmd
   curl -sSL -o steamcmd.tar.gz https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/client/installer/steamcmd_linux.tar.gz
   tar -xzf steamcmd.tar.gz

3. Download the server.

   ~/steamcmd/steamcmd.sh +force_install_dir /home/ark/server +login anonymous +app_update 376030 validate +quit

   SteamCMD can end without the game files and still report success. On our installs this happens in about two of seven clean installs, which is why our installer checks for steamapps/appmanifest_376030.acf and tries the download up to three times. Do the same check: if the file is missing, run the command again.
4. Copy the Steam client libraries into the .steam folder in the home of the user that runs the server. Our servers keep them in the same place (there, the home folder is the server folder):

   mkdir -p ~/.steam/sdk32 ~/.steam/sdk64
   cp ~/steamcmd/linux32/steamclient.so ~/.steam/sdk32/
   cp ~/steamcmd/linux64/steamclient.so ~/.steam/sdk64/

Start the server

1. Run it from the binaries folder. Settings go on the command line after the map name, each starting with a question mark. Replace the two passwords with your own:

   cd ~/server/ShooterGame/Binaries/Linux
   ./ShooterGameServer TheIsland?listen?SessionName="My ARK server"?ServerPassword=joinpass?ServerAdminPassword=adminpass?Port=7777?QueryPort=27015?RCONPort=27020?RCONEnabled=True?MaxPlayers=30 -server -log

   TheIsland is the map. ServerPassword is what players type to join; leave it out for a public server. ServerAdminPassword is the admin and RCON password. Run it under a service manager such as systemd so it starts with the machine; the wiki gives a sample unit file. Add Restart=on-failure to the unit if you want systemd to start it again after a crash.
2. Settings files. On the first run the server creates ShooterGame/Saved. Its two settings files, GameUserSettings.ini and Game.ini, are in ShooterGame/Saved/Config/LinuxServer. The wiki recommends keeping settings in GameUserSettings.ini when you run the server under systemd.
3. Stop it cleanly. Send saveworld over RCON, then DoExit. Our servers do exactly this when you press Stop.

Open the ports

• Game and query: allow UDP 7777, UDP 7778 and UDP 27015 on the machine's firewall (for example sudo ufw allow 7777:7778/udp and sudo ufw allow 27015/udp) and forward them on your router. The wiki says to forward both the UDP and the TCP ports it lists.
• RCON: TCP 27020, only if you use an outside RCON tool. Use a long password.
• A second server: the wiki's example gives the second server UDP 7779 (game), UDP 7780 (peer), UDP 27016 (query) and TCP 27021 (RCON).

Join it

1. Wait a few minutes after the first start.
2. Search the in-game unofficial server list for your session name. Or add your-ip:27015 (the address and the query port) to your Steam server favorites, as the wiki describes.
3. Update by stopping the server and running the download command again.

Mods download into a folder that must already exist

ARK downloads Steam Workshop mods itself when you start with -automanagedmods and list the IDs with ?GameModIds=123,456 on the command line (the wiki notes mod IDs can also be listed in Game.ini). It does this with its own copy of SteamCMD in Engine/Binaries/ThirdParty/SteamCMD/Linux, and it finds the workshop folder through a link. On our servers, the first mod download failed on a missing directory until the link and the folder behind it existed before the first start. This is what our installer sets up once, after the server is downloaded and the steps above are done:

cd ~/server
mkdir -p Steam/steamapps/workshop/content/346110
mkdir -p Engine/Binaries/ThirdParty/SteamCMD/Linux
tar -xzf ~/steamcmd/steamcmd.tar.gz -C Engine/Binaries/ThirdParty/SteamCMD/Linux
cd Engine/Binaries/ThirdParty/SteamCMD/Linux
ln -sf ../../../../../Steam/steamapps steamapps

Option 2: host it on PlayNHost

Renting removes the install, the ports and the update routine. You still choose a name, your passwords, your map and your mods.

1. Pick a plan. Open the ARK: Survival Evolved server hosting page and compare the plans: DODO (30 players), RAPTOR (60) and T-REX (125) at the time of writing. Press Create Server (Customize Plan on T-REX) and finish the order. Prices change, so check them on that page.
2. Wait for the install. The server appears in the panel. Its Console prints Waiting commands for 127.0.0.1: when the server is ready.
3. Name it. On the Settings tab, under Game Settings, set the Server Name (the session name players search for) and, for a private server, a Server Password. Pick the Server Map there too. Then restart.
4. Set your admin password. Set the Admin Password in the same place. It logs you in as admin in game and is the RCON password, so give it only to people you trust. See How to become admin on your ARK: Survival Evolved server and use admin commands.
5. Add mods if you want them. Put Steam Workshop IDs, separated by commas, in Steam Workshop Mod IDs and restart. The first restart is slower while the server downloads them. See How to add mods to your ARK: Survival Evolved server.
6. Invite your players. Send them the Server Name to search for and, for a private server, the Server Password. The Server Address is on Overview. See How to join your ARK: Survival Evolved server.

What the panel does for you:

• It downloads app 376030 for you and checks the download actually landed, trying up to three times, so the silent SteamCMD failure above does not leave you with an empty server.
• It never uses a default admin password. If you leave the Admin Password at its starting value, the server generates a random 16-character one on its first start and saves it in the file .pnh-ark-admin under Files. The Console says where it is. Set your own under Settings whenever you like.
• When you press Stop, it saves the world over RCON and exits the server before ending the process, so you do not lose the last minutes of play.
• The mod folder and link from the section above are created at install, so the first mod download works.
• The panel has settings for BattlEye Anti-Cheat (on by default) and Crossplay With Epic Games, and a box for Extra Launch Options. Max Players is shown on Settings but you cannot edit it there.
• Each map keeps its own world under Files in ShooterGame/Saved/SavedArks, so switching map starts a separate save instead of moving your current one. See How to back up and restore your ARK: Survival Evolved world.

Self-hosting or renting: an honest comparison

• Cost: the server software is free. Self-hosting costs power, hardware and bandwidth, or a cloud machine. Renting is a recurring fee set by the plan.
• Availability: a home server is only up while your PC, power and internet are. A rented server runs on the host's hardware.
• Exposure: at home, players connect to your public IP address and you look after the firewall and router. A rented server keeps your home IP out of it.
• Setup: self-hosting needs the command line, forwarded ports, a service manager, a shutdown routine that saves and the mod folder trap above. Renting needs a name and a map, plus a join password if you want a private server.
• Control: self-hosting gives you every file. On our servers you change settings in the panel and still have the Files tab and admin commands in game.

Ready to skip the setup? See the ARK: Survival Evolved server plans. Already have a server? Start with How to set up your ARK: Survival Evolved server: key settings.