How to host a Conan Exiles server (2026)

Short answer. You can host a Conan Exiles server yourself for free: install the dedicated server (Steam app 443030) with SteamCMD or Steam, set a name and password, and open UDP 7777 (the game), UDP 7778 (the pinger) and UDP 27015 (the server query). Or rent a Conan Exiles server and skip the networking.

Players join through the in-game server browser or with direct connect and the server's address and port.

Checked on 5 November 2026 against hotfix 3.0.1 (8 October 2026), the newest Conan Exiles Enhanced update Funcom had released on Steam.

This guide uses two sources: Funcom's own pages (its dedicated server page, technical manual and Steam announcements), and what we run on every Conan Exiles server we host. Where the two differ, it says so. To skip to the rental route, go to Option 2.

What you need

• The server software: Steam app 443030, listed as "Conan Exiles Dedicated Server" on Funcom's page and renamed "Conan Exiles Enhanced Dedicated Server" by the Enhanced update, Funcom says. It downloads with an anonymous Steam login. Funcom's page tells Windows owners to install it from the Tools section of their Steam library and start it with StartServer.bat or ConanSandboxServer.exe, and links a dedicated server app as well. Funcom's page does not mention Linux. We run the native Linux build of app 443030, and that is what the Linux steps below use.
• A machine that stays on: a spare PC, a home server or a cloud virtual machine.
• RAM and CPU: Funcom's page does not list server requirements. Treat any figure you read elsewhere as an estimate.
• Players on the same version: Conan Exiles Enhanced is a free upgrade for Steam owners that moved the game to Unreal Engine 5. Everyone on the server must run a game version that matches it.

Option 1: host it yourself

Install the server (Linux)

1. Get SteamCMD. Download it from Valve, unpack it into ~/steamcmd, and run ./steamcmd.sh +quit once from that folder. A fresh SteamCMD updates itself and restarts on its first run, and our install runs it once first because an install started across that restart can fail.
2. Download the server:

   ./steamcmd.sh +force_install_dir ~/conan +login anonymous +app_update 443030 validate +quit

3. Check the install worked. Steam sometimes answers "Failed to install app (Missing configuration)" and SteamCMD still ends with success, leaving no game files. Check that ~/conan/steamapps/appmanifest_443030.acf exists, and run the command again if it does not.
4. Copy the Steam client libraries where the server looks for them, as our install does:

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

5. Make the server binary executable. On our installs it arrives without the executable bit:

   chmod +x ~/conan/ConanSandbox/Binaries/Linux/ConanSandboxServer-Linux-Shipping

Set the name, password and admin password

• On Windows, Funcom's page has you edit two files in ConanSandbox/Saved/Config/WindowsServer. In Engine.ini, set the name and join password:

  [OnlineSubsystem]
  ServerName=YOUR_SERVER_NAME_HERE
  ServerPassword=YOUR_DESIRED_PASSWORD_HERE

  In ServerSettings.ini, set the in-game admin password:

  [ServerSettings]
  AdminPassword=YOUR_DESIRED_ADMIN_PASSWORD_HERE

• On Linux, pass the name and join password on the command line, as our panel does (next section). For the admin password, start the server once so it creates its config folder inside ConanSandbox/Saved/Config, stop it, then add AdminPassword to the [ServerSettings] section of ServerSettings.ini in that folder. Edit it only while the server is stopped: Conan rewrites its config files as it shuts down.

Open the ports

These are the ports Funcom's page lists:

• Game: UDP 7777 by default, set with -Port=.
• Pinger: UDP, always the game port plus one (7778 by default). Funcom says it cannot be changed. The server browser uses it to check that your server is up.
• Query: UDP 27015 by default, set with -QueryPort=. Funcom calls it the server query port and lists it for PC only.
• RCON: TCP 25575 by default, set with -RconPort=. Only needed for outside admin tools, so keep it closed if you do not use one.

Funcom's table also lists a TCP mod download port for players on the Epic Games Store. Steam players get mods from the Steam Workshop instead.

Allow them 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.

Start it and join

1. Start the server from the server folder. This is the core of the command line our panel uses (ours also switches RCON on), with your own values:

   ./ConanSandbox/Binaries/Linux/ConanSandboxServer-Linux-Shipping ConanSandbox -Port=7777 -MaxPlayers=20 -QueryPort=27015 -ServerName="My Conan server" -ServerPassword="" -log

   Keep quotation marks out of the name and password: they can stop the server from starting. It is ready when the log prints Started SourceServerQueries. Run it under a service manager such as systemd so it restarts after a crash.
2. Stop it gently. Conan saves the world as it shuts down, which can take a few minutes. Send one interrupt (Ctrl+C) and wait. Do not send a second one: our launcher is built so it never does, because a second interrupt during shutdown makes the server exit at once, before the save is finished.
3. Join it. Open the in-game server browser and search for your server name, or use direct connect with address:port. Funcom's page notes you may need a firewall exception for the server to show in the browser.
4. Update by stopping the server and running the download command again. Players and server must be on the same build.

Add Workshop mods

Conan Exiles mods are Steam Workshop items of the game, app 440900. Download each item with SteamCMD, for example +workshop_download_item 440900 <item id> in the same command as your login and the same +force_install_dir. Its .pak file lands under steamapps/workshop/content/440900/<item id>/. Funcom's technical manual then has you put each mod's .pak file in ConanSandbox/Mods and list the file names in ConanSandbox/Mods/modlist.txt, one per line. Everyone joining needs the same mods, in the same load order.

Option 2: host it on PlayNHost

Renting removes the install, the ports, the libraries and the update routine. You still choose a name, your admin password and your rules.

1. Pick a plan. Open the Conan Exiles server hosting page. At the time of writing there is one plan, LION, for 40 players. Press Customize Plan 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 Started SourceServerQueries when it is ready.
3. Name it. On the Settings tab, under Game Settings, set the Server Name (up to 40 characters, no quotation marks) and, for a private server, a Server Password. Then restart. The Player Limit is shown there too and comes with your plan.
4. Make yourself admin. Stop the server, add an AdminPassword line to ServerSettings.ini in the Files tab, then start it again. Conan rewrites that file as it shuts down, so an edit made while it runs is lost. See How to become admin on your Conan Exiles server.
5. Add mods on the Workshop tab: paste each mod's Steam Workshop address or id, then restart. The same list is Steam Workshop Mods under Game Settings, as ids separated by commas. See How to add mods to your Conan Exiles server.
6. Invite your players. The Server Address on the Overview page is what they type into direct connect. See How to join your Conan Exiles server.

What the panel does for you:

• The game, query and RCON ports are assigned for you, so there is no router to set up. You can see them on Ports & Network.
• With Update On Start on (the default), the server checks Steam for a newer build every time it starts and installs it first, so a restart is an update.
• The Console accepts typed commands. Conan ignores what is typed on its standard input, so our launcher sends each line to the game's RCON port, using the RCON Password under Game Settings (set for you when the server is created), and prints the answer, for example listplayers. Commands start working once the server has finished starting. Before then the Console says so.
• The mod list is rebuilt from exactly the ids you enter at every start, so removing an id removes the mod. An id that fails to download is reported in the Console and is not loaded.
• If the install hits the "Missing configuration" trap, our install script retries up to three times and treats the app manifest, not the exit code, as proof.

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 monthly fee set by the plan.
• Uptime: 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 three ports opened (four with RCON), a Steam install that can fail quietly, and a hand-written mod list. Renting needs a name, a password and your admin password.
• Control: self-hosting gives you every file. On our servers you change settings in the panel and still have the Files tab and RCON for your own tools.

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