How to host a Mordhau server (2026)

Short answer. You can host a Mordhau server yourself for free: install Steam app 629800 with SteamCMD, put your server name and passwords in Game.ini, make sure the beacon port 15000 is reachable and start the Linux binary. Or rent a Mordhau server and skip the ports and the updates.

Players usually find the server by name in Mordhau's server browser, and enter the password if you set one.

Checked on 5 November 2026 against Patch #30, the newest patch the developer, Triternion, had announced on Steam (6 November 2024).

This guide uses two sources: the patch notes Triternion posts on Steam, and what we run on every Mordhau server we host. Where we only know something from our own servers, it says so. To skip to the rental route, go to Option 2.

What you need

• The server software: Mordhau's dedicated server, Steam app 629800. It downloads with an anonymous Steam login, no game purchase needed on the server machine.
• A machine that stays on: a spare PC, a home server or a cloud virtual machine. This guide uses 64-bit Linux, which is what we run. Triternion has shipped fixes for Linux servers in its patch notes, and the dedicated server download includes a Linux build.
• RAM and CPU: Triternion's patch notes give no dedicated server requirements, and the Steam store lists only what the game itself needs to play. Treat any server figure you read elsewhere as an estimate.
• Network: a game port, a query port and the beacon port. Triternion's Patch #4 notes say server owners must make sure the beacon port (15000) is reachable, and that it can be changed with BeaconPort=<port> on the command line.
• Mods, if you want them: Mordhau takes mods from mod.io, and you need the number shown on each mod page.

Option 1: host it yourself

These steps are for Debian or Ubuntu. The install command and file paths are the ones our servers use.

Install the server

1. Install the libraries SteamCMD needs.

   sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386
   sudo apt update
   sudo apt install wget tar lib32gcc-s1 libc6:i386 libstdc++6:i386 -y

2. Create a user for the server and switch to it.

   sudo useradd -m -s /bin/bash -U mordhau
   sudo su - mordhau

3. Install SteamCMD and let it update itself once.

   mkdir -p ~/steamcmd ~/server
   cd ~/steamcmd
   wget https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/client/installer/steamcmd_linux.tar.gz
   tar -xf steamcmd_linux.tar.gz
   ./steamcmd.sh +quit

4. Download the server.

   ~/steamcmd/steamcmd.sh +force_install_dir /home/mordhau/server +login anonymous +app_update 629800 validate +quit

   SteamCMD sometimes ends with "Missing configuration" and leaves no game files, yet still reports success. We see this come and go on fresh installs. Check that steamapps/appmanifest_629800.acf exists in the server folder, and run the command again if it does not.
5. Copy the Steam client library where the server looks for it, as our install does:

   mkdir -p ~/.steam/sdk32 ~/.steam/sdk64
   cp ~/steamcmd/linux32/steamclient.so ~/.steam/sdk32/
   cp ~/steamcmd/linux64/steamclient.so ~/.steam/sdk64/
   chmod +x ~/server/Mordhau/Binaries/Linux/MordhauServer-Linux-Shipping

Write the settings

1. Create the config folder inside the server folder: Mordhau/Saved/Config/LinuxServer.
2. Create Game.ini in that folder. The section name is the one Triternion uses in its patch notes for mods, and the keys are the ones our servers write:

   [/Script/Mordhau.MordhauGameSession]
   bAdvertiseServerViaSteam=True
   ServerName=My Mordhau server
   ServerPassword=
   AdminPassword=choose-a-long-password

   Leave ServerPassword empty for a public server. Set AdminPassword to something only you know: it is what lets you act as admin in game.
3. Add mods by adding one Mods= line per mod under the same section. Since Patch #18, Triternion says the server installs mods listed this way by itself, and no mod.io token is needed:

   Mods=123456
   Mods=654321

   The numbers above are placeholders. Use the ID from each mod's page on mordhau.mod.io.
4. Edit config files only while the server is stopped.

Open the ports

• Game port: the one you pass with -Port when you start the server.
• Query port: the one you pass with -queryport. This guide uses 27015.
• Beacon port: 15000 unless you change it on the command line. Triternion's own notes call this one out and write the override as BeaconPort=<port>; our servers pass it as -beaconport=<port>.

Allow all three on the machine's firewall, for example sudo ufw allow 7777, sudo ufw allow 27015 and sudo ufw allow 15000, and forward them on your router.

Start it and join

1. Start the server from the server folder. This is the command line our servers run, with the map Grad as an example:

   ./Mordhau/Binaries/Linux/MordhauServer-Linux-Shipping /Game/Mordhau/Maps/Grad/FL_Grad -MaxSlots=16 -USEALLAVAILABLECORES -Port=7777 -queryport=27015 -beaconport=15000

   It is ready when the log prints Session GameSession successfully created. Run it under a service manager such as systemd so it restarts after a crash.
2. Join it. Open Mordhau, go to the server browser and search for the server name exactly as written in ServerName. Enter your password if you set one.
3. Become admin. In game, open the console and type AdminLogin followed by your AdminPassword. Triternion's patch notes do not document this command; it is the one our panel and guides give our own customers. Kicks, bans and map changes are then done in game.
4. Update by stopping the server and running the step 4 download command again. Patches change the game, so the server and every player must be on the same build.

Option 2: host it on PlayNHost

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

1. Pick a plan. Open the Mordhau server hosting page and compare the plans: HUNTSMAN (8 players), KNIGHT (25) and RAIDER (64) at the time of writing. Press Create Server (Customize Plan on RAIDER) 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 Session GameSession successfully created when it is ready.
3. Name it. On the Settings tab, in Game Settings, set the Server Name and, for a private server, a Server Password. Then restart: these values are applied at the next start, not the one already running.
4. Set your admin password. Fill in Admin Password in the same place, restart, then log in in game with AdminLogin. See How to become admin on your Mordhau server and use admin commands.
5. Choose the first map in Starting Map, and add Server Mods if you want them: mod.io IDs separated by commas. The server downloads them at the next start. See How to add mods to your Mordhau server.
6. Invite your players. Give them the server name and password. They find it in Mordhau's server browser. See How to join your Mordhau server.

What the panel does for you

• The first boot uses your settings. Mordhau creates Game.ini on a server's first run (Triternion added this in Patch #22 Hotfix 1), and we found that this made a brand new server start with the game's defaults: the name Server and an empty admin password, until the first restart. Our install now creates Game.ini with the same shape the game writes, so your name and passwords are in place on the very first start.
• Your ports are assigned and passed to the server at every start, including the query and beacon ports.
• Server Name, Server Password and Admin Password are written into Game.ini at every start, so you change them in the panel, not in the file. The server also keeps bAdvertiseServerViaSteam=True and your Mods= lines in sync with the panel.
• With Auto Update on (the default; it sits under Show advanced in Game Settings), the server checks Steam for the newest Mordhau patch each time it starts and installs it, so a restart is an update.
• Everything else in Game.ini is still yours under Files.

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, including the beacon port. A rented server keeps your home IP out of it.
• Setup: self-hosting needs the command line, SteamCMD, port forwarding and a hand-written Game.ini. Renting needs a name, passwords and an optional mod list.
• Control: self-hosting gives you every file and every launch flag. On our servers you change the main settings in the panel and still have Files for the rest of Game.ini.

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