How to host an SCP: 5K server (2026)

Short answer. You can host an SCP: 5K server yourself for free: install the free "SCP: 5K - Community Dedicated Server" (Steam app 884110) with SteamCMD, start PandemicServer.sh with a server name, a map rotation, a game port and a query port, and open those two ports. Or rent an SCP: 5K server and skip the install and the ports.

Players join from the in-game server browser, or with direct connect to your address and port.

Checked on 5 November 2026 against Update 0.17.1 and its hotfix, the newest SCP: 5K update announced on Steam.

SCP: 5K is in Early Access, so details can change between updates. This guide uses three sources: the developer's Steam announcements, the Steam listing of the dedicated server tool, and what we run on every SCP: 5K server we host. Where something is not in a source we say so. To skip to the rental route, go to Option 2.

What you need

• The server software: "SCP: 5K - Community Dedicated Server", Steam app 884110. It is a free tool, listed for Windows and Linux, and it downloads with an anonymous Steam login. You do not need to own the game on that account.
• 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. The developer added Linux server support in June 2022 and console support to the Linux server in Update 0.17.1.
• RAM and CPU: the developer does not publish dedicated server requirements. The requirements on the Steam page are for playing the game, not for the server tool. Treat any server figure you read elsewhere as an estimate.
• A player cap: the Steam store page lists player counts per mode, for example 4 to 6 players for Raid on Area-12, 1 to 8 for Wave Survival Classic and 2 to 16 for Outpost Axiom PvP. Our servers default to 4 players and our plans go up to 16.
• Network: a game port and a query port that you choose, both reachable from the internet. Our default query port is 27015.

Option 1: host it yourself

These steps are for Debian or Ubuntu. The install command and the start command 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 scp5k
   sudo su - scp5k

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

   Let that first run finish before you install the game. A fresh SteamCMD updates itself and restarts, and an install started across that restart can fail.
4. Download the server.

   ~/steamcmd/steamcmd.sh +force_install_dir /home/scp5k/server +login anonymous +app_update 884110 validate +quit

   Steam sometimes answers "Failed to install app (Missing configuration)" and SteamCMD still ends with "success", which leaves a folder with no game files. We see this come and go on fresh installs. Check that steamapps/appmanifest_884110.acf exists in the server folder, and run the command again if it does not. Our installer retries up to three times, 15 seconds apart.
5. Check the server script is there. In our installs it is LinuxServer/PandemicServer.sh, and our installer stops with an error if that file is missing. Steam's own launch entry for Linux names WindowsServer/PandemicServer.sh instead, so if your download has only that folder, use it in place of LinuxServer in the paths below. If the download lands only an EmptySteamDepot folder, SteamCMD wrote no content and you should run the install again.
6. Copy the Steam client library into the .steam folder of the user that runs the server, as our install does:

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

   If cp says the two files are the same, SteamCMD has already linked them there and you can go on.

Start it

1. Make the script executable and create the mods folder (the folder is explained below).

   cd ~/server
   chmod +x LinuxServer/PandemicServer.sh
   mkdir -p "./LinuxServer/Pandemic/Content/Paks/~mods"

2. Start the server with the command line our panel builds. Replace the name, the map rotation and the two ports with your own:

   ./LinuxServer/PandemicServer.sh M_ServerDefault -ServerName="My SCP 5K server" -SteamServerName="My SCP 5K server" -maprotation="Area12" -Port=7777 -QueryPort=27015 -force_steamclient_link -noasyncloadingthread -useperfthreads

   Area12 is our default map rotation. On our servers TestingChambers loads the Testing Chambers mode, and Area12,TestingChambers plays both in turn. Separate maps with commas and no spaces. In our tests a name the game does not recognise was ignored rather than refused, so check the map that loads. The developer's announcements do not give a default port, so the two port numbers above are only an example: choose any free ports and use the same ones in your firewall.
3. Wait for the ready line. The server is up when the log prints Bringing up level for play took.

Settings, admins and the player cap

• Keep the server name short. On our servers a name longer than about 23 characters is not published in the tags Steam serves to the server browser, and the server says so in its console at every boot. A server whose name is too long can run fine and still be hard to find by name.
• ServerConfig.ini lives in LinuxServer/Pandemic/Saved/Config/ on our servers. The player cap is the MaxPlayerCount key, which our panel writes under the section [/Game/SCPPandemic/Blueprints/GI_PandemicGameInstance.GI_PandemicGameInstance_C]. The developer's 0.12.0.53 notes say the server generates a config if none exists, so start it once and edit the file that appears.
• Admins, bans and the whitelist are lists of Steam IDs kept in LinuxServer/Pandemic/Saved. The server reads them when it starts (the developer's Update 0.17 hotfix added ban syncing on restart), so restart after you change one.
• Remote console: since Update 0.17.1 the server supports RCON. Add -rcon=YOURPASSWORD to the start command (or set the value in DefaultGame.ini), and -rconport=PORT to choose its port. The developer notes that RCON cannot be enabled without a password, so use a long one.

Open the ports

• Allow your game port and your query port on the machine's firewall and forward both on your router.
• The developer does not document which protocols the two ports use. Until you have tested it, allowing both UDP and TCP for each is the safe choice.

Mods

Update 0.17.1 added the developer's mod loader: modded items, weapons, maps, enemies and cosmetics, with a server checksum so that the server and each player have the same mods. The developer does not name the mods folder. In our tests the server found and mounted a .pak placed in LinuxServer/Pandemic/Content/Paks/~mods. The tilde is part of the folder name. In our installs the download did not create that folder, which is why the start command above runs mkdir -p on it first. We create it again at every start, in case an update removes the empty folder. The developer says the mod loader does not yet include a mod browser or an official SDK, so you add paks you have been given.

Option 2: host it on PlayNHost

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

1. Pick a plan. Open the SCP: 5K server hosting page and compare the plans: INFECTOR (4 players), NEPHILIM (8) and RESONATOR (16) at the time of writing. Press Create Server (Customize Plan on RESONATOR) 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 Bringing up level for play took when it is ready.
3. Name it. On the Settings tab, under Game Settings, set the Server Name and the Map Rotation. Keep the name under about 23 characters, because a longer one is not published to the server browser and the Console says so at every boot. Then restart.
4. Add admins. Admins, bans and the whitelist are Steam ID lists in LinuxServer/Pandemic/Saved, under Files. Edit them, then restart so the server reads them.
5. Invite your players. They find your server by its name in the in-game server browser. See How to Connect to Your SCP: 5K Server.

What the panel does for you:

• Your game port and query port are assigned and open from the start, and the panel passes them to the server in the start command.
• The MaxPlayerCount key in ServerConfig.ini is written at every start from your plan, so the player cap follows the plan and is not a field you edit.
• With Auto Update on (the default, under Show advanced on the same Game Settings page), the server checks for a game update each time it starts, so a restart is an update.
• The ~mods folder is created at install and again at every start, so you can drop a pak straight in.
• The install retries the SteamCMD "Missing configuration" error and stops with a clear message if no server script was downloaded, so a failed download is not handed to you as a finished install.

Map changes are covered in How to Change Your SCP: 5K Server Name and Map Rotation. If your server does not list or load a map, see How to Fix an SCP: 5K Server That Will Not List or Load a Map.

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 the command line, port forwarding and the install checks above. Renting needs a name and a map rotation.
• Control: self-hosting gives you every file and every command line argument, including RCON. On our servers you change the name and map rotation in the panel and keep the Files tab for the rest.

Ready to skip the setup? See the SCP: 5K server plans. Already have a server? Start with How to Customise Gameplay on Your SCP: 5K Server.