How to start your Terraria server for the first time

Set your world options first, then click Start on your server's Overview page and wait for the badge to say Online. The Console shows Type 'help' for a list of commands. and Server started when Terraria is ready for players. The first start takes longer than later ones, because the server builds a new world.

Before you press Start

The first start creates the world, and its size, difficulty and seed are fixed from then on. Set them first, in Settings, Game Settings:

• World Name: also the world's file name.
• World Size: 1 small, 2 medium, 3 large.
• Difficulty: 0 classic, 1 expert, 2 master, 3 journey.
• World Seed, and on Terraria Vanilla the Special seed switches such as Skyblock.

The full guide: How to choose world size, difficulty and seed on your Terraria server. If you are bringing a world you already have, upload it before the first start instead: How to upload your own Terraria world.

Start it

1. Open your server in the panel. The badge near the name says Offline.
2. Click Start at the top right.

3. Open the Console tab to watch what the server does.

What the Console shows

1. A line from the update check. With the default settings it says the newest Terraria is already installed, or that it was updated: [pnh-update] Updated to .... See How to update your Terraria server and hold a version.
2. Terraria Server v and the version number.
3. On the first start, the world being generated: lines with a step name and a percentage. The panel shows a line that keeps counting up as one line, so the Console does not fill with thousands of them.
4. Listening on port, then Type 'help' for a list of commands. and Server started.

When the ready line appears, the badge changes to Online and players can join. Later starts load the saved world and take seconds.

How long the first start takes

A small world takes a minute or two to generate, and a large one longer. Do not click Stop or Kill while it is generating. On tModLoader, the first start after you add mods also downloads them, which can take a few minutes for big ones.

What a new server already has

• Server type: Terraria Vanilla, the plain game. TShock and tModLoader are one switch away: Terraria server types compared.
• World Name world, World Size small, Difficulty classic and no seed, so a random world.
• Password: none, so anyone with the address can join. Set one before you share it: How to set a password on your Terraria server.
• Player slots: the number your plan includes.
• Auto-update server on, so players on the newest Terraria can join.
• An Automatic backup schedule that saves the world and backs up the server every night, if your plan has backup slots.
• No bans and no admins.

Next steps

1. Join your server.
2. Invite your friends.
3. Set the key settings.

If the server does not reach Online, see Terraria server problems and fixes and How to fix a server that will not start.