How to host a The Forest server (2026)

Short answer. You can host a The Forest server yourself for free: install "The Forest Dedicated Server" (Steam app 556450) with SteamCMD and an anonymous login, write a config.cfg with your server name, ports and difficulty, open the Steam, game and query ports, and start TheForestDedicatedServer.exe. Or rent a The Forest server and skip the networking.

Endnight's own tutorial expects the server to show up in the Internet server list, and a Steam game server login token helps players find it again after playing on it. The server is a Windows program, so on Linux it needs Wine, which our servers use.

Checked on 5 November 2026 against version 1.11b, the newest patch Endnight announced on Steam for the base game (1.12 in September 2019 was for The Forest VR).

This guide uses Endnight's Dedicated Server Tutorial on Steam (linked from its V0.59 and V0.60 patch notes, written for game version 1.07), its Steam announcements and what we run on every The Forest server we host. Where a value is not in an Endnight source, this guide says it comes from our setup. To skip to the rental route, go to Option 2.

What you need

• The server software: "The Forest Dedicated Server", Steam app 556450. Endnight released it in patch 0.59 as a tool you install from Steam, and our install downloads it with SteamCMD and an anonymous login.
• A machine that stays on: a spare PC, a home server or a cloud virtual machine. The server is a Windows program (TheForestDedicatedServer.exe). On Windows it runs as it is. On Linux it runs under Wine, which is how we run it.
• Hardware: Endnight's tutorial lists no hardware requirements for the dedicated server.
• A player cap: set with serverPlayers in the config.
• Network: three ports, the Steam port, the game port and the query port. Endnight's defaults are 8766, 27015 and 27016, and its tutorial says to open them on your router and firewall for TCP and UDP.
• The game: every player needs The Forest on Steam, where the store lists it for Windows only.

Option 1: host it yourself

The config keys and ports come from Endnight's tutorial. The install and start commands are based on the ones our servers run.

Windows

1. Download SteamCMD from https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/client/installer/steamcmd.zip and extract it to C:\steamcmd.
2. Install the server.

   cd C:\steamcmd
   steamcmd +force_install_dir C:\forest-server +login anonymous +app_update 556450 validate +quit

3. Create the config folder and file. Make C:\forest-server\TheForestDedicatedServer_Data\forest\config and save this as config.cfg in it:

   serverIP 192.168.1.47:27015
   serverSteamPort 8766
   serverGamePort 27015
   serverQueryPort 27016
   serverName My Forest server
   serverPlayers 8
   serverPassword
   serverPasswordAdmin YourAdminPassword
   serverSteamAccount
   enableVAC off
   serverAutoSaveInterval 15
   difficulty Normal
   initType New
   slot 1

   Replace 192.168.1.47 with this machine's address on your local network: Endnight's config comment says serverIP is the internal address with the game port appended. Endnight's default config marks serverPassword and serverSteamAccount as blank for no password and an anonymous server. Use a long admin password you do not share. difficulty must be Peaceful, Normal or Hard, initType must be New or Continue, and slot must be 1 to 5. After the first start, change initType to Continue so the next start loads that save instead of a new game.
4. Allow the three ports for TCP and UDP in Windows Firewall and forward them on your router to this machine.
5. Start the server.

   cd C:\forest-server
   TheForestDedicatedServer.exe -batchmode -nographics -nosteamclient -savefolderpath C:/forest-server/TheForestDedicatedServer_Data -configfilepath C:/forest-server/TheForestDedicatedServer_Data/forest/config/config.cfg

   Endnight's tutorial asks for forward slashes in the config file path, and the folder must already exist.

Linux (Debian or Ubuntu)

1. Install the libraries SteamCMD needs, and Wine, Xvfb and winetricks. On Debian, winetricks is in the contrib section, so enable contrib first; on Ubuntu, Wine and winetricks are in universe.

   sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386
   sudo apt update
   sudo apt install wget tar lib32gcc-s1 wine wine64 wine32 xvfb winetricks -y

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

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

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 Windows server files. Our install downloads the Windows files, so ask SteamCMD for the Windows platform:

   ~/steamcmd/steamcmd.sh +force_install_dir /home/forest/server +login anonymous +@sSteamCmdForcePlatformType windows +app_update 556450 validate +quit

   In our installs, SteamCMD sometimes ends with "Missing configuration" and leaves no game files, yet still reports success. Check that steamapps/appmanifest_556450.acf exists in the server folder, and run the command again if it does not.
5. Write config.cfg in ~/server/TheForestDedicatedServer_Data/forest/config/ with the same lines as in the Windows steps above.
6. Open the three ports for TCP and UDP on the machine's firewall and forward them on your router.
7. Start the server from the server folder. This is our start command with your paths; the admin password and the starting world come from config.cfg:

   cd ~/server
   winetricks sound=disabled
   xvfb-run --auto-servernum --server-args='-screen 0 640x480x24:32' wine ./TheForestDedicatedServer.exe -batchmode -nographics -nosteamclient -savefolderpath /home/forest/server/TheForestDedicatedServer_Data -configfilepath /home/forest/server/TheForestDedicatedServer_Data/forest/config/config.cfg

   We run it under Wine inside Xvfb, a virtual display, as the command shows. Run it under a service manager such as systemd so it restarts after a crash.

Start it, list it and join

1. Wait for the ready line. Our panel treats the server as started when the log prints Game autosave started.
2. Add a Steam token (optional). Endnight's tutorial says a Steam game server login token helps players locate your server after playing on it. Create one on Steam's Game Server Account Management page for app 242760, put it in serverSteamAccount and restart. Without one the server is anonymous.
3. Join. serverName is the name your server displays. Endnight added Steam server authentication in patch 0.61, so players see how many players are in each server before joining.
4. Update by stopping the server and running the SteamCMD download again. Endnight's patch notes, for example 1.08 and 1.11, say you need to restart your dedicated server with the latest version to be compatible with that patch.

Do not install Oxide on the server. Endnight's patch 1.08 notes say its dedicated servers are not compatible with Oxide and the game may not function correctly.

Option 2: host it on PlayNHost

Renting removes the SteamCMD install, Wine, the ports and the update routine. You still choose a name, a difficulty and your passwords.

1. Pick a plan. Open the The Forest server hosting page and compare the plans: PALE CANNIBAL (8 players), COWMAN (17) and END BOSS (35) at the time of writing. Press Create Server (Customize Plan on END BOSS) and finish the order. Prices change, so check them on that page.
2. Wait for the install. The server appears in the panel. The panel marks it started when its Console prints Game autosave started.
3. Name it. On the Settings tab, under Game Settings, set the Server Name and, for a private server, a Server Password.
4. Change the Admin Password. The default is ChangeMeInSettings. Set your own under Admin Password, then restart.
5. Choose the world. Set Difficulty to Peaceful, Normal or Hard before the world is first created: the panel notes it is fixed after that. Leave Starting World on Continue (the default) so each start reloads your last save; New starts a fresh world that replaces the old one at the next autosave.
6. Add a Steam token (optional). Paste a game server login token for app 242760 into Steam Account Token and restart. Enable VAC switches Valve Anti-Cheat on or off.

What the panel does for you:

• Your ports are assigned for you. The panel writes serverSteamPort, serverGamePort, serverQueryPort, serverName, serverPlayers, serverPassword, serverSteamAccount, enableVAC, initType and difficulty into config.cfg every time the server starts, and sets serverIP to 0.0.0.0. Change them in the panel, not in the file: a hand edit of those lines is overwritten at the next start.
• The player cap comes from your plan, so Max Players is read only. Move to a bigger plan to raise it.
• With Auto-Update on (the default, under Show advanced), the server checks Steam for the newest build each time it starts, so a restart is an update.
• The install handles the SteamCMD "Missing configuration" trap above: it retries and trusts the app manifest, not SteamCMD's exit code.

See also How to set up The Forest server: key settings, How to join The Forest server and How to become admin on The Forest server.

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 SteamCMD, a hand-written config, three open ports and, on Linux, Wine and a virtual display. Renting needs a name, passwords and a difficulty.
• Control: self-hosting gives you every file and command-line flag. On our servers you change settings in the panel and still have the Files tab.

Ready to skip the setup? See the The Forest server plans. Already have a server? Start with The Forest server problems and fixes.