How to host a The Isle Evrima server (2026)

Short answer. You can host a The Isle Evrima server yourself for free: install Steam app 412680 on the evrima branch with SteamCMD, write your settings into Game.ini, add the server-list block to Engine.ini and open UDP port 7777. Or rent a The Isle server and skip the networking.

Players never type an address. They put The Isle on the evrima branch in Steam, open the Unofficial server list and search for your server's name.

Checked on 5 November 2026 against Evrima patch 0.21.772, the newest patch Afterthought had announced on Steam.

This guide uses two sources: the sample Game.ini that the developer, Afterthought, published for server owners, and what we run on every The Isle 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: "The Isle Dedicated Server", Steam app 412680. It is free and downloads with an anonymous Steam login. You must ask for the evrima branch. Without it SteamCMD installs the default branch, which Steam shows as last updated in February 2022: that is not Evrima.
• 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. Afterthought has shipped fixes for Windows servers too, but we have not tested one.
• RAM and CPU: Afterthought does not publish server requirements. Treat any figure you read elsewhere as an estimate.
• A player cap: set with MaxPlayerCount. Afterthought's own sample notes that servers over 100 players are not recommended.
• Network: UDP 7777 for the game, reachable from the internet. If you turn on the join queue, its port must be reachable too. Open the RCON port only for an outside RCON tool.
• Your SteamID64: the 17-digit number of your Steam account, to make yourself admin.

Option 1: host it yourself

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

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 theisle
   sudo su - theisle

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 Evrima server.

   ~/steamcmd/steamcmd.sh +force_install_dir /home/theisle/server +login anonymous +app_update 412680 -beta evrima 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_412680.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/sdk64
   cp ~/steamcmd/linux64/steamclient.so ~/.steam/sdk64/

Write the settings

1. Create the config folder inside the server folder: TheIsle/Saved/Config/LinuxServer.
2. Create Game.ini in that folder. The section and key names below come from the sample Afterthought published with patch 0.17.54. Admins go in one section, everything else in the other:

   [/Script/TheIsle.TIGameStateBase]
   AdminsSteamIDs=76561198000000000
   
   [/Script/TheIsle.TIGameSession]
   ServerName="My Isle server"
   MapName=Gateway
   MaxPlayerCount=40
   bServerPassword=false
   ServerPassword=""
   bQueueEnabled=false
   QueuePort=10000
   bRconEnabled=false
   RconPassword=""
   RconPort=8888

   Replace the SteamID64 with your own. Add one AdminsSteamIDs= line per admin. The full sample also covers growth speed, day length, AI creatures, migrations, mutations and more.
3. Add the server-list block to Engine.ini in the same folder. Evrima registers in the in-game list through Epic Online Services, and needs a section like this:

   [EpicOnlineServices]
   DedicatedServerClientId=...
   DedicatedServerClientSecret=...

   We have not found an official public source for these two values: ask in Afterthought's official Discord. Without them, the server runs but never appears in the list. We also saw the game delete an Engine.ini that held only default values, so check the file is still there after the first start.
4. Edit config files only while the server is stopped.

Open the ports

• Game: allow UDP 7777 on the machine's firewall (for example sudo ufw allow 7777/udp) and forward it on your router.
• Join queue: if bQueueEnabled=true, Afterthought's notes for patch 0.15.203 say the QueuePort must be open as well.
• RCON: only if you use an outside RCON tool. RCON runs over TCP on RconPort. Use a long password and do not expose it if you do not need it.

Start it and join

1. Start the server from the server folder:

   ./TheIsle/Binaries/Linux/TheIsleServer-Linux-Shipping -Port=7777

   It is ready when the log prints LoadMap Load map complete /Game/TheIsle/Maps/Game/. Run it under a service manager such as systemd so it restarts after a crash.
2. Wait a few minutes. A new or restarted server can take a few minutes to show in the list.
3. Join it. In Steam, right-click The Isle, choose Properties, then Betas, and choose evrima. Start the game, open the Unofficial server list and search for your server name exactly as written in ServerName.
4. Update by stopping the server and running the step 4 download command again. Every player and the server must be on the same build.

Running on a port other than 7777

This is the trap we found the hard way. In October 2026 a customer's players kept being sent to port 7777 while that server ran on a different port. We tested it: -Port only sets the port the server listens on. The server list still advertises 7777, and setting the port in Engine.ini or with -ini overrides changed nothing.

What worked was an environment variable that the game reads when it starts:

export ARBITRIUM_PORT_GAME_EXTERNAL=7787
./TheIsle/Binaries/Linux/TheIsleServer-Linux-Shipping -Port=7787

If the machine has more than one public IP address and the list shows the wrong one, EOS_OVERRIDE_HOST_IP sets the address it advertises in the same way. You need the port variable for a second server on the same public IP address, since only one can use 7777 there.

Option 2: host it on PlayNHost

Renting removes the install, the ports, the server-list credentials and the update routine. You still choose a name, your admins and your rules.

1. Pick a plan. Open the The Isle server hosting page and compare the plans: CARNOTAURUS (10 players), GALLIMIMUS (20) and UTAH RAPTOR (45) at the time of writing. Press Create Server (Customize Plan on UTAH RAPTOR) 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 LoadMap Load map complete /Game/TheIsle/Maps/Game/ when it is ready.
3. Name it. On the Settings tab, under Game Settings, set the Server Name and, for a private server, a Server Password. Then restart.
4. Make yourself admin. On Overview, press Who can play on the Active players card, add your SteamID64 on the Admins tab, then restart. See How to become admin on your The Isle server.
5. Choose your rules on the Gameplay and Species pages in the left menu: growth speed, day length, AI creatures, migrations and which dinosaurs can be played.
6. Invite your players. The Play with friends card on Overview shows the exact name and password to give them, and Copy invite message copies both.

What the panel does for you:

• Your ports are assigned and open from the start. The server list is told your server's port and address at every start, so the 7777 trap above never applies. The Console shows it in a line starting [playnhost] Server list address:. See The Isle ports and firewall explained.
• With Auto Update on (the default), the server installs the newest Evrima build each time it starts, so a restart is an update. See How to update your The Isle server.
• Settings are written into Game.ini at every start, so you change them in the panel, not in the file. See The Isle server settings reference.

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, the server-list credentials and the port trap above. Renting needs a name, a password and your admin list.
• 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 The Isle server plans. Already have a server? Start with How to set up your The Isle server.