How to install mods on your ARK server

ARK mods come from the Steam Workshop and are identified by a numeric ID. The server needs two things: the mod files on disk, and the ID listed in its config.

1. Collect the mod IDs

1. Open the mod's Steam Workshop page.
2. The number at the end of the address is the mod ID.
3. Write down the IDs in the order you want them loaded. Order matters when two mods change the same thing.

2. List them in the config

1. Stop the server.
2. Open GameUserSettings.ini in the Files tab.
3. Under [ServerSettings], add one line with the IDs separated by commas and no spaces:

ActiveMods=123456789,987654321

1. Save the file.

3. Make sure the files are there

The mod content itself has to exist in ShooterGame/Content/Mods, one numbered folder per mod plus a matching .mod file.

1. Start the server and watch the Console. If your server downloads workshop content on start, you will see it fetching each ID before the map loads, and the first start after adding a large mod takes a long time.
2. If nothing is downloaded and the mod folder stays empty, upload the mod folders yourself through the Files tab or over SFTP, keeping the numbered folder names exactly as they are.

4. Get your players ready

• Players subscribe to the same mods on the Steam Workshop and let the game download them before joining.
• The first join to a modded server sits on a long loading screen while the client installs the mods. That is normal and is not a server fault.
• A player with a different version of a mod is dropped at join. Everyone updating from the Workshop fixes it.

5. Before you change anything

• Take a backup first. Removing a mod that added structures or creatures deletes everything it owned from the save.
• Total conversion mods normally need a fresh map rather than an existing save.
• Add mods one at a time and start the server between each. A server that will not boot after five new mods tells you nothing about which one broke it.

If the server starts but the mod content is missing in game, check that the ID in ActiveMods matches a folder in ShooterGame/Content/Mods, then open a ticket with both if they match.