How to run your own Palworld dedicated server (SteamCMD) — and why budget players end up on hourly hosting

There are two ways to play Palworld with friends: regular co-op (up to 4 players, and the world only runs while the host is online) and a dedicated server that keeps the world open around the clock for up to 32 players, where anyone comes and goes freely. This article teaches you to set up the dedicated server yourself with SteamCMD, step by step until friends actually join — along with the truth about RAM, electricity, and why plenty of people who get it working eventually move to hourly hosting anyway.

Three ways to get a server, compared

Going the do-it-yourself route? Step by step below — Windows-first, with Linux notes where the paths differ.

The do-it-yourself path: a dedicated server via SteamCMD

Install SteamCMD

SteamCMD is Valve's command-line edition of Steam, built specifically for downloading dedicated servers. Games that allow anonymous downloads (Palworld does) need no login to your own account at all.

Download steamcmd.zip from Valve's SteamCMD page (search "SteamCMD" — the developer.valvesoftware.com page is the official one), extract it into its own folder such as C:\steamcmd, and double-click steamcmd.exe once. It updates itself for a bit until you see the Steam> prompt — that means it's ready.

Download the server (app 2394010)

At the Steam> prompt, type the command from the game's official documentation (or close it and run the whole line from a Command Prompt in the steamcmd folder):

steamcmd +login anonymous +app_update 2394010 validate +quit

2394010 is the Steam app ID of the Palworld Dedicated Server. Wait for the download until you see Success! — the roughly 12–15GB server lands in steamapps\common\PalServer inside the steamcmd folder.

If the connection drops midway, just run the same command again — validate checks the files and resumes only what's missing. The same command is also how you update the server in the future.

Run PalServer for the first time

Go into steamapps\common\PalServer and open PalServer.exe (on Linux: same folder, run ./PalServer.sh). You get a console window that prints logs and then sits there — sitting there is what "running" looks like; close the window and the server dies instantly. Windows usually pops a firewall question the first time — click Allow.

Check it works: open the game on the same machine → Join Multiplayer Game → in the address box at the bottom enter 127.0.0.1:8211 → Connect. You should load into the world. If that works, the server itself is fully functional — what's left is configuration and networking.

Configure PalWorldSettings.ini

The first run creates the config folder tree. The file the server actually reads lives at PalServer\Pal\Saved\Config\WindowsServer\PalWorldSettings.ini (Linux: a LinuxServer folder instead of WindowsServer), and it starts out nearly empty. Open the sample file DefaultPalWorldSettings.ini at the top of the PalServer folder, copy the entire OptionSettings=(...) line into the real file, then edit values there.

Two common mistakes to avoid: one, editing DefaultPalWorldSettings.ini directly does nothing at all (the official docs say so themselves) — only the file under Saved\Config counts. Two, every value lives inside one very long single line of parentheses — don't press Enter inside them.

Values worth setting before letting outsiders in:

• ServerName= the name players see
• ServerPassword= the join password — any server with an open internet port should have one
• AdminPassword= the password for in-game admin commands (on uniz.host this password, the online player list, and kick and ban all live on the web page)
• ServerPlayerMaxNum= the player cap (the game's ceiling is 32)
• bIsPvP= whether players can damage each other (True/False)

After editing, close the server and start PalServer.exe again for the values to apply.

Open port 8211/UDP

Palworld uses port 8211, protocol UDP — the single most common setup mistake is picking TCP and then wondering why nobody can join. (The official docs note the port is changeable, but this guide sticks to the default throughout.)

Set port forwarding to point 8211/UDP at the machine running the server, and add an inbound UDP rule for the same port in Windows Firewall. The screen-by-screen walkthrough — including the per-game port table and the CGNAT check — is in what is port forwarding.

Checking the result: most online port checkers only test TCP, so their UDP verdicts are unreliable — the trustworthy test is an actual join from outside your network, e.g. your phone on 4G/5G with Wi-Fi off, or simply a friend trying.

Friends join via IP:8211

Search "what is my IP" and send the number to your friends. On their side: open the game → Join Multiplayer Game → enter IP:8211 in the bottom box → Connect. If you set ServerPassword, the game asks for it before joining. You do not need to appear in the community server list — direct connection by address works fine. The exception is friends on PS5 or Xbox: console clients have no address field at all, so only a community listing lets them find the server.

If a friend can't get in, check in order: is the server still running (console window open)? → can you join 127.0.0.1:8211 yourself? → is the forwarding rule really UDP, not TCP? → only then suspect CGNAT (the check is in the port forwarding article).

The limits you will meet

• RAM is the first and biggest gate — the developer's official numbers: 16GB recommended, while 8GB "boots, but increases the possibility of server crashes due to out of memory", and usage keeps growing with your accumulated Pals and bases (why that happens). Running the server on the same PC you play on means having a real 8GB left over after Windows and your own game client. Stuttering while RAM still has headroom is a different problem — start by reading server FPS.
• You update after every patch — server and client versions must match. The day a patch ships, friends who updated can't join your still-old server until you re-run app_update 2394010.
• An always-open world means an always-on PC — the whole point of dedicated is joining whenever, which means the machine runs day and night: a 150W machine all day is about 3.6 kWh, roughly ฿16/day at around ฿4.5/unit — call it ฿490/month. Beefier machines cost more.
• Home IP changes and CGNAT — same as any game hosted from home: the IP changes and you keep re-sending it (DDNS helps), and if your connection is behind CGNAT, port forwarding does nothing at all (how to check).
• Slow storage risks your save — the official docs recommend an SSD outright, noting that low-performance storage may corrupt saved data.
• Your home upload line — the real ceiling on player count, and the closer you get to 32 the more it shows.

Up on uniz.host in 3 steps

All of the above is genuinely doable — in exchange for an always-on machine, patch-day chores, and finding 8–16GB of RAM somewhere. The shortcut:

1. Sign up and top up — log in with a Google account at uniz.host and top up at least ฿20 (฿1 = 1 credit).
2. Create the server — pick Palworld; the system selects the 8GB minimum size for you automatically (this game's floor) and installs the server itself. The first boot takes several minutes because it downloads the roughly 12–15GB game, later patches are an update button on the web page, and the server settings — including the PvP switch — are edited from the web with no ini files involved.
3. Send friends the address — the server gets its own permanent domain and port, like yourname.uniz.host:30245, which friends type into the join box from any network. No port forwarding step, no CGNAT.

Pricing follows the RAM size, billed only for hours the server is online and never past the cap of each round (a round starts when the server is turned on):

The 8GB size includes a 60GB disk allowance (the 12–15GB server plus saves fit comfortably). Current prices for every size are on the pricing page — the minimum ฿20 top-up equals about 11 online hours on 8GB.

System behavior worth knowing:

• Auto-sleep is available in settings (a 5–120 minute window after the last player leaves; it defaults to off — you enable it). A sleeping server accrues no hours, and a join at the same address wakes it by itself — while it wakes, the game may report a timeout on the first join attempt; wait a moment and join again.
• A server left stopped for more than 7 days (1 day if you have never topped up) has its world archived automatically; it can be restored free within 90 days (30 if you have never topped up), after which its data is deleted.

The game's full specs, prices, and details live on the Palworld page — and before you commit to a RAM size, read how much RAM a game server needs.