How to Set Up a Palworld Dedicated Server

Palworld's co-op is fun, but a dedicated server is what makes it persistent — your base, Pals and progress stay alive whether or not the host is online, and up to 32 players can share the world. Here's how to run one on Linux.

Sizing up

Palworld is memory-hungry because of how many Pals and structures it simulates:

• 4 players: 8 GB RAM.
• 8–16 players: 16 GB RAM.
• Up to 32 players: 24–32 GB RAM and strong CPU cores.

Base sprawl and Pal count matter as much as player count, so give yourself headroom.

Step 1: Install SteamCMD

sudo add-apt-repository multiverse -y
sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386
sudo apt update
sudo apt install steamcmd screen -y

Step 2: Download the Palworld server

sudo adduser --disabled-password palworld
sudo su - palworld
steamcmd +force_install_dir ./palworld +login anonymous +app_update 2394010 validate +quit

App ID 2394010 is the Palworld dedicated server.

Step 3: Generate the config

Start the server once so it creates its settings files:

cd palworld
screen -S palworld
./PalServer.sh

Stop it, then copy the default config into the active location:

cp DefaultPalWorldSettings.ini Pal/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/PalWorldSettings.ini

Step 4: Edit PalWorldSettings.ini

Open the active file and set the values that matter. Common tweaks include:

• ServerName and ServerDescription.
• ServerPlayerMaxNum=16.
• AdminPassword and ServerPassword.
• Rates like ExpRate, PalCaptureRate and DeathPenalty to tune difficulty.

Keep everything on one OptionSettings=(...) line — the file format is strict about that. A stray line break or missing bracket makes the whole file revert to defaults silently, so edit carefully and keep a copy of a known-good version.

Step 5: Start and open the port

Relaunch with community server visibility if you want it listed:

./PalServer.sh -useperfthreads -NoAsyncLoadingThread -UseMultithreadForDS

Those flags meaningfully improve multithreaded performance. Palworld uses UDP port 8211:

sudo ufw allow 8211/udp

Step 6: Connect

In game, choose Join Multiplayer (Dedicated Server) and enter your-ip:8211, or find it in the community list if you enabled that. Enter the server password if you set one.

Back up before every restart

Palworld saves live in Pal/Saved/SaveGames/. Because base data can occasionally corrupt on a hard crash, back up that folder on a schedule — ideally right before each automated restart:

cp -r Pal/Saved/SaveGames ~/backups/palworld-$(date +%F)

A note on updates

Palworld updates frequently, and the server and client versions must match. After a game patch, re-run the SteamCMD app_update command before players reconnect.

Admin control with the REST API and RCON

Palworld's dedicated server includes a REST API and RCON for administration. Enable them in PalWorldSettings.ini by setting RESTAPIEnabled=True (and a port) or RCONEnabled=True, along with your AdminPassword. With these on you can list players, broadcast messages, kick or ban, save the world, and shut down gracefully — all without SSH. A graceful save-then-shutdown before any restart is the single best defence against Palworld's occasional save corruption.

Common issues

• Server not appearing in the community list: set a unique ServerName, ensure UDP 8211 is open, and confirm community listing is enabled.
• Config changes ignored: you edited DefaultPalWorldSettings.ini instead of the active Pal/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/PalWorldSettings.ini — always edit the active copy, and keep every option on the single OptionSettings=(...) line.
• Version mismatch on join: re-run the SteamCMD update after each patch.

Making it painless

Between heavy RAM use and frequent saves, Palworld benefits enormously from NVMe storage and generous memory — Nxeon's VPS gives you both, plus full root to edit the config and script backups. A one-click Palworld deploy sets up SteamCMD and the config file for you, so you can get 32 friends catching Pals together in minutes instead of an afternoon.