Dedicated Server Guide

General Requirements

• Linux or Windows system, either physical or virtualized
• It is NOT recommended also running a Stationeers client, so hosting the server on your PC while playing at the same time might lead to issues. (there will be issues with router NAT-loopback).
• 16 or more Gigabytes of RAM. The server will load with less, but will run out of RAM quickly, potentially leading to instability or crashes.

Quickstarts & Panels

StationeersServerUI

Docker + Native Linux & Windows

StationeersServerUI offers an intuitive webUI, easy configuration, smart backups, full steamcmd handling with auto-updates,
a discord integration for your community to interact with the server, tons of other helpful features like a remote console and works straight out of the box.
Created in 2024 with love and attention to detail, updated regularly by JacksonTheMaster & the StationeersServerUI Team

Pterodactyl

BadDucky52 has updated the older pterodactyl egg for the current Dedicated Server:
Current Pterodactyl Egg by BadDucky52

DIY Solutions

Requirements

• • Linux: Glibc 2.38 (Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, Debian Bookworm (12), Debian Trixie (13))
  • Windows: Microsoft Visual C++ 2015, 2017 and 2019 runtime click here to download it.

It is, of course, possible to run the server without external images or tools simply by downloading it from SteamCMD and executing it. Everything you should need is Documented below.

Getting the server files

SteamCmd installed on the operating system you are running the server with. See The SteamCMD Documentation (This is a command line tool)

For the stable branch: (The "stable" branch is what you Download by default when you select Stationeers in your Steam Library)

steamcmd +login anonymous +app_update 600760 validate +quit

For the beta branch:

steamcmd +login anonymous +app_update 600760 -beta beta validate +quit

For getting back from beta to public use -beta public, SteamCMD has trouble with caching sometimes

Default ports

27016: Game port (UDP). 27015: Steam update port. (UDP).

Server Startup Arguments (Post September 2025)

With the release of the terrain update, the flags the Dedicated Server accepts where changed.
If you are running an older version (such as the prerocket or preterrain branch, ask on the Stationeers Discord server in either #modding or #dedicated-server''

String parameters can take space with double quotes.

Flag	Value	Description
-file start	<stationname> [worldid] [difficulty] [startcondition] [startlocation]	Tries to load the latest save for the specified station. If not found, starts a new world with the given parameters and saves it. - stationname: Required. This is the name of your save. - worldid: Optional, but required to start a new game if no existing station is found. - difficulty: Optional, defaults to "Normal" if not provided. - startcondition: Optional, defaults to the default start condition for the world setting if not provided. - startlocation: Optional, defaults to "DefaultStartLocation" if not provided. - When you add optional arguments, you cannot leave one out. For example, <stationname> [worldid] [startlocation] would not work, you would need to add [difficulty] and [startcondition] too.
-logFile	"path"	Specifies a custom log file path if output_log.txt is not used. Example: -logFile "server.log"
-settings	see below	Changes the default settings to desired values e.g -settings ServerName "MyNewStationeersServer". For a full list and examples, see below.

World types (October 2025)

Note: RoundRobin StartLocations and Community StartConditions are only available on BETA at the moment.

World Name	WorldID	Difficulty IDs	StartCondition IDs	StartLocation IDs
Lunar (The Moon)	Lunar	Creative, Easy, Normal, Stationeer	DefaultStart, DefaultStartCommunity, Brutal, BrutalCommunity	LunarSpawnCraterVesper, LunarSpawnMontesUmbrarum, LunarSpawnCraterNox, LunarSpawnMonsArcanus, LunarSpawnRoundRobin
Mars	Mars2	Creative, Easy, Normal, Stationeer	DefaultStart, DefaultStartCommunity, Brutal, BrutalCommunity	MarsSpawnCanyonOverlook, MarsSpawnButchersFlat, MarsSpawnFindersCanyon, MarsSpawnHellasCrags, MarsSpawnDonutFlats, MarsSpawnRoundRobin
Europa	Europa3	Creative, Easy, Normal, Stationeer	EuropaDefault, EuropaDefaultCommunity, EuropaBrutal, EuropaBrutalCommunity	EuropaSpawnIcyBasin, EuropaSpawnGlacialChannel, EuropaSpawnBalgatanPass, EuropaSpawnFrigidHighlands, EuropaSpawnTyreValley, EuropaSpawnRoundRobin
Mimas	MimasHerschel	Creative, Easy, Normal, Stationeer	MimasDefault, MimasDefaultCommunity, MimasBrutal, MimasBrutalCommunity	MimasSpawnCentralMesa, MimasSpawnHarrietCrater, MimasSpawnCraterField, MimasSpawnDustBowl, MimasSpawnRoundRobin
Vulcan	Vulcan	Creative, Easy, Normal, Stationeer	VulcanDefault, VulcanDefaultCommunity, VulcanBrutal, VulcanBrutalCommunity	VulcanSpawnVestaValley, VulcanSpawnEtnasFury, VulcanSpawnIxionsDemise, VulcanSpawnTitusReach, VulcanSpawnRoundRobin
Venus	Venus	Creative, Easy, Normal, Stationeer	VenusDefault, VenusDefaultCommunity, VulcanBrutal, VulcanBrutalCommunity Note: Yes, Venus is using VulcanBrutal & VulcanBrutalCommunity	VenusSpawnGaiaValley, VenusSpawnDaisyValley, VenusSpawnFaithValley, VenusSpawnDuskValley, VenusSpawnRoundRobin

When selecting a start location you can pick <WorldID>Random to have each new player spawn in a randomly selected location on the map. This is designed to be used with the <WorldID>BrutalCommunity StartCondition which spawns each new player with a brutal start crate.

Tutorial Maps

World Name	WorldID
Inventory Tutorial	Tutorial1
Connection Tutorial	Tutorial2
Atmospherics Tutorial	Tutorial3
Airlocks Tutorial	Airlock
Furnace Tutorial	FurnaceBasics
Manufacturing Tutorial	Manufacturing

Configuration

In your server directory, a file called setting.xml will be created once you start it up for the first time.
While you can technically edit that, this approach is not guaranteed to work (bugged for a while).
It is recommended to use the -setting flag instead.

Setting	Value	Description
ServerVisible	true / false	Shows / hides the server in the ingame server list
GamePort	27016 / any port	The port that players connect to
UpdatePort	27015 / any port	Steam update port. Unclear if this is actually used by the game at the moment.
UPNPEnabled	true / false	Enable or disable UniversalPlugAndPlay (Auto port forwarding, your router must support)
ServerName	"My Game Server" / your desired server name	Description
ServerPassword	"MySuperSecurePassword" / your desired server password	Description
ServerAuthSecret	"MySuperSecureSecret" / your desired admin secret	Description
ServerMaxPlayers	1-20	The number of available player slots. Shouln't exceed 20.
AutoSave	true / false	Enable or disable autosaves
SaveInterval	300	Time in seconds between each autosave. Shouldn't be below 60 sec.
AutoPauseServer	true / false	Weather the server should auto pause or not if no players are connected
UseSteamP2P	true / false	Weather the server should allow SteamP2P connections. Keep this disabled.
StartLocalHost	true / false	Do not change this, this is required to be able to connect.

Command Examples

Linux

Note: Logging to console on Linux is slightly broken - we recommend to log to a log file instead and tail -f that

Explanation: Server starts a new Map on Lunar saved to saves/MyLunarMap , advertises itself with 6 player slots in the server list as MyLunarServer on port </code> 27016 </code> with password MySuperSecurePassword and saves every 5 minutes.

./rocketstation_DedicatedServer.x86_64 -file start MyLunarMap Lunar -logFile "./server.log" -settings StartLocalHost true ServerVisible true GamePort 27016 UPNPEnabled false ServerName "MyLunarServer" ServerPassword "MySuperSecurePassword" ServerMaxPlayers 6 AutoSave true SaveInterval 300 ServerAuthSecret "MySuperSecureSecret" UpdatePort 27015 AutoPauseServer true UseSteamP2P false LocalIpAddress 0.0.0.0 & tail -f server.log

Explanation: Server starts a new Map on Lunar with Difficulty Easy, Startcondition DefaultStart and StartLocation LunarSpawnCraterVesper, saved to saves/MyLunarMap , advertises itself with 6 player slots in the server list as MyLunarServer on port </code> 27016 </code> with password MySuperSecurePassword and saves every 5 minutes.

./rocketstation_DedicatedServer.x86_64 -file start MyLunarMap Lunar Easy DefaultStart LunarSpawnCraterVesper -logFile "./server.log" -settings StartLocalHost true ServerVisible true GamePort 27016 UPNPEnabled false ServerName "MyLunarServer" ServerPassword "MySuperSecurePassword" ServerMaxPlayers 6 AutoSave true SaveInterval 300 ServerAuthSecret "MySuperSecureSecret" UpdatePort 27015 AutoPauseServer true UseSteamP2P false LocalIpAddress 0.0.0.0 & tail -f server.log

Explanation: Server starts a new Map on Mars2 saved to saves/MyLunarMap , advertises itself in the server with 6 player slots in the server list as MyLunarServer on port </code> 27016 </code> without password and saves every 5 minutes.

./rocketstation_DedicatedServer.x86_64 -file start MyMarsMap Mars2 -logFile "./server.log" -settings StartLocalHost true ServerVisible true GamePort 27016 UPNPEnabled false ServerName "MyLunarServer" ServerMaxPlayers 6 AutoSave true SaveInterval 300 ServerAuthSecret "MySuperSecureSecret" UpdatePort 27015 AutoPauseServer true UseSteamP2P false LocalIpAddress 0.0.0.0 & tail -f server.log

Explanation: Server starts a new Map on Lunar saved to saves/MyLunarMap , does not advertise itself in the server list but is available for 6 players to direct connection via <serverIP>:27016 </code> with password MySuperSecurePassword and saves every 5 minutes.

./rocketstation_DedicatedServer.x86_64 -file start MyLunarMap Lunar -logFile "./server.log" -settings StartLocalHost true ServerVisible false GamePort 27016 UPNPEnabled false ServerName "MyHiddenLunarServer" ServerPassword "MySuperSecurePassword" ServerMaxPlayers 6 AutoSave true SaveInterval 300 ServerAuthSecret "MySuperSecureSecret" UpdatePort 27015 AutoPauseServer true UseSteamP2P false LocalIpAddress 0.0.0.0 & tail -f server.log

Additional info about the Linux commands

• LocalIpAddress 0.0.0.0 is required to allow the server to bind to all network interfaces on your Linux Server. On some distros, you might wanna specify the actual interface IP instead.
• The server starts with the specified values, but technically in the background (& sign at the end of the command). You can foreground it again by using <code fg </fg>
• tail -f debug.log runs in the foreground, showing the log output in your current attached terminal.
• When you now Ctrl+C, the server will not stop - instead it will remain in the background as long as your session is open If you, for example, disconnect your SSH connection the server will stop because an ending SSH connection typically sends a SIGHUP (hangup signal) to all processes in the session, including background processes,. You might wanna look into using tmux.

Windows

Explanation: Server starts a new Map on Lunar saved to saves/MyLunarMap , advertises itself with 6 player slots in the server list as MyLunarServer on port 27016 with password MySuperSecurePassword and saves every 5 minutes.

.\rocketstation_DedicatedServer.exe -file start MyLunarMap Lunar -settings StartLocalHost true ServerVisible true GamePort 27016 UPNPEnabled false ServerName "MyLunarServer" ServerPassword "MySuperSecurePassword" ServerMaxPlayers 6 AutoSave true SaveInterval 300 ServerAuthSecret "MySuperSecureSecret" UpdatePort 27015 AutoPauseServer true UseSteamP2P false

Explanation: Server starts a new Map on Lunar with Difficulty Easy, Startcondition DefaultStart and StartLocation LunarSpawnCraterVesper , saved to saves/MyLunarMap , advertises itself with 6 player slots in the server list as MyLunarServer on port 27016 with password MySuperSecurePassword and saves every 5 minutes.

.\rocketstation_DedicatedServer.exe -file start MyLunarMap Lunar Easy DefaultStart LunarSpawnCraterVesper -settings StartLocalHost true ServerVisible true GamePort 27016 UPNPEnabled false ServerName "MyLunarServer" ServerPassword "MySuperSecurePassword" ServerMaxPlayers 6 AutoSave true SaveInterval 300 ServerAuthSecret "MySuperSecureSecret" UpdatePort 27015 AutoPauseServer true UseSteamP2P false

Explanation: Server starts a new Map on Lunar saved to saves/MyLunarMap , does NOT advertise itself in the server list but is available for 6 players to direct connect via <serverIP>:27016 </code> with password MySuperSecurePassword and saves every 5 minutes.

.\rocketstation_DedicatedServer.exe -file start MyLunarMap Lunar -settings StartLocalHost true ServerVisible false GamePort 27016 UPNPEnabled false ServerName "MyHiddenLunarServer" ServerPassword "MySuperSecurePassword" ServerMaxPlayers 6 AutoSave true SaveInterval 300 ServerAuthSecret "MySuperSecureSecret" UpdatePort 27015 AutoPauseServer true UseSteamP2P false

Additional info about the commands

The server will stay running until you close the terminal. When you close (don't logoff) a RDP session, the server does not stop.

Administrator: run a command on the server

The same ServerAuthSecret parameter must be added to the -setting flag (see above) and inside the clients setting.xml ("client"=your local PC, not the server)

All commands are typed in the client console (F3) and prefixed by a serverrun like so:

serverrun say Hello World

Server Terminal Console

When running the server from windows, you can type commands in the terminal application which acts like a console

Command Lists

Command	Details	Parameter
HELP	Displays the list of commands.	Arguments: commands list (l) <key> tofile: prints the help output to file

Modding on Servers

removed very outdated information here - please ask on the Stationeers Discord server in either #modding or #dedicated-server

There are some examples of how to make your own mods in:

\Steam\steamapps\common\Stationeers\rocketstation_Data\StreamingAssets\

Look for ExampleMod.zip and AttributesExampleMod.zip .

VERY Outdated official guide