# Setting Up an Enshrouded Server

> Set up an Enshrouded dedicated server: enshrouded_server.json explained, roles and passwords, ports, updates and backups — step by step for up to 16 players.

**Short answer:** Up to 16 at the same time. The number is slotCount in enshrouded_server.json and can be changed any time in the panel — the game does not allow more than 16.

| | |
| --- | --- |
| Game | Enshrouded |
| Category | Configuration |
| Difficulty | Beginner |
| Reading time | 9 min |
| Last updated | 2026-09-16 |
| Language | en |
| Source | https://agrarchaoten.com/en/guides/enshrouded-server-einrichten |
| Other language | https://agrarchaoten.com/guides/enshrouded-server-einrichten |

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## Contents

- [What a dedicated server gets you](https://agrarchaoten.com/en/guides/enshrouded-server-einrichten#ueberblick)
- [Creating the server](https://agrarchaoten.com/en/guides/enshrouded-server-einrichten#bestellen)
- [Understanding enshrouded_server.json](https://agrarchaoten.com/en/guides/enshrouded-server-einrichten#config)
- [Roles and passwords](https://agrarchaoten.com/en/guides/enshrouded-server-einrichten#rollen)
- [How players join](https://agrarchaoten.com/en/guides/enshrouded-server-einrichten#beitreten)
- [Updates, backups, swapping worlds](https://agrarchaoten.com/en/guides/enshrouded-server-einrichten#updates)
- [When something does not work](https://agrarchaoten.com/en/guides/enshrouded-server-einrichten#probleme)

---

## What a dedicated Enshrouded server gets you

**Enshrouded takes up to sixteen players — but only a dedicated server keeps Embervale running while you are offline.** In normal co-op one player hosts the world. If that person is away, the whole project stops and all progress sits on a single machine. A dedicated server removes that dependency: the world lives in one place, runs around the clock, and everyone plays when they have time.

**The short version:** the entire configuration lives in one file called `enshrouded_server.json`. Understand that file and you can change anything — name, slots, roles, difficulty. The three classic traps are called out in boxes below.

## Step 1: create the server

With us this part takes minutes because the install and SteamCMD run automatically. If you host it yourself, pull the server through SteamCMD with app ID `2278520` — everything after that is identical.

**1. Order the server**

Pick your [Enshrouded server](https://agrarchaoten.com/gameserver/enshrouded) with the slot count you want. Installation starts right away, there is nothing to download.

**2. Note the address**

The customer area shows your server's IP and port. That address is what your friends need to join — send it to them straight away.

**3. Start it once**

Start the server once before changing anything. On its first run Enshrouded creates the world and fills in every config field that is still missing. Editing only makes sense after that.

## Step 2: understanding enshrouded_server.json

The file sits in the server's root folder and is the only place anything is configured. In the panel you open it through the file manager. At its core it looks like this:

| Field | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| `name` | The name your server shows up under in the server list. |
| `saveDirectory` | Folder for the world. All of your progress lives here — this is the folder worth backing up. |
| `ip` | Must be `0.0.0.0`. Put a public IP here and the server refuses to start with *address not available*. |
| `queryPort` | The port the game finds you on. Default is 15637. |
| `slotCount` | Number of player slots. The game caps this at 16. |
| `gameSettingsPreset` | Difficulty template: `Default`, `Relaxed`, `Hard`, `Survival` or `Custom`. |
| `gameSettings` | Every individual value — damage, loot, day length. Only applies with the `Custom` preset. |
| `userGroups` | Roles with their own passwords. All server access runs through these. |

**The most common wild goose chase:** if `gameSettingsPreset` is set to anything other than `"Custom"`, the server silently ignores every value in `gameSettings`. No error, no log line. Anyone who spends an hour tuning numbers and sees no change in game has almost always missed this one line. See [Enshrouded server settings](https://agrarchaoten.com/guides/enshrouded-server-einstellungen) for the full picture.

**Stop the server before editing.** Enshrouded rewrites the file when it shuts down. Edit it while the server runs and your work is overwritten on the next stop. So: stop, edit, start.

## Step 3: roles and passwords

Enshrouded no longer has a single server password. Since content update 2, access runs through **roles**: each role has its own password and its own permissions. Enter the admin password when joining and you are an admin; enter the guest password and you can play along but not touch anyone's base.

- **canKickBan** — may kick and ban other players.
- **canAccessInventories** — may open chests and containers. Usually the first thing you take away from strangers.
- **canEditBase** — may build and demolish inside your bases.
- **canExtendBase** — may move a base's boundaries.
- **reservedSlots** — keeps slots free, so a full server is still joinable for that role.

**Change the default passwords immediately.** When the server creates the roles itself, the passwords are `ChangeMe1`, `ChangeMe2` and `ChangeMe3`. Everyone who has ever read a guide knows them. While they are in place, anyone with your address can hand themselves admin rights on your world.

**Open servers:** leave a role's password empty and anyone can walk in with those permissions. That is fine for a public community round — for your private world, set a password on every role. Up to ten roles are possible.

## Step 4: how players join

**1. Choose "Join" in game**

From the main menu go to *Play* and open the server tab.

**2. Enter the address**

Type the IP and port from your customer area, for example `87.138.159.35:15637`. You can then save the server as a favourite and it shows up by itself next time.

**3. Enter the role password**

When the server asks for a password it means the password of the role that person should get. For friends, the friends password — not the admin one.

**Characters stay with the player.** Enshrouded stores your character and gear locally on your own device, while the world lives on the server. That is why you can take the same character to several servers — and why a server backup does not bring back a lost character.

## Step 5: updates, backups and swapping worlds

Enshrouded gets regular content updates, and the [1.0 launch on 15 October 2026](https://agrarchaoten.com/guides/enshrouded-crossplay-ps5) is the biggest of them. Only one rule really matters:

**Server and game must run the same version.** After a Steam update you cannot join a server still running the old build. With us that is one click on *Update* in the panel and a restart.

**1. Back up before big updates**

Download the `savegame` folder before applying a major update — in the panel, as a ZIP. We also back up daily, but your own copy from right before an update is the calmer option.

**2. Upload your own world**

Your single-player world is not in Documents, it is with Steam: `Steam\userdata\<your SteamID64>\1203620\remote`, as files named like `3bd85c7d` and `3bd85c7d_info`. Stop the server, rename both to `3ad85aea` and `3ad85aea_info` (the server's first world slot), upload them into `savegame` and start again.

**3. Start fresh**

For a clean start, empty the `savegame` folder (back it up first) and start the server. Enshrouded then generates a new world.

## When something does not work

**Server missing from the list:** join by direct address first. The list can take a few minutes; a direct connection works immediately.

**"Address not available" in the log:** the config has a fixed IP instead of `0.0.0.0`. Change it and restart.

**Settings have no effect:** `gameSettingsPreset` is not set to `"Custom"`.

**Changes gone after a restart:** the file was edited while the server was running. Stop, edit again, start.

**A friend cannot get in but you can:** almost always the wrong role password. Every role has its own.

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## Frequently asked questions

**Q: How many players does an Enshrouded server support?**
A: Up to 16 at the same time. The number is slotCount in enshrouded_server.json and can be changed any time in the panel — the game does not allow more than 16.

**Q: How do I set a password for my Enshrouded server?**
A: There is no single server password since content update 2. Access runs through roles: in userGroups every role gets its own password and permissions. Enter the admin password when joining and you are an admin; enter the guest password and you get guest rights.

**Q: Why do my settings have no effect on the server?**
A: Because gameSettingsPreset is not set to "Custom". With any other preset the server loads the bundled template and silently skips the entire gameSettings block.

**Q: Which ports does an Enshrouded server need?**
A: The default is UDP port 15637 as the query port the game finds you on; older builds also used 15636. On rented servers the ports are already open and shown in your customer area.

**Q: Can I move my single-player world to the server?**
A: Yes. The world sits with Steam under userdata\<SteamID64>\1203620\remote as a file pair named like 3bd85c7d and 3bd85c7d_info. Stop the server, rename both to 3ad85aea and 3ad85aea_info, upload them into the savegame folder and start again.

**Q: Why are my changes gone after a restart?**
A: Enshrouded rewrites enshrouded_server.json on shutdown. Editing it while the server runs loses your changes on the next stop. Always stop the server first, then edit.

**Q: Does my progress survive an update?**
A: Yes, world and bases live in the savegame folder and survive updates. Before big version jumps such as 1.0 it is still worth downloading the folder yourself.

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## About this guide

This guide was written by Agrar Chaoten — a German game server host specialising in Enshrouded.
Rent a server: https://agrarchaoten.com/gameserver

*Source: https://agrarchaoten.com/en/guides/enshrouded-server-einrichten*
*Agrar Chaoten — https://agrarchaoten.com*
*Support: support@agrarchaoten.com | Discord: https://discord.gg/YgredRdvY6*