Set up a Valheim dedicated server on Windows

This guide follows Iron Gate’s official dedicated-server guide step by step. Each step names the source it comes from. Where the official guide says nothing, this page says so instead of filling the gap.

Scope. The official guide is dated April 11, 2024, which is before Valheim 1.0. We read it on 2026-09-29 but did not run these steps against a specific 1.0.x build, so file names and defaults in your current download may differ. The guide itself says a copy of it ships with the server download: check that copy first.

Before you start

• The guide covers the Steam version of the game (official guide). For the Microsoft Store version, see the last section.
• Choose the backend: with the default Steam backend only Steam users can see and join the server, and you must forward its port range; with the Crossplay backend the server uses a relay and needs no port forwarding (official guide). The trade-offs are on the crossplay page.
• Iron Gate does not give router instructions, because routers differ; it points you to your router manual or ISP (official guide).
• The official guide gives no hardware requirements, so none are stated here.

1. Install the server

In the Steam Library, open the top-left dropdown and make sure Tools is ticked, scroll to Valheim Dedicated Server and click Install (official guide).

2. Work on a copy of the start script

Open the installation folder (right-click the entry in your Steam Library, then Manage, then Browse local files). The script is start_headless_server.bat. Iron Gate recommends editing a copy, because the original is reset each time Steam updates it. The catch: you cannot launch the copy from Steam, since that shortcut points at the original file name (official guide).

3. Set the server properties

Right-click the script and choose Edit. The properties you care about are on line 7, the one that starts with start valheim_server (official guide). Their meaning, defaults and valid values are listed on the launch options page. Save the file when you are done.

4. Ports and firewall

• Steam backend: the server must use a port range that has internet access, which means port forwarding on your router. The default range is 2456-2457 (official guide). Valheim uses the port you set and that port plus one (official guide).
• Crossplay backend: no port forwarding is needed. The port number still distinguishes several servers on the same public IP (official guide).
• If Windows Firewall shows a popup, tick all the checkboxes so the server can talk to the internet (official guide).
• The official guide does not say which protocol the ports use, so this page does not either. Check the manual shipped with your server download.

5. Start it and check it is up

Start the script directly in Windows or via Steam. When the window shows Game server connected, the server is running and accepting connections (official guide).

To confirm from a client: with -public 1 (the default) the server appears in the server browser; with -public 0 it is only reachable through the Join IP button (official guide). Crossplay servers can also be joined with a join code shown in the pause menu (Crossplay FAQ).

6. Stop it properly

Press CTRL+C in the command window. Closing it with the X of the window may leave the server running in the background; Iron Gate’s own words are that they “don’t really know” (official guide).

7. Admins, bans and the permitted list

Three text files in the save folder control who is admin, who is banned and who is permitted: adminlist.txt, bannedlist.txt and permittedlist.txt. Put one Platform User ID per line, in the form [Platform]_[User ID] (case sensitive). You can read an ID in the server log or in the in-game F2 panel. Adding anyone to the permitted list bans everyone else (official guide).

The default Windows save folder is ../%USERPROFILE%/AppData/LocalLow/IronGate/Valheim, unless you override it with -savedir (official guide).

Microsoft Store version

Go to the Server folder created when you install the game and run StartHeadlessServer.bat. Iron Gate strongly recommends reading the “Valheim Dedicated Server Manual” in the same folder first. For the Microsoft Store install, the files are in C:\XboxGames\Valheim\Content\Server (Crossplay FAQ). An Xbox console cannot host a dedicated server, but it can join one when both the console and the server have crossplay enabled (Crossplay FAQ).

What this guide does not cover

Hardware sizing, router configuration, running the server as a Windows service and any mod setup are not in the official guide. For mods, see the BepInEx and Valheim Plus pages.

Sources

• OfficialA Guide to Dedicated Servers (Iron Gate) - read on 29 Sept 2026; the page is dated April 11, 2024
• OfficialCrossplay FAQ (Iron Gate) - read on 29 Sept 2026; the page is dated February 7, 2025 (a re-publication of a 2022 article)