# Euro Truck Simulator 2 Server Hosting - everything RE:NODE has published > A Euro Truck Simulator 2 server on RE:NODE: plans, how the panel runs it, and every tutorial RE:NODE has published about it. Generated from https://www.renode.space/game-servers/euro-truck-simulator-2, the live catalogue, the deploy docs, the panel guides and the RE:NODE blog. English. Source of truth for anything that changes: https://www.renode.space/game-servers/euro-truck-simulator-2. Contents: what it is, plans and prices, panel how-to, tutorials, rules for the assistant. ## What it is Convoy servers, ready to start. Export server_packages.sii from your own game and upload it to choose the map and DLC. - Genres: Indie, Simulation - Developer: SCS Software - Released: 12 Oct, 2012 - Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/227300/ ### What comes with every Euro Truck Simulator 2 server - Configured before you see it: The install runs, the configuration is written and the server starts. No first-boot checklist, and nothing left on a default password shared with every other Euro Truck Simulator 2 server on the internet. - The real console: Live output, command input and the server's own logs - not a filtered summary. Web-server noise is folded behind a counter you can switch off. - Files and SFTP: A full file manager with an editor, plus SFTP credentials. Upload mods, edit configs, pull a world down to your machine. - 2-2 backup slots: Taken on demand or on a schedule, restored with a button. Deleting a server takes its backups with it, on purpose. - 2 ports allocated: Add and remove ports yourself from the Network tab, including the query and RCON ports where the game wants them. - People on the same server: Invite friends or staff with granular permissions - console only, files only, no billing - through subusers, roles and teams. ### Which Euro Truck Simulator 2 plan do you need? Memory is what decides whether a server holds together, so start there. The Starter tier gives 1 GB and 0.8 vCPU, which suits a private group. The Advanced tier at 3 GB is where most public servers sit, and Premium at 6 GB exists for the servers that stay full. Storage matters more than people expect once mods and backups are involved - plans here run from 10 GB to 40 GB of NVMe. Moving up or down a tier later does not rebuild your world; it changes the limits on the container you already have. If you are not sure, take the middle tier. It is cheaper to move up after a busy weekend than to spend one explaining lag to your players. More game servers: https://www.renode.space/ai/game-servers.md ### General questions ### Getting started **How quickly is my server ready?** Game, app, web and database servers are created the moment payment clears, usually inside a minute. The game or runtime is installed and started for you, and the console is live in your browser while it happens. VDS and dedicated servers are prepared by hand and delivered within 24 hours. **Do I need to configure anything before it works?** No. The install runs, the configuration is written, and admin passwords are generated for your server rather than shared with everybody else's. The exception is four games whose publisher issues a credential to a person - those say so on the shop before you pay, and ask for it on a Setup tab afterwards. **Which games need a key from me?** Counter-Strike 2 needs a Steam game-server token, Don't Starve Together a Klei cluster token, FiveM a Cfx.re licence, and DayZ, Project Zomboid, 7 Days to Die, Arma 3 and Unturned need a Steam account or token of your own. We cannot create any of them and we never share one between customers. Your server is built immediately and the installation waits until you paste yours in. **Can I try before buying?** There is no free tier. The entry plans start at $1.50 a month precisely so that trying something costs about as much as a coffee. **Can Claude or ChatGPT set my project up?** Yes, and the panel gives it what it needs. On a server's Console tab, pick a purpose and press Connect AI: the panel copies a private link with the runtime, the port the code must read from SERVER_PORT, the code path, the GitHub branch, the databases and the limits. Paste it into Claude, ChatGPT or any assistant that can open links; the same link followed by /mcp works as an MCP server URL. It stops by itself after 7 days unused. You can also connect Claude, or any MCP client, to your whole account at https://panel.renode.space/api/client/mcp. Linked repositories get a pre-flight check that shows what will break before a deploy, no AI needed. No password or token is ever shown to the assistant - the AI setup page explains it all. ### Running the server **Do I get full file access?** Yes - a complete file manager with an in-browser editor, plus SFTP credentials. There is no plan on which the file manager is disabled or read-only. **Can I install mods and plugins?** Yes. Upload them through the file manager or SFTP, or use the game's own workshop support where it has any. Nothing here whitelists which mods you are allowed to run. **Can other people help me run it?** Yes. Invite subusers with granular permissions - console only, files only, no billing - or build a team with a role and grant it access to several servers at once. Permissions are a union, so nobody loses access they were given elsewhere. **What happens if my server runs out of memory?** New servers are configured so the kernel stops the container and it restarts clean, rather than swapping and dragging the whole machine down. If a server restarts repeatedly we warn you on the server page and open a support ticket before anything is suspended - you get told twice before it stops. **Is the CPU limit a hard limit?** Yes, and it cannot be breached: the container is throttled to the share you bought. A server sitting at 100% is slow, not broken, and is never suspended for it. ### Backups and safety **Are backups included?** Every plan carries backup slots - two on the entry tiers, more further up. Take them on demand or on a schedule, and restore with a button rather than a support ticket. **Where are backups stored?** Off the machine they protect. A backup sitting on the same disk as the thing it is insuring covers you deleting your world and covers nothing at all about the disk failing. **What happens to my backups if I cancel?** Deleting a server deletes its backups with it, deliberately and including locked ones. Download anything you want to keep first - the panel lets you. ### Billing **How do I pay?** PayPal, card, your wallet balance, or bank transfer. Every method produces a proper invoice you can download or print, with our details and the bank account on it while it is unpaid. **Can I pay in Georgian lari?** The panel displays every figure in lari at the National Bank of Georgia's published rate, marks converted figures as approximate, and always shows the amount that will actually be charged. Invoices stay in the currency they were raised in, because an invoice is a demand for a specific amount. **What happens when my subscription is due?** An invoice is raised and emailed to you seven days before expiry, and again on the day. Paying it settles that same document rather than raising a second one. **Can I upgrade or downgrade later?** Yes, and it does not rebuild anything. Changing plan changes the limits on the container you already have - your world, files and database stay exactly where they are. **Do you offer refunds?** There is no automatic refund button. If a server cannot do what it was sold to do, open a ticket and we will sort it out - including refunding you. We would rather fix the plan than argue about the policy. ### Support and the honest bits **How do I get help?** Open a ticket from the panel - it reaches every member of staff and every administrator, not a queue aimed at nobody in particular. Attach a screenshot if it helps; attachments are private to your ticket rather than sitting at a guessable public URL. Discord is there for faster, less formal questions. **Where are the servers?** Germany, on hardware we run. That is one location: if you need players in another region on a low ping, say so before buying rather than after. **Is there an uptime guarantee?** We measure node availability every five minutes and report it in the panel rather than printing a number with four decimal places we have not earned. If something is down you will usually hear it from us first. **Who actually runs this?** A small team that writes the panel, the shop and the automation itself. When something is wrong the fix is a code change, which is why the list of things wrong keeps getting shorter. ## Plans and prices Read from the live catalogue at 2026-10-15 02:50 UTC. Prices are in US dollars per month; checkout also takes Georgian lari and bills for 1, 3, 6, 12 or 24 months. Prices change - re-check on https://www.renode.space/game-servers/euro-truck-simulator-2 or in the panel shop at https://panel.renode.space before quoting one. | Plan | Price / month | Memory | CPU | NVMe disk | Databases | Backups | Ports | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Starter | $5 | 1 GB | 0.8 vCPU | 10 GB | 1 | 2 | 2 | | Standard | $7 | 2 GB | 1 vCPU | 15 GB | 1 | 2 | 2 | | Advanced | $10 | 3 GB | 1.5 vCPU | 20 GB | 1 | 2 | 2 | | Pro | $13 | 4 GB | 2 vCPU | 30 GB | 1 | 2 | 2 | | Premium | $17 | 6 GB | 2.5 vCPU | 40 GB | 1 | 2 | 2 | ## Panel how-to From the panel guides at https://www.renode.space/guides. ### Ordering a server Ordering takes about a minute and happens in three screens: find what you want to run, pick a plan, and pay. Pay by card or PayPal and the server is set up the moment the payment goes through - you can watch it install in its console. - Takes: About a minute - Pay with: Card, PayPal or bank transfer - Billed for: 1, 3, 6, 12 or 24 months - Prices in: US dollars or Georgian lari Open the shop and find what you want to run: 1. Sign in to the panel and open the shop. The tabs along the top are the product lines: VDS, Game Servers, App Hosting, Web Hosting and Databases. 2. Find your game - there is a search box - and press View plans. The card already shows the lowest price and the range of memory on offer. Compare the plans and pick one: 3. Every plan lists its memory, CPU and NVMe storage, roughly how many players it suits, and what is included - updates, backup slots, file and SFTP access. 4. Press Get Started on the one you want. Not sure? Start smaller: you can move to a bigger plan later without losing your world. Choose how long, then pay: 5. Pick a billing period - 1, 3, 6, 12 or 24 months. The total for the whole period is shown before you pay, so there are no surprises. 6. Pay with PayPal, or press Debit or Credit Card - paying by card does not need a PayPal account. The server is created as soon as the payment completes. Paying by bank transfer instead: Prefer to pay from your bank? Choose bank transfer at checkout. The server is set up once the payment arrives, usually the next working day. 1. Switch the payment tab to Bank transfer. The account details for Bank of Georgia and TBC Bank appear, each with a Copy button. 2. Press Order & get invoice, then pay that invoice from your banking app, quoting the reference on it. After you pay: - The server appears under My Servers and installs itself. Open it to watch the install in the console. - Your orders, invoices and subscriptions are under Finances in the side menu. - Stuck at any step? Open Support in the side menu and raise a ticket. ### The console Live output, a command line, power controls and the resource graphs. It is the server's own output rather than a filtered summary - if the game prints it, you see it. - Start, stop, restart and kill, with the current state always visible. - Command history with the arrow keys, and tab completion for common commands. - Web-server noise - the internet knocking on doors that are not there - is folded behind a count you can switch off. A real error always prints. - Graphs for memory, CPU and disk against your limits, so whether it is the plan or the mod is answerable. ### Files and SFTP A complete file manager with an editor in the browser, plus SFTP credentials for the tools you already use. Upload a modpack, fix a config, pull a world down to your machine. - Drag files in, or upload a folder. Archives can be unpacked in place. - Edit any text file with syntax highlighting and save without downloading it. - PDFs and images preview in the panel rather than downloading first. - SFTP on the same credentials - use FileZilla, WinSCP or your editor's remote mode. ### Backups Take one before you try something. Restore it when the something goes wrong. Lock the ones that matter so they are not rotated away. - Slots on every plan - two on the entry tiers, more further up. - Take one on demand, or on a schedule you set. - Download any backup to your own machine. > Important: Deleting a server deletes its backups, including the locked ones. A lock stops you removing a backup by accident; it is not a claim on the disk after the server is gone. Download what you want to keep before you cancel. ### Subusers, roles and teams Give somebody the console without giving them your files, or the files without your billing. Three separate ideas, kept apart deliberately. - A role holds permissions - what may be done. - A team holds people. - A grant joins a team to a server with a role, so adding a moderator to the team gives them the same access everywhere at once. - Invite by link, by a join code, or by email address - and require approval on the codes if you would rather vet people. - Access can be time-boxed, and expiry stops working immediately rather than overnight. ### Scheduled tasks Restart nightly, back up before the restart, announce it to players first. Tasks run in order with delays between them, so a schedule can be a small routine rather than one action. - Send a console command - a warning to players, a save, a world flush. - Take a backup. - Power actions: start, stop, restart. ### Games that need a key from you A few games want a credential their publisher issues to a person - a Steam game-server token, a Steam account that owns the server files, a Klei cluster token, a Cfx.re licence. We cannot create one and we never share one between customers. > Note: Those games say so on the shop before you pay. Your server is built immediately, and the game installation is held until you paste the value into a Setup tab, because installing without it produces a server with no game files in it and no explanation. ## Tutorials 2 posts, newest first. Each one follows in full after the list. - [ETS2 server settings, presets and map mods](https://www.renode.space/blog/euro-truck-simulator-2-server-settings-and-mods) (2026-10-07): Tune an ETS2 Convoy server: server_config.sii presets for realistic, casual and public convoys, AI traffic, mods and map combos in server_packages, and update day. - [Euro Truck Simulator 2 convoy server setup](https://www.renode.space/blog/euro-truck-simulator-2-convoy-server) (2026-09-21): Host an ETS2 Convoy server: SteamCMD install, export_server_packages, every server_config.sii key, ports, Steam tokens, mods and the 8-player cap. --- ### ETS2 server settings, presets and map mods Published 2026-10-07 by RE:NODE Team. https://www.renode.space/blog/euro-truck-simulator-2-server-settings-and-mods On a Euro Truck Simulator 2 Convoy server, settings and mods live in two different places. Settings are keys in `server_config.sii` - collisions, damage, AI traffic, the speed limiter, moderators - and you change them with the server stopped. Mods are not configured on the server at all: they are baked into the `server_packages.sii` and `server_packages.dat` files you export from your own game with `export_server_packages`, and every mod active at the moment of export becomes something players must match. The practical rule that follows: export with only the mods everyone genuinely needs, keep cosmetic and client-side mods switched off during the export, and re-export after every game update or mod change. The install, ports, logon token and the full key reference are in [the ETS2 convoy server guide](https://www.renode.space/blog/euro-truck-simulator-2-convoy-server). This post is about using them well: setting presets for different kinds of convoy, AI traffic and performance, how mods and map combos work on a server, keeping several configurations, and the update-day routine. #### How settings and mods reach a Convoy session The dedicated server knows two things: what the world is made of, and how the session behaves. They come from different files. ```diagram title: Where an ETS2 Convoy server gets its world and its rules client = Your ETS2 client | DLC and active mods export = server_packages | .sii and .dat config = server_config.sii | session rules server = Dedicated server | Convoy session player = Player | same DLC and mods client -> export : export_server_packages export -> server : world definition config -> server : behaviour player -> server : joins if set matches ``` `server_packages` is a snapshot of your client's map, DLC and mod set at the moment you exported it. The server cannot download mods, cannot read your Steam Workshop subscriptions, and has no list of its own. Whatever the snapshot contains is what the session is built from, and joining players are checked against it. `server_config.sii` controls behaviour - who may join, whether trucks collide, how much AI traffic exists. It is edited with the server stopped, because the server writes its config back on shutdown and will overwrite live edits. #### Setting presets for different convoys The same server can host a disciplined realistic convoy or a chaotic Friday night, and the difference is half a dozen keys. Here are three working presets; only the relevant keys are shown, inside the usual `server_config : _nameless.xxxx { ... }` block that the server generated. ##### Realistic convoy server_config.sii (excerpt): ```cfg player_damage: true hide_colliding: false force_speed_limiter: true traffic: true max_ai_vehicles_player: 50 service_no_collision: true in_menu_ghosting: true name_tags: true password: "convoy-night" ``` Collisions and damage are real, the speed limiter is forced so nobody overtakes the lead at 140, and traffic is on for realism. `service_no_collision` and `in_menu_ghosting` remove the two unfair cases - a truck parked at a fuel station being hit, and a player in a menu being rammed while they cannot react. This preset only works with a group that has agreed to drive properly, which is why it has a password. ##### Casual friends server_config.sii (excerpt): ```cfg player_damage: false hide_colliding: true force_speed_limiter: false traffic: true max_ai_vehicles_player: 30 password: "fridays" ``` Nobody can wreck anybody else's evening: trucks ghost through each other where they would collide, damage between players is off, and a simple password keeps the session to the group. Slightly lighter traffic keeps the server easy on resources and the roads less clogged for eight trucks in a row. ##### Public server with strangers server_config.sii (excerpt): ```cfg player_damage: false hide_colliding: true hide_in_company: true in_menu_ghosting: true service_no_collision: true force_speed_limiter: true show_server: true moderator_list: 2 moderator_list[0]: 76561198012345678 moderator_list[1]: 76561198087654321 ``` A public Convoy server has no RCON and no automated moderation, so everything that can be turned into a griefing tool should be off. `hide_in_company` stops players blocking depot entrances with their trucks. The moderator list gives named Steam accounts kick and ban powers in game, and on a public server at least one of them has to actually be online - nothing else will deal with a troll. | Concern | Keys that address it | | --- | --- | | Ramming and griefing | `hide_colliding`, `player_damage`, `in_menu_ghosting` | | Blocking depots and stations | `hide_in_company`, `service_no_collision` | | Speeding and overtaking | `force_speed_limiter` | | Strangers joining | `password`, `show_server` | | Moderation | `moderator_list` | Whichever preset you use, change one thing at a time and drive with it before changing the next. Convoy's rules interact - forced speed limiter plus collisions is a very different game from either alone. #### AI traffic and performance AI traffic is the one setting group that changes the server's workload in a way you can measure. The server simulates traffic around every player, so its cost scales with players times vehicles per player. | Key | Default | What it controls | | --- | --- | --- | | `traffic` | `true` | AI traffic at all | | `max_ai_vehicles_player` | `50` | AI vehicles kept around each player | | `max_ai_vehicles_player_spawn` | `50` | How many may be spawned around each player | | `max_vehicles_total` | `100` | Ceiling for the whole session | For a convoy that drives as one tight group, the players share the same stretch of road and the traffic around them overlaps, so the totals matter more than the per-player number. For a server where eight people drive eight different jobs across the map, each player has their own traffic bubble and the server works harder. The Convoy server is light either way: with eight players and default traffic it runs comfortably in 1 GB and a fraction of a core. If traffic around players looks sparse or pops in late, `max_vehicles_total` is often the limit being hit, not the server's CPU. If the server's CPU graph is genuinely pinned at peak, lowering `max_ai_vehicles_player` to 30 is a large saving that players barely notice. Turning `traffic` off entirely is the biggest saving of all and makes the roads feel empty; it suits events where the convoy itself is the spectacle. #### Mods on a Convoy server Convoy supports mods, and the mechanism is the export. The steps are always the same: 1. In the game's mod manager, activate exactly the mods the server should run, in the order they should load. 2. Load into a profile, open the console and run `export_server_packages`. 3. Upload the new `server_packages.sii` and `server_packages.dat` to the server's home folder and restart. 4. Publish the mod list - names, versions and load order - to your players. The developer console has to be enabled in `config.cfg` first (`uset g_console "1"` and `uset g_developer "1"`), as covered in the convoy server guide. ##### What to include, and what to leave out Every mod active during the export becomes part of the session's definition, and players are checked against it. So: - **Include** mods that change the shared world: map mods, AI traffic packs, and truck or trailer mods if players will drive them in the convoy. - **Leave out** mods that only change what one player sees or hears: sound packs, graphics and weather mods, interface tweaks, personal truck skins. They work fine in each player's own game, but if they are active at export, everyone else must install them too. This is the most useful habit in ETS2 server administration. A server exported with fifteen mods because that is what the admin happened to have active is a server only the admin can join. `mods_optioning: true` in `server_config.sii` lets players choose whether to load mods the server marks as optional, which helps for genuinely optional content, but the reliable approach is not to export what is not needed. > [!WARNING] > Before exporting, open the mod manager and look at the active list properly. Mods left active from single-player sessions - a cheat, an economy tweak, a sound pack - are the usual reason players cannot join a freshly exported server. ##### Map mods and map combos Map mods are where Convoy servers become interesting and where most of the problems are. - **DLC requirements.** Large map mods often require specific official map DLCs to be owned and active. The server's export and every player need the same ones. Read the mod's own requirements page before announcing a map mod to a group. - **Convoy support.** Not every map mod supports Convoy, and some ship Convoy-specific notes or versions. Check the mod's own documentation; a map mod that works in single-player is not guaranteed to work on a dedicated server. - **Map combos.** Running several map mods together needs a compatible combination, a specific load order and often a road connection patch. Combo communities publish tested orders; follow one exactly rather than inventing your own. - **Load order is part of the definition.** The order in the mod manager at export time is what the server uses. Players with the same mods in a different order may see different roads, which is worse than not being able to join. Map mods are the one thing that pushes an ETS2 server beyond the smallest plan. A large combo raises the server's memory use and makes `server_packages.dat` considerably bigger. Start at 1 GB, watch the memory graph on the first full session, and step up only if it is genuinely near the limit. [How much does a game server cost](https://www.renode.space/blog/how-much-does-a-game-server-cost) explains why paying for headroom you never use is the common mistake. ##### Workshop mods versus manual mods ETS2 mods come either from the Steam Workshop or as `.scs` files downloaded from a mod's website and placed in the `mod` folder of the game's home directory. Both work for Convoy. The difference is version control: Workshop mods update themselves on every player's machine whenever the author publishes, while manual files stay at the version each player downloaded. For a server, that cuts both ways. Workshop mods keep players in step with each other automatically but can drift away from the version your export was made with. Manual files never drift, but players have to download the right version by hand. For map mods that update rarely and are large, manual files with a published version number are usually more predictable. Whatever you choose, write the version down. #### Several configurations and several servers Communities that run different kinds of evening do not need to edit one config back and forth. The server takes a config path at launch: ```text -server_cfg "server_config_realistic.sii" -server_cfg "server_config_public.sii" -server "server_packages_promap.sii" ``` Keep one config file per preset and one package export per mod set, named for what they are, and switch by changing the startup parameters and restarting. On a panel those parameters are fields on the Startup tab. If you genuinely need two sessions at once - a public server and a members' convoy - run two instances with `-nosingle`, and give each its own connection and query ports and its own virtual ports. Each one is still capped at eight players. Back up every config and package file you keep, together with the mod list each package was exported from. [Backups that actually restore](https://www.renode.space/blog/backups-that-actually-restore) applies even to a server this small, because rebuilding a working export for a large map combo is an evening's work. #### Update day SCS patches the game regularly, and each patch affects a Convoy server three ways: the server must be updated, map mods may need updating for the new version, and the export must be redone from an updated client. The order that works: 1. Stop the server. Back up the config, both package files and your mod list. 2. Update the dedicated server with SteamCMD. 3. Update your game client. Check each map mod's page for a version that supports the patch; if a critical map mod has not been updated, wait. 4. Activate the agreed mod set in the agreed order, and run `export_server_packages`. 5. Upload the new packages, start the server and join it yourself before telling anyone it is back. Skipping step 4 is the most common cause of "the server worked yesterday". [What to do when a mod update breaks](https://www.renode.space/blog/what-to-do-when-a-mod-update-breaks) has the general version of this routine. #### Troubleshooting **Players cannot join after a mod change.** The export does not match their mod set. Re-export with only the published mods active and in the published order. **Only you can join.** You exported with personal mods active. Deactivate everything not on the public list and re-export. **Roads look different for different players.** Mod load order differs between players. Publish the order and have them match it. **Traffic disappears or pops in.** `max_vehicles_total` reached, or `max_ai_vehicles_player` too low for how spread out the group is. **Config changes do nothing.** You edited while the server was running, or the server is launched with a different `-server_cfg` file than the one you edited. **A map mod crashes the server at start.** The mod does not support Convoy, needs a DLC missing from the export, or does not match the current game version. Read the server log; it names the package it failed on. #### FAQ ##### How do I add mods to an ETS2 dedicated server? Activate the mods in your own game, run `export_server_packages` in the console, and upload the resulting `server_packages.sii` and `server_packages.dat` to the server. The server never downloads mods itself; the export defines what it runs. ##### Do players need the same mods as the server? Yes - every mod that was active when the packages were exported, at the same version and in the same load order. That is why cosmetic and personal mods should be off during the export. ##### Can I use ProMods or other map mods on a Convoy server? Map mods can work on Convoy, but each has its own DLC requirements and Convoy support notes. Check the mod's documentation, export with its required DLC and load order, and make sure every player matches. ##### What does hide_colliding do? It makes trucks that would collide pass through each other instead. It is the main anti-griefing setting, and it is on by default; turn it off only for a group that has agreed to drive seriously. ##### How do I stop people speeding in a convoy? Set `force_speed_limiter: true` in `server_config.sii`. Everyone's in-game speed limiter is forced on, which keeps a convoy together far better than rules alone. ##### Can I run more than eight players with mods? No. Eight is the Convoy cap in the game itself. Mods do not change it, and a second server instance is the only way to host more people at once. Euro Truck Simulator 2 servers on RE:NODE start at 1 GB with two ports allocated, `server_config.sii` editable in the browser, SFTP for uploading fresh `server_packages` exports, and backup slots on every tier so each working combination of config and mods can be kept and restored. [See ETS2 plans](https://www.renode.space/game-servers/euro-truck-simulator-2) --- ### Euro Truck Simulator 2 convoy server setup Published 2026-09-21 by RE:NODE Team. https://www.renode.space/blog/euro-truck-simulator-2-convoy-server An Euro Truck Simulator 2 dedicated server is a small, free Steam download that runs a persistent Convoy session so your group can drive together without one person having to host and stay online. It is one of the cheapest game servers there is - 1 GB of memory and a fraction of a core is genuinely enough - and the player cap is eight, which is a limit in the game and not something a host can raise. The step that stops most people is not the install. It is `server_packages`: two files you have to export from inside the game, with exactly the DLC and mods you want the server to run, and then copy onto the server. Miss it and the server refuses to start with a message about map data. Do it once and forget what it was for, and the next map DLC you buy will break the server in a way that looks like a bug. #### What the ETS2 dedicated server is, and what it is not Convoy is SCS Software's own multiplayer mode, added to the base game. The dedicated server is the same game engine with no graphics, holding the shared world open so players can come and go. Both Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator have one, and the files and steps below are the same for both with different app ids. What it is not is TruckersMP. TruckersMP is a separate, unofficial modification with its own servers, its own rules and hundreds of players in one world. You cannot host a TruckersMP server; that infrastructure is theirs. If what you want is a busy public road full of strangers, that is the project to join. If what you want is eight friends, a shared map and your own rules, this is the one. Two design decisions matter more than any setting: - **The session is not persistent in the way a survival game is.** Every player drives their own profile, with their own company, garages, jobs and money. The server holds the shared world, the traffic and everybody's position. There is no world save to back up and no economy to wipe. - **Everybody must be running the same map.** The server advertises exactly which base map, which DLC and which mods it is built from, through the `server_packages` files. A player whose set does not match will not get in. #### Requirements and resource usage This is close to the lightest dedicated server you will ever run. | Players | RAM | vCPU | Notes | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2-4, base map | 1 GB | 0.75 | Comfortable | | 8, base map and DLC | 1-2 GB | 1 | The full cap | | 8, large map mods | 2-3 GB | 1.5 | Map mods are the only real load | - **CPU**: modest. The server runs AI traffic and relays positions; it is not simulating eight trucks' physics in detail. - **Disk**: a few gigabytes. The exported `server_packages.dat` is the largest single file and grows with each map DLC and map mod you enable. - **Network**: small by game server standards. Eight players producing position and traffic updates is not a bandwidth problem. Because the cap is eight, there is no sizing question to agonise over. Buy the smallest plan, and only think again if you are running a large map mod combination. [How many players fit on a server](https://www.renode.space/blog/how-many-players-fit-on-a-server) is about games where the answer is interesting; this is not one of them. #### Installing the dedicated server The server is a separate Steam application, app id `1948160` for Euro Truck Simulator 2. American Truck Simulator has its own. ```bash $ steamcmd +force_install_dir /home/ets2/server +login anonymous \ +app_update 1948160 validate +quit ``` Anonymous login works for most people. If Steam refuses the download, log in with an account that owns the game instead. The executables are: ```text bin/win_x64/eurotrucks2_server.exe bin/linux_x64/eurotrucks2_server ``` Start it once and it will create its home folder and a default `server_config.sii`, then stop with an error about missing server packages. That is the expected first run. The home folder is `Documents\Euro Truck Simulator 2\` on Windows and `~/.local/share/Euro Truck Simulator 2/` on Linux, and you can move it with `-homedir`. | Parameter | What it does | | --- | --- | | `-server "file"` | Use a specific server packages file | | `-server_cfg "file"` | Use a specific config file | | `-homedir "path"` | Put the config and packages somewhere of your choosing | | `-nosingle` | Allow more than one server instance on the same machine | [SteamCMD explained](https://www.renode.space/blog/steamcmd-explained) covers app ids, `validate` and scripted updates in general if this is your first Steam dedicated server. #### server_packages: the step everyone misses The server has to know what the map looks like, and it gets that by being handed a snapshot exported from a real game client. You generate it on the PC that has the DLC and mods you want, and you re-generate it every time that set changes. 1. Open `config.cfg` in the game's home folder (the same `Documents\Euro Truck Simulator 2\` path) and set `uset g_console "1"` and `uset g_developer "1"`. 2. Start the game with exactly the DLC enabled and the mods active that the server should run. 3. Press the console key (the one above Tab) and type `export_server_packages`. 4. Two files appear in the game's home folder: `server_packages.sii` and `server_packages.dat`. 5. Copy both into the server's home folder, next to `server_config.sii`. ```diagram title: Where server_packages comes from game = ETS2 game client | your DLC and mods console = Developer console | export_server_packages files = server_packages | .sii and .dat server = Dedicated server | reads them at start players = Players | must match the set game -> console : enabled in config.cfg console -> files : written to the home folder files -> server : copied across players -> server : join convoy ``` > [!WARNING] > Re-export after every game patch, every new map DLC and every mod change. A stale package set is the cause of most "the server was working yesterday" reports, and the error message points at the map rather than at the thing you changed. On a panel host you still have to do steps 1 to 4 on your own PC - there is no way around it, because the export needs a full game client. Step 5 is a file upload; [SFTP and the file manager](https://www.renode.space/blog/sftp-and-the-file-manager) has the connection details. #### server_config.sii explained SII is SCS's own format. Keep the wrapper and the generated `_nameless` identifier exactly as the server wrote them, and edit only the values. server_config.sii: ```cfg SiiNunit { server_config : _nameless.1855.8AF0.3390 { lobby_name: "Night Shift Haulage" description: "Slow convoy, realistic driving, Fridays 20:00 CET" welcome_message: "Keep it on the road. Rules in the Discord." password: "diesel" max_players: 8 max_vehicles_total: 100 max_ai_vehicles_player: 50 max_ai_vehicles_player_spawn: 50 connection_virtual_port: 100 query_virtual_port: 101 connection_dedicated_port: 27015 query_dedicated_port: 27016 server_logon_token: "" player_damage: true traffic: true hide_in_company: false hide_colliding: true force_speed_limiter: false mods_optioning: false timezones: 2 service_no_collision: false in_menu_ghosting: false name_tags: true friends_only: false show_server: true moderator_list: 2 moderator_list[0]: 76561198012345678 moderator_list[1]: 76561198087654321 } } ``` | Key | Default | What it does | | --- | --- | --- | | `lobby_name` | generic | The name in the server browser | | `description` | empty | Shown when a player selects the server | | `welcome_message` | empty | Printed to each player on join | | `password` | empty | Join password. Empty means anyone may join | | `max_players` | `8` | The cap. Eight is the game's limit, not a default | | `max_vehicles_total` | `100` | Total AI vehicles in the session | | `max_ai_vehicles_player` | `50` | AI traffic around each player | | `player_damage` | `true` | Whether players can damage each other | | `traffic` | `true` | AI traffic at all. Turning it off is a big performance saving | | `hide_in_company` | `false` | Hide other trucks inside company depots | | `hide_colliding` | `true` | Ghost trucks that would otherwise collide | | `force_speed_limiter` | `false` | Forces the in-game speed limiter on everyone | | `mods_optioning` | `false` | Lets players choose whether to load optional mods | | `service_no_collision` | `false` | No collisions at service stations | | `in_menu_ghosting` | `false` | A player in a menu cannot be hit | | `name_tags` | `true` | Names above trucks | | `friends_only` | `false` | Restricts joining to Steam friends | | `show_server` | `true` | List the server publicly | | `moderator_list` | `0` | Count of moderators, followed by indexed entries | Three of these decide the character of the server. `hide_colliding` on is the anti-grief default and makes trucks pass through each other when a collision would have happened; turn it off only for a group that has agreed to play seriously. `player_damage` off removes the rest of the ramming problem at the cost of any realism. `force_speed_limiter` is the one that settles whether your convoy is a convoy or a race. `moderator_list` is a counted array: the number first, then one `moderator_list[n]` line per SteamID64, numbered from zero. Get the count wrong and the entries after it are ignored. Listed players are promoted automatically when they join, which is how you get a kick and ban capability without an RCON console. Edit the file with the server stopped. Like most game servers, this one rewrites its config on shutdown and will cheerfully overwrite what you typed. #### Ports and the Steam logon token | Port | Protocol | Purpose | | --- | --- | --- | | `27015` | UDP | Connection | | `27016` | UDP | Steam query | Those are `connection_dedicated_port` and `query_dedicated_port`. The two virtual ports, `100` and `101`, are internal identifiers used by Steam's networking layer rather than something your firewall sees - but if you run two servers on one machine they have to differ, along with the dedicated ports. Both real ports are UDP; a TCP-only rule produces a server that runs and cannot be found. [Game server ports explained](https://www.renode.space/blog/game-server-ports-explained) covers the query port and why it is separate. `server_logon_token` is a Steam game server login token. Without one the server runs as an anonymous game server, which limits how it is listed and identified; with one it has a persistent identity in Steam's browser. Generate it at Steam's game server account page, and note the trap the official documentation calls out explicitly: use the **game** app id, `227300` for Euro Truck Simulator 2, not the dedicated server app id. A token created against `1948160` will not work. [Steam game server tokens](https://www.renode.space/blog/steam-game-server-tokens-gslt) covers what these are, how bans against them work and why you want one per server. If you would rather give people a name than an address, an A record pointing at the server works - see [connecting a domain to a game server](https://www.renode.space/blog/connecting-a-domain-to-a-game-server). #### Mods and DLC on a convoy server The rule is simple and unforgiving: the server runs whatever was active in the client that exported the packages, and joining players need a matching set. - **Map DLC.** Buy Iberia after exporting, and your new roads are not on the server until you re-export. Everyone on the server also needs the DLC to drive there. - **Map mods.** Large map mods work, and they are the main reason an ETS2 server would ever need more than 1 GB. Export with them active, and distribute the exact same mod versions to your players. - **Truck and trailer mods.** These behave better than map mods, because they do not change the world data, but a mismatch still causes trouble when a player spawns a vehicle nobody else has. - **`mods_optioning: true`** lets players decide whether to load optional mods rather than requiring them. Useful for cosmetic packs, not for anything that touches the map. Keep a written list of the mod set and its versions somewhere other than the server, next to a copy of `server_config.sii` and the packages. That list is the only thing that lets you rebuild a working server after a bad update - and after every game patch the drill is the same: update the server, re-export packages from an updated client, then restart. [What to do when a mod update breaks](https://www.renode.space/blog/what-to-do-when-a-mod-update-breaks) is the wider habit. #### Running it day to day There is no world save, so backups are about configuration rather than progress: `server_config.sii`, `server_packages.sii`, `server_packages.dat` and your mod list. That is a small archive, and it is the difference between a five-minute recovery and an evening of re-exporting. [Backups that actually restore](https://www.renode.space/blog/backups-that-actually-restore) applies even when there is very little to back up, because the restore is the part people have not practised. Moderation is thinner than you may be used to. There is no RCON, no console to attach to and no command line to type into a running session. What you have is the moderator list, which promotes named Steam accounts as they join and gives them kick and ban powers in game, plus `password` for keeping strangers out entirely. That is enough for eight people who know each other, and it is the reason a public ETS2 server needs a moderator physically present rather than a set of automated rules. The eight-slot cap is also a community management problem rather than a technical one. A group of fifteen cannot all drive together, so the servers that work run to a schedule - a fixed convoy night, a posted route, and a sign-up. The server itself costs almost nothing to leave running between those nights, which is the argument for leaving it up rather than starting it on demand and discovering at 20:00 that the last game patch broke your packages. A weekly restart is worth scheduling even on a server this light; it clears any drift and gives you a fixed point to hang the SteamCMD update on. On a panel the Schedules tab can run a power action on a cron expression, and [scheduled tasks worth having](https://www.renode.space/blog/scheduled-tasks-worth-having) lists the ones that earn their place. Convoy sessions do not survive a restart, so put it at an hour nobody drives. On RE:NODE, ETS2 plans come with two port allocations, so the connection and query ports are ready on the Network tab, and `server_config.sii` is editable in the browser without an SFTP client. Backup slots are included on every tier and restoring is one button. #### Troubleshooting **"Server packages file not found."** The two exported files are missing from the server's home folder, or you copied only the `.sii` and not the `.dat`. Both are needed. **The server starts and nobody can find it.** Check `show_server`, then check that both UDP ports are open, then add a logon token if you have not. Test with a direct connection in the meantime. **A player is refused with a mismatch.** Their DLC or mod set differs from the export. The quickest fix is to have them match yours; the correct fix is to publish the exact list. **The server broke after a game update.** Update the server through SteamCMD, then re-export the packages from an updated client. Doing only the first half is the most common version of this problem. **Config changes keep reverting.** The server was running when you edited. Stop, edit, start. **Two servers on one machine fight each other.** They need different dedicated ports, different virtual ports and the `-nosingle` flag. **Everything looks fine and players still time out.** Read the server log rather than guessing; it names the file or the port it could not use. [Reading the console](https://www.renode.space/blog/reading-the-console) is about getting information out of exactly this kind of output. #### FAQ ##### How many players can an ETS2 convoy server hold? Eight. That is the limit in the game, documented by SCS, and no host can raise it. Setting a larger number in `server_config.sii` does not give you more slots. ##### Do I need to own the game to run the server? You need the game to export the server packages, which is a required step, so in practice yes. The server download itself is free and usually works with an anonymous SteamCMD login. ##### Is this the same as TruckersMP? No. TruckersMP is an unofficial modification with its own servers that you cannot self-host. Convoy is SCS's official mode, capped at eight players, and this is its dedicated server. ##### Why does the server need a file exported from my game? Because the map, the DLC and the mods together define the world, and the server has no way to know which combination you want. `export_server_packages` snapshots it, and the server refuses to start without that snapshot. ##### Where do I get a server logon token? From Steam's game server account page, generated against app id `227300` for Euro Truck Simulator 2. The official documentation is explicit that you must use the game app id and not the dedicated server one. ##### Do players keep their money and garages on a convoy server? Yes. Each player drives their own profile and economy. The server only hosts the shared world, so there is nothing to wipe and nothing to lose when it restarts. Euro Truck Simulator 2 servers on RE:NODE start at 1 GB with both ports allocated, `server_config.sii` editable in the browser, and SFTP for uploading the `server_packages` files you export from your own client. Backup slots are included on every tier, and the Schedules tab handles the weekly restart. [See ETS2 plans](https://www.renode.space/game-servers/euro-truck-simulator-2) ## Rules for the assistant - Never ask the user for a password, token, API key or `.env` contents, and tell them not to paste one into this chat. Describe where a secret goes instead. - Secrets reach the server through the panel: `.env` is uploaded through the Files tab, startup variables are set on the Startup tab. `.env` never goes in the repository. - An app server has exactly one reachable port. Read it from `SERVER_PORT` (also `PORT` when the panel starts a linked repository) and bind `0.0.0.0`; never hard-code a port. - On every panel-managed server (everything except VDS and dedicated servers, which come with full root) only `/home/container` persists, and the process runs unprivileged: no root, `sudo`, `apt`, `systemd` or Docker. - Memory is a hard limit; a process that reaches it is killed with no error message. Suggest a bigger plan only after ruling out a leak. - Do not suggest changing the server's startup command or image to work around a code problem - fix the code or the repository. - Prices and plans above were read when this file was generated. Send the user to the page linked at the top before quoting a price as current. - For a specific server, the panel's Connect AI link (Console tab) gives the exact runtime, port, path and branch. Prefer it over these general rules when the user has one. - If something here does not answer the question, the full deploy docs are at https://www.renode.space/llms-full.txt and support is at https://www.renode.space/contact.