# The Forest Server Hosting - everything RE:NODE has published > A The Forest 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/the-forest, 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/the-forest. Contents: what it is, plans and prices, panel how-to, tutorials, rules for the assistant. ## What it is The Forest dedicated servers, ready to play. Admin password is generated per server. - Genres: Action, Adventure, Indie, Simulation - Developer: Endnight Games Ltd - Released: 30 Apr, 2018 - Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/242760/ ### What comes with every The Forest 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 The Forest 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. - 3 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 The Forest plan do you need? Memory is what decides whether a server holds together, so start there. The Starter tier gives 3 GB and 1.5 vCPU, which suits a private group. The Advanced tier at 5 GB is where most public servers sit, and Premium at 8 GB exists for the servers that stay full. Storage matters more than people expect once mods and backups are involved - plans here run from 20 GB to 50 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/the-forest or in the panel shop at https://panel.renode.space before quoting one. | Plan | Price / month | Memory | CPU | NVMe disk | Databases | Backups | Ports | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Starter | $8 | 3 GB | 1.5 vCPU | 20 GB | 1 | 2 | 3 | | Standard | $11 | 4 GB | 1.8 vCPU | 25 GB | 1 | 2 | 3 | | Advanced | $14 | 5 GB | 2 vCPU | 30 GB | 1 | 2 | 3 | | Pro | $17 | 6 GB | 2.5 vCPU | 40 GB | 1 | 2 | 3 | | Premium | $21 | 8 GB | 3 vCPU | 50 GB | 1 | 2 | 3 | ## 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. - [The Forest server: save transfer and mods](https://www.renode.space/blog/the-forest-mods-and-save-transfer) (2026-10-07): Move The Forest saves between your PC and a dedicated server, manage the five slots, snapshot and roll back worlds, and run ModAPI mods on a server safely. - [The Forest dedicated server: config and admin](https://www.renode.space/blog/the-forest-dedicated-server) (2026-09-21): Set up a dedicated server for The Forest: the SteamCMD install, every Server.cfg key, the three ports, save slots, admin chat commands and the usual errors. --- ### The Forest server: save transfer and mods Published 2026-10-07 by RE:NODE Team. https://www.renode.space/blog/the-forest-mods-and-save-transfer A The Forest save is a folder called `Slot1` to `Slot5`, and moving a world between a PC and a dedicated server is copying the contents of that folder into the same-numbered slot on the other side, then pointing the config at it with `slot` and `initType Continue`. Single-player and multiplayer saves both transfer. Two things decide whether it works: the server must have a Steam game server token in `serverSteamAccount` or it will never write a save at all, and the server must be stopped while you copy or the next autosave overwrites what you uploaded. Mods are a separate and more fragile story - The Forest has no official mod support, and the community route is ModAPI, which patches the server's files and has to be reapplied after every update. This guide covers the slots, every direction a world can move, snapshots and rollbacks, and how to run mods without losing the world. The install, the full `Server.cfg`, ports and admin commands are in [The Forest dedicated server guide](https://www.renode.space/blog/the-forest-dedicated-server). This post is about the world itself. #### How The Forest stores a world Every save is a slot, and there are five. Each slot is a folder holding the world - terrain changes, structures, the state of caves and cannibals - plus metadata the game uses for its load screen. Slots are independent: five slots means five unrelated worlds that happen to share a server. On a player's PC the saves are under the game's profile folder: ```text %USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\SKS\TheForest\\ SinglePlayer\Slot1 ... Slot5 Multiplayer\Slot1 ... Slot5 ``` `SinglePlayer` holds solo games. `Multiplayer` holds games that player hosted. A world you only joined as a guest is not the full world and does not belong in this process. On the dedicated server, saves live wherever `saveFolderPath` or the `-savefolderpath` argument points, with a `Multiplayer` folder and the same `Slot` folders beneath it. Left at default on Windows, that is inside the server's own profile folder under `SKS\TheForestDedicatedServer`. Most hosted setups set an explicit path next to the install. If you are not sure where your server writes, look at the start command for `-savefolderpath` and at the log when the server saves - guessing is how people upload a world into a folder the server never reads. | Config key | What it controls | | --- | --- | | `slot` | Which slot, `1` to `5`, the server loads and saves | | `initType` | `Continue` loads the slot; `New` generates a fresh world in it on every start | | `saveFolderPath` | Root folder for the server's saves | | `serverAutoSaveInterval` | Minutes between autosaves, minimum 15 | | `serverSteamAccount` | The game server token. Without it, nothing saves | | `resetHolesMode` | Clears all cut holes in structures when the save loads | > [!WARNING] > A server with an empty `serverSteamAccount` runs, accepts players and never writes a save. If you are about to move a world onto a new server, set the token first and confirm one save works before you trust it with the real thing. [Steam game server tokens](https://www.renode.space/blog/steam-game-server-tokens-gslt) covers creating one against app id `242760`. #### Moving a world from your PC to the server Both single-player and hosted multiplayer saves transfer. The procedure: 1. **Close the game on your PC** so the local save is complete. 2. **Find the slot.** Under your `SinglePlayer` or `Multiplayer` folder, the slot you want is the one you load in-game - the slot number matches. 3. **Stop the server.** Not optional. A running server writes its own world into the slot at the next autosave and on shutdown. 4. **Back up the server's target slot** if it has anything in it, even a world you think you do not want. 5. **Copy the contents** of your local `SlotN` into the server's `Multiplayer/SlotN`. The contents, not the folder inside the folder - after copying, the server's slot folder should hold the save files directly. 6. **Set `slot` to that number and `initType` to `Continue`** in `Server.cfg`, and check no command-line argument overrides either. 7. **Start the server** and watch the log for the world loading. Join and look around before telling anyone it worked. Copying into the same slot number on both sides is not strictly required, but it removes one thing to get wrong. Over SFTP the copy is a single drag of a folder that is usually tens of megabytes - [SFTP and the file manager](https://www.renode.space/blog/sftp-and-the-file-manager) has the details. What comes across is the world. What does not reliably come across is each player's exact inventory and position, which depend on how the game stored player data in the version you played. Plan a supply chest for the first session on a moved world, and nobody spends the evening rebuilding a stick collection. #### Moving a world from the server to a PC The reverse is just as simple and much less often done, which is a shame, because it is the best insurance there is. 1. Run `/save` in game as an admin, or stop the server cleanly, so the slot is current. 2. Download the contents of the server's `Multiplayer/SlotN`. 3. On the PC, place them in `Multiplayer\SlotN` under your own SteamID64 folder, after backing up whatever was there. 4. Start a hosted multiplayer game and load that slot. Do this before a server is cancelled, before moving hosts, and occasionally just to prove you can. A world you can open on your own PC is a world no hosting decision can take from you. #### Slots as snapshots Five slots on a server are more useful than five worlds. Used deliberately, they are save states. The admin command `/save` with a slot number writes the current world into that slot without switching to it. Before a risky moment - a cave expedition, a big base rebuild, a mod test - an admin types: ```text /save 5 ``` The live world continues in its own slot, and slot 5 now holds a copy of this moment. If the expedition goes badly, stop the server, set `slot 5`, start, and the group is back where it was. Afterwards, copy that slot back into the main slot's folder if you want to keep using the original number. ```diagram title: Using The Forest's slots as save states live = Slot 1 | the live world snap = Slot 5 | /save 5 snapshot test = Slot 4 | modded test copy backup = Off-server backup | scheduled pc = Your PC | local Multiplayer live -> snap : before risky play live -> test : copy to test mods live -> backup : nightly live -> pc : download snap -> live : roll back ``` Keep one slot as a standing test copy. Before you try a mod, a resetHolesMode clean-up or anything else you are not sure of, copy the live slot's contents into the test slot, point the server at it, and try it there. #### Autosaves, clean stops and rollback The server saves on a timer, every `serverAutoSaveInterval` minutes with a floor of fifteen, on a clean shutdown, and when an admin types `/save`. It does not save when the process is killed. The worst case on default settings is half an hour of lost play; on the minimum, fifteen minutes. - **Run `/save` before anything you might regret**, including a host-side restart. - **Stop cleanly.** `/shutdown` or the panel's stop. Avoid the `/restart` chat command; the official wiki describes it as resetting the save, and there are enough lost-world reports to take that literally. - **The autosave is not a backup.** It overwrites the same slot. A world saved after something went wrong replaces the good one. A rollback is replacing a slot's contents with an earlier copy while the server is stopped. That only works if an earlier copy exists somewhere other than the slot. The routine that makes sure it does: a scheduled copy of the save folder kept off the server, a manual copy before updates and mods, and one practice restore so you know the procedure works. [Backups that actually restore](https://www.renode.space/blog/backups-that-actually-restore) explains why the practice restore is the point, and [game server save files explained](https://www.renode.space/blog/game-server-save-files-explained) puts The Forest's layout next to other games'. On RE:NODE, backups are taken on demand or on a schedule, stored off the machine they protect, downloadable, and restored with one button. A Schedules entry can run a nightly backup and then a restart as ordered tasks at a quiet hour. The Restart button sends a clean stop rather than a kill, so the world is saved on the way down. #### Keeping an old save healthy A world that has run for a year gets heavier for specific reasons: structures, cut holes, terrain changes and dropped items all accumulate. Three config switches help. - **`treeRegrowMode on`** regrows a share of felled trees when players sleep, so the area around a base does not become a wasteland. - **`resetHolesMode on`** for a single restart clears every hole cut in a structure - including every door and window players cut deliberately. It is a blunt tool for a save that has become slow to load. Snapshot to another slot first, turn it on, start, check, turn it off. - **`allowBuildingDestruction`** decides whether cannibals can break structures. It does not repair anything already destroyed. The Forest has been feature-complete for years, so save compatibility between game versions is no longer a regular risk. That stability is also what makes modding this game more practical than modding its sequel. #### Mods on a The Forest server There is no official mod support and no workshop. The community tool is ModAPI, which lists The Forest's dedicated server as a target of its own. It works as a patcher: you point it at a copy of the game or server files, choose mods from its catalogue, and it builds modified game assemblies with those mods included. The patched files replace the originals. The rules that follow from that design: - **Server and every client need the same mods at the same versions.** Gameplay mods that are only on one side fail to connect or desync. - **Not every mod has a server build.** Check each one for dedicated server support rather than assuming a collection works. - **Updates undo the patch.** `app_update` restores the original files. After any server update, reapply the mods before players join. - **`allowCheats off` does not stop mods.** It only gates the built-in debug console. On a hosted server where you cannot run ModAPI's interface, the practical workflow is to run ModAPI on a Windows PC against a local copy of the dedicated server files - installed with SteamCMD from app id `556450`, as in [SteamCMD explained](https://www.renode.space/blog/steamcmd-explained) - then upload the patched files over the originals on the server. Keep the unpatched originals as well, so you can return to vanilla in one copy. [Wine and Proton for Windows-only servers](https://www.renode.space/blog/wine-and-proton-for-windows-only-servers) is worth reading if your server runs on Linux, because the server is a Windows build there too and the patched files are the same Windows files. ##### A mod change routine that does not lose the world 1. Snapshot the live world with `/save` into a spare slot, and take an off-server backup. 2. Stop the server. 3. Back up the server's current game files - the folders ModAPI touches. 4. Upload the patched files. 5. Point the server at the test slot, start, and join with the matching client mods. 6. Play for long enough to trigger what the mod changes: building, combat, a save and reload. 7. If all is well, switch `slot` back to the live world. If not, restore the original game files and nothing about the world has changed. Gameplay mods can write their own data into saves. Removing such a mod later can leave a save that loads with errors or not at all, which is another reason the test slot exists. [What to do when a mod update breaks](https://www.renode.space/blog/what-to-do-when-a-mod-update-breaks) has the general recovery order, and [keeping a modded server clean](https://www.renode.space/blog/keeping-a-modded-server-clean) the habits that prevent most of it. #### Troubleshooting **The server loaded a new world instead of mine.** `initType` is `New`, `slot` points at a different number, or a command-line argument overrides the config. The uploaded files are still in their folder; fix the setting and restart. **The upload did nothing and the old world loaded.** The files went into a folder the server does not read - wrong `saveFolderPath`, wrong slot, or one folder too deep. Check the log for the path it saves to. **The world loads but progress disappears after a restart.** `serverSteamAccount` is empty, so the server never saved. Set a token. **Players arrive with empty inventories on a moved world.** Player data did not come across in full. Expected after some transfers; a supply chest fixes the first session. **After a game update, modded clients cannot connect.** The update restored vanilla server files. Reapply the mods, or have everyone remove theirs until you do. **The save got slow to load after months.** Accumulated structure holes and terrain edits. Snapshot, then one start with `resetHolesMode on`. #### FAQ ##### Can I move my single-player The Forest world to a dedicated server? Yes. Copy the contents of the slot from your `SinglePlayer` folder into the server's `Multiplayer` slot folder with the server stopped, then set `slot` and `initType Continue`. Hosted multiplayer saves move the same way. ##### Why does my server never save? The `serverSteamAccount` line is empty. A The Forest server without a game server login token runs normally and writes nothing. Set one and confirm a save appears. ##### How do I back up a world without stopping the server? Have an admin run `/save` with a spare slot number to snapshot the world into that slot, then copy that slot. For an off-server backup, a clean stop or a fresh `/save` first is what keeps the copy consistent. ##### Do players need mods if the server has them? For gameplay mods, yes - the same mods at the same versions as the server. A mod that only changes what one player sees may not need to be on the server at all. ##### Do I lose mods when the server updates? Yes. ModAPI patches game files, and an update replaces them with the originals. Reapply the mods after every update, with a backup taken first. ##### How many worlds can one The Forest server keep? Five, one per slot. Only the slot named in `slot` runs at a time; the others are untouched until you switch. The Forest servers on RE:NODE start at 3 GB with the Steam, game and query ports allocated, `Server.cfg` editable in the browser, and the save slots reachable in the file manager or over SFTP. Backups on every tier are stored off the machine and restored with one button. [See The Forest plans](https://www.renode.space/game-servers/the-forest) --- ### The Forest dedicated server: config and admin Published 2026-09-21 by RE:NODE Team. https://www.renode.space/blog/the-forest-dedicated-server The Forest's dedicated server is a free SteamCMD download (app id `556450`), it holds eight players, it runs happily in 3 GB of memory, and it is configured by a plain text file where each line is a key, a space and a value. It is a genuinely small, well-behaved server by modern standards, and the game has been feature-complete long enough that nothing about it moves under you any more. The two things that catch people are that the server tool is a Windows build with no native Linux version, and that the config file is not where you installed the server - it lives in your user profile unless you point at one with `-configfilepath`. Get those two settled and the rest is one file and three ports. #### What the dedicated server gives you The Forest can be hosted from inside the game, and for two people who always play together that is fine. A dedicated server buys you three things: the world exists when the host is asleep, nobody's frame rate is everybody's simulation, and the save is not sitting in one person's `AppData` waiting for them to reinstall Windows. What the server supports out of the box: - **Eight players.** That is the documented default and the number the game is built around. Endnight never publishes a maximum, and some hosts advertise more slots, but eight is what is tested. - **Five save slots**, selected in the config, each an independent world. - **The three difficulty presets** - Peaceful, Normal and Hard - plus a set of individual switches for tree regrowth, building destruction, enemies in creative and so on. - **An admin password** that turns chat into an administration console for whoever knows it. - **VAC**, optionally, which is unusual for a co-op survival game and worth switching on for a public server. - **Automatic saves** on a timer, minimum fifteen minutes. What it does not have: RCON, a whitelist, a ban list you can edit as a file, scheduled messages, or any official mod support. Administration is the admin password and the chat commands it unlocks. If you have come here from the sequel, this server is in several ways better equipped than [the Sons of the Forest dedicated server](https://www.renode.space/blog/sons-of-the-forest-dedicated-server), which shipped with less. #### Requirements and resource usage This is one of the cheapest survival servers you can run. Memory grows with the size of the built world and the number of structure holes cut into it, not much with the number of players. | Group | RAM | CPU | Notes | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2-4 players, fresh save | 2-3 GB | 1-1.5 cores | Comfortable from the start | | 5-8 players, established base | 3-4 GB | 1.5-2 cores | The common case | | Long-lived save, large builds | 4-6 GB | 2 cores | Structures and terrain edits add up | | Modded | 6-8 GB | 2 cores | Entirely dependent on the mods | - **CPU**: one thread carries the simulation, so clock speed beats core count. The peak is a cannibal raid on a big base, not eight people standing in different places. - **Disk**: the server install is a few gigabytes and a save slot is small - tens of megabytes. Twenty gigabytes covers the install, five slots and a stack of backups. - **Network**: light. The Forest sends little per player and the join transfer is modest, which is the main practical difference from the sequel. A server that has been running the same save for a year gets heavier for a specific reason: every hole cut in a structure, every piece of terrain modified and every dropped item is state that is saved and reloaded. The config has `resetHolesMode` for exactly this, and turning it on for one restart is a blunt but effective way of clearing a save that has grown awkward. It also deletes every window and doorway anyone cut, so tell people first. #### Installing and the first start The dedicated server is anonymous on SteamCMD, so no account and no game server token: ```bash $ steamcmd +force_install_dir C:\theforest-server +login anonymous \ +app_update 556450 validate +quit ``` [SteamCMD explained](https://www.renode.space/blog/steamcmd-explained) has the general version of that command, including how to script updates. The executable is `TheForestDedicatedServer.exe`. There is no Linux build - on Linux it runs under Wine, which works well and is what most hosts are doing on your behalf. Start it once with no arguments and stop it with Ctrl+C. The first run creates the profile folder and writes a default config: ```text C:\Users\\AppData\LocalLow\SKS\TheForestDedicatedServer\ds\Server.cfg ``` That default location is fine for one server and a nuisance for anything else, which is why nearly every real setup passes `-configfilepath` and keeps the config next to the install. Once you know where the file is, stop the server before you edit it, and read the IP address the server printed on that first run - it is the internal address the server bound to, and it is what `serverIP` wants. #### Server.cfg, key by key Every line is `key value`, comments start with `//`, and a missing key falls back to the default. This is the full set: Server.cfg: ```cfg // Server display name serverName My Forest Server // Server password. blank means no password serverPassword // Steam game server login token. See the warning below serverSteamAccount YOURTOKENHERE // Server administration password. blank means no password serverPasswordAdmin changeme // Server IP address (the internal address if you are behind a router) serverIP 10.5.0.6 // Steam communication port serverSteamPort 8766 // Game communication port serverGamePort 27015 // Query communication port serverQueryPort 27016 // Maximum number of players serverPlayers 8 // Valve Anti-cheat. off or on enableVAC on // Minutes between auto saves. Minimum 15, default 30 serverAutoSaveInterval 30 // Peaceful, Normal, Hard (and HardSurvival on current builds) difficulty Normal // New or Continue initType Continue // Save slot, 1 to 5 slot 1 // Show the event log. off or on showLogs on // Contact email for the server admin serverContact // No enemies at all veganMode off // No enemies during the day vegetarianMode off // Reset all structure holes when loading a save resetHolesMode off // Regrow 10% of cut trees when sleeping treeRegrowMode on // Allow cannibals to break your buildings allowBuildingDestruction on // Allow enemies in creative games allowEnemiesCreativeMode off // Allow clients to use the built-in debug console allowCheats off // Full weapon damage when players hit each other realisticPlayerDamage off // Custom folder for save slots, blank for the default saveFolderPath // Target FPS with nobody connected targetFpsIdle 5 // Target FPS with at least one player connected targetFpsActive 60 ``` The ones that decide what kind of server you are running: | Key | Why it matters | | --- | --- | | `initType` | `New` regenerates the slot **on every start**, not once | | `slot` | Which of the five worlds loads; changing it swaps worlds | | `serverPasswordAdmin` | The only administration credential the server has | | `allowCheats` | `on` lets every client use the debug console. Leave it off | | `difficulty` | Peaceful means no cannibals at all, not fewer | | `treeRegrowMode` | The difference between a forest and a stump field after six months | | `serverAutoSaveInterval` | Minimum 15 minutes, so 15 is your smallest possible loss window | > [!WARNING] > `initType New` is the single most expensive mistake in this file, and the file the server generates for you ships with `New` in it. It is not "create the world if it does not exist" - it is "start a new game", every time the process starts. Set it to `Continue` the moment your world exists, and take a copy of the save folder before you next touch the config. `serverSteamAccount` needs a paragraph of its own, because the comment the server writes next to it is misleading. It is not your Steam user name. It is a Steam game server login token, the same kind of credential described in [Steam game server tokens](https://www.renode.space/blog/steam-game-server-tokens-gslt), created against The Forest's app id `242760` in the Steam game server account page. Treat it as a secret and never share it. > [!WARNING] > Leaving `serverSteamAccount` blank is the reason behind a specific and miserable bug report: the server runs, people play, and nothing is ever saved. Set a token before you let anybody build anything. It is also what stops the server being a persistently anonymous one in Valve's eyes, which matters if you ever want it listed properly. `targetFpsIdle 5` is why an empty Forest server costs almost nothing in CPU. Leave it. `enableVAC on` is worth it on any server you have advertised, and irrelevant on a private one. `allowCheats on` is the switch people turn on to build something and forget to turn off; it hands every player who joins a cheat console - and note that it only gates the built-in console, not mods, so it is not an anti-grief measure. On `difficulty`: Endnight's original documentation lists `Peaceful`, `Normal` and `Hard`, while the wiki for current builds adds `HardSurvival`. If you want the fourth one, set it and check the log line on start rather than assuming. #### Launch parameters and running more than one server Every config key has a matching command-line parameter in lower case, and the command line wins. That is how you run two servers from one install: ```text TheForestDedicatedServer.exe -batchmode -showlogs ^ -configfilepath "C:\theforest-server\server1.cfg" ^ -savefolderpath "C:\theforest-server\saves1\" ``` `-batchmode` runs it without a window, which is what you want for anything unattended, and `-nographics` alongside it keeps the CPU down by not rendering anything. `-showlogs` prints the event log so you can see joins, saves and errors. `-configfilepath` is effectively required in any setup you did not leave entirely on defaults, and `-savefolderpath` keeps the saves next to the server instead of in a profile folder that a Windows reinstall takes with it. Two traps in the parameter list. The names are lower case and do not always match the config keys, so `serverPasswordAdmin` in the file is `-serverpassword_admin` on the command line. And one of them is inverted: the config key is `allowBuildingDestruction on`, but the parameter is `-nobuildingdestruction`. Setting both without noticing gives you the opposite of what you meant. If you are weighing this against a panel, the practical difference is not the config file - it is everything around it. [Self-hosting at home versus renting](https://www.renode.space/blog/self-hosting-a-game-server-at-home-vs-renting) goes through the port forwarding, the uplink and the electricity. On a panel-based host the config file is already written and the same values appear as fields on the Startup tab; on RE:NODE you edit `Server.cfg` in the browser or over SFTP and restart, and the ports are allocated with the server. #### Ports and connecting | Port | Purpose | | --- | --- | | `8766` | Steam communication | | `27015` | Game traffic | | `27016` | Steam query - the server browser | The developer's own instructions say to open all three for both TCP and UDP, and there is no cost to doing exactly that. If you are opening them one protocol at a time, UDP is the one that carries the game. A server that runs but never appears in the browser is almost always the query port; a server that appears but refuses connections is the game port. [Game server ports explained](https://www.renode.space/blog/game-server-ports-explained) covers why those are two different things. ```diagram title: Three ports, three different failures player = Player | Steam client query = Query 27016 | server browser game = Game 27015 | play steam = Steam 8766 | Steam services server = Forest server | up to 8 players save = Save slot | every 15-30 min player -> query : lists the server player -> game : connects and plays player -> steam : Steam session query -> server game -> server steam -> server server -> save : autosave interval ``` Players join through Multiplayer, then the dedicated server list, which is filterable by name. Adding the server by address works from the same screen and is the reliable route when the list is being slow. If you have pointed a domain at the address, note that The Forest's browser still shows the IP; the name helps people type it, not find it. [Connecting a domain to a game server](https://www.renode.space/blog/connecting-a-domain-to-a-game-server) has the record you need. #### The admin password and the chat commands Set `serverPasswordAdmin` to something long. A player who joins the server using that password gets administration rights, and the commands are typed into multiplayer chat with a leading slash: | Command | Effect | | --- | --- | | `/help` | Lists the commands the server knows | | `/save` | Saves immediately to the active slot | | `/save [1-5]` | Saves to a specific slot | | `/kick [SteamID64]` | Removes a player | | `/ban [SteamID64]` | Bans a player | | `/unban [SteamID64]` | Lifts a ban | | `/restart` | Restarts the server. Treat as destructive - see below | | `/shutdown` | Stops the server | | `/openlogs` / `/closelogs` | Opens and closes the log window | | `/treeregrowmode on\|off` | Toggles tree regrowth live | | `/allowbuildingdestruction on\|off` | Toggles building destruction live | | `/allowenemiescreative on\|off` | Toggles enemies in creative live | Kick and ban take the 17-digit SteamID64, and since the update that fixed them they also accept a player name. `showLogs on` puts each connection in the log with the ID attached, which is the easiest place to read one from when a name is ambiguous. > [!WARNING] > Do not use `/restart` casually. The official wiki's own description of it is that it resets the save, and there are enough reports of lost worlds to take that at face value. If you want the server back on its feet, stop and start it from your host's controls, and run `/save` before you do anything at all. The last three commands in that table were added in an early patch and change the running server without a restart, which is genuinely handy for a group deciding mid-session whether cannibals should be allowed to eat the walls. `/help` on your own server is authoritative in a way that any list, including this one, is not. The debug console that players talk about, opened with F1, is a different thing entirely. That is a client-side cheat console, it is gated by `allowCheats`, and it is not an administration tool. Leaving `allowCheats off` is the right default for anything but a private building session. #### Save slots, moving a save and backups Saves live in the folder set by `saveFolderPath` or `-savefolderpath`, and under it each slot is its own directory. Five slots means five worlds on one server; changing `slot` and restarting swaps between them without losing either. Moving an existing world onto the server works, and it is one of the things this game does better than its sequel. Your own saves live under `AppData\LocalLow\SKS\TheForest\\`, in a `SinglePlayer` or `MultiPlayer` folder with `Slot1` to `Slot5` beneath it. Both kinds transfer. Stop the server, copy the **contents** of your local `SlotX` folder into the server's `Multiplayer/SlotX`, set `slot` to that number and `initType` to `Continue`, then start. Copy the whole folder's contents rather than picking out files, and take a backup of whatever was in that slot first. - **The autosave is not a backup.** It overwrites the same slot, so a save written in a bad state replaces the good one. - **The minimum interval is fifteen minutes.** Whatever else you do, that is the floor on how much a crash can cost. - **A clean stop saves.** `/shutdown`, or a normal stop from your panel. Killing the process does not. So the backup plan is a copy of the save folder, somewhere else, on a schedule, restored once to prove it works. [Backups that actually restore](https://www.renode.space/blog/backups-that-actually-restore) makes the case for that last clause better than a sentence here can. On RE:NODE the plans include backup slots, backups are stored off the machine they protect and restore with one button, and the Schedules tab will run a nightly copy and a weekly restart on a cron expression. #### Mods, updates and what breaks The Forest has no official mod support and no workshop pipeline for servers. What the community uses is ModAPI, which does list the dedicated server as a target of its own, separate from the game client. Mechanically it is a patcher: you point its launcher at the server's files, pick mods, and it rewrites assemblies in place. The rules are the familiar ones - the server and every client need the same mods at the same versions, a mismatch shows up as a failed connection or a desynced session, and none of it is supported by the developer. Not every client mod has a server-compatible build, so check per mod rather than per collection. Two practical consequences. Patched assemblies are overwritten by every `app_update`, so the mods have to be reapplied after each server update, and that is the moment to have a save backup rather than an hour later. And `allowCheats off` does not stop mods - it only gates the built-in console - so it is not the anti-grief setting people assume it is. The unusual part is that this is a much safer bet here than in most games. The Forest has been feature-complete for years, so the thing that normally breaks a modded server - a patch arriving on a Tuesday - has effectively stopped happening. A modded Forest server set up correctly tends to stay set up. If one does break, [what to do when a mod update breaks](https://www.renode.space/blog/what-to-do-when-a-mod-update-breaks) is the recovery order, and the short version is that you kept a copy of the working folder or you did not. Vanilla updates still need the server to match the client exactly. Run `app_update` after any patch and before anyone tries to join. #### Troubleshooting **The server does not show in the list.** Query port `27016` is closed or wrong. Test by adding the server by address; if that works, the game port is fine and only the browser is broken. **"Could not connect".** The game port `27015`, or `serverIP` set to an address the server cannot bind to. The address the server printed on its first run is the one it wants. **My world resets every restart.** `initType` is `New`. Set it to `Continue`. **My config changes do nothing.** You edited a different file from the one the server loads. Pass `-configfilepath` explicitly and there is no ambiguity. **A command-line change is ignored.** It is not - it is the other way round. Command-line parameters override the config file, so a leftover parameter in a start script beats the value you just edited. **The server never saves at all.** Not the interval, not the slot: `serverSteamAccount` is blank. A Forest server with no game server login token can run for hours and write nothing. **The server saves but people still lose progress.** The interval is fifteen minutes at best, and a killed process saves nothing. Use `/save` before anything risky and stop the server cleanly. **The log is full of `NullReferenceException` lines.** Almost certainly harmless. A headless Forest server produces a steady stream of null-reference spam from the input system that has nothing to do with the game, and the reference container projects filter it out by default. Look for a real error above or below it before you start changing things. **Adding the server to Steam favourites does not find it.** Sources disagree about whether the Steam favourites list wants the game port or the query port for this game. Try `address:27016` first and `address:27015` second; one of them will work. **Cannibals never appear.** `difficulty Peaceful`, or `veganMode on`. Peaceful is not "fewer enemies". #### FAQ ##### How many players can a The Forest dedicated server hold? Eight is the default and the number Endnight documents. There is no published maximum, and a handful of hosts sell more slots, but nothing in the game's own documentation supports going higher and the balance certainly does not. Setting `serverPlayers` lower is a good way to keep a group small and the memory use predictable. ##### Does The Forest dedicated server run on Linux? Not natively. Endnight shipped a Windows executable only, and on Linux it runs under Wine. That is a well-trodden path and is how a lot of hosted Forest servers work, but every path in the documentation is a Windows path. ##### Can I move my single-player world to the server? Yes. Copy the contents of your local `SlotX` folder - single-player or multiplayer, both work - into the server's `Multiplayer/SlotX`, set `slot` and `initType Continue`, and start. Back up whatever was in that slot first, because the copy overwrites it. ##### What is the difference between the server password and the admin password? `serverPassword` decides who can join at all. `serverPasswordAdmin` decides who gets the slash commands. A player who joins using the admin password is an admin, so treat it like a root password rather than a shared secret. ##### How often does the server save? Every `serverAutoSaveInterval` minutes, with a minimum of fifteen and a default of thirty. It also saves on a clean shutdown and whenever an admin types `/save`. It does not save when the process is killed. ##### Is it worth enabling VAC? On a public server, yes - it costs nothing and removes the laziest cheaters. On a private password-protected server for friends it makes no difference, and it will occasionally complicate things if anyone is running mods. The Forest servers on RE:NODE start at 3 GB on NVMe in Germany, with the Steam, game and query ports allocated and the config already in place - edit `Server.cfg` in the browser or over SFTP and restart. Backup slots are on every tier, and the Schedules tab runs the nightly copy for you. [See The Forest plans](https://www.renode.space/game-servers/the-forest) ## 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.