# The Isle Server Hosting - everything RE:NODE has published

> A The Isle 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-isle, 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-isle.

Contents: what it is, plans and prices, panel how-to, tutorials, rules for the assistant.

## What it is

The Isle: Evrima servers -- survive as a dinosaur on Gateway, with the queue and RCON ready to switch on. RCON password generated for you.

- Genres: Action, Adventure, Indie, Massively Multiplayer
- Developer: Afterthought LLC
- Released: 1 Dec, 2015
- Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/376210/

### What comes with every The Isle 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 Isle 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 Isle plan do you need?

Memory is what decides whether a server holds together, so start there. The Starter tier gives 6 GB and 2 vCPU, which suits a private group. The Advanced tier at 10 GB is where most public servers sit, and Premium at 14 GB exists for the servers that stay full.

Storage matters more than people expect once mods and backups are involved - plans here run from 25 GB to 70 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-isle or in the panel shop at https://panel.renode.space before quoting one.

| Plan | Price / month | Memory | CPU | NVMe disk | Databases | Backups | Ports |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $16 | 6 GB | 2 vCPU | 25 GB | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Standard | $21 | 8 GB | 2.5 vCPU | 35 GB | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Advanced | $27 | 10 GB | 3 vCPU | 45 GB | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Pro | $33 | 12 GB | 3.5 vCPU | 55 GB | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Premium | $40 | 14 GB | 3.5 vCPU | 70 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

3 posts, newest first. Each one follows in full after the list.

- [The Isle Evrima admin commands and RCON](https://www.renode.space/blog/the-isle-evrima-admin-commands) (2026-10-07): Run an Evrima server from RCON: admin setup in Game.ini, every RCON command and its comma syntax, kicks and bans, whitelists, announcements and saves.
- [The Isle Evrima AI, growth rates and mods](https://www.renode.space/blog/the-isle-evrima-mods-and-ai) (2026-10-07): Tune an Evrima server without mods: AI density and spawn classes, plants, migrations, growth multiplier, species rosters and realistic presets that perform.
- [The Isle Evrima dedicated server and Game.ini](https://www.renode.space/blog/the-isle-evrima-server-guide) (2026-09-21): Set up an Evrima server: SteamCMD and the beta branch, every Game.ini key, EOS registration, ports, RCON, admins, whitelists, growth and wipes.

---

### The Isle Evrima admin commands and RCON

Published 2026-10-07 by RE:NODE Team. https://www.renode.space/blog/the-isle-evrima-admin-commands

On an Evrima server, administration runs through RCON. You enable it in `Game.ini` with `bRconEnabled=True`, a port and a password, list your admins' SteamID64s under `AdminsSteamIDs`, and connect with a client written for The Isle - not a Source RCON tool, because Evrima speaks its own protocol. From there the commands are short lowercase words with comma-separated arguments: `announce`, `directmessage`, `playerlist`, `getplayerdata`, `kick`, `ban`, `save`, `wipecorpses`, the whitelist toggles, and live controls for AI and growth. This guide covers setup, every command worth knowing with its exact syntax, and a moderation routine that keeps a dinosaur server civil.

Installing the server, the full `Game.ini` and the ports are in [the Evrima dedicated server guide](https://www.renode.space/blog/the-isle-evrima-server-guide). AI and growth tuning are in [Evrima AI, growth and mods](https://www.renode.space/blog/the-isle-evrima-mods-and-ai).

#### Enabling RCON

RCON lives in the main game session section of `Game.ini`, at `TheIsle/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/Game.ini` on Linux and the `WindowsServer` equivalent on Windows:

Game.ini:

```ini
[/Script/TheIsle.TIGameSession]
bRconEnabled=True
RconPort=8888
RconPassword=use-a-long-random-string-here
```

Three rules apply:

- **Stop the server before editing.** Unreal rewrites `Game.ini` on shutdown, so changes made to a running server are overwritten when it stops.
- **The port is TCP.** The game itself uses UDP, but RCON is a TCP connection. A firewall rule for UDP only does nothing for it.
- **The port must be one the server actually has.** On a panel host that means one listed on the server's network allocations. `8888` is just the conventional example.

After a restart, check the log for the RCON listener starting. If it does not appear, the section header is wrong - the key has to sit under `[/Script/TheIsle.TIGameSession]`, spelled exactly - or the boolean is not `True`.

#### Admins and who RCON recognises

Admins are listed in a different section of the same file, one SteamID64 per repeated key:

Game.ini:

```ini
[/Script/TheIsle.TIGameStateBase]
AdminsSteamIDs=76561198012345678
AdminsSteamIDs=76561198087654321
WhitelistIDs=76561198011112222
VIPs=76561198033334444
```

The ID is the 17-digit SteamID64, not a profile name or vanity URL. The reliable way to get it is to have the person join once and read it from the server log, or from `playerlist` once RCON is running.

The admin list and the RCON password are two different things. The password lets a client connect to the RCON port; the admin list decides who the game treats as an administrator in game. In practice, the people holding the RCON password should also be in `AdminsSteamIDs`, and moderators who should not hold the password should not be given it - more on that below.

What admins can do inside the game, as opposed to through RCON, has varied between Evrima builds. Legacy The Isle had an in-game admin panel; Evrima's in-game tooling has been more limited and has changed with updates. Treat RCON as the dependable route for moderation, and use whatever in-game tools your current build offers for things that need eyes on the world.

#### Choosing an RCON client

Because the protocol is Evrima's own, the familiar Source tools - `rcon-cli`, mcrcon, the RCON consoles in generic server tools - connect and then fail. You need one of:

- **A community desktop or web RCON client** written for The Isle. Several exist; pick one that is maintained and whose source you can read or whose authors you can identify.
- **A Discord bot** that wraps the protocol. This is how most Evrima communities moderate: staff type commands in a private channel, and the bot logs who ran what.
- **A library**, if you want to build your own tooling. Open-source implementations exist for several languages, which is also the best documentation of the protocol, since official documentation is thin.

Whatever you choose holds your RCON password, which is effectively the keys to the server. A hosted bot means a third party holds it. That can be a fine trade for the convenience, but make it knowingly, and rotate the password if you stop using the tool. [RCON safely](https://www.renode.space/blog/rcon-safely) covers the general risks.

```diagram
title: How commands reach an Evrima server
staff = Staff | Discord or client
bot = RCON client or bot | holds the password
server = Evrima server | RCON on TCP
game = Players | UDP game port
logs = Server log | connections, chat
staff -> bot : commands
bot -> server : password, then commands
server -> game : announcements, kicks
server -> logs
```

#### The command reference

Arguments are separated by commas, not spaces. That is the single most important quirk: `directmessage 76561198000000000,Hello` works, and the same thing with a space after the ID does not. Command names are lowercase.

##### Communication

| Command | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| `announce <message>` | Broadcast to every player |
| `directmessage <SteamID64>,<message>` | Private message to one player |
| `toggleglobalchat` | Turn global chat off or on |

##### Players

| Command | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| `playerlist` | Connected players with their IDs |
| `getplayerdata` | Detailed data on players: species, growth, position and more |
| `kick <SteamID64>,<reason>` | Remove a player; they can rejoin |
| `ban <SteamID64>,<reason>` | Ban a player |
| `slay <SteamID64>` | Kill a player's dinosaur, where the build supports it |

##### Whitelist and queue

| Command | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| `togglewhitelist` | Turn whitelist mode off or on |
| `addwhitelist <SteamID64>` | Add an ID to the whitelist |
| `removewhitelist <SteamID64>` | Remove an ID |
| `getqueuestatus` | Current state of the join queue |

##### Server and world

| Command | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| `save` | Force a save |
| `serverdetails` | Name, map, player count and settings summary |
| `wipecorpses` | Remove every corpse from the map |
| `updateplayables <classes>` | Change which species may be selected |
| `toggleai` | Turn AI spawning off or on |
| `aidensity <value>` | Change AI density live |
| `disableaiclasses <classes>` | Stop specific AI species spawning |
| `togglemigrations` | Turn migration zones off or on |
| `togglehumans` | Turn playable humans off or on |

##### Growth

| Command | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| `togglegrowthmultiplier` | Turn the growth multiplier off or on |
| `setgrowthmultiplier <value>` | Change growth speed live |

Not every command exists on every build: the RCON command set has grown over Evrima's development, and a few commands differ between client tools in name or argument order. If a command is rejected, check the version of your tool against the current server build before assuming the syntax here is wrong.

> [!NOTE]
> Live changes through RCON - AI density, growth multiplier, playable species - are not written back to `Game.ini`. The next restart loads whatever the file says. If you want a change to stick, edit the file too, with the server stopped.

#### Kicks, bans and the evidence behind them

Evrima disputes are mostly about behaviour the game does not enforce: killing a juvenile you were grouped with, hunting in a nesting area your rules protect, abusing a mechanic. The commands are easy; making the decision stick is the work.

A routine that holds up:

1. **Identify by ID.** Run `playerlist` and copy the SteamID64. Dinosaur names and Steam names are not unique, and banning the wrong person is worse than banning nobody.
2. **Check the record.** The server log records connections; your RCON bot, if it logs chat and kills, records the rest. Note the time and what you saw.
3. **Warn privately first** for anything short of cheating. `directmessage` with a reason converts more people than a public kick does.
4. **Kick with a reason** for a repeat. The reason is shown to the player.
5. **Ban with a reason that names the rule.** Record the ID, date, reason and evidence in a staff channel or spreadsheet. If you ever have to reverse a ban, or a ban is challenged, that record is the only thing you have.

Keep that ban record independently of the server. A reinstall, a host move or a config mistake can lose the server's own list, and the cheater you banned last month will notice before you do. Back up the config and database folders together - see the backup section of [the Evrima server guide](https://www.renode.space/blog/the-isle-evrima-server-guide).

For the policy side - writing rules, appeals, choosing moderators - [server rules, moderation and staff](https://www.renode.space/blog/server-rules-moderation-and-staff) applies to The Isle as much as anything.

#### Announcements and restart warnings

`announce` is the command you will use most. The patterns that work:

- **Restart warnings** at 15, 5 and 1 minute before a scheduled restart, followed by `save`. Players can find safety and log out instead of losing a dinosaur to a disconnect in a fight.
- **Event notices** for migrations, hunts or community events.
- **Rule reminders** at peak hours, short and specific.

Most RCON bots can schedule announcements. If yours cannot, a host's scheduler can still restart the server at a fixed time; on RE:NODE the Schedules tab takes a cron expression and runs ordered tasks with delays, so a backup and a clean restart can always land at the same quiet hour. [Restart schedules that help](https://www.renode.space/blog/restart-schedules-that-help) covers how often is worth it.

Keep announcements rare enough that people read them. A server that broadcasts every ten minutes trains players to ignore the one message that matters.

#### Everyday admin jobs and the commands behind them

Most days on an Evrima server are not about bans. They are a handful of small jobs that RCON handles well once you know which command fits.

**A player is stuck or bugged.** A dinosaur trapped in terrain or frozen after a desync is common enough that every server needs an answer. Where your build supports `slay`, killing the stuck dinosaur lets the player respawn - but it costs them their growth, so ask first and record it. Some communities compensate with a growth event later. Do not promise restorations you cannot deliver: without a mod framework there is no supported way to hand a player back a grown dinosaur by command.

**The map is littered with bodies.** After a mass migration or a big fight, corpses pile up. `wipecorpses` removes them all at once. It also removes food carnivores were relying on, so announce it a minute ahead rather than running it in the middle of a feeding frenzy.

**Before a restart.** Send `announce` warnings, then `save` just before the stop. A clean stop saves anyway, but an explicit save immediately before means a crash during shutdown loses nothing.

**Checking a complaint.** `playerlist` confirms who is online and their IDs; `getplayerdata` shows what each player is playing and how far grown, which is often enough to tell whether a "juvenile killed by an adult in a nesting zone" report is plausible before you start reading logs.

**Quiet hours.** `getqueuestatus` and `serverdetails` at peak tell you whether the server is full and turning people away, which is the information you need before deciding whether to raise slots or tighten AI.

```text
announce Server restart in 5 minutes - find a safe spot and log out.
save
directmessage 76561198000000000,Your report is logged; staff will review the kill tonight.
wipecorpses
```

#### Whitelists, VIPs and the queue

The whitelist turns a server allow-list only. It needs both the toggle and a populated list:

Game.ini:

```ini
[/Script/TheIsle.TIGameSession]
bServerWhitelist=True

[/Script/TheIsle.TIGameStateBase]
WhitelistIDs=76561198011112222
WhitelistIDs=76561198033334444
```

Adding people through `addwhitelist` takes effect without a restart, which is the main reason to use RCON for it. As with other live changes, check whether your build writes the addition to the file; if it does not, add the ID to `Game.ini` at the next stop so it survives a restart.

`VIPs` bypass the join queue. On a busy public server, give VIP status to the people who keep the community running - staff, event organisers, long-standing regulars - and the queue becomes a feature rather than a complaint.

`getqueuestatus` tells you who is waiting, which is useful when deciding whether to raise `MaxPlayerCount`. A queue that is full every evening and a server that stays healthy at that load are both signs it is time; a queue with a struggling server is a sign it is not.

#### Securing admin access

The RCON password is a root password for the game. Treat it like one:

- **Long and random**, stored in a password manager, never pasted in a Discord channel.
- **Held by as few people as possible.** If moderators use a bot, the bot holds the password and moderators hold Discord roles. Removing a moderator then means removing a role, not changing a password everybody knows.
- **Rotated** when someone with access leaves, or when you stop using a tool that had it.
- **Separate from hosting access.** Moderators need RCON commands, not your hosting account. If someone needs files or the console, give them their own sub-user with only those permissions - [subusers and least privilege](https://www.renode.space/blog/subusers-and-least-privilege) explains why.

If the password leaks, change it in `Game.ini`, restart, and then read the log for what was done with it. [What to do when your server is hacked](https://www.renode.space/blog/what-to-do-when-your-server-is-hacked) has the containment order.

#### Troubleshooting

**RCON client cannot connect.** The port is not allocated to the server, is blocked, or is being tested as UDP. Confirm `bRconEnabled=True` under the right section header and that the listener started in the log.

**It connects but commands fail.** You are using a Source RCON tool, or a client written for an older protocol. Use a maintained Evrima client.

**Commands with arguments do nothing.** Arguments are comma-separated with no space after the comma. `kick 76561198000000000,Spawn killing`.

**A live change disappeared after a restart.** RCON changes are not written to `Game.ini`. Edit the file with the server stopped.

**Whitelisted players cannot join.** The whitelist is on but the IDs are malformed or under the wrong section. Each must be a bare SteamID64 on its own `WhitelistIDs=` line under `[/Script/TheIsle.TIGameStateBase]`.

**Edits to admins vanish.** The file was edited while the server ran and was rewritten on shutdown. Stop, edit, start.

#### FAQ

##### Does The Isle Evrima work with normal RCON tools?

No. Evrima uses its own RCON protocol, so Source RCON clients connect but cannot run commands. Use a client or bot built for The Isle.

##### How do I add an admin to an Evrima server?

Stop the server, add an `AdminsSteamIDs=` line with their SteamID64 under `[/Script/TheIsle.TIGameStateBase]` in `Game.ini`, and start it again. One line per admin.

##### Why does my RCON command with a message not work?

Evrima separates arguments with commas. Write `directmessage 76561198000000000,Your message` with the comma directly after the ID.

##### How do I send a server-wide announcement?

Use `announce` followed by the message. Most RCON bots can also schedule announcements for restart warnings.

##### Do RCON changes survive a restart?

Not usually. Live changes to AI density, growth or playable species apply to the running server only. Make the same change in `Game.ini` with the server stopped to keep it.

##### Can moderators kick and ban without the RCON password?

Yes, through a bot that holds the password and exposes commands to a Discord role. That way you can remove a moderator without changing the password.

The Isle servers on RE:NODE start at 6 GB with three port allocations - game, query and one more for RCON or the queue - and ports can be added on the Network tab. `Game.ini` is editable in the browser or over SFTP, and backups and a Schedules tab for restarts come with every tier.

[See The Isle plans](https://www.renode.space/game-servers/the-isle)

---

### The Isle Evrima AI, growth rates and mods

Published 2026-10-07 by RE:NODE Team. https://www.renode.space/blog/the-isle-evrima-mods-and-ai

The Isle Evrima has no supported mod loader and no Steam Workshop, so a server cannot be "modded" in the way a DayZ or Valheim server can. What sets one Evrima server apart from another is configuration - how much AI food is on the map, how fast dinosaurs grow, which species are playable, how migrations and day length shape the routine - plus the RCON tooling and moderation around it. The settings that do that live in `Game.ini`: `bSpawnAI`, `AIDensity`, `AISpawnInterval` and `DisallowedAIClasses` for AI; `bSpawnPlants` and `PlantSpawnMultiplier` for herbivore food; the migration and patrol switches; `GrowthMultiplier` for progression; and `AllowedClasses` for the roster. Several of them can also be changed live over RCON. This guide explains what each one does to gameplay and to server load, and gives starting presets for the common server styles.

Installation, ports and the full key list are in [the Evrima dedicated server guide](https://www.renode.space/blog/the-isle-evrima-server-guide). Commands are in [Evrima admin commands and RCON](https://www.renode.space/blog/the-isle-evrima-admin-commands).

#### Mods on Evrima: what exists and what does not

People arriving from other games ask for a mod list. The honest answer:

- **No server mod framework.** There is no Oxide, BepInEx or equivalent for Evrima, and no Workshop integration. You cannot add species, items or scripts to the server.
- **No client mod support.** Players run the official client. Modified client files are not a supported way to add content, and on servers with anti-cheat they are a way to get banned.
- **The Legacy branch is a different game.** Legacy The Isle had a modding scene and modded servers. Evrima is a rewrite; Legacy mods do not apply, and Legacy servers are not joinable by current clients.

What communities build instead:

| Instead of mods | What it gives you |
| --- | --- |
| `Game.ini` tuning | Growth pace, AI food supply, roster, day length, migrations |
| RCON bots | Discord moderation, logs of kills and chat, scheduled announcements |
| Discord integrations | Player stats, role-based perks such as VIP queue access |
| Rules and events | Nesting rules, hunts, migration events run by staff |

That is less than a modded game offers, but it is not nothing. A well-tuned realism server with good moderation and regular events keeps players for months. If a server advertises "mods" on Evrima, check what it means before you assume you can replicate it.

#### How the AI system works

AI in Evrima is the food supply for carnivores and part of the ecosystem everyone moves through. It is not a threat layer in the way zombies are in DayZ - the dangerous animals on an Evrima server are other players.

Game.ini:

```ini
[/Script/TheIsle.TIGameSession]
bSpawnAI=True
AIDensity=1
AISpawnInterval=40
DisallowedAIClasses=Compsognathus
bSpawnPlants=True
PlantSpawnMultiplier=1
```

| Key | Default | Effect on play | Effect on load |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `bSpawnAI` | `True` | Off removes AI prey entirely | Largest single saving |
| `AIDensity` | `1` | How much prey exists | Scales AI simulation cost |
| `AISpawnInterval` | `40` | Seconds between spawn checks | Lower checks more often |
| `DisallowedAIClasses` | empty | Removes listed AI species | Small |
| `bSpawnPlants` | `True` | Herbivore food from plants | Small |
| `PlantSpawnMultiplier` | `1` | Plant density | Small to moderate |

AI species are critters and prey animals rather than full playable dinosaurs. At the time of writing the AI classes include Boar, Compsognathus, Deer, Goat, Pterodactylus and Seaturtle; the list grows with updates, so read the class names from your own build's files or tooling rather than from a guide. `DisallowedAIClasses` is a repeatable key, one class per line, and an unknown class name is ignored silently.

#### AIDensity: the dial that matters

`AIDensity` is both a gameplay and a performance setting, and it is the first thing to reach for in either case.

**For gameplay**, it decides how easy carnivores find food. At `1`, small and mid-sized carnivores can sustain themselves on AI while growing. Push it down to `0.5` and hunting other players becomes the main food source, which raises tension and PvP but also makes the early game harder for new players. Push it up and carnivores grow without meeting anyone, which empties the social side of the map.

**For performance**, every AI animal is simulated: movement, perception, behaviour. On a busy server, AI is a large share of the main thread's work. If the server struggles at peak, lowering `AIDensity` to `0.6` or `0.5` is a far better first step than turning AI off or cutting player slots.

Two things to avoid:

- **`bSpawnAI=False` to save CPU.** It saves a lot, and it breaks the carnivore loop. The map fills with starving carnivores whose only food is players and each other. Use it for test servers and special events, not as a performance fix.
- **High density with short spawn intervals.** `AISpawnInterval` is how often the server checks whether to spawn more. Lowering it makes AI refill faster after hunting, at a steady CPU cost. The default is a sensible balance.

`AIDensity` can be changed live with the `aidensity` RCON command, and AI can be toggled with `toggleai`. That is useful for a quick experiment at peak hours: lower density for an evening, watch both the server's load graph and how players react, then put the value you settle on into `Game.ini` - live RCON changes do not survive a restart. [Reading a server load graph](https://www.renode.space/blog/reading-a-server-load-graph) explains what to look for.

#### Plants, migrations and patrol zones

Herbivores eat plants, and plant spawning has its own switches. `PlantSpawnMultiplier` above `1` makes herbivore life easier and reduces the need to travel; below `1` concentrates herbivores around the best feeding areas, which is also where carnivores will wait for them. That concentration is how you create the hunting grounds a realism server is built around.

Migrations move the good feeding areas around the map over time:

Game.ini:

```ini
bEnableMigration=True
MaxMigrationTime=5400
bEnableMassMigration=True
MassMigrationTime=43200
bEnablePatrolZones=True
```

Read those as three separate systems:

- `bEnableMigration` turns migration zones on; `MaxMigrationTime` is how long one lasts, in seconds.
- `bEnableMassMigration` adds server-wide migration events; `MassMigrationTime` is the gap between them - twelve hours with the value above.
- `bEnablePatrolZones` gives carnivores patrol areas that move around the map.

Migrations are what make Evrima's map feel alive: herbivores move, carnivores follow, and the routes cross. Turning them off makes the server more predictable and much more static. They also concentrate players, which concentrates load; a mass migration on a full server is a good moment to check the server is coping. `togglemigrations` over RCON lets you suspend them temporarily without a restart.

#### Growth rate and progression

`GrowthMultiplier` decides how long it takes to grow from hatchling to adult. At `1` a large species takes many hours of real play; that is the developers' intended pace and the basis of realism servers. Community servers commonly run between `2` and `5`.

Game.ini:

```ini
GrowthMultiplier=2
bEnableMutations=True
CorpseDecayMultiplier=1
```

What the multiplier actually changes:

- **Who can play a large species.** At `1`, adults are rare and earned, mostly held by regulars. At `5`, a player can reach adult in an evening, and the map fills with large dinosaurs.
- **The food balance.** Adults eat far more than juveniles. A high growth rate with default AI and plant density produces a server full of hungry adults, and the food system was not designed for that. Past about `10`, it breaks down.
- **Retention.** A slow growth rate gives players a reason to come back every day. A fast one front-loads the reward and can leave people with nothing to do once they reach adult.

The multiplier can be changed live with `setgrowthmultiplier` and switched off and on with `togglegrowthmultiplier` over RCON. Use that for events - a double-growth weekend is a reliable way to fill a server - and keep the permanent value in `Game.ini`. Change the permanent value at a wipe, not mid-season. Everyone who spent hours growing at the old rate notices when newcomers do it in a fraction of the time.

`bEnableMutations` turns on the mutation system, which adds traits that players unlock and pass on. `CorpseDecayMultiplier` controls how fast bodies rot; lower values leave more food lying around, which softens a low AI density.

#### The species roster

`AllowedClasses` limits which species players may choose. Without it, everything the build offers is playable. With it, only the listed species appear on the selection screen:

Game.ini:

```ini
AllowedClasses=Carnotaurus
AllowedClasses=Ceratosaurus
AllowedClasses=Dryosaurus
AllowedClasses=Gallimimus
AllowedClasses=Hypsilophodon
AllowedClasses=Pachycephalosaurus
AllowedClasses=Stegosaurus
AllowedClasses=Tenontosaurus
```

Copy the exact class names from the `Game.ini` your server shipped with or from your RCON tool, never from memory. An invalid name is ignored, and the usual result is a roster missing a species with no error to say why. New species arrive with game updates; check the roster after each one.

Restricting the roster is a balance tool. Common uses:

- **Removing a species that dominates** your server's player count or fights, until the developers rebalance it.
- **Themed servers**, such as herbivore-heavy or small-carnivore-only, which play very differently from the full roster.
- **Keeping the AI-to-carnivore ratio sane** on a small server. Ten large carnivores and ten players is a different game from ten large carnivores and sixty.

`updateplayables` over RCON changes the roster live. Players already playing a removed species are not usually removed from the game, so use it for planning rather than as an instant fix.

#### Presets by server style

These are starting points, not answers. Change one dial at a time from here and watch both the players and the load graph.

| Setting | Realism | Semi-realism | Casual |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `GrowthMultiplier` | `1` | `2`-`3` | `4`-`5` |
| `AIDensity` | `0.75`-`1` | `1` | `1` |
| `PlantSpawnMultiplier` | `0.75`-`1` | `1` | `1.25` |
| `CorpseDecayMultiplier` | `1` | `1` | `0.75` |
| `bEnableMigration` | `True` | `True` | `True` |
| `ServerDayLengthMinutes` | `45`+ | `45` | `45` |
| `ServerNightLengthMinutes` | `20` | `20` | `15` |
| Roster | Full or curated | Full | Full |

Realism servers pair the slow default growth with rules enforced by staff - nesting rules, no killing within your own group, no excessive combat logging - and depend on moderation more than settings. Casual servers trade the long grind for fast progress and need more food to support the adults that results in. Semi-realism, the most common style on public lists, sits between them. Whichever you pick, put it in the server name; players choose servers by style before anything else.

#### Events built from live settings

Because AI, growth, migrations and the roster can all be changed over RCON, a server without mods can still run events that feel different from normal play. A few that work:

- **Double-growth weekends.** `setgrowthmultiplier` to twice your normal value on Friday evening, back on Sunday night. The simplest event there is, and reliably the best attended.
- **Famine.** Lower `aidensity` sharply for an evening and announce it. Carnivores have to hunt players or starve, herbivores herd together, and the map gets very tense for a couple of hours.
- **Species nights.** Use `updateplayables` to limit the roster to one or two species for an event - a pack-hunter night, a herbivore-only migration run - then restore it.
- **Migration events.** Time a staff-run hunt to a mass migration, using `togglemigrations` to hold one back until the event starts.

Announce each one beforehand with `announce`, run it at a fixed time, and restore the normal values afterwards - including in `Game.ini` if you edited the file for it. An event that silently becomes the new normal because somebody forgot to switch it back is how servers drift away from the style their players chose them for.

#### Performance: what AI and growth cost

Settings change the load, not just the game:

- **AI density** is the largest controllable cost. Lower it before lowering slots.
- **Growth rate** affects load indirectly: more adults mean larger, more complex characters in fights and more food consumption, and a busier map.
- **Player count** remains the biggest cost overall. `MaxPlayerCount` above what the hardware sustains at peak is the most common cause of evening lag.
- **Migrations** concentrate players and AI, briefly raising load in one area.

The general rules - check which resource is actually at its limit, single-thread speed beats core count - are in [CPU vs RAM for game servers](https://www.renode.space/blog/cpu-vs-ram-for-game-servers). On RE:NODE the console graphs memory and CPU against the plan's limits, which is what you need to see whether an AI change made a difference. If the server ever reaches its memory limit, it is stopped and restarted clean rather than left to swap, so a server tuned close to the edge loses progress since the last save. Leave headroom.

#### Troubleshooting

**Carnivores are starving and the server is all PvP.** `AIDensity` too low, AI disabled, or too many carnivores for the food. Raise density in steps of 0.25.

**Everyone is an adult within a day.** `GrowthMultiplier` too high for your audience. Lower it at the next wipe, and announce it.

**An AI species still spawns after disallowing it.** The class name is misspelt, or the key is under the wrong section header. Check against your build's class names.

**A species is missing from the selection screen.** It is not listed in `AllowedClasses`, or its name is wrong. Remove the block entirely to allow everything, then rebuild the list from the shipped names.

**RCON changes to AI or growth were lost.** Live changes are not saved to the file. Edit `Game.ini` with the server stopped.

**Lag during mass migrations.** Concentrated players and AI. Lower `AIDensity` slightly, or reduce `MaxPlayerCount` if it happens at every peak.

#### FAQ

##### Can I install mods on an Evrima server?

No. Evrima has no supported mod loader and no Workshop. Servers differentiate through `Game.ini` settings, RCON tools, Discord integrations and moderation.

##### What is a good AIDensity for a public server?

Start at `1` and lower it to `0.75` or `0.5` if the server struggles at peak or you want more PvP pressure on carnivores. Avoid turning AI off on a live server.

##### What GrowthMultiplier do most servers use?

Realism servers keep `1`. Semi-realism servers commonly use `2` to `3`, casual ones `4` to `5`. Past about `10` the food system cannot support the number of adults.

##### Can I change growth rate without a restart?

Yes, with `setgrowthmultiplier` over RCON, which is how double-growth events work. The change lasts until the next restart unless you also edit `Game.ini`.

##### How do I remove a species from my server?

List the species you want under repeated `AllowedClasses` keys, leaving the unwanted one out. Use the exact class names from your build's files.

##### Does turning AI off improve performance?

Considerably, but it breaks the carnivore food loop. Lowering `AIDensity` gets most of the saving without that cost.

The Isle servers on RE:NODE start at 6 GB with three port allocations, `Game.ini` editable in the browser or over SFTP, memory and CPU graphs against the plan's limits in the console, and backup slots on every tier. Moving up a tier changes the limit on the server you already have.

[See The Isle plans](https://www.renode.space/game-servers/the-isle)

---

### The Isle Evrima dedicated server and Game.ini

Published 2026-09-21 by RE:NODE Team. https://www.renode.space/blog/the-isle-evrima-server-guide

The Isle's Evrima server is a free anonymous SteamCMD download that you have to pull from a beta branch, configure through a single `Game.ini`, and register with Epic Online Services before anybody can find it. Budget 6 GB of memory for a small server and 12 GB or more if you want a hundred slots, three ports, and an evening of reading class names. Everything else is detail - but it is the detail that decides whether your server has thirty regulars in a month or an empty map and a Discord nobody posts in.

Two things catch almost everyone. The first is the `-beta evrima` flag: without it SteamCMD hands you the retired Legacy build, which no current client can join. The second is that a correctly configured server can run flawlessly for hours and still never appear in the in-game browser, because browser registration goes through EOS and has nothing to do with your game port being open.

#### What the Evrima dedicated server is

Evrima is the ground-up rewrite of The Isle. The old Legacy branch is retired and is not what players are running, so a server built on it is invisible in practice. The dedicated server is a separate Steam application (app id `412680`), free, downloadable with `login anonymous`, and it does not need an account that owns the game.

Unlike a Valheim or a Minecraft server, this one really does simulate the world. It owns dinosaur growth, hunger and thirst timers, AI critter and plant spawning, weather, migration zones and carnivore patrol zones. That is why the memory and CPU numbers below are higher than people expect from a game with a modest player cap, and why `AIDensity` is a performance setting and not just a gameplay one.

Two more things to know before you plan anything:

- **Player progress lives on the server, per Steam account.** In current builds each player's state is written to its own file under `TheIsle/Saved/Databases/`, keyed by SteamID64. That is how growth survives a restart, how you wipe, and how you can hand one player their dinosaur back without touching anybody else.
- **There is no supported mod loader.** What separates one community server from another is configuration, RCON tooling and moderation, not mods. If you are arriving from a game where plugins carry the server, adjust your expectations: here the config file and the rules you enforce are the product.

#### Requirements and resource usage

Evrima is a heavy Unreal server. Memory scales with the number of loaded players, the AI population and how much of the map has been touched; CPU scales with the same things but is bound by one dominant thread.

| Slots | RAM | vCPU | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Up to 20, private group | 6 GB | 2 | Comfortable with default AI density |
| 20-50, small community | 8 GB | 2.5 | The common case for a new server |
| 50-80, busy public | 10-12 GB | 3 | Watch AI density and migrations |
| 80-100, full | 12-14 GB | 3.5 | Expect tick cost at peak hours |

- **CPU**: the simulation leans on a single thread, so clock speed beats core count. The extra cores still earn their keep on saving, networking and asset streaming. If the server feels sluggish only at peak, check which of the two is actually at its limit before paying for more of the other - [CPU vs RAM for game servers](https://www.renode.space/blog/cpu-vs-ram-for-game-servers) walks through how to tell.
- **Disk**: roughly 15 GB installed, and it grows with every content patch, so do not size the disk at exactly what the install needs today. The databases folder is small by comparison, a few megabytes for a busy server.
- **Network**: modest per player, but a hundred players moving through a jungle is a steady stream of position updates. Latency matters more than throughput for how the game feels; see [latency, jitter and packet loss](https://www.renode.space/blog/latency-jitter-and-packet-loss) for telling those apart.

The single biggest lever on cost is `MaxPlayerCount`. Setting it to 100 because the field allows it, on a plan sized for 30, produces a server that is fine at 3am and unplayable at 8pm. Pick a number you can actually serve and raise it when the queue is consistently full.

#### Installing the server with SteamCMD

On your own Linux machine:

```bash
$ steamcmd +force_install_dir /home/isle/server +login anonymous \
    +app_update 412680 -beta evrima validate +quit
$ cd /home/isle/server
$ ./TheIsleServer.sh -log -Port=7777 -QueryPort=27015
```

Let it start once and then stop it. The first run creates the configuration tree, which is where everything else in this guide happens:

```text
TheIsle/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/Game.ini
TheIsle/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/Engine.ini
TheIsle/Saved/Databases/
```

On Windows the same files sit under `TheIsle/Saved/Config/WindowsServer/`. On a panel-based host you do not type the SteamCMD line at all: the branch and the launch arguments are fields on the Startup tab, and the config files are edited in the browser or over SFTP. [SteamCMD explained](https://www.renode.space/blog/steamcmd-explained) covers app ids, branches and validation in general if this is your first Steam dedicated server.

> [!WARNING]
> Never edit `Game.ini` while the server is running. Unreal rewrites the file on shutdown, so a running server will happily overwrite everything you just typed. Stop, edit, start.

#### Game.ini: the settings that matter

Everything lives in two section headers. Get the header wrong by one character and the server does not complain - it silently falls back to defaults, which is why people swear they set the growth multiplier and it did nothing.

TheIsle/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/Game.ini:

```ini
[/Script/TheIsle.TIGameSession]
ServerName=Northern Migration | EU | Semi-Realism
MaxPlayerCount=60
MapName=Gateway
Discord=https://discord.gg/example
bServerPassword=False
ServerPassword=
bServerWhitelist=False
bQueueEnabled=True
QueuePort=10000
bRconEnabled=True
RconPort=8888
RconPassword=change-this
GrowthMultiplier=2
CorpseDecayMultiplier=1
bEnableHumans=False
bEnableMutations=True
bSpawnAI=True
AIDensity=1
AISpawnInterval=40
bSpawnPlants=True
PlantSpawnMultiplier=1
ServerDayLengthMinutes=45
ServerNightLengthMinutes=20
bServerDynamicWeather=True
bEnableMigration=True
bEnablePatrolZones=True
```

##### Identity and access

| Key | Default | What it does |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `ServerName` | empty | The name in the browser. Put the region and ruleset in it |
| `MaxPlayerCount` | `100` | Slots. Size it to your plan, not to the field |
| `MapName` | `Gateway` | Case sensitive. Gateway is the current Evrima map |
| `Discord` | empty | Shown to players in game; the cheapest recruitment you have |
| `bServerPassword` | `False` | Must be `True` for `ServerPassword` to be enforced |
| `bServerWhitelist` | `False` | Allow-list mode, driven by the ID list below |
| `bQueueEnabled` | `True` | Holds players when full instead of refusing them |

The password pair trips people up: setting `ServerPassword` alone does nothing. Both keys have to change.

##### Growth, diets and the shape of the game

`GrowthMultiplier` is the setting your players will judge you on. At `1` a large dinosaur takes many hours of real time to reach adult. Community servers commonly run `2` to `5`; the developers' own guidance is to keep it low, and anything past about `10` produces adults faster than the food and AI systems can support. Change it only between wipes if you can - a mid-week jump from 1 to 5 makes everyone who ground out their growth feel robbed.

| Key | Default | What it does |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `GrowthMultiplier` | `1` | Growth speed. `2`-`5` is the usual community range |
| `CorpseDecayMultiplier` | `1` | How fast bodies rot. Lower means more food lying about |
| `bEnableHumans` | `False` | Playable humans, where the build supports them |
| `bEnableMutations` | `True` | The mutation system |
| `bAllowReplay` | `False` | Server-side replay recording |
| `AllowedClasses` | all | One line per playable species |

`AllowedClasses` is a repeated key, one line per species, using the exact class names the shipped `Game.ini` already lists. Copy them from the file rather than typing what you think a dinosaur is called - an invalid name is ignored, and the usual result is a roster missing one species nobody can explain. Delete a line to remove that species from the selection screen. Leave the block absent and everything is allowed.

##### AI, plants and weather

| Key | Default | What it does |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `bSpawnAI` | `True` | AI critters, the carnivore food supply |
| `AIDensity` | `1` | How many. The main performance dial |
| `AISpawnInterval` | `40` | Seconds between spawn checks |
| `DisallowedAIClasses` | empty | Block individual AI species |
| `bSpawnPlants` | `True` | Plant spawning, the herbivore food supply |
| `PlantSpawnMultiplier` | `1` | Plant density |
| `bUseRegionSpawning` | `False` | Restrict player spawns to map regions |
| `ServerDayLengthMinutes` | `45` | Length of daytime |
| `ServerNightLengthMinutes` | `20` | Length of night, deliberately shorter |
| `bServerDynamicWeather` | `True` | Weather changes over time |
| `bEnableMigration` | `True` | Species migration zones |
| `MaxMigrationTime` | `5400` | Seconds a migration zone lasts |
| `bEnableMassMigration` | `True` | Server-wide migration events |
| `MassMigrationTime` | `43200` | Seconds between them, so twelve hours |
| `bEnablePatrolZones` | `True` | Carnivore AI patrol zones |

Turning AI off makes the server cheaper to run and the game much worse: carnivores have nothing to eat but each other and players, and the map empties out socially as well as literally. If you are short of CPU, drop `AIDensity` to `0.5` before you consider `bSpawnAI=False`.

#### Ports, EOS and appearing in the browser

| Port | Protocol | Purpose |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `7777` | UDP | Game traffic |
| `27015` | UDP | Steam query |
| `8888` | TCP | RCON, on a protocol of its own |
| `10000` | TCP | Join queue |

The game and query ports are set on the command line (`-Port=` and `-QueryPort=`); the RCON and queue ports come from `Game.ini`. All four need to be reachable if you want all four features. UDP is the part people get wrong - a firewall rule that only allows TCP produces a server that starts, logs happily and accepts nobody. [Game server ports explained](https://www.renode.space/blog/game-server-ports-explained) covers why the query port exists at all and what breaks when only one of the pair is open.

Browser registration is separate from all of this. Evrima registers with Epic Online Services, and the server needs valid EOS dedicated-server credentials in `Engine.ini` under an `[EpicOnlineServices]` header, with `DedicatedServerClientId` and `DedicatedServerClientSecret`. Recent builds ship a working pair; if yours does not, or if a patch invalidates it, the log shows an EOS login failure and the server never lists even though players can still join by other means. Registration also takes a few minutes after start, so give a fresh server five minutes before deciding it is broken.

```diagram
title: How a player finds and joins an Evrima server
player = Player | The Isle client
eos = EOS matchmaker | the server browser
server = Evrima server | UDP 7777
queue = Join queue | TCP 10000
admin = Admin tool | RCON TCP 8888
server -> eos : registers at start
player -> eos : browses
player -> server : direct UDP
player --> queue : when full
admin -> server : commands
```

#### Admins, whitelists, VIPs and the queue

Access lists live under a different header, and this is the second place a typo costs you an hour:

```ini
[/Script/TheIsle.TIGameStateBase]
AdminsSteamIDs=76561198012345678
AdminsSteamIDs=76561198087654321
WhitelistIDs=76561198011112222
VIPs=76561198033334444
```

Each key is repeated, one SteamID64 per line. The 17-digit ID is not the Steam profile name or the vanity URL; the reliable way to get it is to have the person join once and read the ID out of the server log, where every connection is recorded. Admins listed here are what RCON recognises, so an RCON password without an admin entry gets you a connection and no authority.

`bServerWhitelist=True` plus a populated `WhitelistIDs` block turns the server allow-list only. Leave the whitelist on with an empty list and nobody can join, including you. `VIPs` bypass the queue, which is the practical use of the queue system: a public server that is full at peak but always has room for the people who keep it alive.

Adding people to these lists means stopping the server, editing the file and starting again. On a busy community that is disruptive enough that most admins batch whitelist additions into one daily restart rather than doing them as they come in. The Schedules tab on a panel host can run that restart on a cron expression so it always lands at the same quiet hour.

#### RCON and remote administration

Evrima's RCON is not Source RCON. It speaks a protocol of its own, so `rcon-cli`, mcrcon and the Source tools in your bookmarks will connect and then fail to do anything useful. You need a client written for The Isle; several community tools and Discord bots exist, and every decent one exposes the same set of operations: broadcast an announcement, direct-message a player, list who is online, kick, ban, save, toggle the whitelist and toggle global chat, and adjust AI spawning without a restart.

That last one is the reason to enable RCON at all. Being able to announce a restart, kick a rule-breaker and save the server without dropping everyone is the difference between moderating a server and rebooting it.

Treat the RCON password as a root password, because it effectively is. Give it a value nobody can guess, never paste it into a Discord channel, and do not expose the RCON port to the whole internet if you can restrict it. [RCON safely](https://www.renode.space/blog/rcon-safely) goes through the failure modes; the short version is that an open RCON port with a weak password is the most common way a game server gets taken over. If several people need admin powers, give each of them their own panel account with limited permissions rather than sharing one credential - [subusers and least privilege](https://www.renode.space/blog/subusers-and-least-privilege) covers the idea.

#### Saves, updates and wipes

Evrima writes player state continuously enough that a clean stop loses nothing meaningful, but a hard kill can still catch the server mid-write. Stop from the panel, or send the process a normal termination signal, rather than killing the container.

- **Back up the databases folder, not the whole install.** `TheIsle/Saved/Databases/` is your players' progress. The 15 GB of game files can be re-downloaded from SteamCMD in minutes; the databases cannot.
- **Back up `Game.ini` separately and keep the copy off the server.** After a patch the server may regenerate it with defaults, and a config you tuned over three months is worth more than it looks.
- **Update the server the moment a client patch lands.** The Isle enforces a version match, so an out-of-date server rejects every player, and your regulars will find another server for the evening. A scheduled task that runs the SteamCMD update before a nightly restart handles this for you; [scheduled tasks worth having](https://www.renode.space/blog/scheduled-tasks-worth-having) has sensible patterns.
- **A wipe is a folder deletion.** Stop the server, take a backup, remove the contents of the databases folder, start. Config, whitelist and admins survive because they live elsewhere. Announce it a week ahead - unannounced wipes lose communities faster than lag does.

A backup that has never been restored is a hypothesis, not a backup. Restore one to a second server occasionally and actually log in; [testing a restore before you need it](https://www.renode.space/blog/testing-a-restore-before-you-need-it) explains how to do that without risking the live world.

On RE:NODE the Restart button sends a clean stop, backup slots come with every plan and restoring is one button, and the Schedules tab can chain a backup and a restart at a fixed hour. If a server ever hits its memory limit the container is stopped and restarted clean rather than left to swap, which is one more reason to keep `MaxPlayerCount` and `AIDensity` honest.

#### Troubleshooting

**The server runs but is not in the browser.** Check the log for an EOS login failure first, then wait five minutes, then confirm the query port is open on UDP. In that order - it is nearly always EOS or patience, not the firewall.

**Players get "version mismatch" or are dropped at the loading screen.** The server is on an older build than the client, or you downloaded without `-beta evrima`. Re-run SteamCMD with the branch flag and `validate`.

**Settings in `Game.ini` do nothing.** Either the section header is wrong, or the server rewrote the file because it was running when you edited it. Stop the server, open the file, confirm the header spelling exactly matches `[/Script/TheIsle.TIGameSession]`, save, start.

**Nobody can join a whitelisted server.** `bServerWhitelist=True` with an empty or malformed `WhitelistIDs` block. Every entry must be a bare 17-digit SteamID64 on its own repeated key.

**RCON connects but commands are rejected.** The account you are using is not in `AdminsSteamIDs`, or your tool is speaking Source RCON at a server that does not.

**Memory climbs all day and the server dies in the evening.** Either the slot count is above what the plan can hold at peak or `AIDensity` is too high. A nightly restart hides the symptom and is worth having anyway; see [restart schedules that help](https://www.renode.space/blog/restart-schedules-that-help) for how to schedule one that does not annoy people.

**The server restarts itself repeatedly.** Read the console before changing anything - the last twenty lines before a crash are usually explicit. [Reading the console](https://www.renode.space/blog/reading-the-console) and [why your game server keeps restarting](https://www.renode.space/blog/why-your-game-server-keeps-restarting) cover the common causes.

#### FAQ

##### Do I need to own The Isle to run a server?

No. The dedicated server is app `412680` and downloads with `login anonymous`, so a SteamCMD install needs no account that owns the game. You do need the game to play on it.

##### Why must I use the evrima beta branch?

Because the default branch of that app still points at the retired Legacy build. Every current player is on Evrima, so a Legacy server is unjoinable in practice. Add `-beta evrima` to the `app_update` line and re-validate.

##### How much RAM does an Evrima server need?

About 6 GB for a private group of twenty, 8 GB for a small community and 12 GB or more for a full hundred slots. AI density and the number of loaded players drive it more than the map does.

##### Can I install mods on an Evrima server?

There is no supported mod loader. Servers differentiate themselves through configuration, RCON tooling, Discord integration and moderation rather than through mods.

##### How do I wipe without losing my configuration?

Stop the server, back it up, and delete the contents of `TheIsle/Saved/Databases/`. `Game.ini`, the admin list and the whitelist live in the config folder and are untouched.

##### Why does changing GrowthMultiplier upset people?

Because growth is the only long-term investment the game asks for. Raising or lowering it mid-cycle changes the value of every hour your players have already spent. Change it at a wipe, and announce it beforehand.

The Isle servers on RE:NODE start at 6 GB with three port allocations, the config files editable in the browser or over SFTP, backup slots on every tier and the Schedules tab for a nightly update and restart. Moving up a tier changes the limit on the server you already have, so the databases folder stays exactly where it is.

[See The Isle plans](https://www.renode.space/game-servers/the-isle)

## 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.