May 25, 2026 •13 min read•0 views

Host an Ark server on a vps

Carlo Taleon

@carlo_taleon

Host an ARK: Survival Evolved Fjordur Server on a Debian VPS

Complete Step-by-Step Guide to Installing an ARK Fjordur Server on Debian

I already hosted a Minecraft server on a VPS and realized game servers are way less scary than they look. So this is the ARK version of that same cheatsheet: install the dedicated server directly on a Debian VPS, run it with SteamCMD, open the right ports, and keep it alive with systemd.

The main difference from Minecraft: ARK is heavier, uses SteamCMD instead of Java, and needs a couple UDP ports opened correctly. The actual setup is still very VPS-pilled: SSH, terminal, firewall, logs, service file, done.

This guide is for ARK: Survival Evolved on the Fjordur map.

Note: This is not for ARK: Survival Ascended. Survival Ascended has different server requirements and setup details.

Why This Guide?

This guide focuses on:

Debian VPS setup — specifically Debian 13 Trixie, but the general flow also works on recent Debian versions
Fjordur as the default ARK map
100% terminal — no game server panel, no FTP client, no Windows-only tool
SteamCMD install on Debian using contrib / non-free
systemd for auto-start and restart
Simple backups of your ARK world/config

This is meant for a small private friends server, not a massive public cluster.

Prerequisites

You need:

A Debian VPS with SSH access
Debian 13 Trixie or similar
x86-64 architecture, not ARM
At least 8GB RAM for a small private server
Preferably 16GB RAM for Fjordur, mods, or less pain
At least 80GB SSD/NVMe storage
Basic terminal knowledge
ARK: Survival Evolved installed on your PC so you can join the server

For a small 4-6 player Fjordur server, I’d personally start with:

4 vCPU
8-16GB RAM
80GB SSD/NVMe
Singapore region if you’re playing from the Philippines / SEA

ARK is much heavier than vanilla Minecraft. Don’t cheap out too hard on RAM.

Step 1: Update Your Debian VPS

SSH into your VPS, then update the system:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Install basic tools:

sudo apt install -y curl wget tar unzip htop screen ca-certificates nano

Check your Debian version:

cat /etc/os-release

This guide assumes something like:

PRETTY_NAME="Debian GNU/Linux 13 (trixie)"
VERSION_CODENAME=trixie

Also check the CPU architecture:

uname -m

You generally want:

x86_64

If you see ARM/AArch64, don’t continue unless you specifically know what you’re doing. SteamCMD and ARK server setup is much simpler on x86-64.

Step 2: Enable Debian non-free repositories

SteamCMD is not available from Debian’s plain main repo only. You need Debian’s contrib, non-free, and non-free-firmware components enabled.

Check your sources file:

cat /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian.sources

You may see something like this:

Types: deb deb-src
URIs: mirror+file:///etc/apt/mirrors/debian.list
Suites: trixie trixie-updates trixie-backports
Components: main
Signed-By: /usr/share/keyrings/debian-archive-keyring.gpg
 
Types: deb deb-src
URIs: mirror+file:///etc/apt/mirrors/debian-security.list
Suites: trixie-security
Components: main
Signed-By: /usr/share/keyrings/debian-archive-keyring.gpg

The problem is this part:

Components: main

Change both Components: lines to:

Components: main contrib non-free non-free-firmware

You can do that with:

sudo sed -i 's/^Components: main$/Components: main contrib non-free non-free-firmware/' /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian.sources

Verify:

cat /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian.sources

You should now see:

Components: main contrib non-free non-free-firmware

Step 3: Install SteamCMD on Debian

Enable 32-bit packages:

sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386

Update APT:

sudo apt update

Install SteamCMD and required 32-bit libraries:

sudo apt install -y steamcmd lib32gcc-s1

Test SteamCMD:

steamcmd +quit

If SteamCMD prints a setlocale('en_US.UTF-8') failed warning, it is usually not fatal. You can ignore it for now while setting up the server.

If steamcmd still cannot be found, check whether APT sees it:

apt-cache policy steamcmd
apt search steamcmd

Step 4: Create a Dedicated ARK User

Don’t run game servers as root.

Create a separate ark user:

sudo adduser ark

Switch to that user:

sudo su - ark

Create the server directory:

mkdir -p /home/ark/ark-server

Step 5: Install the ARK Dedicated Server

ARK: Survival Evolved dedicated server uses Steam app ID 376030.

Important: put +force_install_dir before +login anonymous. If you put it after login, SteamCMD can fail with:

Please use force_install_dir before logon!
ERROR! Failed to install app '376030' (Missing configuration)

Run the correct command:

steamcmd +force_install_dir /home/ark/ark-server +login anonymous +app_update 376030 validate +quit

This will take a while. ARK is chunky.

When it’s done, check that the server binary exists:

ls -lah /home/ark/ark-server/ShooterGame/Binaries/Linux/ShooterGameServer

If that file exists, the install worked.

Step 6: Create a Fjordur Start Script

Still as the ark user, create a start script:

nano ~/ark-server/start.sh

Paste this:

#!/bin/bash
 
cd /home/ark/ark-server/ShooterGame/Binaries/Linux
 
./ShooterGameServer Fjordur?listen?SessionName="YourServerName"?ServerPassword="yourjoinpassword"?ServerAdminPassword="youradminpassword"?Port=7777?QueryPort=27015?MaxPlayers=10 -server -log

Change these values:

YourServerName
yourjoinpassword
youradminpassword

Make the script executable:

chmod +x ~/ark-server/start.sh

Important settings:

Fjordur = map name
SessionName = public server name in the ARK server browser
ServerPassword = password players need to join
ServerAdminPassword = admin password for admin commands
Port=7777 = game client port
QueryPort=27015 = Steam query/server browser port
MaxPlayers=10 = max players

If you don’t want a join password, remove this part entirely:

?ServerPassword="yourjoinpassword"

Example no-password version:

./ShooterGameServer Fjordur?listen?SessionName="YourServerName"?ServerAdminPassword="youradminpassword"?Port=7777?QueryPort=27015?MaxPlayers=10 -server -log

Step 7: Test Start the Server Manually

Run it manually in a named screen session first before turning it into a service:

screen -dmS ark ~/ark-server/start.sh
screen -r ark

The first startup can take a few minutes. ARK may look like it’s stuck, but give it time.

Once it starts, it should generate files under:

/home/ark/ark-server/ShooterGame/Saved

To detach from screen while keeping the server running, press:

Ctrl+A
D

To reconnect to it later:

screen -r ark

To stop the server for now while attached to the screen session, press:

Ctrl+C

Later, once it runs under systemd, use systemctl stop ark instead.

Step 8: Open Firewall Ports

Exit back to your sudo/admin user:

exit

Install UFW if needed:

sudo apt install -y ufw

Allow SSH first so you don’t lock yourself out:

sudo ufw allow 22/tcp

Open ARK ports:

sudo ufw allow 7777/udp
sudo ufw allow 7778/udp
sudo ufw allow 27015/udp

Optional RCON port if you plan to use remote console tools:

sudo ufw allow 27020/tcp

Enable the firewall:

sudo ufw enable
sudo ufw status

ARK ports cheat sheet:

7777/udp = game client port
7778/udp = raw UDP socket, usually game port + 1
27015/udp = Steam query/browser port
27020/tcp = optional RCON

Also check your VPS provider firewall/security group. Some VPS providers have an external firewall outside the server itself.

Step 9: Set Up systemd Auto-Restart

Create a systemd service:

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/ark.service

Paste this:

[Unit]
Description=ARK: Survival Evolved Fjordur Dedicated Server
Wants=network-online.target
After=network-online.target
 
[Service]
Type=simple
User=ark
Group=ark
WorkingDirectory=/home/ark/ark-server
LimitNOFILE=100000
ExecStart=/home/ark/ark-server/start.sh
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=10
 
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

This service uses the same start.sh you tested with screen.

Reload systemd:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload

Enable auto-start on reboot:

sudo systemctl enable ark

If your manual screen test is still running, attach with screen -r ark and stop it with Ctrl+C before starting the systemd service. Otherwise both processes will try to use the same ARK ports.

Start the server:

sudo systemctl start ark

Check status:

sudo systemctl status ark

Watch live logs:

sudo journalctl -u ark -f

Step 10: Connect to Your Server

Get your VPS IP:

curl ifconfig.me

In ARK:

Open Join ARK
Filter to Unofficial servers
Search for your SessionName
Join and enter the password if you set one

If it doesn’t show immediately, give it a few minutes. ARK’s server browser can be slow/weird.

You can also try adding the server through Steam:

Steam → View → Game Servers
Favorites → Add Server
Add:

YOUR_SERVER_IP:27015

Then open ARK and check Favorites.

Optional: Set Up a Subdomain

If you use Cloudflare:

Go to DNS settings
Add an A record:
- Name: ark
- IPv4: your VPS IP
- Proxy: DNS only / gray cloud
- TTL: Auto

Use:

ark.yourdomain.com

For Steam favorites, you may still need:

ark.yourdomain.com:27015

Do not orange-cloud/proxy game server records through Cloudflare. Cloudflare’s normal proxy is for HTTP traffic, not random UDP game ports.

Server Management Cheatsheet

# Start server
sudo systemctl start ark
 
# Stop server
sudo systemctl stop ark
 
# Restart server
sudo systemctl restart ark
 
# Check status
sudo systemctl status ark
 
# Watch live logs
sudo journalctl -u ark -f

Update the ARK server manually:

sudo systemctl stop ark
sudo -u ark steamcmd +force_install_dir /home/ark/ark-server +login anonymous +app_update 376030 validate +quit
sudo systemctl start ark

Back Up Your Server

ARK saves/configs live under:

/home/ark/ark-server/ShooterGame/Saved

Create a backup:

sudo systemctl stop ark
 
sudo mkdir -p /home/ark/backups
sudo tar -czvf /home/ark/backups/ark-fjordur-saved-$(date +%F-%H%M).tar.gz -C /home/ark/ark-server/ShooterGame Saved
sudo chown -R ark:ark /home/ark/backups
 
sudo systemctl start ark

Check backups:

ls -lah /home/ark/backups

If you’re about to update ARK or install mods, back up first. Don’t be lazy here. ARK saves are the whole point of the server.

Restore a Backup

Stop the server:

sudo systemctl stop ark

Move the current save out of the way:

sudo mv /home/ark/ark-server/ShooterGame/Saved /home/ark/ark-server/ShooterGame/Saved-broken-$(date +%F-%H%M)

Extract backup:

sudo tar -xzvf /home/ark/backups/YOUR_BACKUP_FILE.tar.gz -C /home/ark/ark-server/ShooterGame
sudo chown -R ark:ark /home/ark/ark-server/ShooterGame/Saved

Start again:

sudo systemctl start ark

Config Files You’ll Eventually Care About

After the first run, ARK creates config files here:

/home/ark/ark-server/ShooterGame/Saved/Config/LinuxServer

Main files:

GameUserSettings.ini
Game.ini

Open them with:

sudo -u ark nano /home/ark/ark-server/ShooterGame/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/GameUserSettings.ini
sudo -u ark nano /home/ark/ark-server/ShooterGame/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/Game.ini

Common things you might configure:

Taming speed
Harvest amount
XP multiplier
Difficulty
PvE/PvP
Admin password
RCON
Server name
Mods

For a chill friends-only Fjordur server, this is a good starting [ServerSettings] block:

[ServerSettings]
XPMultiplier=2.000000
SupplyCrateLootQualityMultiplier=3.000000
FishingLootQualityMultiplier=3.000000
TamingSpeedMultiplier=3.000000
HarvestAmountMultiplier=3.000000
PlayerCharacterWaterDrainMultiplier=0.750000
PlayerCharacterFoodDrainMultiplier=0.750000

SupplyCrateLootQualityMultiplier=3.000000 boosts loot quality, not the number of items in each drop.

The dino harvesting damage multiplier goes in Game.ini, not GameUserSettings.ini:

[/script/shootergame.shootergamemode]
DinoHarvestingDamageMultiplier=5.000000

For the full list of settings you can tune, use the ARK Official Community Wiki server configuration page as your reference.

Don’t go crazy with multipliers immediately. ARK progression can become meaningless if everything is too boosted.

Changing Maps

This guide uses Fjordur by default.

The map name is the first argument before ?listen:

Fjordur?listen

Other common official maps:

Fjordur
TheIsland
TheCenter
ScorchedEarth_P
Ragnarok
Aberration_P
Extinction
Valguero_P
Genesis
CrystalIsles
Gen2
LostIsland

Example using Ragnarok instead of Fjordur:

./ShooterGameServer Ragnarok?listen?SessionName="YourServerName"?ServerAdminPassword="youradminpassword"?Port=7777?QueryPort=27015?MaxPlayers=10 -server -log

If you change this in systemd, remember:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl restart ark

Mods / Workshop Mods

ARK mods are possible, but they add more moving parts.

The basic idea is:

Add mod IDs to your server startup command with ?GameModIds=
Use -automanagedmods
Restart the server and let ARK download them

Example:

./ShooterGameServer Fjordur?listen?SessionName="YourServerName"?ServerAdminPassword="youradminpassword"?GameModIds=731604991,1404697612?Port=7777?QueryPort=27015?MaxPlayers=10 -server -log -automanagedmods

Important notes:

Steam players can use mods
Epic Games players generally cannot use Steam Workshop mods
Mods make startup slower
Mods increase RAM/disk usage
Always back up before adding/removing mods

For a first setup, I’d run vanilla first, confirm friends can join, then add mods later.

Epic + Steam Crossplay

If you want Epic Games players to join your ARK: Survival Evolved server, add:

-crossplay

Example:

./ShooterGameServer Fjordur?listen?SessionName="YourServerName"?ServerAdminPassword="youradminpassword"?Port=7777?QueryPort=27015?MaxPlayers=10 -server -log -crossplay

If you enable Epic crossplay, keep the server vanilla. Epic players cannot use Steam Workshop mods.

Performance Tips

For a small 4-6 friend Fjordur server:

8GB RAM is the minimum I’d consider
16GB RAM is more comfortable
Use SSD/NVMe, not HDD
Keep mods minimal
Don’t oversell MaxPlayers
Monitor with htop
Back up before updates

Install htop if you skipped it:

sudo apt install -y htop
htop

Watch disk usage:

df -h

Watch ARK folder size:

sudo du -sh /home/ark/ark-server
sudo du -sh /home/ark/ark-server/ShooterGame/Saved

Troubleshooting

`add-apt-repository: command not found`

That command is from Ubuntu guides. You do not need it on Debian for this setup.

On Debian, enable contrib non-free non-free-firmware in /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian.sources instead.

`Unable to locate package steamcmd`

Your Debian sources probably still only have:

Components: main

Fix it:

sudo sed -i 's/^Components: main$/Components: main contrib non-free non-free-firmware/' /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian.sources
sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y steamcmd lib32gcc-s1

`Please use force_install_dir before logon`

Your command order is wrong.

Wrong:

steamcmd +login anonymous +force_install_dir /home/ark/ark-server +app_update 376030 validate +quit

Correct:

steamcmd +force_install_dir /home/ark/ark-server +login anonymous +app_update 376030 validate +quit

Server won’t start

Check logs:

sudo journalctl -u ark -n 200 --no-pager

Check if the binary exists:

ls -lah /home/ark/ark-server/ShooterGame/Binaries/Linux/ShooterGameServer

Try running the update again:

sudo -u ark steamcmd +force_install_dir /home/ark/ark-server +login anonymous +app_update 376030 validate +quit

Server starts but friends can’t connect

Check firewall:

sudo ufw status

You should see:

7777/udp
7778/udp
27015/udp

Check if the server process is running:

ps aux | grep ShooterGameServer

Check listening ports:

sudo ss -lunpt | grep -E '7777|7778|27015'

Also check your VPS provider firewall/security group.

Server does not appear in ARK browser

Try:

Wait a few minutes
Search exact SessionName
Use Steam Favorites with YOUR_IP:27015
Confirm 27015/udp is open
Confirm the server actually started and did not crash

ARK’s server browser is not amazing, so don’t assume your setup is broken immediately.

Out of memory

Symptoms:

Server gets killed
Random crash
VPS becomes unresponsive
journalctl shows killed process / OOM

Check:

free -h
sudo journalctl -k | grep -i oom

Fixes:

Upgrade RAM
Use fewer mods
Lower player count
Don’t run other heavy services on the same VPS
Add swap only as a last-resort safety net, not as real performance

Permission issues

Make sure the ark user owns the server files:

sudo chown -R ark:ark /home/ark/ark-server
sudo chown -R ark:ark /home/ark/backups

Then restart:

sudo systemctl restart ark

Final Notes

If you’ve hosted Minecraft on a VPS before, ARK is the same mental model but heavier:

Minecraft: Java jar + one TCP port
ARK: SteamCMD app + multiple UDP ports + big saves + more RAM

I’d personally get Fjordur running vanilla first, verify people can join, then only after that add mods, crossplay, domains, and boosted config.

Once it works, this setup is honestly pretty clean: update with SteamCMD, manage with systemd, back up ShooterGame/Saved, and you’re good.

Host an Ark server on a vps

#Host an ARK: Survival Evolved Fjordur Server on a Debian VPS

#Complete Step-by-Step Guide to Installing an ARK Fjordur Server on Debian

#Why This Guide?

#Prerequisites

#Step 1: Update Your Debian VPS

#Step 2: Enable Debian non-free repositories

#Step 3: Install SteamCMD on Debian

#Step 4: Create a Dedicated ARK User

#Step 5: Install the ARK Dedicated Server

#Step 6: Create a Fjordur Start Script

#Step 7: Test Start the Server Manually

#Step 8: Open Firewall Ports

#Step 9: Set Up systemd Auto-Restart

#Step 10: Connect to Your Server

#Optional: Set Up a Subdomain

#Server Management Cheatsheet

#Back Up Your Server

#Restore a Backup

#Config Files You’ll Eventually Care About

#Changing Maps

#Mods / Workshop Mods

#Epic + Steam Crossplay

#Performance Tips

#Troubleshooting

#add-apt-repository: command not found

#Unable to locate package steamcmd

#Please use force_install_dir before logon

#Server won’t start

#Server starts but friends can’t connect

#Server does not appear in ARK browser

#Out of memory

#Permission issues

#Final Notes