Survival · Balanced
Run a Valheim Dedicated Server on Your Own Hardware
Launch a persistent Valheim world through Swarm Hosts, configure its UDP ports and access lists, manage backups, and connect from the game client.
Valheim uses a multi-port UDP layout. Swarm Hosts reserves the base game port and the next port together for normal play, and also reserves base+2 so crossplay can be enabled without changing the Swarm Server shape later.
- Server Actions
- Guided settings
- Backups
Validated public launch
Hardware and runtime
What Valheim needs
Catalog minimums are a starting point. World size, player count, content, and game settings can require more resources.
- CPU
- 2+ cores
- Memory
- 4+ GiB
- Player traffic
- UDP
- Persistent backup scope
- 4 catalog-declared paths
Launch workflow
From host to running server
- Open Launch.
- Choose Valheim.
- Set Server name, World name, and Server password.
- Leave Crossplay disabled unless you need non-Steam clients.
- Click Launch.
Networking
How players connect
Players can join through Valheim's Join IP flow using:
text <HOSTPUBLICIP>:<BASEPORT>
Managed shared relay when the game, host, and current relay path support it.
Catalog-backed Server Actions
Tools Swarm Hosts exposes for Valheim
Availability comes from the production catalog and verified game guide. Controls stay typed and bounded to the workflow the game supports.
Server status
Read the local A2S server and player-count summary.
Access lists
View Valheim admin, banned, and permitted platform user IDs.
Add administrator
Add a platform user ID to the administrator list.
Remove administrator
Remove a platform user ID from the administrator list.
Ban player
Add a platform user ID to the banned list.
Unban player
Remove a platform user ID from the banned list.
Permit player
Add a platform user ID to the permitted list. The first entry enables an allowlist.
Remove permitted player
Remove a platform user ID from the permitted list; removing the last entry disables the allowlist.
Back up now
Signal the managed backup service and wait for a correlated, verified world archive.
Mods & Content status
Plugin Ecosystem
Valheim plugins are untrusted executable code. Swarm Hosts records desired plugin packages only; install compatible files manually and restart the server. Managed provider resolution, updates, ordering, and rollback are not available.
Valheim's common server extension model is the BepInEx plugin ecosystem. Plugins are untrusted executable code, and game/loader compatibility varies, so Swarm Hosts currently classifies this as pluginecosystem with a manualfiles workflow—not as a managed artifact provider.
Because /opt/valheim is runtime-managed rather than part of the /config persistence contract, production plugin enablement still requires a separately validated managed image/content workflow. Uploading a plugin alone is not considered a supported installation.
- Compatible plugin files are installed manually under /opt/valheim/bepinex/BepInEx/plugins after enabling the matching BepInEx runtime in a controlled image.
- A server restart is required after plugin changes.
- Provider discovery, dependency resolution, ordering, automatic updates, exact-version rollback, and drift repair are not currently promised.
- Back up the world and plugin configuration before changing executable content. Client-side matching mods may also be required.
Know before launch
Current boundaries
- Production hosting supports Windows 10/11 or Linux with Docker Desktop in Linux-container mode on Windows, or Docker Engine or rootful Podman on Linux.
- Managed shared relay when the game, host, and current relay path support it.
- Restored to the public launch catalog by the product owner on 2026-08-27. Historical Steam client join proof exists; current client and access-list behavior is queued for owner-led manual acceptance.
Windows 10/11 + Linux
Ready to host Valheim?
Connect the Windows or Linux computer you already own, then follow the game-specific launch path.