Common questions about hosting with the Palworld Server Launcher. There's a good chance yours is answered below. If not, open an issue and ask.
Back to the README.
Why does Windows or my antivirus flag it?
The exe isn't code-signed, so the first time you run it Windows shows a blue "Windows protected your PC" box. Click More info, then Run anyway. Some antivirus tools flag it for the same reason, and because it's a self-contained single-file build, which is a packaging style malware also uses.
Code-signing certificates cost a few hundred a year, which is hard to justify for a free project. If it worries you, the full source is on GitHub and you can build the exe yourself.
How do I connect to my server?
In Palworld, click Join Multiplayer Game (not the invite-code option). Near the bottom of that screen there's a field to type an IP address and port, with a Connect button next to it.
- Playing on the same PC that's running the server: enter
127.0.0.1:8211and connect. - Playing from another PC on the same home network: use the server PC's local IP (looks like
192.168.1.50:8211). On the server PC, open Command Prompt, runipconfig, and use the "IPv4 Address" under your active Ethernet or Wi-Fi connection. - For friends outside your network: they use your Public IP (there's a copy button next to "Public
IP" on the launcher's main window, it'll look like
203.0.113.5:8211). Note: you usually can't reach your own server through your Public IP from inside your own home, that's normal, use127.0.0.1or your local IP instead.
Can I run the server on the same PC I play on?
Yes. Start the server in the launcher, then connect to 127.0.0.1:8211 in Join Multiplayer Game.
Check you have the memory for it first. Palworld's official requirements recommend 16 GB for the dedicated server on its own, and the game needs its share on top of that.
My friends can't join, or Port Check says 8211 isn't accessible
127.0.0.1 is your own PC's address, so only you can use it. For anyone else to join, they connect to your
Public IP, and that port has to be reachable from outside your network. If Port Check fails, it's almost
always one of three things:
- Windows Firewall hasn't allowed the Palworld server. Press the Windows key, type "Allow an app through
Windows Firewall", click Change settings, and tick the boxes for anything named "Pal" / "PalServer". If
it's not in the list, add it (it lives in
PalworldServerLauncher\PalServer\Pal\Binaries\Win64, orPalworldServerLauncher\palworlddedicatedserver\Pal\Binaries\Win64if you installed before v1.1.0). - Router port forwarding isn't set up, or points at the wrong device. Search "[your router model] port
forward", then forward UDP 8211 to your PC's local IP (the one that looks like
192.168.x.x, not127.0.0.1). - CGNAT. Some ISPs don't give you a real public IP, which breaks port forwarding no matter what you do.
If your firewall and router are definitely correct and it still fails, this is the likely cause. You can
skip port forwarding entirely with a free tool like Tailscale, ZeroTier, or Radmin: you and
your friends each install it, it gives every PC a shared address (starting with
100.), and they connect to yours in Palworld (for example100.15.20.50:8211).
My server isn't showing in the community server list
By default the launcher runs your server as private (join by IP only). To list it publicly, open
Server Settings -> Launch Arguments tab, tick Community/Public Server (-publiclobby), hit
Save, then restart the server. Then:
- Forward UDP 27015 (the Steam query port the server uses to advertise itself to the list) and confirm it with Port Check. Your game port 8211 still needs forwarding too, so people can actually connect once they find you.
- Give it a unique Server Name and search that exact name in the browser instead of scrolling, thousands of servers share the default name.
Fair warning: Palworld's community browser is unreliable and can be slow to show a server even when everything's set up correctly.
Does the launcher have to stay open?
The server keeps running if you close the launcher. Next time you open it, it offers to pick that server back up, or does it on its own if you turn that on in Launcher Settings.
The catch is that the launcher is what performs scheduled restarts, scheduled backups, auto-updates, and crash recovery. None of those happen while it's closed. If you want them without keeping a window open, turn on Start at login so it comes up with Windows.
The Server and Chat tabs are empty after reconnecting to a running server
The launcher can only read the output of a server it started itself. Windows makes that connection when the program launches and there's no way to add it afterward, so a server that was already running keeps its output to itself. Palworld writes no log file either, so there's nothing else to read it from.
Everything that comes through the REST API carries on working, including the players list, the live stats, scheduled restarts, backups, and crash recovery. Restart the server from the launcher and both tabs fill again.
Do I need the REST API?
The server runs without it, but the launcher loses most of what makes it useful. With the REST API off there are no live stats, no in-game restart warnings, and no detection of a server that has stopped responding. Backups capture the last autosave instead of the current world, and stopping the server becomes a force-stop rather than a clean shutdown.
The launcher offers to turn it on the first time you start the server, and generates a secure admin password for you. Keep its port off the public internet.
Where are my saves, settings, logs, and backups?
Everything the launcher manages, its own launcher.json settings, the server install, backups, and logs,
lives in a PalworldServerLauncher folder next to the exe. The game's own settings live in
PalWorldSettings.ini, editable from the launcher (Server Settings and Launch Arguments) or by hand.
Why are some log lines out of order, or showing an older time?
Palworld doesn't hand its player and chat lines over as they happen. It holds them and releases them in bursts, sometimes a minute later. The launcher shows the time Palworld recorded for the event, not the moment the line arrived, so a chat message carries the time it was actually sent. A line can therefore sit below one with a later timestamp.
The log file on disk keeps both times, so nothing is lost.
How do I change where backups go?
Use the button next to Backup Location on the main window and pick a folder. Backups already written stay where they are, so the change only applies to new ones.
How do I uninstall it, or move it somewhere else?
Everything it manages lives in one PalworldServerLauncher folder next to the exe, so deleting that folder
and the exe removes it completely. Nothing goes into the registry, and the only file outside that folder is
the optional Start at login shortcut.
To move it, move the exe and that folder together and keep them side by side. If you had Start at login turned on, the shortcut still points at the old path, so switch it off and on again in Launcher Settings after the move.
Can I stop the server from auto-updating, or lock it to a version?
Yes, as of v0.4.0. Tick Pin server version in the Misc section. It freezes the server on its current build and turns off automatic updates until you unpin it. Note: this holds your current version, it can't downgrade a server that already updated. Steam only reliably serves the latest build, and downgrading an existing world risks corrupting the save, so pinning is meant to prevent unwanted updates going forward.
I already have a dedicated server. Can I use it instead of installing a fresh one?
Yes, as of v0.4.0. Use the Import server button on the main window, point it at your existing server folder (the one containing PalServer.exe), and it copies it into the launcher so it can manage it. Your original is left where it is until you've confirmed the managed copy works.
The button only appears when the launcher doesn't already have a server. To bring in a different one, delete
the current install at PalworldServerLauncher\PalServer first (or palworlddedicatedserver if the launcher
set it up before v1.1.0).
(On an older version without Import: click Install to let it set up a fresh server, close the launcher, then
copy your existing server files over the top of the generated PalworldServerLauncher\PalServer folder, or
palworlddedicatedserver on installs made before v1.1.0.)
Do I have to use Steam Workshop to mod? (Workshop won't connect, or installing mods manually)
The Steam Workshop connection is only a convenience for downloading and auto-updating Workshop mods. You can ignore it and mod the server exactly like any other Palworld dedicated server.
The only thing the launcher changes is where the server lives: it's installed at
PalworldServerLauncher\PalServer\. (Installs created before v1.1.0 are in
PalworldServerLauncher\palworlddedicatedserver\ instead, and stay there. Use whichever folder you actually
have.) So follow whatever your mod or mod loader documents, and wherever a guide tells you to use your
Palworld / PalServer folder, use that one instead. A few common cases:
- Loose
.pakmods: these usually go in...\PalServer\Pal\Content\Paks\~mods, but follow the mod author's own instructions. - UE4SS you install yourself: UE4SS goes into
...\PalServer\Pal\Binaries\Win64, and its mods live under its ownue4ss\Modsfolder there, per UE4SS's instructions. - A UE4SS mod that isn't on Steam Workshop, when you got UE4SS through Workshop: put it in
...\PalServer\Mods\NativeMods\UE4SS\Mods
There are a lot of different mod types and systems out there, so I can't outline them all here. What I can say is that the launcher supports anything a standard Palworld dedicated server would.
Can I install UE4SS myself instead of using the Steam Workshop one?
Yes, UE4SS is on GitHub and NexusMods too. Two things to know if you go that way:
- Don't have both copies at once. A Steam Workshop UE4SS plus a hand install in
Pal\Binaries\Win64means the server loads two copies of UE4SS and crashes on launch, so pick one. To turn the hand install off without deleting it, renamePal\Binaries\Win64\dwmapi.dlltodwmapi.dll.bak. - Workshop mods won't reach a hand install. The server puts Workshop mods in
Mods\NativeMods\UE4SS\Mods, which a hand-installed UE4SS doesn't read, so they sit there without loading.
The Mods panel warns you about the first one whenever it finds both, and about the second one when you have mods enabled.
How do I change the language?
Pick one the first time you run the launcher, or change it later in Launcher Settings, under the gear icon in the top-right. The launcher restarts to apply it.
Ten are available: English, Deutsch, Español, Français, Português (Brasil), Русский, 日本語, 简体中文, 繁體中文, and 한국어. Everything except English is machine-translated, so corrections via an issue or pull request are welcome.
Can I use a world I made in-game (a co-op session), not from a dedicated server?
Not directly. A dedicated server's save is a different format from the one Palworld creates for an in-game co-op session, so you can't just drop it in. There are third-party converters that move the world and player data across, but that's outside what this tool does and I can't vouch for any specific one. One I see recommended is https://physgun.com/tools/palworld-save-converter/
Can I manage a server running on another machine (a NAS, a VPS, a friend's PC)?
No. The launcher manages the server locally, it runs on the same machine as the server and controls that install directly. It can't connect to or change a server on a different computer, so you'd run the launcher on whatever machine is actually hosting.
Is there a Linux version?
Probably not, sorry. Palworld already ships an official Docker image for Linux (they don't recommend Docker on Windows due to reduced performance), and there are third-party images that add auto-updating and scheduled restarts. Between the many distros and their different firewall / SteamCMD setups, a native Linux build is a lot of extra work for a spare-time project. On Linux you can reproduce most of what this does with cron jobs and Docker, and there are community guides for it.