How to Make an Unturned Server and Configure Its GSLT

Get the dedicated tool

Install SteamCMD separately. The dedicated tool, shortened to U3DS, is app 1110390 and accepts an anonymous login. Files land in steamapps/common/U3DS/ unless force_install_dir says otherwise.

login anonymous
app_update 1110390 validate
quit

validate repairs a broken download. The same command updates an install later, after the server is stopped.

Launching the tool from the Steam library is enough for one friends server. The docs say multiple instances on one machine require SteamCMD.

Create the server folder

The first boot writes the config. Wait until the console prints Loading level: 100%, then run Shutdown. There is no autosave. Save writes while the process is up. Shutdown writes and exits. Copying the folder while the level is still open can mix half-written files.

On Windows, a .bat file in the U3DS directory:

start "" "%~dp0ServerHelper.bat" +InternetServer/MyServer

Use +LanServer/MyServer when the server should stay on the LAN. On Linux, from the U3DS directory: ./ServerHelper.sh +InternetServer/MyServer.

MyServer is the ServerID. Data is created at U3DS/Servers/MyServer/. Renaming the script does nothing if the argument still says MyServer. The shipped ExampleServer.bat or ExampleServer.sh is a LAN sample you can read.

Until you add a token and a reachability method, players join from your Steam friends list or by typing the Server Code in Connect Directly.

Issue the token and store it once

While logged into the Steam account that should own the server, open Steam's game server token page and create a token for app 304930. The memo is for you. Do not commit it, screenshot it or paste it into a ticket.

The docs allow either place, not both as a requirement:

• the GSLT command in Servers/<ServerID>/Server/Commands.dat, or on the command line;
• Login_Token under Browser in the server configuration.

Internet servers also have to follow the studio's hosting rules. A token keeps the Server Code stable across restarts. Steam can move Favorites and History to a new address, usually within about 24 hours, according to their note on issue 3980.

Commands.dat and the Config.json to Config.txt change are in the configuration guide.

Fake IP or a forward

Since update 3.23.14.0, port forwarding is no longer required just to be reachable. It is required when players should connect by IP or domain. The other documented option is Fake IP. Set up one of them. The hosting page says both are unnecessary, and it calls Fake IP the easier path. Follow that page for the current clicks rather than an older guide that enables both.

If you do forward, each instance uses two consecutive UDP ports. The first is for server-list queries, the second for gameplay. Port 27015 in Commands.dat uses 27015 and 27016. The recommended series for more instances is 27015, then 27017, then 27019. Forward UDP to the machine's LAN IPv4 address.

Prove it, then keep a copy

Restart after the token is in place. You want Loading level: 100% and a Server Code that survives a restart. With the token and either Fake IP or the UDP pair, the server can show on the Internet list. Join from an account that is not the owner. Change something in the world, run Shutdown, start again, and check that the change is still there.

An empty Internet list usually means no token, the wrong app id, +LanServer, or neither Fake IP nor a forward. A Server Code that changes every boot means the token was not read. Friends-only joins mean you are still on the simple LAN path.

Before an update: Shutdown, copy all of Servers/<ServerID>/, then app_update 1110390. The SteamCMD tree without Servers is not the world. Workshop mods and OpenMod are in the mods and plugins guide. Offers are on the Unturned comparison.

Questions