To make a BeamMP server, download BeamMP-Server for Windows or Linux, run it once so it creates ServerConfig.toml, paste in an AuthKey from the BeamMP Keymaster, and open port 30814 on both TCP and UDP. Your friends then join through BeamMP’s Direct Connect tab, or find you in the server list once you set Private = false. Below: every step of the setup, then mods, maps, console commands and the connection errors people actually hit.
What a BeamMP server actually does
BeamNG.drive has no official multiplayer. BeamMP is the community mod that adds it, and BeamMP-Server is the program every player connects through. It passes car and chat data between players and hands out the server’s mods when someone joins. Each player’s own game still runs the driving physics, which is why the server itself needs so little, and why a busy lobby hits players’ PCs before it hits the server.
There are three ways to get a group onto the same map:
| Public BeamMP servers | Your own server at home | A rented server | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | Free (your PC and its power) | Paid |
| Your map, mods and rules | No | Yes | Yes |
| Port forwarding | No | Yes, 30814 TCP and UDP | No |
| Up when you’re offline | Yes | Only while your PC is on | Yes |
| Private, friends only | No | Yes | Yes |
The rest of this page is the middle column: hosting it yourself. If you want the right-hand column, BeamNG.drive with BeamMP server hosting skips steps 2 to 4.
BeamMP server requirements
The BeamMP team’s own minimum is tiny: 50 MiB of free RAM, a CPU above 1 GHz and no GPU, on Windows or Linux. What decides whether your server runs well is upload bandwidth (BeamMP asks for 5–10 Mb/s), the size of the mod folder you serve, and a public IPv4 address that players can reach. At home you also need a router that lets you forward ports.
| Requirement | BeamMP’s stated minimum | What to plan for |
|---|---|---|
| RAM | 50+ MiB usable | More for every mod zip and plugin you load. On GameTeam, 4 GB covers a stock or lightly modded server. |
| CPU | Above 1 GHz, preferably multicore | Any modern CPU. |
| OS | Windows or Linux | Windows needs the Visual C++ Redistributable. Debian and Ubuntu need liblua5.3-0. |
| Disk | 10 MiB plus mods and plugins | Room for every zip in Resources/Client. |
| Upload | 5–10 Mb/s | More with a big mod pack: every player who joins downloads it from your server. |
| Network | IPv4 | IPv6 isn’t supported for hosting yet. |
Every player needs a legitimate, up-to-date copy of BeamNG.drive and the BeamMP launcher from beammp.com. BeamMP doesn’t work with pirated or outdated versions of the game.
Step 1: Get your BeamMP AuthKey
The AuthKey, BeamMP’s auth key, ties your server to your BeamMP account. It’s what puts a server in the public list, and BeamMP-Server won’t stay running without one: it logs “No AuthKey specified” and closes after 10 seconds. Keys are free from keymaster.beammp.com with a Discord login, and one key runs one server at a time.
- Log in to the BeamMP Keymaster with your Discord account.
- Click Keys on the left.
- Click the green + button in the top right.
- Type a Server Name. This only labels the key for you; it isn’t the name in the server list. Click Create.
- Click the clipboard icon next to the Key field to copy it.
Treat the key like a password. Don’t post it in a Discord channel, and blur it in screenshots. If it leaks, open an Account Support ticket on the BeamMP Discord server. Need keys for more than one server? Supporting BeamMP on Patreon adds keys, and boosting the BeamMP Discord adds five.
Step 2: Download BeamMP-Server
The BeamMP server download is free: click Download Server on beammp.com, or grab it from the BeamMP-Server GitHub releases page. The latest release as of October 2026 is v3.9.3. It ships a Windows BeamMP-Server.exe and Linux builds for Debian 12 and 13 and Ubuntu 22.04 and 24.04, each for x86_64 and arm64.
On Windows
- Install the Visual C++ Redistributable (x64).
- Download
BeamMP-Server.exeand put it in a folder of its own. This folder is your server. - Double-click it once. As soon as text appears, close it. It has now created its files.
On Linux
Download the build that matches your distro and CPU, then:
sudo apt install liblua5.3-0
mkdir ~/beammp && cd ~/beammp
# move the downloaded build into this folder, then:
chmod +x BeamMP-Server.ubuntu.24.04.x86_64
./BeamMP-Server.ubuntu.24.04.x86_64Stop it once it prints text. BeamMP recommends running the server as its own user, for example beammpserver, never as root or your personal account. Other distros can build from source: clone the repo with git clone --recursive and check out a release tag, because master is unstable.
Which server files you get
| File or folder | What it’s for |
|---|---|
ServerConfig.toml |
Every setting: key, name, map, player and car limits. |
Server.log |
A copy of the console output. It never contains your AuthKey, so it’s safe to share when asking for help. |
Resources/Client |
Mod zips that players download when they join. Zips only. |
Resources/Server |
Server-side Lua plugins, one folder per plugin. |
These files are created in the folder you start the server from, not wherever the executable happens to live.
Step 3: Set up ServerConfig.toml
Open ServerConfig.toml in a text editor such as Notepad. Paste your AuthKey between the quotes, give the server a name, and pick a map. Leave Private = true while you test. Everything sits under [General]. Save the file, start the server again, and check that it stays open without [ERROR] or [WARN] lines.
[General]
AuthKey = "paste-your-key-here"
Name = "^lMy BeamMP Server"
Description = "Stock cars^pBe nice at the start line"
Private = true
Port = 30814
MaxPlayers = 8
MaxCars = 2
Map = "/levels/west_coast_usa/info.json"
Tags = "Freeroam,Racing"
ResourceFolder = "Resources"| Key | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
AuthKey |
Your key from the Keymaster. Required. | empty |
Name |
Name in the server list. ^l bold, ^o italic, ^0–^9 and ^a–^f colours, ^r reset. |
BeamMP Server |
Description |
Text under the name. ^p starts a new line. |
BeamMP Default Description |
Private |
true hides the server from the list. |
true |
Port |
Port for TCP and UDP, anywhere from 1024 to 65535. | 30814 |
MaxPlayers |
Players at once. No upper limit is set. | 8 |
MaxCars |
Cars per player. Extra spawns are deleted instantly. | 1 |
Map |
Map path ending in /info.json. |
/levels/gridmap_v2/info.json |
Tags |
Comma-separated search tags. | Freeroam |
AllowGuests |
Lets guests (players not logged in to BeamMP) join. | true |
LogChat |
Writes chat to Server.log. |
true |
Debug |
Extra log detail for troubleshooting. Makes the log much bigger. | false |
IP |
Local address to bind to. Not your public IP; leave it alone. | :: |
Running in Docker or on a panel? Since v3.2.0 every [General] setting can also come from an environment variable, which overrides the file: BEAMMP_AUTH_KEY, BEAMMP_MAX_PLAYERS, BEAMMP_MAP and so on.
Step 4: Port forwarding for a BeamMP server
Players outside your home reach your server through port 30814, and BeamMP needs that port open on both TCP and UDP. Forward both on your router to the PC running the server, then allow BeamMP-Server through the firewall for incoming and outgoing traffic. On a VPS, or with players only on your home network, you can skip port forwarding.
- Give the server PC a fixed local IP, with a DHCP reservation on the router or a static IPv4 address in Windows. Otherwise the rule breaks when the PC’s address changes.
- Log in to your router. Run
ipconfig, and type the Default Gateway address into a browser. - Add the rule under Port Forwarding (often in Network, Advanced or LAN): port 30814, TCP and UDP, to the server PC’s local IP.
- Allow it through the firewall. On Windows, add an allow rule for
BeamMP-Server.exe, inbound and outbound, TCP and UDP. Turning the firewall off usually doesn’t help. - Test it with BeamMP’s CheckBeamMP tool on the server setup page, while the server is running.
Can you host a BeamMP server without port forwarding?
Not for players outside your home. BeamMP doesn’t support Hamachi, RadminVPN or similar VPNs, because they often fail to pass UDP traffic. Forwarding is also impossible on mobile 4G/5G connections and behind CGNAT. To check for CGNAT, compare the WAN IP in your router with your public IP: if they differ, you’re behind it. Your options then are asking your ISP for a dedicated IPv4, a VPS, or a hosted server.
Step 5: Start the server and connect
Start BeamMP-Server and leave the window open. Then launch BeamNG.drive through the BeamMP launcher and open the Direct Connect tab. Which address you type depends on where the server runs and where the player is. Public servers can also be found by name in the server list.
- Server on the same PC as your game: Direct Connect to
127.0.0.1and your port. - Server on another PC in your house: that PC’s local IP, such as
192.168.1.50. - Friends outside your home: your public IPv4 address and port, for example
203.0.113.25:30814. Share it only with people you trust. - Public server: search the server name in the list. If it doesn’t show, turn search filters off and set Map to Any.
Can see your own server in the list but can’t join it from there? Your router probably lacks NAT loopback. Use Direct Connect to 127.0.0.1 instead.
Private or public: making a BeamMP private server
A new BeamMP server is private by default: Private = true keeps it out of the server list, and anyone with your IP and port can still join through Direct Connect. BeamMP-Server has no join password, so the address is the lock. To make a BeamMP server public, set Private = false and keep a valid AuthKey in place.
For a public server, the name and tags are what people find you by. Names can be up to 250 characters and descriptions up to 1,000. Tags are not case sensitive and are limited to 100 characters in total. Some of BeamMP’s official tags:
- Gameplay:
Freeroam,Roleplay,Economy,Traffic,Drift - Racing:
Racing,Racing:Drag,Racing:Rally,Touge - Off-road and destruction:
Offroad,Crawling,Derby - Game modes:
Gamemode:Derby,Gamemode:Infection,Gamemode:Cops-Robbers - Language and other:
Lang:English,Modded,Vanilla,Moderated
How to add mods to a BeamMP server
To add mods to a BeamMP server, put each mod’s zip file, unextracted, in Resources/Client and restart the server. Every player who joins downloads those mods automatically, so nobody installs anything by hand. Vehicle mods need nothing else. Map mods need one more step, covered in the next section.
- Stop the server, or plan to run
reloadmodsin the console afterwards. - Copy the mod zips into
Resources/Client. The folder only accepts.zipfiles. - Start the server and join. If players stall on a “done” or “start” message, one of the mods is broken or incompatible. Take them out one at a time until it loads.
- Tell players to switch off their own mods. The server supplies the mods. Anything active locally besides
multiplayerbeammpcan break joining. - Paid or private mods: run
protectmod yourmod.zip truein the console. Players then have to get the file from its creator and place it in their launcher’s resources folder. The launcher tells them which file is missing. - Server plugins: Lua plugins go in
Resources/Server, each in its own folder with at least one.luafile. Top-level.luafiles in a plugin reload automatically when they change. Plugins can add their own[Section]toServerConfig.toml.
How to change the map on a BeamMP server
To change the map on a BeamMP server, stop it, edit the Map line in ServerConfig.toml, and start it again. Stock maps need no install, just the right path. Modded maps go in Resources/Client like any other mod, and the path comes from the folder name inside the map’s zip. The path must always end in /info.json.
The stock map paths:
/levels/gridmap_v2/info.json/levels/smallgrid/info.json/levels/west_coast_usa/info.json/levels/east_coast_usa/info.json/levels/utah/info.json/levels/italy/info.json/levels/johnson_valley/info.json/levels/jungle_rock_island/info.json/levels/small_island/info.json/levels/industrial/info.json/levels/hirochi_raceway/info.json/levels/automation_test_track/info.json/levels/driver_training/info.json/levels/derby/info.json
Adding modded maps
- Put the map’s zip in
Resources/Client. - Open the zip without extracting it and look in its
levelsfolder. There is one folder inside, for examplemyawesomedriftmap2021. Copy that name exactly. - Set
Map = "/levels/myawesomedriftmap2021/info.json"and restart.
Still not loading? Install the map in single-player BeamNG.drive, load it, open the console with the ~ key and run print(getMissionFilename()). It prints the exact path to use. On non-US keyboards the console key is under Options, Controls, Bindings: Toggle System Console in the General Debug section.
BeamMP server commands
BeamMP-Server commands are typed into the server’s console window, not in game chat. The list below comes from the server’s own help output in v3.9.3. With them you can see who is online, kick a player, message everyone, change settings while it runs, and reload mods without a restart.
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
help |
Lists the commands. |
list |
Lists all players and their details. |
kick <name> [reason] |
Kicks a player, with an optional reason. |
say <message> |
Sends a chat message to everyone. |
status |
Shows how the server is doing and what it’s up to. |
settings list |
Prints all settings. settings get General MaxCars reads one; settings set General MaxCars 3 changes it while the server runs. |
reloadmods |
Reloads all mods in Resources/Client. |
protectmod <name> <true/false> |
Marks a mod as protected, so players supply it themselves. |
lua [state id] |
Switches to the Lua console for plugin debugging. :exit goes back. |
version |
Prints the server version. |
clear |
Clears the console window. |
exit |
Shuts the server down. |
How to update a BeamMP server
To update a BeamMP server, stop it and replace the old executable with the new one from beammp.com or GitHub. Your ServerConfig.toml and Resources folder stay as they are. On Linux, run chmod +x on the new file. The server prints a reminder in its console when a new version is out.
- Built from source? Check out the new tag, run
git submodule update --init --recursive, then rebuild. - Update reminders:
UpdateReminderTimeunder[Misc]sets how often the reminder repeats (for example30s,1hor1d).ImScaredOfUpdateshides the repeating message, though one always shows at startup. - After a BeamNG.drive update, BeamMP can stop working for a short while until a matching BeamMP release is out. Players see it as being unable to connect. Update the server and the BeamMP launcher once the new release lands. If the launcher can’t update itself, download
BeamMP-Launcher.exeagain from its GitHub releases page.
Troubleshooting: when friends can’t connect to a BeamMP server
Most BeamMP server problems are one of four things: a missing or wrong AuthKey, a port that isn’t reachable, a broken mod, or mods on the player’s own game. When something fails, look at the error code in the BeamMP launcher window and the last lines of Server.log. Between them they almost always point at the cause.
| Problem | Most likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Server window closes after about 10 seconds | No AuthKey in ServerConfig.toml |
Paste the key from the Keymaster and restart |
| “AuthKey specified is the wrong length” | Key pasted with missing or extra characters | Copy it again with the clipboard icon |
| “Backend REFUSED the auth key” | Invalid key, or the key is already running another server | One key per running server; check the Keymaster |
| Stuck connecting, then “Connection Failed!” with 10060 or 10061 | Port 30814 not forwarded, firewall, or CGNAT | Recheck step 4 and test with CheckBeamMP |
| Error 10048 or 10022 when the server starts | Another program, or a second server, already uses the port | Change Port or close the other program |
| Server not in the list | Private = true, or filters on in the browser |
Set Private = false; filters off, Map set to Any |
| “Backend failed to respond to a heartbeat” | BeamMP’s backend is having a moment | Wait. The listing comes back, and Direct Connect keeps working |
| Players stuck on “done” or “start” after joining | A broken or incompatible mod | Remove mods one at a time |
| Crashes, freezes or a black screen when joining | Mods active on the player’s own game | Disable everything except multiplayerbeammp, or rename the BeamNG current user folder for a clean one |
| Can’t join your own server from the list | Router has no NAT loopback | Direct Connect to 127.0.0.1 |
| Nobody can connect after a BeamNG.drive update | BeamMP hasn’t caught up with the game yet | Update server and launcher when BeamMP releases |
| Your IP has colons in it | That’s IPv6, which BeamMP can’t host on | You need an IPv4 address, from your ISP or a host |
Are BeamMP servers down?
If the server list is empty or your server vanishes from it, the BeamMP backend may be having trouble. Your server will log “Backend failed to respond to a heartbeat”, which BeamMP itself says is not an error and usually clears up on its own. Direct Connect still works the whole time, so friends who have your IP and port can keep playing.
Skip the setup: BeamNG.drive with BeamMP server hosting
Hosting at home means a PC that stays on, a forwarded port, an IPv4 address your ISP may not give you, and enough upload for every player’s mod download. If you’d rather just drive, BeamNG.drive with BeamMP server hosting on GameTeam is ready in minutes. You pay per GB of RAM, from $0.49/GB a week (a 4 GB server is $1.96 a week), slots are unlimited and there’s nothing to forward.
Paste your AuthKey once, and the built-in AI copilot does the rest when you ask in plain English. Tell it “switch to Italy, 3 cars per player and make the server public” and it edits ServerConfig.toml and restarts. Ask “why is everyone stuck loading since I added that car pack?” and it reads Server.log and moves the broken zip out of Resources/Client.
FAQ
Is there a free BeamMP server?
Yes, in two ways. Joining public servers from the BeamMP server list costs nothing, and BeamMP-Server itself is free to run on your own PC. You only pay if you rent a VPS or a hosted server so it stays up without your PC.
Where can I host a BeamNG server?
On your own Windows or Linux PC, on a VPS, or with a game server host. BeamNG servers are BeamMP servers, because BeamNG.drive has no official dedicated server. BeamMP’s docs recommend a VPS or a hosting partner over home hosting, because port forwarding exposes your home network.
How many players can join a BeamMP server?
As many as you set in MaxPlayers, which defaults to 8 and has no upper limit. The practical limit is players’ PCs: with many cars on the map BeamNG.drive becomes CPU-bound, and BeamMP’s rule of thumb is about one car per CPU thread.
Do players need to download the mods themselves?
No. Mods in Resources/Client download automatically when a player joins. The exception is mods you mark with protectmod, which players must get from the creator.
Can I run the server on the same PC I play on?
Yes. Join it with Direct Connect to 127.0.0.1. The server is light, but your upload bandwidth is shared with every player’s mod download, and your game still has to run its own physics.
Is there a BeamMP server manager?
BeamMP doesn’t ship a separate manager app. The server is a console program that you control through ServerConfig.toml, environment variables and console commands. A hosting panel takes that role on a rented server.
Why isn’t BeamNG multiplayer working?
Check three things. Your BeamNG.drive must be a legitimate, current copy. Your local mods must be off, except multiplayerbeammp. And BeamMP must have caught up with the latest game update. If the launcher itself won’t update or shows a blank window, download the latest BeamMP-Launcher.exe from BeamMP’s GitHub and replace the old one.