Empyrion Dedicated Server: Setup, Requirements and Ports (dedicated.yaml Guide)

An Empyrion dedicated server runs your Empyrion: Galactic Survival galaxy on its own, so the crew’s bases, capital vessels and factions keep existing between sessions and anyone can log in without waiting for a host. The server is a free Steam tool (SteamCMD app 530870) for Windows, configured in a single file called dedicated.yaml, and it listens on port 30000. Below: requirements, install, every setting worth knowing, scenarios like Reforged Eden, admin commands and the connection errors everyone hits.

Dedicated server vs. co-op in Empyrion

Empyrion gives you two ways to play together. Co-op starts from your own game: any single-player save can be opened in co-op, and your PC hosts it for a small group. A dedicated server is a separate program that runs the galaxy without anyone playing on that machine. Use co-op for a quick evening; use a dedicated server when the world needs to stay up.

	Co-op (from your game)	Dedicated server
Who hosts	Your PC, while you play	The server tool, on any Windows machine
World available when the host logs off	No	Yes
Player limit	Meant for small groups	Srv_MaxPlayers (8 in the stock file)
Scenario, rules, anti-grief, restarts	Picked at world creation	Full control in dedicated.yaml
Listed in the server browser	No	Yes, unless Srv_Public is false

There’s nothing to unlock for co-op mode, and it isn’t limited to two players: start or load a game and choose co-op. The catch is load. The co-op host’s PC runs the game and the server at once, and Empyrion’s own minimum for the game alone is 10 GB of RAM.

Empyrion dedicated server requirements

Plan on 8–16 GB of RAM for the server, a fast quad-core CPU, an SSD and 64-bit Windows. RAM is the number that matters, and it scales with playfields rather than players: every planet, moon or space sector someone is standing in runs as its own playfield server process. Two players who land on the same planet are cheap. Six players on six planets are not.

• RAM: 8 GB for a small crew on one or two playfields, 12–16 GB once people spread across the system or you run a big scenario.
• CPU: 4 cores or more. Each loaded playfield adds a process.
• Storage: an SSD. Eleon calls it “highly recommended” even for the game.
• OS: Windows 10/11 or Windows Server. There’s no native Linux server; see the Docker section below.
• Network: ports 30000–30004 open, and an upload that can handle scenario downloads on first join.

If that’s more machine than you have spare, Empyrion: Galactic Survival server hosting lets you size RAM to the playfields your crew actually loads. Coming from Space Engineers? The playfield idea is different, but the hosting basics in our Space Engineers dedicated server guide carry over.

How to set up an Empyrion dedicated server

Setup is four steps: download the Empyrion – Dedicated Server tool, edit dedicated.yaml (ideally a copy of it), pick a scenario before the first start, and run the start script. The tool is free and installs without owning the game when you use SteamCMD’s anonymous login.

Step 1: Download the server

Steam client: in your Library, switch the filter to Tools and install Empyrion – Dedicated Server.

SteamCMD (also how you update it later):

steamcmd +force_install_dir C:\EmpyrionServer +login anonymous +app_update 530870 validate +quit

Want the experimental version? It’s a Steam beta branch of the same tool. Players need to be on the same branch as the server, so only switch if your whole crew is on experimental too.

Step 2: Make your own copy of dedicated.yaml

Game updates overwrite the stock dedicated.yaml in the server folder. Copy it to something like myserver_dedicated.yaml, copy EmpyrionDedicated.cmd to EmpyrionDedicated-myserver.cmd, and in the new .cmd add -dedicated myserver_dedicated.yaml to the EmpyrionLauncher line. Always start the server with your own .cmd from then on.

Step 3: Set the basics

The file has two sections. ServerConfig is the server itself; GameConfig is the world. Lines starting with # are switched off.

ServerConfig:
    Srv_Port: 30000
    Srv_Name: My Crew Server
    Srv_Password: friends-only
    Srv_MaxPlayers: 8
    Srv_Public: true
    Tel_Enabled: true
    Tel_Port: 30004
    Tel_Pwd: something-long-and-private
    EACActive: true
    SaveDirectory: Saves

GameConfig:
    GameName: CrewGalaxy
    Mode: Survival
    Seed: 1011345
    CustomScenario: Default Multiplayer

Step 4: Start it

Run your .cmd. EmpyrionDedicated.cmd opens a basic server window; EmpyrionDedicated_NoGraphics.cmd runs it without one, which is what you want on a headless machine (manage it over Telnet instead). The first start generates the world from GameName, Seed and the scenario. Before you shut down, run saveandexit 0 in the console so nothing is lost.

Empyrion dedicated server settings (dedicated.yaml)

All the Empyrion server settings live in dedicated.yaml, the one server config file you need to know. These are the keys most servers touch, with the values the stock file ships:

Setting	Stock value	What it does
Srv_Port	30000	Main server port; ports up to 30004 are used too
Srv_Name / Srv_Description	My Server	Name and a description of up to 127 characters in the browser
Srv_Password	Abc	Join password. The file’s own comment: “Only use with public servers (not for Local Coop)”
Srv_MaxPlayers	8	Player slots
Srv_ReservePlayfields	1	Idle playfield servers kept ready (0–10); at least 2 for busy servers
Srv_Public	true	false hides the server; players then join by IP
Srv_StopPeriod	off	Restarts all playfield servers every n real hours, with warnings
Tel_Enabled / Tel_Port / Tel_Pwd	true / 30004 / Abc	Telnet console access. Change the password
EACActive	true	Easy Anti-Cheat; clients must enable EAC in Options > Misc
MaxAllowedSizeClass	10	Largest blueprint size allowed; 0 means no limit
AllowedBlueprints	All	None, StockOnly or All
KickPlayerWithPing	off	Kicks players above a ping, e.g. 300
TimeoutBootingPfServer	90	Seconds a playfield may take to boot before it’s killed
EnableDLC	off	Lets a scenario use DLC content; every player then needs the DLC
GameName	DediGame	Save game folder name
Mode	Survival	Survival or Creative
Seed	1011345	World generation seed; same seed, same galaxy
CustomScenario	Default Multiplayer	Scenario folder name from Content\Scenarios

Difficulty settings work the same way, but they only apply to a new world: the server wiki notes that existing planets and saves aren’t affected, so decide before the first start. To give new players more than one starter planet, stop the server and add true to that planet’s entry in the scenario’s sectors.yaml.

Reforged Eden and other custom scenarios

A scenario is the whole galaxy: planets, factions, POIs and rules. Most busy Empyrion servers run a community scenario from the Steam Workshop, and Reforged Eden is the best known. The scenario is set once, before the world is created; switching later usually means a fresh save.

1. Find the scenario on the Empyrion Workshop and note its ID from the URL.
2. Download it with SteamCMD: workshop_download_item 383120 <workshop_id>, or subscribe in the game and copy it from your client.
3. Copy the scenario folder into the server’s Content\Scenarios and give it the scenario’s name.
4. Set CustomScenario to exactly that folder name and pick a new GameName.
5. Start the server. On their first join, players download the scenario’s shared data from the server.

When you update Reforged Eden for an existing world, keep the exact same folder name: the server reads the scenario name from game.dat in the save, not from your yaml. Large scenarios make that first download slow. To spare your bandwidth, zip the scenario’s SharedData folder, share it from Google Drive, OneDrive or Dropbox, and put the link in SharedDataURL under GameConfig.

Empyrion dedicated server ports

Forward ports 30000 to 30004, both TCP and UDP, to the server’s local IP, and allow them through Windows Firewall. Port 30000 is the game port (Srv_Port); 30004 is Telnet, which you only open if you manage the server remotely. If you change Srv_Port, shift the whole range with it.

Port	Protocol	Used for
30000	TCP + UDP	Game connections (Srv_Port)
30001–30003	TCP + UDP	Part of the forwarded range Eleon specifies
30004	TCP	Telnet console (Tel_Port)

How to become admin and run server commands

The first admin is set from inside the game. Join your server, open the console and type initadmin: it only works while no one on the server has admin rights. After that, give roles with setrole. The same commands work over Telnet (in PuTTY, choose the Raw connection type, not Telnet, or the password will fail).

Command	What it does
help / help faction	Lists commands, or the options of one command
initadmin	Makes you the first admin when none exists
setrole <steamID64> admin	Roles: player, gm, mod, admin
plys	Shows all players in the game
kick <player> [message]	Kicks one player, or kick all
ban <player> 14d / unban	Timed bans in hours, days or months
say 'text'	Message to everyone
saveandexit 10	Saves and shuts down after up to 15 minutes, with warnings
stoppf <playfield>|all	Restarts one playfield or all of them; players can reconnect right away
servers	Lists the running playfield servers
gents	Lists every structure, its playfield and its faction
faction list	Faction tools: list, stats, allow, remove

To restart the whole server cleanly, use saveandexit, then start your .cmd again. To recycle every playfield server on a timer, set Srv_StopPeriod to a number of hours.

Server manager tools

If you’d rather click than type, the dedicated server already includes one: Empyrion Admin Helper (EAH), made by the team behind the HWS (Homeworld Server) community, ships in the server’s DedicatedServer\EmpyrionAdminHelper folder. It runs on Windows with .NET 4.5. The Lite edition manages a server remotely over FTP and Telnet; the Full edition runs on the server machine itself.

Running an Empyrion server on Linux

There’s no Linux build of the Empyrion dedicated server, so every Linux setup runs the Windows server under Wine. The simplest is the community Docker image bitr/empyrion-server, which installs the server through SteamCMD on first run:

mkdir -p gamedir
docker run -d -p 30000:30000/udp --restart unless-stopped \
  -v $PWD/gamedir:/home/user/Steam bitr/empyrion-server

Edit gamedir/steamapps/common/Empyrion - Dedicated Server/dedicated.yaml and restart the container. Add -e BETA=1 (with a separate game folder) to run the experimental branch.

How to update an Empyrion dedicated server

When the game updates, players on the new version can’t join an old server. Run saveandexit, back up the Saves folder, run the SteamCMD command again (or let Steam update the tool), check your scenario still matches, then start the server with your own .cmd. Because you kept a renamed yaml and start script, the update can’t wipe your settings.

Common Empyrion server problems and fixes

Problem	Most likely cause	Fix
Server not showing up in the browser	Srv_Public: false, or ports 30000–30004 not forwarded	Set it to true, forward TCP and UDP to the right PC; meanwhile join by IP
Can’t connect, stuck on “Connecting to server”	EAC on the server but off on the client, or a version mismatch	Enable EAC in Options > Misc; match game and server versions (and branch)
“Could not retrieve server information”	Server still starting, wrong IP or port, or blocked ports	Wait for the start to finish, check the address, then the forwarding
Long wait on first join	Scenario shared data downloading through the server	Normal for big scenarios; set SharedDataURL
Playfield failed to start, timeout when warping	Playfield took longer than TimeoutBootingPfServer to boot	More RAM or CPU, raise the timeout, or Srv_ReservePlayfields: 2
Settings reset after an update	The stock dedicated.yaml was overwritten	Use your own yaml with -dedicated
Lag on a busy server	Too many playfields loaded, or giant blueprints	Add RAM, lower MaxAllowedSizeClass, use stoppf on empty playfields
A ship vanished	Lost entity	Have the player place a new starter block, stop the server, copy the four .area files from the lost ship’s folder in Saves\Games\<GameName>\Shared over it
Players can’t join after you added DLC content	EnableDLC is on	Every player needs the DLC, or turn it off

Skip the setup: Empyrion server hosting

Self-hosting Empyrion means a Windows PC with RAM to spare for every playfield your crew loads, five forwarded ports and a yaml file that updates love to overwrite. Empyrion: Galactic Survival server hosting on GameTeam is ready in minutes: you pay per GB of RAM, from $0.49/GB a week (8 GB is $3.92 a week, 12 GB is $5.88) or $1.99/GB billed monthly, with unlimited slots. The built-in AI copilot does the file work: tell it “max 12 players, password stardust, and restart the server every night” and it rewrites dedicated.yaml, sets the schedule and restarts, or ask “why is the server lagging?” and it reads the logs and tells you which playfields are loaded.

FAQ

Is the Empyrion dedicated server free?

Yes. The tool is free on Steam and SteamCMD, with an anonymous login. You pay only for the PC that runs it, or for a hosted server.

Where is dedicated.yaml?

In the server’s install folder, for example steamapps\common\Empyrion - Dedicated Server\dedicated.yaml. Work in a renamed copy so updates don’t replace it.

How many players can an Empyrion server hold?

Whatever you set in Srv_MaxPlayers; the stock file says 8. In practice the limit is how many playfields those players load at once, not the slot number.

How does co-op multiplayer work in Empyrion?

The host starts or loads a game in co-op, and friends join that game. Everyone plays in the host’s galaxy, which closes when the host quits. A dedicated server is the same galaxy with no host required.

Can I play on the same PC that runs the server?

Yes, if it has the RAM: the game wants 10–16 GB on its own, plus 8 GB or more for the server.

Can I run an RP or PvP server?

Yes. PvP and PvE are decided per playfield by the scenario, and dedicated.yaml adds anti-grief distances and blueprint limits. Pick a scenario built for the style you want, before the world is created.

Has the setup changed since Empyrion left alpha?

The layout has. Empyrion hit 1.0 in August 2020, and older guides from the alpha days show a flat list of - { prop: … } lines. Current servers use the ServerConfig: / GameConfig: format shown above.