Palworld Server Mod Guide: How to Add Mods to Your Server (UE4SS, .pak and Workshop)

To add mods to a Palworld server you need the Windows version of the server running UE4SS — the standard Linux dedicated server cannot load a single mod. Once the server runs the Windows build with UE4SS, .pak mods go in Pal/Content/Paks and UE4SS Lua mods go in Pal/Binaries/Win64/ue4ss/Mods. Here is how each step works, and how to keep mods from breaking your world when Palworld updates.

Why the normal server can’t load mods

Most Palworld mods are built on UE4SS, a scripting layer for Unreal Engine games, or are packaged as .pak files that UE4SS loads. UE4SS only runs on the Windows build of the game. That is why a Linux dedicated server — which is what most hosts and most self-hosters run — simply ignores every mod you upload.

So the first decision is the server build:

• Self-hosting on Windows: you already have the right build. Install UE4SS into the server’s Pal/Binaries/Win64 folder.
• Linux machine or host: you need the Windows server build running under Wine with UE4SS. On GameTeam’s Palworld server hosting this is a separate server option called Palworld UE4SS: switch to it from Change Game and your save is kept.

How to install Palworld server mods

1. Back up first. Copy Pal/Saved somewhere safe. Mods are the most common reason a world refuses to load.
2. Make sure UE4SS is in place (or that you are on the Palworld UE4SS option on GameTeam).
3. Put each mod in the right folder, following its own instructions:
   • .pak mods → Pal/Content/Paks (some mods ask for a subfolder such as ~mods)
   • UE4SS Lua mods → Pal/Binaries/Win64/ue4ss/Mods, each in its own folder
4. Restart the server and check the log for errors on startup.
5. Tell your players which mods need installing on their side. Mods that only change server rules work without anything on the client. Mods that add new items, Pals or visuals usually need the same version installed on every player’s game, or players get kicked or see missing objects.

On GameTeam the Tools page installs both mod formats from a link, so you don’t have to dig through folders.

The official Workshop mod system

Pocketpair now documents its own way to load Steam Workshop mods on a dedicated server. It has the same two limits as everything above: it only works on the Windows build, and only for mods made to run on a server. Instead of copying files by hand, you tell the server which mods to load and it puts each file in the right place on restart.

1. Start the server once. It creates Mods/PalModSettings.ini next to PalServer.exe.
2. Copy each Workshop item into Mods/Workshop/<any folder name>/, with its Info.json directly inside that folder. (Or point the server at a whole Workshop folder with WorkshopRootDir= in that file, or the -workshopdir="<path>" launch argument.)
3. Turn mods on and list them by PackageName — the value inside Info.json, not the folder name — one line per mod:

   [PalModSettings]
   bGlobalEnableMod=true
   ActiveModList=FirstModPackageName
   ActiveModList=SecondModPackageName

4. Restart. The server deploys each mod by the rules in its Info.json: UE4SS itself to Mods\NativeMods\UE4SS, Lua mods under Mods\NativeMods\UE4SS\Mods\, .pak mods to Pal\Content\Paks\~WorkshopMods\.

Two checks save a lot of guessing. If a mod’s Info.json has no "IsServer": true in its install rules, it isn’t built for servers and won’t load. And the -NoMods launch argument switches every mod off at once, which is the quickest way to prove whether a crash is a mod’s fault. To remove one mod, take its line out of ActiveModList and restart.

Keeping mods working through Palworld updates

Game updates are where modded servers break. UE4SS and many mods have to be updated after a Palworld patch, and an outdated mod can crash the server on start.

1. Before updating, back up Pal/Saved and note which mods you run.
2. Remove mods that haven’t been updated for the new version — deleting is safer than leaving them disabled.
3. Update the server, update UE4SS, then add mods back one at a time, restarting between each.

Workshop mods loaded the official way are easier: copy in the newer version of the item, and on the next restart the server removes the old files and deploys the new ones by itself.

If the server won’t start after an update, the log almost always names the mod. Why a Palworld server keeps crashing covers the other causes.

Troubleshooting

The easy way

On GameTeam’s Palworld server hosting, switching to the Palworld UE4SS option is one click from Change Game (your save is kept), the Tools page installs mods from a link, and the AI copilot reads the log when a mod breaks something and tells you which one it was.

New to running a server? Start with the Palworld dedicated server guide.