{"id":3828,"date":"2026-10-27T17:12:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-27T14:12:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gameteam.io\/blog\/terraria-server-mods\/"},"modified":"2026-10-27T17:12:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T14:12:14","slug":"terraria-server-mods","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gameteam.io\/blog\/terraria-server-mods\/","title":{"rendered":"tModLoader Server: How to Add Mods to a Terraria Server"},"content":{"rendered":"

To add mods to a Terraria server, you run a tModLoader server: the vanilla TerrariaServer and TShock can’t load content mods.<\/strong> tModLoader is free on Steam for anyone who owns Terraria, and its install folder includes start-tModLoaderServer.bat<\/code> (.sh<\/code> on Linux and Mac). Load the server with the same mods your players have enabled, give it more RAM than vanilla, and keep its tModLoader version matched to theirs. Here is each step, on Windows, Linux and Docker.<\/p>\n

Vanilla, TShock or tModLoader: which server runs mods?<\/h2>\n

Only tModLoader runs content mods: new items, bosses, biomes and whole overhauls like Calamity. The vanilla server runs plain Terraria. TShock adds server-side plugins such as accounts, protected regions and admin commands, but no new content. tModLoader is effectively a separate game, with its own worlds folder, and a tModLoader client won’t connect to a vanilla server.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Server<\/th>\nWhat it runs<\/th>\nWhat players need<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Vanilla TerrariaServer<\/td>\nTerraria 1.4.5.8, no mods<\/td>\nNormal Terraria<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
TShock 6.2.1<\/td>\nVanilla plus server plugins<\/td>\nNormal Terraria<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
tModLoader server<\/td>\nMods from the tModLoader Workshop, on a Terraria 1.4.4 base<\/td>\ntModLoader and the same mods<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

That 1.4.4 base matters: tModLoader’s stable releases haven’t moved to 1.4.5 yet, so 1.4.5 items and seeds aren’t in modded worlds. Pick vanilla or modded before you build the world: a world saved by vanilla 1.4.5 won’t open in tModLoader yet, and a modded world loses its modded tiles and items if you take it back to vanilla.<\/p>\n

How to start a Terraria tModLoader server on Windows<\/h2>\n

Install tModLoader from Steam, enable the mods you want, then run start-tModLoaderServer.bat<\/code> from the tModLoader install folder. It asks whether to enable Steam multiplayer, which world to load, then max players, port, port forwarding and a password. Put -nosteam<\/code> and -world<\/code> in your own .bat to skip the questions and boot straight into a world.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Install tModLoader<\/strong> from Steam (you need Terraria on Steam). It lands in C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Steam\\steamapps\\common\\tModLoader<\/code>. GOG owners install it by hand in a folder next to the Terraria install.<\/li>\n
  2. Get your mods:<\/strong> in tModLoader open Workshop<\/em> \u2192 Download Mods<\/em>, subscribe to what you want, then turn them on in Workshop<\/em> \u2192 Manage Mods<\/em> and reload.<\/li>\n
  3. Run start-tModLoaderServer.bat<\/code>.<\/strong> Choose whether Steam multiplayer is on (friends, friends of friends, or private), let the mods load, pick a world, then answer the max players, port (7777 by default), port forwarding and password prompts.<\/li>\n
  4. Skip the prompts next time<\/strong> with a .bat of your own:\n
    start-tModLoaderServer.bat -nosteam -world \"C:\\Users\\YOU\\Documents\\My Games\\Terraria\\tModLoader\\Worlds\\MyWorld.wld\"<\/code><\/pre>\n
        Point -world<\/code> at the .wld<\/code> file, never the .twld<\/code> next to it. Use -steam -lobby friends<\/code> instead of -nosteam<\/code> if your group joins through Steam.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    Just playing with a couple of friends while you’re online? tModLoader also has Host & Play, which runs the modded world inside your game. It closes when you quit, like vanilla.<\/p>\n
    How to set up a tModLoader dedicated server on Linux or Docker<\/h2>\n
    On Linux, tModLoader’s DedicatedServerUtils give you two routes: a Docker container, which the project recommends, or the manage-tModLoaderServer.sh<\/code> script, which installs tModLoader from SteamCMD or GitHub. Both expect the same folder layout, with a Mods<\/code> folder for install.txt<\/code>, enabled.json<\/code> and any .tmod<\/code> files, plus a Worlds<\/code> folder. ARM machines aren’t supported.<\/p>\n
    tModLoader\/\n\u251c\u2500\u2500 Mods\/\n\u2502   \u251c\u2500\u2500 enabled.json\n\u2502   \u251c\u2500\u2500 install.txt\n\u2502   \u2514\u2500\u2500 mymod.tmod        (optional, manual mods)\n\u251c\u2500\u2500 Worlds\/\n\u2502   \u251c\u2500\u2500 MyWorld.wld\n\u2502   \u2514\u2500\u2500 MyWorld.twld\n\u2514\u2500\u2500 serverconfig.txt      (optional)<\/code><\/pre>\n
    Docker<\/h3>\n
      \n
    1. Download docker-compose.yml<\/code> and the Dockerfile<\/code> from DedicatedServerUtils<\/a> and put them next to the tModLoader<\/code> folder.<\/li>\n
    2. Set your UID and GID in docker-compose.yml<\/code> (run id<\/code> to see them) and make sure the folder is owned by that user: chown -R UID:GID tModLoader<\/code>.<\/li>\n
    3. Start it with docker compose up -d<\/code>. The server listens on port 7777.<\/li>\n
    4. Open the console with docker attach tml<\/code>, and leave it with Ctrl-P Ctrl-Q (Ctrl-C stops the server). Send one command without attaching: docker exec -it tml execute \"say Server restarting in 5 minutes\"<\/code>.<\/li>\n
    5. Update tModLoader and mods by rebuilding: docker compose build<\/code>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      Management script<\/h3>\n
      .\/manage-tModLoaderServer.sh install-tml --github      # or: install-tml --username yoursteamname (SteamCMD)\n.\/manage-tModLoaderServer.sh install-mods\n.\/manage-tModLoaderServer.sh start<\/code><\/pre>\n
      Later, .\/manage-tModLoaderServer.sh install<\/code> updates tModLoader and the mods together. On GitHub installs, a tmlversion.txt<\/code> from your mod pack pins a specific tModLoader version if the pack needs an older one.<\/p>\n
      How to add mods to the server: install.txt and enabled.json<\/h2>\n
      The Steam Workshop knows mods by ID, not by name, so a server installs Workshop mods from a mod pack. In tModLoader, save your enabled mods as a mod pack, open its folder and copy install.txt<\/code> and enabled.json<\/code> into the server’s Mods<\/code> folder. Hand-downloaded .tmod<\/code> files go in the same folder, but they only load if enabled.json<\/code> lists them too.<\/p>\n
        \n
      1. In tModLoader: Workshop<\/em> \u2192 Mod Packs<\/em> \u2192 Save Enabled as New Mod Pack<\/em>.<\/li>\n
      2. Click Open Mod Pack Folder<\/em> and go into the folder named after your pack.<\/li>\n
      3. Copy install.txt<\/code> (the Workshop IDs) and enabled.json<\/code> (what to switch on) into the server’s Mods<\/code> folder.<\/li>\n
      4. Install them: install-mods<\/code> with the script, docker compose build<\/code> and then docker compose up -d<\/code> with Docker, or on Windows simply enable the pack’s mods in tModLoader before starting the server.<\/li>\n
      5. Start the server and read the console. A mod that fails to load names itself there.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
        Two serverconfig.txt<\/code> lines help on hosted or headless servers: modpath=<\/code> sets the folder the server loads .tmod<\/code> files from, and modpack=<\/code> loads only one pack’s mods. The launch option -tmlsavedirectory<\/code> moves the whole save folder (worlds and mods) somewhere else.<\/p>\n
        What every player needs to join a modded Terraria server<\/h2>\n
        Everyone who joins needs tModLoader, the same tModLoader version as the server, and the same mods. A friend on vanilla Terraria can’t connect at all. A friend one tModLoader update behind gets “You are not using the same version as this server.” Share your mod list so everyone subscribes to the same mods, and tell the group before you update the server.<\/p>\n