How to Set Up an ARK: Survival Evolved Dedicated Server

An ARK: Survival Evolved dedicated server keeps your island running for the whole tribe, whoever is online, with your own rates and rules. The server is a free download from Steam and runs on Linux and Windows.

Option 1: by hand with SteamCMD

The ARK: Survival Evolved Dedicated Server is Steam application 376030, an anonymous download of about 23 GB. You do not need to own the game on the server.

  1. Install SteamCMD, then run: +login anonymous +app_update 376030 validate +quit
  2. Start ShooterGame/Binaries/Linux/ShooterGameServer (ShooterGameServer.exe on Windows) with a launch URL: TheIsland?listen?SessionName=MyServer?Port=7777?QueryPort=27015?MaxPlayers=20?ServerAdminPassword=<a password> -server -log
  3. Open UDP 7777 and 7778 (the game port and the one after it, which ARK binds itself) and UDP 27015 (the query port the server list asks).
  4. Wait for the map: about a minute on The Island. Then find the server under Unofficial in Join ARK.
  5. Stop it, set your rates in ShooterGame/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/GameUserSettings.ini and Game.ini, and start it again.
Tip:ARK writes its ini files itself, and on its very first start it replaced a GameUserSettings.ini we had written beforehand with its own defaults (measured). Put the session name, Max Players and the passwords on the launch URL, and edit the ini only while the server is stopped.

Option 2: Docker

runonflux/ase-server-flux, our image, installs and updates the server with SteamCMD on every start, writes both ini files from environment variables and a settings file, downloads and unpacks Workshop mods, keeps the RCON on the inside only, saves the world before every stop, warns players before update restarts and keeps backups. Its source is on GitHub, RunOnFlux/ase-server-flux.

  • Mount /mnt/ase/data on a volume: the worlds, the players and tribes, and the ini files live there.
  • Mount /mnt/ase/server too, or every start downloads 23 GB again.
  • Publish the game port and the next one, and the query port, all UDP.
  • Allow at least 20 seconds to stop: ARK saves within a second of the stop signal, then hangs for about a minute, and the image ends it once the world is on disk.

Option 3: managed on Flux

Deploy an ARK: Survival Evolved server on the Flux decentralized cloud, on that same image, with the ports opened and routed for you, DDoS protection included, and a dashboard with every server setting, the twelve maps, Workshop mods, a console that kicks, bans and broadcasts, a file browser, a live terminal and backups. Plans start at $6.49 a month.

  1. Pick the plan for your map: 10 GB for The Island, The Center or Ragnarok; 14 GB for heavier maps or mods; 20 GB for Genesis Part 2 and Lost Island.
  2. Choose a region close to your players.
  3. Name the server, pick the first map and deploy. The first start downloads about 23 GB.
  4. Set your rates in the Server Settings tab and add mods in the Mods tab.
Deploy an ARK server →

Frequently asked questions

Is the ARK: Survival Evolved dedicated server free?

Yes. It is a free, anonymous download from Steam (application 376030); you do not need to own the game on the server.

How big is the ARK server download?

About 23 GB (measured in October 2026), plus your mods.

How long does an ARK server take to start?

About a minute on The Island once installed (56 seconds in our test); the first start downloads 23 GB first.

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