TShock Server Hosting

TShock is what turns a Terraria dedicated server into something you can actually run for other people: accounts, groups, permissions, region protection, real admin commands and a plugin system. It is installed on every plan here, its plugin folder sits on your volume, and your players install nothing at all. From $0.99 a month.

What plugins need from a host

TShock installed before the server starts

The vanilla dedicated server has no plugin system at all — TShock replaces the binary rather than extending it, and it needs a .NET runtime alongside. On a self-hosted box that means installing both by hand and redoing it after game updates. Here it is installed on every tier and matched to the Terraria version it runs, so update day is not your problem.

A plugin folder you can actually write to

A plugin is a .dll that has to land in ServerPlugins and be there when the server starts. That folder needs to be inside a persisted volume, or every restart wipes it. On this site ServerPlugins is mounted into the volume the file browser already exposes, so adding a plugin is a drag and drop rather than an SFTP session — and it survives restarts and redeploys.

Somewhere for accounts, groups and bans to live

TShock keeps users, groups, permissions, bans and protected regions in a SQLite file beside its config. No database to provision and no separate service — but it does have to be on the persisted volume, because that file is your entire moderation history. A host that resets the volume resets every ban you have ever issued.

Your players install nothing

This is the part worth understanding before anything else, because it is where Terraria differs from almost every other moddable game. TShock plugins run entirely on the server. There is no client half, nothing to distribute, no version to keep in step across a friend group, and nobody gets kicked on join for having the wrong build. Everyone connects with the unmodified game they already own.

The practical consequence is that you can add, remove and swap plugins whenever you like without coordinating with anyone. A world-protection plugin, an economy, a warp system or a chat overhaul all go in on your schedule, and your players find out because the server behaves differently, not because they had to download something.

TShock is not tModLoader

These get confused constantly and the difference matters, because it decides what game your players launch. TShock is a server-side framework: it replaces the dedicated server and adds administration and plugins, while clients stay on ordinary Terraria. tModLoader is a separate application with its own Steam entry that loads content mods — new items, bosses, biomes — and it changes the game on both ends.

They are not two options in the same slot. A tModLoader client cannot join a TShock server, and content mods are not TShock plugins — the two systems have nothing in common but the word. If what you want is moderation tools, permissions and control over a shared world, TShock is the answer and this is the right page. If what you want is new bosses and items, that is tModLoader, and it is a different kind of server entirely.

Installing plugins on a Flux server

Deploy any plan — TShock is installed on all of them.
Claim superadmin first. Your setup code is shown in the dashboard; type /setup with it in-game before you hand the address to anyone.
Find plugins on the TShock forums or their GitHub releases. Each downloads as a .dll, sometimes zipped with a config file.
Upload the .dll to the ServerPlugins folder on your volume from the Files tab, then restart. The restart is what loads it.
Check the log. A plugin that loaded says so; a plugin that threw names itself and the exception.

That last step is the one people skip, and it is the difference between noticing a bad plugin now and discovering it when the server will not come back up. See the full self-hosting guide for what installing TShock looks like when you do it yourself.

Version drift is the thing that bites

TShock is built against a specific Terraria release, and plugins are built against a specific TShock. When Terraria updates, TShock follows days later, and plugins follow that. A plugin compiled for an older TShock can throw on load and take the whole server down with it — which is why the log is worth reading after every update, not just after every install.

This is also the strongest argument for not self-hosting a plugin-heavy server casually. The install is easy; staying in step through three layers of release schedules is the recurring work. On the plans here TShock is kept matched to the Terraria build it runs, so what is left for you is your own plugins.

Sizing a plugin-heavy server

Group size first: 8, 16 and 32 at $0.99, $1.75 and $3.95 a month, on 1GB, 2GB and 4GB. Those numbers are what each tier’s hardware runs comfortably, not a limit — your server deploys with no player cap at all, and MaxSlots on the Server Settings tab is yours to set if you want one.

Then check the memory against your world rather than your plugin count. A handful of quality-of-life plugins is close to free; what actually grows is the world — how much has been built, how far the map has been explored, what is sitting in chests. A large economy or region system on a mature world is the case that outgrows the smallest tier, and the requirements page goes through both axes properly.

Deploy a TShock server

TShock installed and version-matched, ServerPlugins on a volume you can browse, your setup code one click away, and hourly world backups. First month free if your Flux account is new.

Frequently asked questions

What is TShock and do I need it?

TShock replaces the vanilla Terraria dedicated server with the same game plus accounts, groups, permissions, region protection, real admin commands and plugins. You do not strictly need it, but a vanilla server gives you no way to stop a griefer beyond restoring a backup — which is why almost nobody runs one bare.

Do my players need to install anything?

No, and this is TShock’s quiet advantage over client-side modding. Plugins run server-side only, so everyone joins with the unmodified game. There is no version-matching to coordinate across a friend group and nobody gets kicked for having the wrong build.

Is TShock the same as tModLoader?

No, and they are not alternatives. TShock is server-side administration and plugins with ordinary Terraria clients; tModLoader is a separate application with its own Steam entry that loads content mods on both ends. A tModLoader client cannot join a TShock server, and their plugins are not interchangeable.

Where do TShock plugins come from?

The TShock forums and GitHub releases, rather than a single registry. A plugin arrives as a .dll, sometimes zipped alongside a config file; it goes in the ServerPlugins folder and loads when the server starts.

Why did my plugin not load?

Almost always one of three things: the .dll went somewhere other than ServerPlugins, the server was not restarted, or the plugin was built for a different TShock version and threw on load. The log names which, and it is the first place to look before reinstalling anything.

Do I need a database for TShock?

No. TShock stores users, groups, bans and regions in a SQLite file beside its config, which needs no setup and no separate service. A MySQL backend exists for people running several servers against one user list, but for a single world it adds a component and buys nothing.