Setup Guide

How to Set Up a Windrose Dedicated Server (2026)

This guide walks through both ways to run a persistent Windrose dedicated server: self-hosting the Linux/Docker server yourself, and deploying a fully managed server on the Flux decentralized cloud in about 30 seconds. Windrose is a co-op PvE pirate survival game that supports up to 8 players, and a dedicated server keeps your world, ships and crew progression online 24/7.

Why run a dedicated server instead of hosting from the game?

When you host Windrose directly from your game client, the world only exists while you are online. The moment you close the game, every friend is disconnected and progress pauses. A dedicated server removes that limitation: the world runs continuously, friends in any time zone can log in whenever they like, and you gain admin tooling that player-hosting does not offer: RCON, a live map, rate multipliers, scheduled restarts and backups.

Method 1: Self-host the Windrose dedicated server (Linux + Docker)

1. Provision a machine that meets the requirements: about 16 GB RAM, a modern quad-core CPU, and 30 GB of SSD. See our Windrose dedicated server requirements for details.
2. Install Docker on your Linux host and pull the Windrose dedicated server image (the server ships as a Linux/Docker build; consult the game's DedicatedServer documentation for the current image and tags).
3. Configure the server. Set the server name, world settings and any XP, loot or crafting multipliers via the config file or environment variables.
4. Open the ports your server uses on both your firewall and router (port forwarding), and make sure they are reachable from the internet.
5. Start the container, wait for the first boot to finish, then grab the invite code so friends can join.
6. Maintain it. Keep the image updated to match the client version, schedule backups of the save data, and watch memory as your world grows.

Self-hosting is free apart from your hardware or VPS bill, but you own every part of the stack: the OS, networking, updates, uptime and backups.

Method 2: Deploy a managed Windrose server on Flux (recommended)

1. Create a free account at runonflux.com/games/windrose with Google, email or a Flux wallet.
2. Choose a plan sized for your crew and a region close to your players for the lowest ping.
3. Click deploy. Automated provisioning brings your dedicated server online in under 30 seconds, with DDoS protection and the WindrosePlus admin suite already enabled.
4. Share the invite code from your dashboard, then see how to play with friends.
5. Manage everything from the web dashboard: file manager, config editor, live map, multipliers, backups and restore.

The managed route handles the operating system, networking, ports and updates for you, so you can focus on sailing instead of sysadmin work.

Before you start: three decisions

Both routes below go faster if you have settled these first, and all three are annoying to change once a crew has started building.

• Where the server sits. Latency is set by distance, so a machine near your crew beats a faster one far away for every person aboard. If your crew is spread out, pick the region closest to most of them rather than to you.
• How big the world will get. Windrose holds ships, structures and loaded islands in memory, so sizing from crew count alone underestimates a world that has been played for months. The requirements page covers what actually consumes memory.
• Who administers it. Rate multipliers and world settings are shared, so one person changing gathering rates changes the game for everyone. Decide early who has the dashboard.

Which method should you pick?

Self-hosting is a genuinely reasonable choice if you already keep a machine on and enjoy the tinkering. It stops being reasonable when other people depend on the world being up, because at that point you are not the host, you are on call.

After it is running

Three habits that separate a server that lasts from one that gets abandoned in month three:

1. Back up before you need to. The failure crews actually hit is not a lost machine, it is a bad session: a ship scuttled by accident, something built where it should not have been. A restore point from yesterday turns that into an inconvenience rather than an argument.
2. Update the server the day a patch lands. Clients update automatically through Steam and servers do not, so a crew that sailed last night can be locked out this morning with nothing having changed on your side.
3. Watch memory as the world matures. The signs of running short arrive before the crash: longer load times on start, saves that become visible pauses. Both are worth acting on rather than waiting out.

Setup FAQ

How long does it take to set up a Windrose server?

Self-hosting takes anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour depending on your experience. A managed Flux deployment is live in about 30 seconds.

Do I need port forwarding?

Only when self-hosting. Managed Flux servers open the required ports automatically.

Can I move my world later?

Yes. The save data is portable, so you can migrate between hosts, or between self-hosted and managed, without rebuilding anything.

What ports does the server need?

7777 for game traffic and 8780 for the WindrosePlus admin dashboard. Self-hosting means forwarding both through your router and keeping the rules pointed at a machine whose local address does not change.

Do I need to update the server when Windrose patches?

Yes, and promptly. Clients update automatically through Steam while servers do not, so a server left on the previous build will refuse a crew that could play the night before. On Flux a restart pulls the current image, so it is one click.

Should I self-host or use a managed server?

Self-host if you already keep a machine on around the clock and enjoy running it. Move to managed when other people depend on the world being up, because that is the point where hosting stops being a hobby and starts being an obligation.

Deploy a Windrose dedicated server on Flux →