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Building game servers

Setting up Palworld servers via a non-Docker script

This topic mainly describes how to quickly set up a Palworld server by using a script on a Linux-based instance.

warning

Currently, you can set up a Palworld server using a non-Docker script only on Linux-based instances. We recommend using the Ubuntu 22.04 operating system for your instance.

This script downloads and installs a Palworld server via the public network. As a result, Palworld server installation may fail. If an installation failure occurs, rerun the script to complete the installation.

What is Palworld?

Palworld is an open-world game developed by Pocketpair. It combines survival and construction, exploration and combat, creature catching, training, and business manufacturing. This game supports multiplayer online play. Players need to collect mysterious "Pals" in a vast world, use "Pals" for combat, construction, farming, and other tasks, and build their dream bases.

Applicable scenario

Palworld is an open-world game that allows you to set up a dedicated server using an ECS instance. You and your friends can log in for better playing experience. The dedicated server can offer better privacy and help avoid issues like game crashes caused by overcrowding on official servers.

Prerequisites

You have created an ECS instance.

tip

VolcanoEngine offers promotions for instance purchases. You can visit the campaign page to buy a cost-effective instance for setting up your game server.

The target instance must be associated with an EIP. For information about how to associate an EIP with an ECS instance, see Associating EIPs.

Procedure

Step 1: Configure a security group

Since the Palworld server uses UDP port 8211 for data transmission, you need to allow inbound UDP traffic on port 8211 in the security group of the target instance.

In the left-side navigation pane, select "Instances & Images > Instances".

In the top menu bar, select the region and project where the target instance resides.

On the Instances page, find the target instance, and click the instance name to go to the instance details page.

Select the "Security Group" tab, and click the "Edit rule" button.

On the security group details page, select "Access rules > Inbound rules" tab. Then, on the "Inbound rules" tab, complete the following configurations.

Click the "Add rule" button.

On the "Add Inbound rule" page, perform the following operations in sequence: specify "Protocol type" as UDP, copy 8211 into the "Port range" field, and copy 0.0.0.0/0 into the "Source" field. Then, click the "Confirm" button to complete the configuration.

Step 2: Set up a Palworld server

Execute the following command on the instance to set up a Palworld server via a script.

wget -O script.sh https://palworld.tos-cn-beijing.volces.com/install_palworld.sh && chmod +x script.sh && ./script.sh

If the following output is displayed, the Palworld server is set up and started. If the setup fails, rerun the script.

At this point, the Palworld server has been set up.

Step 3: Start the game

Start Palworld in Steam.

On the game home page, click the "Join multiplayer game (dedicated server)" button.

On the start page, select "Community server", and at the bottom of the page, input the ECS instance EIP:8211. Click the "Contact" button to enter the dedicated server and start the game.

Update the game

Execute the following commands on the ECS instance to update the game.

sudo systemctl stop pal-world-server.service
sudo -u steam $(which steamcmd) +login anonymous +app_update 2394010 validate +quit

If the following output is displayed, the game server is updated.

Execute the following commands on the instance to start the game server and view its running status.

sudo systemctl start pal-world-server.service
sudo systemctl status pal-world-server.service

If the following output is displayed, the game server is started.

Last updated: 2025.09.26 16:38:08