Enshrouded server not showing up? How to fix it

If your Enshrouded server isn’t in the list, it’s usually one of four things: the server hasn’t finished starting, the server and your players are on different versions, you’re looking in the wrong part of the server list, or the port can’t be reached from outside. If you see “roles are invalid” or nobody gets in with their password, the problem is in your roles and passwords. Below we go through everything, from the quick checks to the tricky ones.

Your server isn’t in the list: what now?

Start with the simple stuff. Most servers that seem to be missing are right there, just not where you’re looking.

1. Is the server really ready? An Enshrouded server only accepts players once the line [Session] 'HostOnline' (up)! appears in the console or log file. The first start, and the first start after an update, take longer because the server downloads files and loads the world. In our game panel the status only switches to online once that line appears.
2. Are you looking in the right list? Since the Thralls of Twilight update (May 2025), the Join menu shows player-hosted games and dedicated servers separately. A rented server is a dedicated server.
3. Is a filter switched on? You can filter the list by password, Steam friends’ servers, empty servers and a minimum number of free slots, and since November 2025 by tags as well. Turn them off and search again.
4. Are you searching for the right name? The name in the list is the name field in enshrouded_server.json. On our servers you set it in the Startup tab, and the server picks it up on every start.
5. Search by IP address. The Join menu has a search box for IP address and port, and you can join the server straight from there. The address and port are in the game panel. Still nothing? Add the server to your favourites in Steam: open the game server list in Steam (View, Game Servers), choose Favorites and click the plus. Enter the IP address and the query port, separated by a colon. Favourites show up at the top of the list in Enshrouded.

Does your server say “Version mismatch”?

The game and the server have to run exactly the same version. Steam updates your players’ game automatically, but the server only fetches an update when it restarts. So after a patch there’s a window where they don’t match. The fix: restart the server and ask your players to check that Steam has finished updating.

Not every patch touches the server. With small hotfixes, Keen Games often notes that dedicated servers don’t need an update. If in doubt, a restart never hurts. On our servers Auto Update is on by default, so the server updates itself on every start.

Put 15 October 2026 in your calendar: that’s when Enshrouded leaves early access with version 1.0. Back up your world before that day, and restart your server as soon as the update is out. How backups work is explained in Create and restore a backup.

What does “roles are invalid” mean?

Since Update 2 (June 2024), Enshrouded no longer uses a single server password but roles. In enshrouded_server.json, the userGroups section lists a name, a password and a set of permissions for each role. The password someone logs in with decides their role. If the server can’t use one or more of those roles, you get this message.

The cause is nearly always in the file itself. Check these points:

• every role has its own password, so no two roles share one;
• no password made up of numbers only (our game panel doesn’t accept that either);
• the JSON is valid: no missing comma, quote or bracket;
• permissions are set to true or false, and reservedSlots is a number.

Then restart the server and check the console to see whether the message is gone.

How do you set up passwords and roles?

A new dedicated server comes with four roles:

• Admin can do everything, including kicking and banning players;
• Friend can build in bases and use chests;
• Guest can explore the world, but can’t change bases or open chests;
• Visitor can do what a Guest can, but can’t change the world outside bases either.

Every role can fight, gather and do quests in the open world. Only give the Admin password to people you really trust: a base is emptied in minutes, and not even cake fixes that. Keen recommends always using passwords, because without one anybody can see and join your server.

On our servers the four passwords are in the Startup tab. Replace the default passwords with your own straight away. The panel writes them into enshrouded_server.json on every start, so if you only change them in the file, the old ones are back after a restart. How to change settings under Startup is explained in Change your server settings under Startup. Someone is told the server is full while there seem to be free slots? Check reservedSlots: slots reserved for one role count as taken for the other roles.

Which ports do you need when self-hosting?

If you host the server yourself, on your own PC or your own machine, players need to reach it from outside. According to Keen’s FAQ, the server uses query port 15637 by default, plus the ports Steam needs. Open that port in your router and firewall and forward it to the computer running the server.

Two things often go wrong here. The server only works over IPv4, so on an internet connection without its own public IPv4 address your friends can’t get in. And an open port on your router isn’t enough if Windows Firewall is still blocking the traffic.

With a rented server you don’t need to do any of this: it has a public IPv4 address and the port is already set up. You’ll find the address and port in the game panel.

Does your server freeze or fail to start?

If the server never gets past loading, or drops out as soon as players join, look at memory first. Keen’s dedicated server FAQ mentions about 4.4 GB of RAM when idle, plus up to 100 MB per player. If the memory graph in the game panel keeps hitting the limit, pick a bigger plan.

If things break after an update or a crash in the middle of a session, your world save may be damaged. The server saves the world every 5 minutes; in that case, restore a backup from just before. Your characters are safe: they’re stored on your players’ PCs, not on the server.

When is a rented server easier?

Self-hosting is fine for a try-out, but your world is only online while your PC is on. With a rented server, Embervale stays up while you sleep, and the usual problems mostly go away:

• a public IPv4 address and an open port, without fiddling with your router;
• Auto Update on every start, so the server matches your players’ version;
• 2 backups per server, made by hand or scheduled;
• the passwords for each role right in the Startup tab.

What else you can do in the panel is on our game panel page. Playing other survival games too? Have a look at our game server hosting.