> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://blog.sudowl.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Valheim Dedicated Server on Linux — the One Thing People Get Wrong - URL: https://blog.sudowl.com/valheim-dedicated-server-linux/ - Published: 2026-04-18T10:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-11T08:47:37.000Z - Description: Valheim dedicated server on Ubuntu via SteamCMD. Systemd unit, port 2456-2458, the SteamAppId thing that trips everyone up, backups that actually survive crashes. - Author: Lukas - Tags: Gameserver, Ubuntu, Linux Ran a Valheim server for a group of friends for about a year. Biggest lesson: back up the world file before you do literally anything else. Second lesson: `SteamAppId=892970` is not a typo. **The whole thing in four commands:** ```bash sudo apt install steamcmd sudo adduser --system --group --home /opt/valheim valheim sudo -u valheim -H steamcmd +force_install_dir /opt/valheim +login anonymous +app_update 896660 validate +quit sudo ufw allow 2456:2458/udp ``` Then a systemd unit, then you're done. Rest of this is the stuff the Steam wiki won't tell you. ## The SteamAppId gotcha App ID for the Valheim **server** is `896660`. The env var `SteamAppId` has to be `892970` (the game's ID). If you copy-paste the server ID into both places — which is the obvious thing to do — the server boots, immediately exits, and the log looks fine until you squint. This trips up everybody. Look: ```ini Environment=SteamAppId=892970 ExecStart=/opt/valheim/valheim_server.x86_64 -nographics -batchmode ... ``` `SteamAppId=892970`, not 896660\. Burn it into memory. ## The systemd unit I actually run `/etc/systemd/system/valheim.service`: ```ini [Unit] Description=Valheim Dedicated Server After=network-online.target Wants=network-online.target [Service] Type=simple User=valheim Group=valheim WorkingDirectory=/opt/valheim Environment=LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/opt/valheim/linux64 Environment=SteamAppId=892970 ExecStart=/opt/valheim/valheim_server.x86_64 -nographics -batchmode \ -name "MyServer" -port 2456 \ -world "Midgard" -password "changeme" \ -savedir /opt/valheim/saves -public 1 Restart=on-failure RestartSec=10 RuntimeMaxSec=604800 [Install] WantedBy=multi-user.target ``` `RuntimeMaxSec=604800` forces a restart once a week. Valheim leaks memory slowly — after two weeks uptime the thing eats 6 GB on a 4 GB box and OOMs. Weekly restart is free insurance. State survives. `-password` has to be ≥ 5 chars or the server refuses to start. Error message isn't obvious — it just dies. More on unit files in general: [systemd service unit files](/systemd-service-unit-file/). ## Backups — do this before you let anyone on Valheim world files get corrupted. Player disconnects mid-save, server panics on the next write, you reload and half the base is gone. Happened to us twice in the first month. What you actually need to back up: - `.db` — the world - `.fwl` — metadata (seed, name) - `.db.old` \+ `.fwl.old` — previous save, Valheim auto-rotates on clean write All of those live in whatever `-savedir` points to (I use `/opt/valheim/saves`). If you skip `-savedir`, it's `~/.config/unity3d/IronGate/Valheim/worlds_local/` — less convenient to back up. Cron, nightly: ```bash rsync -a --delete /opt/valheim/saves/ /backup/valheim/$(date +%F)/ ``` Keep 7 days. If the live save is corrupt, swap in the `.old` files. If those are also bad, pull yesterday's backup. I use the rotation pattern from [rsync backups on Linux](/rsync-backup-linux/). ## Ports UDP 2456 through 2458\. Open all three: ```bash sudo ufw allow 2456:2458/udp ``` Valheim only uses 2456 for the game itself, but the other two are used for Steam server-query and voice. Open only 2456 and players can join but the server won't show up in the community list. UFW reference: [UFW firewall rules on Ubuntu](/ufw-firewall-rules-ubuntu/). Steam query on 27015 — only open if you want the public server browser to list you. I run `-public 0` (direct-IP only) and skip it. ## Updates Valheim drops a patch roughly once a month, and clients can't join a server running the old version. Workflow: ```bash sudo systemctl stop valheim sudo -u valheim -H steamcmd +force_install_dir /opt/valheim +login anonymous +app_update 896660 validate +quit sudo systemctl start valheim ``` The `validate` flag re-checks file hashes. Skip it if you're in a hurry, add it if something feels weird after an update. **Always back up before the update.** Schema migrations are rare but not impossible, and there's no downgrade path. ## The two failure modes you'll hit **"Server is starting up" forever.** World file is loading, or it's corrupt. Small worlds take 10 seconds, big ones (years of play, lots of structures) take up to a minute. Past two minutes → corrupt, restore from backup. **Port 2456 open, players can't connect.** Almost always `SteamAppId` wrong or `LD_LIBRARY_PATH` not pointing at `/opt/valheim/linux64`. `journalctl -u valheim -n 50` — if you don't see "Game server connected" within 30 seconds of start, one of those two is off. ## Why this and not a hosting panel I ran this on a Proxmox VM with 4 GB RAM alongside other stuff. Hosting panels want €10–15/month for a comparable box and lock you into their update cadence. A VM plus the five commands above is €3/month on Hetzner and you own everything. For one group of friends, the math is obvious. Same SteamCMD pattern applies to [Palworld](/palworld-dedicated-server-linux/) — different app ID, same skeleton. Once you've done one, the second one is 10 minutes. --- ### Related posts - [Palworld Dedicated Server on Linux with SteamCMD](https://blog.diengdoh.com/palworld-dedicated-server-linux/?ref=blog.sudowl.com) - [Enshrouded Dedicated Server on Linux — SteamCMD, Wine, and the RAM Reality](https://blog.diengdoh.com/enshrouded-dedicated-server-linux/?ref=blog.sudowl.com) - [Satisfactory Dedicated Server on Linux — Native, Lightweight, and Boring (in the Best Way)](https://blog.diengdoh.com/satisfactory-dedicated-server-linux/?ref=blog.sudowl.com)