How to Host a 7 Days to Die Server

A 7 Days to Die dedicated server runs the game world on its own, separate from any player's client. That means your survivors can join, build, and fight through the blood moon together without one person having to keep their PC open as the host. A dedicated server gives you a persistent world, stable performance, and full control over difficulty, mods, and who can connect. This guide walks through setting one up from scratch using SteamCMD.

7 Days to Die dedicated server basics

The dedicated server is a separate download from the game itself. On Steam, the game is app 251570, but the server software you want is the 7 Days to Die Dedicated Server, app ID 294420. You install it with SteamCMD, Valve's command-line tool, using an anonymous login, so you do not need to own the game on the account that downloads the server.

The server runs on both Linux and Windows. Linux is the common choice for a hosted box because it is lighter on resources and easy to run headless. Windows is fine if you are hosting from a spare PC at home. The configuration and ports are identical across both; only the launch script differs.

Requirements

7 Days to Die is a fairly heavy game to host because of its destructible voxel world and zombie pathfinding. Memory is the main thing to plan for:

• Vanilla, small group (up to 4 players): around 6 GB RAM is a sensible minimum.
• Vanilla, 8 or more players or a larger map: 8-12 GB RAM.
• Overhaul mods (such as Darkness Falls) with 8+ players: 12-16 GB RAM, as these add entities, custom worlds, and expanded crafting that all increase memory use.

For CPU, single-thread performance matters most: aim for a modern CPU at 3.2 GHz or higher, and 4.0 GHz+ for busy modded servers. Use SSD or NVMe storage, as world saves and chunk loading are disk-heavy. A 64-bit OS is required.

Installing via SteamCMD

Install SteamCMD first, then pull down the server. On Linux the command looks like this:

./steamcmd.sh +force_install_dir ./7dtd-server +login anonymous +app_update 294420 validate +quitCopy

On Windows the equivalent is:

steamcmd +force_install_dir "C:\7dtd-server" +login anonymous +app_update 294420 validate +quitCopy

The validate flag checks the files after download and is worth keeping. When it finishes, you will have the full server install, including the configuration file and launch scripts.

Configuring your server

Settings live in serverconfig.xml in the root of the server folder. A good habit is to copy it to something like myserver.xml and edit that copy, so a server update does not overwrite your changes. Only ever change the text inside value="...". Key settings to review:

• ServerName - the name shown in the server browser.
• ServerPassword - leave blank for a public server, or set one to keep it private.
• ServerMaxPlayerCount - the player cap; size this against your RAM.
• GameWorld - the map, for example Navezgane (the hand-built map) or RWG for a random generated world.
• GameDifficulty - 0 (easiest) through 5 (hardest), plus related settings like block and loot damage multipliers.

Starting the server

On Linux, launch with the start script and point it at your config:

./startserver.sh -configfile=myserver.xmlCopy

On Windows, run startdedicated.bat (edit it to reference your config file). By default the server uses port 26900 on both TCP and UDP for the main game connection, plus UDP ports 26901 and 26902 for Steam networking. If you run the optional web dashboard it uses TCP 8080, and telnet control uses TCP 8081. Forward those ports on your router or open them in your firewall so players can connect.

EAC and mods

7 Days to Die ships with EasyAntiCheat (EAC) enabled. EAC blocks most code-level mods, so if you want to run overhaul or content mods you will usually need to disable EAC (set EACEnabled to false in the config), and every connecting player must also have EAC off. Server-side mods go in a Mods/ folder at the root of the server install; create it if it is not there. Large overhaul mods such as Darkness Falls replace big parts of the game and need the matching mod version installed on the server and on every client. Mismatched versions are the most common cause of players being unable to join.

Keeping the server updated

To update, stop the server and re-run the same SteamCMD command with +app_update 294420 validate. The important caveat: 7 Days to Die's larger "A-version" (alpha) and major releases frequently change the world format. These updates can break existing saves and almost always break mods until the mod authors release a compatible version. Before any major update, back up your saves and config, and check that your mods support the new version before you upgrade a live world.

Zeros Host does not currently offer 7 Days to Die hosting, so the steps above are for running it yourself. If you would rather have a managed server with the setup handled for you, we host Garry's Mod, Minecraft, Rust, Terraria, Project Zomboid, Valheim, Unturned and Discord bots, most with a 24-hour free trial so you can test before you commit. If you would specifically like us to add 7 Days to Die hosting, let us know through the contact form - demand from people like you is how we decide which games to support next.