--- title: "Free Unturned Server: Setup, GSLT and Workshop Guide" url: https://1up-servers.com/en/blog/free-unturned-server/ lastmod: 2026-10-26 --- # How to Make a Free Unturned Server: Setup, GSLT and Workshop Make a free Unturned server: self-host U3DS or create one on 1up, pick the map, difficulty and perspective, add a GSLT, invite friends and add Workshop maps. By [Baurtock](https://1up-servers.com/en/blog/author/baurtock/) Updated Oct 26, 2026 · 8 min read Read in[es](https://1up-servers.com/es/blog/servidor-de-unturned-gratis/)[en](https://1up-servers.com/en/blog/free-unturned-server/)[it](https://1up-servers.com/it/blog/server-unturned-gratis/) **Your game server, free**Ready in 60 seconds, no card.[Create free server](https://1up-servers.com/en/signup/) A free Unturned server keeps your zombie survival world online for your group without anyone paying for the game, since Unturned itself is free to play. On our [Unturned server page](https://1up-servers.com/en/unturned/) you can create one at no cost for up to 4 players. This guide covers that route, self-hosting, the GSLT, settings and Workshop maps. - **Unturned is free:** the game is free to play on Steam, and so is the Unturned Dedicated Server tool. - **Fastest way:** create a free server on 1up and pick the map, difficulty, perspective and PvP in the Game tab. No port forwarding. - **Free plan:** 1 server, up to 4 players, 2 GB of RAM and 6 GB of disk. Unturned fits in it, so it runs at ×1 on the Free hourglass: your free time is not used up any faster. - **The GSLT decides how friends join:** with a free Steam token, the server is listed and players join by address and port. Without one, they join only with the Server Code the console shows, which changes at every start. - **Workshop:** mods and Workshop maps download by File ID; a Workshop map is chosen by name in the Game tab. ## 1. What you need: self-host or hosting Unturned is an open-world zombie survival game by Smartly Dressed Games, and its [Steam store page](https://store.steampowered.com/app/304930/Unturned/) lists it as free to play, with online co-op, PvP and Steam Workshop support. Running a server costs nothing in software either. Your three options: - **Host from the game:** fine for a quick session, but the world lives on the host's PC. - **Self-host the dedicated server:** Smartly Dressed Games' [server guide](https://docs.smartlydressedgames.com/en/stable/servers/server-hosting.html) calls the tool U3DS. It runs on Windows and Linux, not macOS, and the PC must stay on while people play. - **A hosted server:** the world runs in a data centre, you manage it from a web panel, and nobody's PC has to stay on. If you already run other free worlds with your friends, our guides to a [free Terraria server](https://1up-servers.com/en/blog/free-terraria-server/) and a [Necesse dedicated server](https://1up-servers.com/en/blog/necesse-dedicated-server/) follow the same route. ## 2. Create a free Unturned server on 1up 1. Create an account and press **Create server**. 2. Choose **Unturned**. 3. Pick a region, London or Paris. The wizard measures your ping and suggests the nearest one. 4. In the settings step, leave **PvP** ticked or untick it for PvE. You can change it later in the **Game** tab, which wins over the wizard. The wizard's mode and difficulty chips do not apply to Unturned; its difficulty is the **Game mode** setting. 5. Optionally tick **Protect with a password** and paste a **Steam GSLT token (optional)**. Read section 4 first: without a token, nobody can join by address. 6. When it is online, the **Overview** shows the address and the port. Our port is not 27015, so copy both from the panel. The image installs the latest Unturned build from Steam at every start, so a game update only needs a restart. The [Steam news feed](https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/304930) shows patch 3.26.3.13 as the latest, on 30 September 2026. **Shortcut: on 1up it takes three clicks** Your free server in 60 seconds. No card. [Create your free Unturned server](https://1up-servers.com/en/signup/?game=unturned) ## 3. Configure it: the Game tab, Commands.dat and Config.txt A self-hosted server keeps its settings in two files inside `Servers//`, as the [official guide](https://docs.smartlydressedgames.com/en/stable/servers/server-hosting.html) explains: `Server/Commands.dat` for the basics (map, password, max players, cheats, PvE) and `Config.txt` for difficulty presets and advanced rules such as item spawn chance. Servers created before 3.25.8.0 have a `Config.json` instead, which the game converts to the new text format at startup, per the [server configuration page](https://docs.smartlydressedgames.com/en/stable/servers/server-configuration.html). On 1up, the **Game** tab writes `Commands.dat` for you at every start, so edits to that file are lost; change these fields instead and restart: | Setting on 1up | Commands.dat line | Values | Default | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | **Server name** | `Name` | Up to 96 characters; empty uses the server's name | Server name | | **Server password** | `Password` | 4 to 64 characters, not part of the server name; empty for none | None | | **Steam GSLT token** | `-GSLT` launch argument | 32 letters and digits | None | | **Starting map** | `Map` | PEI, Washington, Yukon, Russia, Germany | PEI | | **Workshop map** | `Map`, over the starting map | A Workshop map's name, such as Hawaii | Empty | | **Game mode** | `Mode` | Easy, Normal, Hard | Normal | | **Perspective** | `Perspective` | First person, Third person, First and third person, First person, third person in vehicles | First and third person | | **PvP** | `PvP` or `PvE` | On or off | On | | **Cheat commands** | `Cheats` | On or off | Off | | **Max players** | `MaxPlayers` | 2 to 24, capped by your plan | 16 (4 on Free) | The [Unturned wiki's command list](https://unturned.wiki.gg/wiki/Commands) describes `Mode` as the server's difficulty and `Perspective` as the camera rule. **Cheat commands** lets admins run cheat commands such as `give`; the official guide notes that `Give` and other runtime commands need `Cheats`, so with the switch off the game refuses them. The same tab holds the server list presentation too: icon, short description and full description. For anything else, open **Files** and edit `server/Servers/1up/Config.txt`. Our panel does not overwrite it. Leave its login token and Fake IP options alone: the panel handles the token, and our nodes already give your server a public address and port. ## 4. The GSLT: listed and joinable by address A Game Server Login Token logs your server in to Steam, and on Unturned it decides how players get in. The official guide's section on [switching to an Internet server](https://docs.smartlydressedgames.com/en/stable/servers/server-hosting.html) says a server without one is a LAN server: players join only through a Steam invite or the Server Code, and it does not appear in the Internet server list. The token "is necessary when hosting an Internet server". The [GSLT page](https://docs.smartlydressedgames.com/en/stable/servers/game-server-login-tokens.html) adds that it keeps your Server Code the same between sessions. On 1up that means: - **Without a GSLT:** the address and port in the Overview are not enough. Friends join with the Server Code, which changes at every restart (section 5). - **With a GSLT:** the server shows in the Internet list and friends join with the address and port. To create one, sign in at [Steam's game server account page](https://steamcommunity.com/dev/managegameservers), enter Unturned's app ID **304930** and a memo saying which server it is for. Steam's page sets the rules: an account that is not limited, not banned or locked, with a qualifying phone number, and owning the game, which Unturned's free licence covers once it is in your library. Paste it in **Steam GSLT token** in the Game tab and restart. Use one token per server. ## 5. Invite friends There are three ways in: - **Address and port (with a GSLT):** in Unturned, open **Connect** and type the address and port from the Overview, plus the password if you set one. - **Server Code (without a GSLT):** per the [Server Codes page](https://docs.smartlydressedgames.com/en/stable/servers/server-codes.html), a 17-digit code the server prints in its console right after loading. Copy it from our **Console**, or use **Copy Server Code** once you are in the server. Friends paste it in **Connect Directly**. It goes through Steam's relay and skips the pre-join info screen. It changes at every restart, so send the new one after each start. - **Steam friends list:** once you are in the server, invite friends from Steam. We have not yet joined one of our Unturned servers from a game client, by address or by code; the rules above are the game's own. Each Unturned server uses two consecutive UDP ports, 27015 and 27016 by default: the first answers server list queries and the second carries game traffic, says the [port forwarding page](https://docs.smartlydressedgames.com/en/stable/servers/port-forwarding.html). Our panel gives every server two consecutive public ports for the same reason. To give yourself admin rights, type `admin ` in our **Console** while you are in the game. Admins can then run commands from the chat with `/` or `@`, per the official guide. ## 6. Mods and Workshop maps Unturned servers download Workshop content themselves. In the [official guide](https://docs.smartlydressedgames.com/en/stable/servers/server-hosting.html), you add each item's File ID (the number after `?id=` in its Workshop URL) to `WorkshopDownloadConfig.json`, and at startup the server installs and updates those mods and their dependencies. Players download them automatically when they connect. Curated maps such as Arid, Hawaii or Kuwait come only from the Workshop. To play a Workshop map on 1up, for example Hawaii (File ID `1753134636` in the guide's table): 1. Open **Files** and edit `server/Servers/1up/WorkshopDownloadConfig.json`. 2. Add the ID to `File_IDs`, separated by commas from any others. 3. In the **Game** tab, type the map's name in **Workshop map**: `Hawaii`. It replaces the **Starting map**; leave it empty to go back. 4. Restart and watch the **Console** for the download. Workshop items take disk space, and the Free plan has 6 GB. Plugin frameworks such as Rocket or OpenMod are not part of our image. ## 7. Limits of a free Unturned server Free is enough for a small group. These are the limits, with prices from [our pricing page](https://1up-servers.com/en/pricing/): - **More than 4 players:** Casual (€3/month) allows 6, Starter (€5/month) 10 and Pro (€10/month) 30, though Unturned on 1up goes up to 24. - **Backups:** Free has none. Unturned has no autosave of its own, so type `save` in the Console before you log off; a stop from the panel saves the world before it shuts down. Casual includes 1 backup and Starter 3. - **Online time:** Free play time is limited; a paid plan keeps the server online 24/7, from Casual. **Shortcut: on 1up it takes three clicks** Your free server in 60 seconds. No card. [Create your free Unturned server](https://1up-servers.com/en/signup/?game=unturned) Tested on Unturned 3.26.3.13, 2026-10-20: panel settings and files checked against our image on 1up v1.9.2; no game client has joined it on our cluster yet. **Change log** - 2026-10-26: current Starter and Pro prices and slots (€5/10, €10/30). - 2026-10-20: Unturned is no longer in beta; Free has 6 GB of disk and runs Unturned at ×1 on the hourglass; Casual costs €3; the Game tab's list presentation fields. - 2026-10-08: panel names updated: the Game and Server tabs replace the old Settings tab. - 2026-10-06: PvP, Cheat commands and Workshop map are now in Settings; the GSLT section says that without a token players join only by Server Code. - 2026-10-05: first version, after patch 3.26.3.13. ## Frequently asked questions Yes. Unturned is free to play on Steam, and the Unturned Dedicated Server tool is free too. About the author[Baurtock](https://1up-servers.com/en/blog/author/baurtock/)Founder, developer and support ## Keep reading [Space Engineers · 7 min**Space Engineers Dedicated Server: Setup, Worlds, Admins and RAM**](https://1up-servers.com/en/blog/space-engineers-dedicated-server/)[Icarus · 7 min**Icarus Dedicated Server: Setup, Olympus, Admin Commands and RAM**](https://1up-servers.com/en/blog/icarus-dedicated-server/)[Return to Moria · 6 min**Return to Moria Dedicated Server: Setup, Invite Code, Saves and RAM**](https://1up-servers.com/en/blog/return-to-moria-dedicated-server/)