Palworld Dedicated Server Guide for 1.0: RAM, Setup, Consoles and Backups

A Palworld dedicated server keeps your Palpagos world running for up to 32 players while nobody has the game open, instead of the 4 that co-op allows. This guide covers the RAM Pocketpair asks for, self-hosting with SteamCMD, our Palworld server hosting, the community list, consoles and backups.

• What you need: Pocketpair lists 16 GB of memory and recommends 32 GB or more for stable play. 8 GB boots, with a higher risk of out-of-memory crashes.
• Self-hosting: steamcmd +login anonymous +app_update 2394010 validate +quit, then run PalServer.sh or PalServer.exe and forward UDP 8211.
• Community list: add -publiclobby to the launch line. Without it, players join by address and port.
• Xbox and PS5: they can only join a dedicated server that runs as a community server.
• On 1up: Palworld runs 24/7 from Pro (€10/month), because it needs 8 GB just to boot. On Free it runs with the hourglass at ×3.5: your free time drains 3.5 times faster, enough to try it, not to keep a world online.

1. What Palworld 1.0 means for your server

Pocketpair took Palworld out of Early Access with the 1.0 release on 10 July 2026. For anyone running a server, the changelog has four lines worth reading:

• "Optimized dedicated server processing, improving performance even in situations with many players", plus fixes for "crashes and memory leaks occurring on PS5, Xbox, and dedicated server environments".
• "The default world settings for dedicated servers have been adjusted to closely match single-player Normal difficulty." If you kept an old settings file, your values still win over the new defaults.
• The join flow got better password saving and IP address input, and the save process was changed "to reduce the risk of save data corruption".
• In-game voice chat exists, but "only available when enabled in the world settings of a dedicated server" (bEnableVoiceChat).

Our Palworld 1.0 server guide goes through every server-side change in detail; here is the short version. The patches since then have been mostly fixes. v1.0.4 added a per-player building limit (MaxBuildingLimitNum) and made version mismatch errors show the server's version, which saves a lot of guessing. v1.0.5, out on 15 September 2026, is the build this guide was checked against. Pocketpair's own server image for it is tagged v1.0.5.102999 in the official Docker repository.

The Steam store page sets the two limits: "In online co-op play mode, up to 4 players can play together. Additionally, a dedicated server can allow up to 32 players to play together." That cap is the main reason groups move to a dedicated server, together with not needing the host online. Our upcoming guide on moving a co-op save to a dedicated server will cover how to take an existing world with you.

2. RAM: what Pocketpair asks for, and what it means for a free server

Palworld is the heaviest game in most groups' library. The official requirements page for 1.0.4 asks for:

Memory grows with the world: every base, every working Pal and every player loaded around the map adds to it. A fresh world with two friends sits well below the ceiling; a month-old server with several guilds and full bases is a different story.

That is the honest answer to anyone searching for a free Palworld server. Our Free plan includes 2 GB of RAM, a quarter of the 8 GB that Palworld needs only to start. Free can still create a Palworld server: it gets the 8 GB, and the hourglass makes your free time run 3.5 times faster (×3.5), which the wizard shows before you create it. That is a test drive for up to 4 players, not a world that stays online. Casual (2 GB) and Starter (4 GB) fall short, so they are not offered. A free host that keeps Palworld online around the clock has to give away at least 8 GB per server, so expect either a catch or a crash. The free route that does work 24/7 is self-hosting on a PC with 16 GB or more, which section 4 walks through.

On 1up, Palworld runs 24/7 from Pro. Pro has 8 GB of RAM to share between your servers, so one Palworld server gets all 8 GB: exactly the boot floor, below Pocketpair's 16 GB. It works for a small group that keeps bases modest; for a busier world, Studio has 16 GB, enough to give Palworld Pocketpair's full 16 GB, and Ultra has 32 GB. You change the RAM of a server in the Server tab, under Resources → Performance → Allocated RAM; the panel does not offer less than 8 GB for Palworld.

3. Installation: create a Palworld server on 1up

This is the route we built for groups that would rather not keep a 16 GB PC on all night.

1. Create an account and press Create server.
2. Choose Palworld and pick a region. There is one template, Vanilla, and one version: Pocketpair's own server image, v1.0.5.102999 today.
3. Set the number of players and a password, then create the server.
4. When it is Online, the Overview shows the address and the port. The port is not 8211 on our nodes, so copy both from the panel.
5. In Palworld, open the multiplayer server list, type the address and port in the field below the list and connect. This is the "connect to dedicated server" route from the official guide.

The Game tab holds eleven Palworld options. Each one writes a key of PalWorldSettings.ini at start, so every change applies on restart:

The percentages are the game's multipliers times 100: 200 % experience writes ExpRate=2.000000. The death penalty values match the configuration reference: Item drops everything except equipment, ItemAndEquipment drops all items, All drops all items and the Pals in your team. Pocketpair's 1.0 parameter list does not describe Difficulty, so the panel leaves it at the official default (None); for a balance change you can predict, use the rates.

Everything else in that reference (PalEggDefaultHatchingTime, BaseCampWorkerMaxNum, bEnableVoiceChat and the rest) is yours to edit in Files, at Saved/Config/LinuxServer/PalWorldSettings.ini. Stop the server, open the file with Edit in Files (or use SFTP), save it and start again. At each start we rewrite only the keys in the table above, Difficulty, and a few the platform needs (PublicPort, RCONEnabled, RESTAPIEnabled, RESTAPIPort, LogFormatType and bIsUseBackupSaveData); your other values stay. Our Palworld server settings guide explains each option and gives presets for 4 to 8 friends.

4. Installation: self-host with SteamCMD

The official deployment guide offers three routes: the Steam client on Windows, SteamCMD on Windows and SteamCMD on Linux. Pocketpair also publishes an official Docker image for advanced users, and warns against Docker Desktop because slow disk access raises the risk of corrupted saves.

With the Steam client (Windows). In your library, tick Tools in the filter, find Palworld Dedicated Server, install it and press Play. Choose Play Palworld Dedicated Server in the dialog that follows.

With SteamCMD (Windows or Linux). The dedicated server is Steam app 2394010 and downloads without a Steam account:

steamcmd +login anonymous +app_update 2394010 validate +quit

On Windows, go to steamapps\common\PalServer and run PalServer.exe. On Linux, go to ~/Steam/steamapps/common/PalServer and run ./PalServer.sh. Run the same app_update line again after every patch: clients refuse a server on another version.

Configure it. The configuration page says the folders are created on the first start. Stop the server, copy DefaultPalWorldSettings.ini from the install folder to Pal/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/PalWorldSettings.ini (WindowsServer on Windows) and edit the copy. Editing DefaultPalWorldSettings.ini itself does nothing.

Launch arguments. The arguments page lists -port=8211 (the listening port), -players=32 (the player cap) and -publiclobby (section 5). It also notes that in 1.0 and later, leaving -useperfthreads unset may improve performance, so do not copy old launch lines blindly.

Open the port. Forward UDP 8211 (or the port you set) to the server PC and allow it through the firewall. Friends then join with your public IP and that port.

The weak spots are the usual ones: a 16 GB PC that must stay on, your upload speed, a dynamic IP and a router you may not control. Palworld adds two of its own: the SSD warning above, and Hairpin NAT, covered next.

5. The community server list (-publiclobby)

Pocketpair's About server page separates two kinds of server. A dedicated server is joined with an IP address and port. A community server is the same dedicated server, also registered on the server list inside the game; "in essence, it is no different from a dedicated server".

To make yours a community server, the community server guide says to add -publiclobby to the start line (PalServer.exe -publiclobby or ./PalServer.sh -publiclobby). With the Steam client, choose Open and start as a community server instead. Players then find it under Community server on the left of the server list.

Two details trip people up:

• Hairpin NAT. If your router does not support it, the guide warns, you cannot connect to a community server hosted on your own network, which is a limit of the router, not of the server.
• The advertised address. Behind unusual networks, -publicip=x.x.x.x and -publicport=xxxx tell the list which address and port to publish. -publicport does not change the port the server listens on.

On 1up, turn on List in the community servers in the Game tab (section Players) and restart. The server then starts with -publiclobby and -publicport set to the port players really reach, the one the Overview shows, so the list advertises an address that works. It is off by default, so a new server is only reachable by address until you choose to list it. We have not yet seen a 1up server in the list from a game client, so check it yourself after the restart: search for your server's name under Community server. The Public list in Server → Address and ports is 1up's own list of servers on our website, not Palworld's. On a server created before 5 October 2026, also check that CrossplayPlatforms reads (Steam,Xbox,PS5,Mac): an older start script cut it short. Our guide to a Palworld server not showing in the community list goes through that check and the other causes.

6. Consoles: can Xbox and PS5 players join?

Yes, with one condition. Pocketpair's About server page says dedicated and community servers are "cross-play enabled by default" for the Steam version, Xbox Series and the Microsoft Store PC version, macOS and PS5. The allowed platforms come from CrossplayPlatforms, which defaults to (Steam,Xbox,PS5,Mac) in the configuration reference.

The condition is in the same page: "If you want to join the server from the Xbox version or the PS5 version, you need to deploy it as a community server." In practice, a console friend needs your server in the community list.

That gives you a clear choice:

• Self-hosting with consoles in the group: start with -publiclobby, keep CrossplayPlatforms at its default, and console players find the server under Community server.
• On 1up: turn on List in the community servers (section 5) and keep the default crossplay platforms; console players then look for your server's name in the community list, while Steam PC players can still join by address and port.
• Keeping consoles out on purpose (self-hosted): set CrossplayPlatforms=(Steam) in PalWorldSettings.ini.

7. Admin password and commands

Palworld has no in-game admin list. You become admin by password, as the commands page explains: set AdminPassword in the settings, then type /AdminPassword <password> in the chat. After that you can use /KickPlayer, /BanPlayer, /UnBanPlayer, /TeleportToPlayer, /TeleportToMe, /ShowPlayers, /Broadcast, /Save, /Shutdown and /ToggleSpectate. The ID that kick and ban expect is the player's steam_ user ID.

On 1up:

• Set Admin password in the Game tab and restart if you want admin rights inside the game. If you leave it empty, the server still has an admin password, a random one only the panel knows, so nobody can claim admin with a guess.
• The Console tab talks to the server through Palworld's REST API, not RCON (we turn RCON off). It offers announce, kick, ban and unban with a steam_ ID, plus players, info, metrics, settings and save. It has no shutdown: stop the server with the panel's Stop button instead.
• Joins and leaves appear in the console as they happen. Before a restart, warn players with announce and run save.

8. Backups: three layers

A Palworld world is months of breeding and building, and Pocketpair itself warns that slow storage may corrupt saves. Plan for a bad day.

Palworld's own backups. With bIsUseBackupSaveData=True, the server creates a backup directory inside the save data directory. The configuration reference gives the rotation: 5 saves every 30 seconds, 6 every 10 minutes, 12 every hour and 7 every day. Pocketpair notes that it increases disk load. We turn it on for every Palworld server, and the copies live in the save folder under Saved/SaveGames in Files.

Our scheduled save. Every Palworld server comes with a task called Autosave in Schedule that asks the server to save on the hour, so the world on disk is never far behind.

1up backups. These leave the game node and live in the cloud. Pro keeps 5 backups, Studio 10 and Ultra 20:

1. A copy is taken automatically every day at 04:00 (Madrid time), and before every restore, version change or region change.
2. Press 💾 Create backup before anything risky, such as editing the settings file or trying a mod.
3. Restore stops the server and replaces the world. Lock keeps a copy out of the rotation, and ↓ Download .zip gives you the world and its configuration to keep on your PC.

When the limit is reached, the oldest unlocked copy rotates out.

If you self-host, copy the whole Pal/Saved folder with the server stopped, and keep the copy on another disk.

9. Plans for Palworld

With prices from our pricing page:

• Free: up to 4 players with the hourglass at ×3.5 and no backups, to try the server with your group.
• Pro (€10/month): 8 GB of RAM, 60 GB of disk, 30 player slots, 5 backups and 2 sub-users. One Palworld server uses the whole 8 GB, the boot floor.
• Studio (€20/month): 16 GB of RAM, 80 GB of disk, 50 player slots (Palworld caps at 32), 10 backups and 3 sub-users: room for Pocketpair's 16 GB recommendation.
• Ultra (€50/month): 32 GB of RAM, 100 GB of disk and 20 backups, for Palworld next to another game.

Paid plans are refunded on request within 3 days.

A Palworld server takes 12 GB of disk to start, and you can grow it in Server → Resources. For comparison, our Valheim dedicated server guide boots on 2 GB of RAM, and Enshrouded 1.0 runs 24/7 from Pro: Palworld sits at the top of what friends' servers ask for.

Tested on Palworld v1.0.5.102999 (Pocketpair's official server image), 2026-10-05.

Change log

• 2026-10-05: first version, after patch v1.0.5; links to the settings guide.
• 2026-10-05: 1up adds the List in the community servers switch for Xbox and PS5 players; the PvP switch sets all three PvP flags; the panel no longer has a Difficulty field; .ini files open in the browser editor.
• 2026-10-06: the 1up console no longer has macros; warn players with announce before a restart.
• 2026-10-07: the panel's Settings tab is now called Game and RAM moved to Server → Resources; the console no longer offers shutdown; link to the Palworld 1.0 guide.
• 2026-10-20: Palworld now runs on Free with the hourglass at ×3.5; 24/7 still from Studio, now €25.
• 2026-10-26: Palworld runs 24/7 from Pro (€10, 8 GB); current Studio and Ultra figures and backup counts.