Palworld Server Not Showing in the Community List: How to Fix It
Why a Palworld server does not appear in the community list and how to fix it: -publiclobby, the advertised port, crossplay settings for Xbox and PS5, and joining by IP.
Palworld server not showing in the community list? A Palworld dedicated server only appears there when it starts with -publiclobby, advertises a port players can reach and allows their platform. This guide checks each cause in order, then covers the console rules and joining by address.
If you are still setting the server up, our Palworld dedicated server guide covers the whole install. If you host with us, every switch below is in the panel of your Palworld server.
- Not in the list at all: the server was started without
-publiclobby. On 1up: Game → List in the community servers, then restart. - Listed, but nobody can connect: the list publishes the wrong port. Add
-publicportwith the port players reach (1up does this for you). - Xbox and PS5 friends cannot find it: consoles only join community servers, and
CrossplayPlatformsmust still includeXboxandPS5. - Steam players in a hurry: skip the list and type the address and port below the server list.
1. Check -publiclobby: is it a community server at all?
Pocketpair's About server page separates two things. A dedicated server is joined with an IP address and a port. A community server is a dedicated server that has also registered itself on the server list inside the game. A server that works perfectly by IP can still be missing from the list.
The registration comes from one launch argument. The community server guide and the arguments page both name -publiclobby ("Setup server as a community server"):
- SteamCMD on Windows:
PalServer.exe -publiclobby - SteamCMD on Linux:
./PalServer.sh -publiclobby - Steam client: choose Open and start as a community server when you press Play.
On 1up, open the Game tab and turn on List in the community servers, then press ↻ Restart. The switch is off by default, so a new server stays out of the public list until you choose otherwise. With it on, our start script adds -publiclobby and -publicport (section 2) to the launch line; with it off, only people who have the address can join.
Two things that do not hide a server:
- A password. The Server password setting writes
ServerPassword, which Pocketpair's configuration reference describes as the "password required to log in to the server". Our start script sends the listing flag and the password separately, and Pocketpair documents no rule that keeps password-protected servers off the list. - The 1up «Public list». That section, under Server → Address and ports, publishes your server on our website's list, not in Palworld. It has no effect on the game.
2. Ports: the address the list publishes
Behind a router or a hosting platform, the port a server listens on and the port players reach can differ, and a listing that points at the wrong one is a dead entry.
Pocketpair gives you three controls:
| Setting | What Pocketpair says it does | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
-port=8211 | "Change the port number used to listen to the server." | You run more than one server, or 8211 is taken |
-publicport=xxxx / PublicPort | "Explicitly specify the external public port. (Does not change the server's listening port.)" | Your router forwards a different outside port to the server |
-publicip=x.x.x.x / PublicIP | "Explicitly specify the external public IP." | The server cannot detect the address players reach |
For a self-hosted server the checklist is short: forward UDP 8211 (or your -port) to the server PC, allow it through the firewall, and set -publicport only if the outside port is different. The requirements page lists UDP 8211 as the default and says it can be changed.
On 1up you do not touch any of this. Our servers do not use 8211 on the outside; the Overview shows the address and port players reach. The server listens on that same port, PublicPort in the settings file carries it, and when the community switch is on the launch line adds -publicport=<that port>. We do not pass -publicip: the game detects the address itself.
Hairpin NAT. If you host at home and look for your own server from the same network, the community guide warns that you "will not be able to connect" when your router does not support Hairpin NAT. Ask a friend outside your network to check the list first.
3. Search for it, and give it time
Pocketpair's v0.1.5.0 patch made search by server name work, and v0.1.5.1 fixed searches with spaces and Japanese or Chinese characters. So:
- Give the server a name nobody else uses. On 1up that is Server name in the Game tab (it writes
ServerName; empty uses your server's name in the panel). - Restart, wait until the server is Online, then open the server list, pick Community server on the left, as the connect guide describes, and search the exact name.
- If it is not there yet, refresh after a few minutes. The same v0.1.5.1 patch made a server that drops off the list "re-registered without needing to restart the server".
We have not yet watched a 1up server appear in the list from a game client, so treat this as the check to run: after a restart with the switch on, the server should appear under its name. If it still does not after a while, write to us with the server name.
4. Consoles: Xbox, PS5 and crossplay
For Xbox and PS5 players the community list is not optional. Pocketpair's About server page says: "If you want to join the server from the Xbox version or the PS5 version, you need to deploy it as a community server." The same page lists the platforms a server allows by default: the Steam version, Xbox Series and the Microsoft Store PC version, macOS and PS5.
What decides who gets in is CrossplayPlatforms, which defaults to (Steam,Xbox,PS5,Mac) in the configuration reference. If someone set it to (Steam), console players are refused even when the server is listed. Open Pal/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/PalWorldSettings.ini (Windows: WindowsServer) and check that line.
On 1up the file is in Files, and the editor opens .ini files. We do not set CrossplayPlatforms: it keeps the default unless you change it. An older start script cut this value at the first comma, which left Steam as the only platform; since 5 October 2026 new servers keep all four. If your server is older and the line does not read exactly CrossplayPlatforms=(Steam,Xbox,PS5,Mac), download a copy of the file, stop the server, delete PalWorldSettings.ini and start again: it is rebuilt from Pocketpair's defaults plus your panel settings, so redo any other hand edits afterwards.
Crossplay itself arrived in v0.5.0, "available across all platforms". A version mismatch still blocks the join; since v1.0.4 the error shows the server's version, so update whoever is behind. Our Palworld server settings guide explains the rest of the file.
5. Direct connection: skip the list
If the list is slow and your group is on Steam, you do not need it. The connect guide's dedicated server route is to "input IP address and port number" in the form below the server list. Copy both from the Overview on 1up, or use your public IP and UDP 8211 at home. The 1.0 changelog improved IP address input and password saving, so a Steam friend only types them once.
Keep the switch off if you never want strangers to find the server: a direct connection works without it. Console players are the exception.
Tested on Palworld v1.0.5.102999 (Pocketpair's official server image), 2026-10-05: we checked the launch line and the settings file our start script writes with the switch on and off. We have not yet confirmed the listing from a game client.
Change log
- 2026-10-05: first version, after the community switch reached the panel.
- 2026-10-08: panel names updated: the Game and Server tabs replace the old Settings tab.
- 2026-10-26: Palworld runs 24/7 from Pro.