How to Set Up a The Isle Dedicated Server
A first The Isle: Evrima launch usually fails for one of two reasons: the server landed on Legacy instead of the evrima branch, or the networking and config files were done in the wrong order. Here is the sequence that gets a community server from an empty folder to a Gateway map friends can find.
Steam’s default branch for both the client and the dedicated server is still public, which is Legacy. If you install 412680 without -beta evrima, you get the wrong version and Evrima players hit an instant mismatch.
Game.ini tells the server what session to create. Engine.ini gives it the EOS dedicated-server identity it needs to authenticate and appear publicly. A server process can sit there using about 1.3 GB yet never become joinable if one of these is wrong.
The game port is UDP, while queue and RCON are TCP. That is why ports can look “open” in the wrong test and still fail for real players. Forward them to a static LAN IP, then allow the same ports through the host firewall.
Joining from the host PC can fail because of NAT loopback even when the server is fine. The clean test is another machine, Session Filter: Unofficial, then search your ServerName after the server has had its normal registration window.
What you are actually installing
The Isle uses separate Steam apps for the playable client and the dedicated server. The client is 376210. The free dedicated server app is 412680. Players still need their own copy of the game client; the server app does not replace that.
Native Windows and Linux dedicated server builds exist. The official self-host walkthrough assumes Windows 10/11, a machine you can leave running, router admin access, and about 40 GB of free disk space for the server install. If you rent, the panel removes most of the operating-system work, but it does not remove the need to choose the correct branch, set the real ports, or check the config files.
For hardware, the important point is that Evrima leans heavily on one main simulation thread. That makes CPU clock speed more important than simply piling on slow cores. There is no official RAM figure for Evrima, but the practical starting point for most small private groups is covered in this server requirements guide: a fresh 30-slot Gateway server with nobody online can sit at about 1.3 GB, and 8 GB is the sensible start for many smaller communities.
In plain terms, self-hosting gives you direct control over files, updates and networking. Renting gives you less local admin work, but only if the panel exposes the branch selector, file manager and mapped ports clearly. A rented server can still fail first launch for the exact same reasons as a self-hosted one: wrong branch, missing EOS values, or forwarding the wrong protocol.
If you would rather avoid local router and firewall work, compare providers that let you select the Evrima branch directly, edit config files properly, and show the mapped game, queue and RCON ports instead of hiding them behind defaults.
Compare the best The Isle server hostsChoose the branch before you do anything else
This is the step that breaks more first launches than anything else. Steam’s default branch for both apps is still public, which means Legacy, not Evrima. A fresh install, reinstall or SteamCMD update of 412680 without -beta evrima silently lands on Legacy. No amount of port forwarding, reinstalling or hardware tweaking fixes that, because the client and server are speaking different versions from the start.
| Branch | Use for a live community server | Normal Evrima players can join |
|---|---|---|
| public (Legacy) | No | No |
| evrima | Yes | Yes |
| hordetesting | No | No |
| Branch | Client 376210 | Dedicated server 412680 | Use it for |
|---|---|---|---|
| public | Legacy, last updated in 2022 | Legacy dedicated server | Only old Legacy environments |
| evrima | Current live Evrima public branch | Live Evrima dedicated server branch | Normal community servers and normal players |
| hordetesting | Public testing client branch | No public dedicated server branch | Only active public tests on the developers’ official servers |
| spiro0.11.59.04 | Archived Isla Spiro build | Archived Isla Spiro server build | Matching old environments only |
On the client side, players need to opt into Evrima in Steam: Library, right-click The Isle, Properties, Betas, then select evrima. A player on hordetesting can look “more updated” than everybody else, but that does not help. There is no public HordeTest dedicated-server branch for you to run, so a hordetesting client cannot join a normal live Evrima community server.
After installing the dedicated server, confirm the branch instead of assuming it stuck. In the appmanifest for 412680, the working shape is a BetaKey of evrima. If the BetaKey is missing, blank or effectively on public, the server is on Legacy. You can also ask SteamCMD with app_status 412680.
Do not compare raw build numbers across the client and server apps. The client and server can share a patch date while showing different build IDs because they are different Steam apps. Compare the branch and patch timing instead. For patch-day mismatches, old server files still showing in the browser, or the later Client Disconnected case, use this The Isle update and version-mismatch guide.
Install the dedicated server with SteamCMD or your host panel
For self-hosting, install the free dedicated server app into an empty folder, then force the branch at install time. The branch flag matters because app_update 412680 validate on its own gives you Legacy.
login anonymous force_install_dir C:\theisleserver app_update 412680 -beta evrima validate quit
The one-liner used in the official auto-update batch is:
steamcmd.exe +force_install_dir C:\theisleserver +login anonymous +app_update 412680 -beta evrima validate +quit
The reason this fixes first-launch mismatch is simple: SteamCMD is choosing which file set to download. With -beta evrima, it fetches the live Evrima dedicated-server files. Without it, the server installs cleanly but as the wrong game version.
If you rent, do the same job through the panel: select app 412680 on the evrima branch. Then copy the actual game, queue and RCON ports from the panel. Rented servers often remap ports, so treating 7777, 10000 and 8888 as guaranteed values can send players and admin tools to the wrong place.
Create Game.ini and Engine.ini before the first start
On Windows, the path is C:\theisleserver\TheIsle\Saved\Config\WindowsServer\. If WindowsServer does not exist yet, create it. On Linux, use the matching LinuxServer folder. Make sure file extensions are visible in the OS first, otherwise it is easy to save Game.ini.txt and wonder why the server ignores it.
Game.ini and Engine.ini do different jobs, and first launch needs both. Game.ini defines the session the server is trying to create. Engine.ini provides the EOS dedicated-server identity used to authenticate and register publicly. Missing EOS values do not cost you performance; they simply stop the server completing the registration step. Missing or invalid Game.ini content often looks like a boot loop: the process reserves about 1.3 GB, does almost no CPU work, and never appears in the browser.
Engine.ini: EOS identity
Install the server first, then copy the EOS block from the install’s default config. Do not invent the ID or secret.
[EpicOnlineServices] DedicatedServerClientId=<your-eos-dedicated-server-client-id> DedicatedServerClientSecret=<your-eos-dedicated-server-client-secret>
Game.ini: first-launch essentials only
Keep the first pass small. You only need enough to create a visible server on Gateway. Leave AI, weather, growth, migration and species tuning for later in this The Isle server settings guide.
[/script/theisle.tigamesession] ServerName=My Evrima Server MaxPlayerCount=100 bEnableHumans=false MapName=Gateway bQueueEnabled=true QueuePort=10000 bServerPassword=false ServerPassword="ChangeMe" bRconEnabled=true RconPassword="ChangeMeToSomethingLong" RconPort=8888 QueryPort=7777 [/script/theisle.tigamestatebase] AdminsSteamIDs=76561198000000000
Add your own non-empty RCON password while the server is stopped, and only enable a server password if you actually want one. The official template uses 100 as the slot cap and notes that anything above that is unstable territory. Leave the species block from the standard template intact until you are ready to edit case-sensitive class names properly. For remote administration, use this The Isle RCON guide; Evrima does not use Source RCON.
Open the right ports in the right order
Do networking in this order: give the host a static LAN IP, forward the ports on the router to that IP, then allow the same ports inbound in the host firewall. The static IP matters because router rules point at a local address. If that address changes after a reboot, the forward can look correct on the router while traffic is going to the wrong machine.
| Port | Players need it | Admin tools need it | Open to the internet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Game: UDP 7777 (7777–7779) | Yes | No | Yes |
| Queue: TCP 10000 | Yes | No | Yes |
| RCON: TCP 8888 | No | Yes | No |
| Port | Protocol | What it does | Why it fails when opened wrongly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7777 | UDP | Main player connection port | If you only allow TCP here, the game traffic never reaches the server because player traffic is UDP |
| 7777-7779 | UDP | Game range for multi-server hosts | Useful when running more than one instance; each instance still needs a unique game port |
| 10000 | TCP | Queue port | Players may see odd join behaviour if this is blocked even when the game port is correct |
| 8888 | TCP | RCON admin port | Blocking it does not stop normal play, but admin tools cannot connect |
Evrima honours -Port and ignores -QueryPort. That is why changing query-port values does not fix browser registration. The real bind is the game port you launch with, so match ?Port=7777 to the port you actually forwarded. Keep the Game.ini QueryPort=7777 line for consistency, but do not expect it to rescue a bad launch line or a bad router rule.
One more trap: joining from the same PC can fail because the router does not support NAT loopback, also called hairpinning. In that case, the server is fine and other people can join, but the host PC cannot use the public route back into the LAN. Test from another machine on the network, or another connection such as a phone hotspot, before changing anything else.
Launch the Gateway server and let EOS finish registration
The official shortcut method uses a short launch suffix. It works, but keep the install path short because the Windows shortcut target has a character limit.
?Port=7777 -log -ini:Engine:[EpicOnlineServices]:DedicatedServerClientId=<...> -ini:Engine:[EpicOnlineServices]:DedicatedServerClientSecret=<...>
If you already put the EOS block in Engine.ini, those launch overrides are optional. For a community server, the official auto-update and auto-restart batch is usually the cleaner long-term method because it updates the branch, starts the right map and restarts after a stop or crash.
@echo off cls title The Isle Evrima — My Server :TheIsle echo (%time%) Checking for updates... start /wait C:\steamcmd\steamcmd.exe +force_install_dir C:\theisleserver +login anonymous +app_update 412680 -beta evrima validate +quit echo (%time%) Starting Isle server... start /wait C:\theisleserver\TheIsleServer.exe /Game/TheIsle/Maps/Game/Gateway/Gateway?Port=7777 -log -ini:Engine:[EpicOnlineServices]:DedicatedServerClientId=<...> -ini:Engine:[EpicOnlineServices]:DedicatedServerClientSecret=<...> echo (%time%) Server stopped or crashed — restarting in 60s. timeout /t 60 goto TheIsle
Watch the log window. “Registered with EOS and listening” means two things have happened: the server authenticated with Epic Online Services, and the game process bound to the chosen port and started accepting traffic. Once that is done, test from another machine: launch The Isle, set Session Filter to Unofficial, and search your ServerName. Give EOS its normal registration window before inviting players or declaring the server dead.
Before later updates, back up TheIsle/Saved. That protects your player data and settings if a patch rewrites files.
Failed first launch: check symptoms in this order
When a new server will not come up, the fastest order is branch, Game.ini, Engine.ini and EOS, then ports, then same-PC NAT loopback. That order works because each step depends on the one before it: a correctly forwarded server still cannot appear if it is on Legacy or if EOS authentication never completes.
| Symptom | Likely cause | First fix |
|---|---|---|
| Version mismatch on the first join | Server app 412680 installed on public instead of evrima, or players are not on the Evrima client branch | Re-run SteamCMD with app_update 412680 -beta evrima validate, confirm BetaKey evrima, and make every client opt into evrima |
| Server never appears in the browser | Missing EOS identity, wrong ports, wrong port protocol, or not enough time for registration | Check the log for EOS errors, verify Engine.ini, confirm router and firewall rules, then test from another machine after the normal registration window |
| EOS errors in the log | Engine.ini is missing, in the wrong folder, or not being read | Place the EOS block in Saved\Config\WindowsServer or LinuxServer, then restart |
| Boot loop with about 1.3 GB RAM and little CPU activity | Missing or invalid Game.ini | Recreate a minimal valid Game.ini, save it with the real .ini extension, and start again |
| You can see it, but cannot join from the host PC | NAT loopback is not supported on that router | Test from another device before changing ports or reinstalling |
| RCON tools fail | Wrong port, blocked 8888/TCP, or wrong protocol expectation | Use the mapped RCON port and follow this RCON setup guide |
| Queue or RCON port confusion | 10000/TCP and 8888/TCP mixed up, or players told to use an admin port | Keep 10000 for queue traffic and 8888 for admin traffic only |
| After a later patch, players get Client Disconnected | Server files stayed old while clients updated | Follow this update and version-mismatch guide rather than chasing ports |
Once players can join and the island simply feels heavy, move to performance work instead of setup work. AI density, growth pacing and other live settings affect the main simulation thread far more than the branch or EOS steps do, so use this The Isle lag guide after the server is properly online.
First-launch checklist
| Step | Why it matters | What “done” looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Set the branch to evrima | Wrong branch gives an instant client/server mismatch before normal joining even starts | SteamCMD install used -beta evrima and the appmanifest shows BetaKey evrima |
| Create Game.ini | The server needs valid session settings to create a joinable world | ServerName, MapName=Gateway, player cap, queue and RCON values are present in the correct folder |
| Create Engine.ini | EOS authentication is required for public registration | The EOS client ID and secret are copied from the install’s default config and saved in the server config folder |
| Forward and allow ports | Players use UDP on the game side, while queue and RCON are TCP | Router forwards point to the host’s static LAN IP and the host firewall allows UDP 7777-7779, TCP 10000 and TCP 8888 |
| Launch the Gateway map | The live map and the real game port must match your port rules | The launch line uses /Game/TheIsle/Maps/Game/Gateway/Gateway?Port=7777 or the panel’s mapped equivalent |
| Test in the browser | Same-PC tests can be false negatives because of NAT loopback | Another machine finds the server under Unofficial by ServerName after the EOS registration window |
The Isle dedicated server FAQ
Which Steam branch should a The Isle dedicated server use?
A normal community server should use the dedicated server app 412680 on the evrima branch. Steam’s default public branch is still Legacy, so a fresh install without -beta evrima lands on the wrong version.
What ports does a The Isle Evrima server need?
The live game traffic uses UDP 7777, with UDP 7777-7779 used as the game range for multi-server hosts. Queue uses TCP 10000, and RCON uses TCP 8888. If the protocol is wrong, the port can look open in a casual test yet still fail for actual players.
Why is there no HordeTest dedicated server I can run myself?
Because there is no public hordetesting branch listed for the dedicated server app 412680. HordeTest runs on the developers’ official test servers, so a player on the hordetesting client branch cannot join a normal live Evrima community server.
Why won’t my The Isle server appear in the browser?
The usual causes are the wrong branch, missing EOS values in Engine.ini, invalid Game.ini, or forwarding the correct port number on the wrong protocol. The quickest proof is the log: if EOS authentication fails or the server never starts listening properly, it will not register for the browser.
Do players need to enable a beta to join my server?
Yes, for a live Evrima community server they need the client app 376210 on the evrima branch in Steam. Players left on public are on Legacy, and players on hordetesting are on the public test branch, so neither matches a normal live Evrima community server.
More The Isle server guides
Compare hosts, size the plan, tune Game.ini, set up RCON or get through patch day.
Game updates and host panels change. If your host’s current panel labels, mapped ports or file paths differ slightly, follow the panel for those details but keep the same setup order: Evrima branch, config files, EOS, ports, then a browser test from another machine.
