🐧 Use Ubuntu? Go to bonsaibauer/enshrouded_server_ubuntu →

Setting Up an Enshrouded Dedicated Server with Docker: A Beginner's Guide

Embark on an adventure in the mystical world of Embervale with your own dedicated Enshrouded server. This guide walks you through setting up a dedicated server using Docker, making the process consistent and easy across different operating systems.

Enshrouded: A Vast World of Survival and Magic

Enshrouded is an immersive survival action RPG set in a vast, voxel-based open world. Players must explore dangerous lands, craft for survival, and battle mystical creatures. The game supports cooperative multiplayer for up to 16 players, creating the perfect environment for shared adventures.

_{Image generated with the help of ChatGPT}

Road to Release — Enshrouded is slated for an Autumn 2026 launch; the roadmap below shows the milestones to release.

Patch #10 v0.9.0.1 – Wake of the Water (2025-11)

• Dynamically simulated water, water tools, and flooding safeguards bring bases to life.
• Veilwater Basin biome, new quests, enemies, and gear raise the progression cap to level 45.
• Fishing, greatswords, rebalanced loot, and workstation force requirements deepen crafting/combat.
• Dedicated servers now expose tags, a visitor role with terraforming limits, and improved admin tools.

Full Settings + Example Config

• All server/gameplay fields are documented in docs/enshrouded_server.md.
• A complete sample with every setting populated ships in ressources/enshrouded_server.json.

---

0. Preparing Your Environment (Prerequisites)

You can run the Enshrouded server inside a Docker container on any operating system that supports Docker.
Open the section below for the supported OS matrix and prerequisites.

OS matrix & prerequisites (click to expand)

Production-Ready Linux	Desktop/Test Only	Notes
✅ Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (recommended)	✅ macOS (Docker Desktop)	⚠️ Not suitable for hosting a live server
✅ Ubuntu 22.04 LTS	✅ Windows 10/11 (WSL 2 + Docker Desktop)	⚠️ Use for testing or development only
✅ Ubuntu 20.04 LTS
✅ Debian 12 / 11
✅ Fedora 38+
✅ Arch Linux		Rolling release — always up-to-date
✅ AlmaLinux / Rocky Linux 9 / 8		CentOS alternatives
✅ openSUSE Leap / Tumbleweed

You’ll need:

• A system with Docker and Docker Compose installed
• sudo or administrative privileges
• ufw or firewall configuration (ensure port 15637 is open and forwarded)

[!TIP] Open UDP 15637 on both your host firewall and your router’s port forward. This is the #1 reason friends cannot see your server.

1. Installing Docker (Ubuntu 24.04 and Other Linux Systems)

Docker allows you to run applications in isolated containers. It's ideal for deploying an Enshrouded dedicated server because it ensures consistency, portability, and easy management.

This guide will walk you through installing Docker on Ubuntu 24.04. These steps also work on most other Linux distributions with minor adjustments.

Step 1: Update Your Package Index

Before installing anything, update your system to ensure all packages are current.

Debian/Ubuntu

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

• sudo apt update: Refreshes the package index.
• sudo apt upgrade -y: Upgrades installed packages automatically.

Fedora

sudo dnf upgrade --refresh

Arch Linux

sudo pacman -Syu

Step 2: Install Required Dependencies

Docker relies on a few helper packages. Install them with:

sudo apt install apt-transport-https ca-certificates curl software-properties-common lsb-release gnupg -y

• apt-transport-https: Allows apt to use HTTPS.
• ca-certificates: Ensures your system trusts SSL certificates.
• curl: Command-line tool for downloading files.
• software-properties-common: Adds support for add-apt-repository.
• lsb-release: Provides OS version info.
• gnupg: Required for managing GPG keys.

Step 3: Add Docker’s Official GPG Key

Docker signs its packages for security. Add their GPG key:

curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/docker-archive-keyring.gpg

Step 4: Add Docker’s APT Repository

Configure your system to use Docker’s stable software repository:

echo   "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/docker-archive-keyring.gpg]   https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu   $(lsb_release -cs) stable" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null

Step 5: Install Docker Engine

Update your package index again and install Docker:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io -y

• docker-ce: Docker Community Edition
• docker-ce-cli: Docker command-line interface
• containerd.io: Container runtime used by Docker

Verify Docker is running:

sudo systemctl status docker

Press q to exit the status screen.

2. Create user and working directory

To allow the Docker container to persist game data and configurations, we create a dedicated system user and set up the correct directory.

Run these commands as root or with sudo:

Create the system user:

sudo useradd -m -r -s /bin/false enshrouded

useradd -m -r -s /bin/false enshrouded: creates a system user with a home directory and no login shell.

Ensure the home directory exists:

sudo mkdir -p /home/enshrouded/server_1

mkdir -p /home/enshrouded/server_1: creates the persistent data directory.

Set proper ownership:

sudo chown enshrouded:enshrouded /home/enshrouded/server_1

chown enshrouded:enshrouded /home/enshrouded/server_1: assigns ownership to the enshrouded user.

Add the current login user to the enshrouded group (same access as enshrouded):

sudo usermod -aG enshrouded "${SUDO_USER:-$USER}"

usermod -aG enshrouded "${SUDO_USER:-$USER}": grants the current login user the same access as enshrouded.

Allow the enshrouded user to run docker without sudo:

sudo usermod -aG docker enshrouded

usermod -aG docker enshrouded: lets enshrouded run docker without sudo.

Apply group changes without logging out:

newgrp enshrouded
newgrp docker

newgrp enshrouded / newgrp docker: applies group changes in the current session (each opens a new shell; run the one you need, or open a new terminal for the other).

🛡️ This ensures that the container can write to /home/enshrouded/server_1 and all server data stays in one clean location. PUID/PGID are required at container start to map the internal user to your host enshrouded user.

3. Quickstart

Step 1: Go to ...

cd /home/enshrouded/server_1

Start the container:

docker run \
  --name enshroudedserver \
  --restart=unless-stopped \
  -p 15637:15637/udp \
  -e PUID="$(id -u enshrouded)" \
  -e PGID="$(id -g enshrouded)" \
  -v /home/enshrouded/server_1:/home/steam/enshrouded \
  bonsaibauer/enshrouded_server_docker:latest

---

Step 2: (not necessary)

Visual guide (changeable parts marked with <>):

docker run \
  --name <container_name> \
  --restart=unless-stopped \
  -p <host_port>:15637/udp \
  -e PUID="$(id -u enshrouded)" \
  -e PGID="$(id -g enshrouded)" \
  -v <host_path>:/home/steam/enshrouded \
  bonsaibauer/enshrouded_server_docker:<tag>

Common adjustments:

Item	Example
--name <container_name>	--name enshroudedserver
--restart=unless-stopped	Keeps the container running across reboots and crashes (e.g. no, on-failure, always, unless-stopped).
-p <host_port>:15637/udp	-p 25000:15637/udp (external UDP 25000)
-e PUID/PGID	In this tutorial: -e PUID=$(id -u enshrouded) -e PGID=$(id -g enshrouded); you can also set them individually, e.g. -e PUID=1001 -e PGID=1001.
-v <host_path>:/home/steam/enshrouded	-v /srv/enshrouded:/home/steam/enshrouded
bonsaibauer/enshrouded_server_docker:<tag>	bonsaibauer/enshrouded_server_docker:latest (see Docker Hub tags)

---

Wait until you see the following logs to confirm it's running:

[Session] 'HostOnline' (up)!
[Session] finished transition from 'Lobby' to 'Host_Online' (current='Host_Online')!

To exit the log view safely and keep the server running, press:

Ctrl + C

---

4. Edit server configuration

🔧 This file is located in the mounted directory: /home/enshrouded/server_1/enshrouded_server.json

nano enshrouded_server.json

Edit the enshrouded_server.json file to configure your server settings.

---

General Server Settings

Setting	Description	Example / Default Value	Options / Notes
name	Name of the server	"Enshrouded Server"	Any string
saveDirectory	Directory where savegames are stored	"./savegame"	File path
logDirectory	Directory for log files	"./logs"	File path
ip	Server IP binding	"0.0.0.0"	Server ip adress
...	...	...	...

... View full server settings here

ℹ️ Note: Nano editor

After editing the enshrouded_server.json file, follow these steps to save your changes and exit the Nano editor:

1. Save:

   • Press CTRL + O (this means "Write Out").
   • Press Enter to confirm and save the file with the current name.

2. Exit:

   • Press CTRL + X to close the Nano editor.

You will then return to the regular command line.

5. Docker commands to manage Enshrouded Server

Start the Enshrouded Server

If the container has already been created (e.g. from a previous docker run), you can start it again with:

docker start enshroudedserver

Stop the Enshrouded Server

To safely stop the server without deleting the container:

docker stop enshroudedserver

Update the Enshrouded Server

To restart the container (stop and start again):

docker restart enshroudedserver

Stop and remove the container

docker stop enshroudedserver
docker rm enshroudedserver

View live logs

Follow the server logs in real time (use Ctrl+C to leave log view; the container keeps running):

docker logs -f enshroudedserver

Buy Me A Coffee

If this project has helped you in any way, do buy me a coffee so I can continue to build more of such projects in the future and share them with the community!