Why can't my friends join my Enshrouded server?

Work through five things, in this order: the server has finished starting, your friends are looking in the right list, they have the right password, there’s a free slot, and the server is on the same version as their game.

1. The server hasn’t finished starting

An Enshrouded server takes a little while to load its world before anyone can join. Watch the live console in your Game Panel. Keen’s server FAQ says it’s ready when you see this line:

[Session] 'HostOnline' (up)!

If it never appears, or the server stops on its own, ask the AI assistant in your Game Panel to read the console and logs with you.

2. They’re looking in the wrong list

Enshrouded’s server list shows players’ own co-op games as well as dedicated servers. In the game, choose Join from the main menu and switch on the Show dedicated server filter. The other filters can hide your server too, such as hiding password-protected servers or asking for a minimum number of free slots, so check those as well.

Still not there? Add it as a favourite in Steam:

1. Find your server’s address and query port in your Game Panel. The query port is 15637 unless it’s been changed.
2. In Steam, open View, then Game Servers.
3. On the Favorites tab, press + and enter the address and query port with a colon between them, like 203.0.113.24:15637.
4. Open Enshrouded’s server list. Favourites sit at the top.

3. The password is wrong, or it’s the wrong group’s

Each user group in enshrouded_server.json has its own password, and the one a player types decides which group they’re in. Check the password you gave them against the file, character for character.

If someone gets in but can’t open chests or build in your base, they’ve joined with the Guest or Visitor password. Give them the Friend password and have them rejoin. How do I make myself admin on my Enshrouded server? shows what each group can do.

4. The server is full, or the slots are reserved

slotCount sets how many players can be on at once, from 1 to 16. Make sure it’s at least the size of your group.

reservedSlots keeps slots back for a group. Once the rest are taken, the server shows as full to anyone joining with another group’s password. If friends see “full” when the server isn’t, lower the reserved slots or raise slotCount.

Change either with the server stopped, then start it again. How do I change the game settings on my Enshrouded server? walks through a safe edit.

5. The server needs an update

Steam updates your friends’ games for them, and some Enshrouded updates need the dedicated server updated too. Keen’s patch notes say when one doesn’t. Update your server from the Game Panel (it can run updates on a schedule), then have everyone restart Enshrouded so Steam has fetched the latest version.

Playing on something other than PC?

Keen says Enshrouded isn’t cross-platform at launch. They’re working on it, with no date yet, so for now everyone joins on PC through Steam.