How to Make an Unturned Server

Last modified on Jun 5, 2023 in unturned

By Nathan Young

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Overview

Unturned servers offer a wide variety of features to play with friends and other players, which can greatly improve gameplay. This can intrigue potential server owners, as it can allow for custom addons, maps, commands, among other options. These can be difficult to set up, especially if you are unfamiliar with hosting servers. Additionally, some of the customizations require file editing and could be daunting at first. However, when everything is configured, then you and others can enjoy a tailored game experience! With all this in mind, Apex Hosting will show you how to make an Unturned server and important configuration tips to get you started.
 

How to Make an Unturned Server

1. Head towards your Apex server panel and locate the Game File section.
2. Open the dropdown menu by clicking it, then lookup Unturned and select it.
   
3. Once selected, confirm the changes and generate a new world.
4. Restart the server when prompted or from the main panel.
   

   Note: The first installation of Unturned will take time, but shouldn’t be too long.

5. When it finishes, try joining the server to confirm everything works.

Getting Started

Now that you host an Unturned server, you’ll want to start configuring it. For instance, you may want to add admins, enable cheats, change the map, or install plugins. We’ll go through these and more to help you fully set up your server. This will give you control over almost everything, which is ideal if you’re wanting to have a small or large community.
 

Joining the Server

1. In your server panel, locate the IP Address:Port section and copy the numbers.
   
2. Launch Unturned from Steam and press Play from the menu.
3. Afterward, choose Connect and paste the IP Address and Port respectively.
   

   Note: If a server password is set, use that in the correct field.

4. When all information is entered, press Connect and Join when you see the server appear.

Adding an Admin Account

1. Head towards Steam IO and enter the desired Steam account username.
2. Wait for it to load, then copy the SteamID64 values for later use.
   
3. Navigate to your server panel and press Stop or Force Stop.
4. In the top left corner, click Config Files and locate the Commands.dat option.
   
5. Select the option and input owner SteamID64, then click Save in the top.
   

   Note: Make a new line for every account you want to be admin.

6. Afterward, Restart the server and join with the account to confirm it works.
7. If you’re wanting to add more in-game admins, then use /admin [SteamID64] to do it.

Enabling Cheats

1. Navigate to your server panel and press Stop.
2. Afterward, click Config Files in the top left corner.
   
3. Locate and enter in the Commands.dat section.
4. On a new blank line, copy and paste Cheats Enabled.
   
5. Once entered, click Save in the top left and Restart the server.

Server Commands

We’ll briefly review important admin and cheat commands to use in-game. If you’re wanting a complete list of them, review our Unturned Commands guide.

Changing the Server Map

1. Head towards your server panel and press Stop.
2. In the top left corner, click on Config Files and locate Commands.dat, select it.
3. Inside of it, add a new line with map [MapName].
   
4. Afterward, press Save near the top left and Restart the server.

 
Available Maps
Down below is the list of maps to choose from to get you started.

How to Install Plugins

We’ll go through the automatic method for installing plugins, but you can review our manual guide instead if you want.

1. Enter towards the OpenMod plugin’s page, then locate what you want.
2. Once found, press Copy Install Command to the right of the plugin.
   
3. Afterward, head towards your server panel and click Console on the left.
4. Paste the command into the text box below and press Enter on your keyboard.
   
5. Wait for the server to install your desired plugin(s), which should return the “Successfully installed [PluginName]” message.
6. Once completed, Restart the server or use openmod reload in the Console.
7. Join the server when everything is ready to confirm it works.

How to Install Workshop Mods

1. Use Unturned’s Workshop to locate the mod you want from the Search field or categories.
   
2. When you find one, open its page and copy the ID from the URL.
   

   Note: It’s after “?id=” in the URL or from the mod’s description down below.

3. Copy down all the mod IDs you want to install on the server for later use.
4. Next, click FTP File Access near the top left from the main server panel.
   
5. Use your password to login, then navigate into the Servers directory.
6. Enter into your world’s folder, then click Edit on the WorkshopDownloadConfig.json file.
   
7. Locate the File_IDs list and in-between the brackets, use Enter on your keyboard.
   
8. Input the mod’s ID on each blank line, then separate them with a comma besides the last one.
   
9. Press Save in the top left and Restart the server to apply the changes.

 
If you’re wanting to manually install mods, then review our guide here. Additionally, in the same guide, you can load modded maps from the Workshop into the server. This would be important information if the normal worlds aren’t what you want.
 

Conclusion

Hosting Unturned servers truly gives you many advantages over LAN or singleplayer, as it can have plugins, mods, custom maps, and unique configuration. Whether you only install addons or use cheat commands, this allows you to build a customized experience for others to enjoy. These features are wonderful for private or public servers, which means they are global aspects to Unturned servers. Although, you will need to get an idea of what plugins, mods, and other options you want for it. Once you know exactly what should be included, start adding and configuring it. Besides this, we hope this guide helped you make a Unturned server and to get started with its set up.
 

Useful Links

How to Join Unturned Servers
How to Add Server Admins
Unturned Server Commands
Unturned Knowledgebase