Host a Steam Dedicated Server on Windows
Everything you need to run your own Steam dedicated server on Windows, from the first install to moving it to a new machine. The examples use 7 Days to Die, and the same steps work for most Steam game servers.
Each article stands on its own, so you can jump straight to the one you need. Read in order, they take one server from an empty machine to one you could lose without losing your world. Along the way you’ll find the server’s app ID, install it, open it to players, keep it running and up to date, and back up the world so a dead machine is an inconvenience instead of a disaster.
Every command is tested on a real Windows Server before it’s published. Wherever a step is specific to 7 Days to Die, like its ports or where it keeps saves, the article says so, so you know what to change for your own game server.
9 parts · 8 published
- Part 1
Find a Dedicated Server's Steam App ID for SteamCMD
Look up a dedicated server's Steam app ID, confirm it with SteamCMD, and see whether anonymous login can install it, checked here for 25 common servers.
- Part 2
Install SteamCMD and a Steam Dedicated Server on Windows Server
SteamCMD and a dedicated server installed on Windows Server, checked by the success line, the executable and the build ID rather than the exit code.
- Part 3
Configure a 7 Days to Die Dedicated Server and Open Its Ports
A 7 Days to Die server that starts on a clean Windows Server, with its saves where you choose and TCP 26900 and UDP 26900 to 26902 open in Windows Firewall.
- Part 4
Start a 7 Days to Die Dedicated Server at Boot on Windows and Stop It Cleanly
Run a 7 Days to Die server from a Windows scheduled task with no time limit, and stop it over telnet so the shutdown finishes and the world is saved.
- Part 5
Profile a game server and size its machine
Measure what the server actually uses while people play, so you pay for the machine you need and no bigger
Announced — not published - Part 6
Update a 7 Days to Die Dedicated Server Only When There Is a New Build
Compare the buildid in the appmanifest with SteamCMD's app_info_print and run app_update only when they differ. Success! and exit code 0 prove nothing.
- Part 7
Back Up a 7 Days to Die Dedicated Server to Amazon S3 with PowerShell
The world lands in S3 every morning as an archive that restores onto a fresh server, and the task's result says whether that morning's copy arrived.
- Part 8
Restore a 7 Days to Die Dedicated Server Backup Without Merging the Old World
A copied restore such as xcopy /E keeps files the backup lacks. Rename the live Saves folder aside and move the archive's in; the old world stays beside it.
- Part 9
Move a 7 Days to Die Dedicated Server to a New Windows Server by Restoring Its Last Backup
A 7 Days to Die dedicated server running the old world on a new Windows Server, its build and save files checked against the old one before players move.