A dedicated Palworld server lets up to 32 friends share one persistent world that stays online even when you log off. Here is how to set one up.
Palworld dedicated servers want memory: plan for 8 GB for a small group and 12–16 GB toward the 32-player cap. World size grows over time, so NVMe storage and backups matter.
Almost everything is controlled from PalWorldSettings.ini — capture rates, EXP, Pal spawns, day/night length, death penalty and PvP. Edit it in the config editor, restart, and your rules are live.
Palworld exposes a REST API for admin actions — announce messages, kick/ban, save and shut down gracefully — handy for community management and automation.
The dedicated server runs on Windows 64-bit or Linux 64-bit; the documentation names Ubuntu and AlmaLinux as examples of supported Linux distributions.
CPU, memory, and storage sizing is covered separately on the Palworld server hosting page.
The Palworld dedicated server listens on UDP 8211 by default, changeable with -port=. That is the only port listed on the official requirements page. Port forwarding is configured on the router.
| Port | Protocol | Purpose | Enabled by |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8211 | UDP | Game traffic | Always |
| 8212 | TCP | REST API | RESTAPIEnabled / RESTAPIPort |
| 25575 | TCP | RCON | RCONEnabled / RCONPort |
Port 8212/TCP is a community-documented default, not a number stated in the official docs; 25575 is the default given on the official RCON page.
For automation, build against the REST API rather than RCON: the official RCON page marks RCON as deprecated and “scheduled to stop functioning in an upcoming update”.
The REST API is turned on with RESTAPIEnabled=True and authenticates with HTTP Basic Auth. The official page states that it is not designed to be exposed directly to the internet and recommends using it within a LAN.
Two files share nearly the same name, and only one affects a running server. DefaultPalWorldSettings.ini in the PalServer root is a template — the documentation notes that edits to it are not applied.
The live file is generated on first boot at Pal/Saved/Config/WindowsServer/PalWorldSettings.ini (LinuxServer on Linux). Copy the template's contents there and edit that copy.
Documented startup arguments:
-port= — sets the port the server listens on-players= — sets the maximum number of participants-publiclobby — sets the server up as a community server-NumberOfWorkerThreadsServer= — sets the number of processes; the documentation states that it needs to be used together with the multi-threaded CPU performance arguments (-useperfthreads -NoAsyncLoadingThread -UseMultithreadForDS)That dependency matters: the same page states that in v1.0 and later, leaving those performance arguments unset may improve performance, so the older advice to add them no longer matches the documentation.
The permitted client platforms are controlled by CrossplayPlatforms in PalWorldSettings.ini, which defaults to (Steam,Xbox,PS5,Mac). Removing entries narrows who can connect.
The older AllowConnectPlatform key is listed as unavailable in this version and superseded by CrossplayPlatforms, so configuration examples that still use it will not take effect.
Appearing in the in-game community server list is a separate step from crossplay: the server has to be launched with the -publiclobby argument.
One documented caveat — if the router does not support hairpin NAT, machines on the same local network as the server cannot reach it through the community list, even though outside players can.