Barotrauma is at its best with a dedicated server — a 24/7 submarine your crew can drop into any time, with persistent campaigns and mods that aren’t tied to one player hosting. This guide covers setting up a Barotrauma dedicated server and the part that trips most people up: installing mods correctly.
Installing the dedicated server
The Barotrauma Dedicated Server is a separate Steam application (App ID 1026340), installed with SteamCMD:
app_update 1026340 validateOnce it’s installed, configure your server settings before first launch, make sure your ports are forwarded, and start it. The default game port is 27015 with a query port alongside it.
Key server settings
Server options live in serversettings.xml. The settings most worth checking first:
- Name & password — what shows in the in-game server list, and an optional join password.
- MaxPlayers — Barotrauma supports large crews; set this to your tier’s slot count.
- GameMode — Campaign for persistent progression, or Sandbox/Mission for one-off rounds.
- AllowSpectating, Voting, RespawnMode — quality-of-life rules for how rounds flow.
Installing mods (the manual part)
This is the crucial difference from playing solo: a dedicated server does not download Workshop mods automatically. You have to put the files there yourself.
- Subscribe locally. On your own PC, subscribe to the mods on the Barotrauma Steam Workshop and launch the game once so it downloads them.
- Find the mod files. On Windows they’re under:
%LocalAppData%/Daedalic Entertainment GmbH/Barotrauma/WorkshopMods/Installed - Upload to the server. Copy the mod folders to the matching
WorkshopModsfolder on your dedicated server via FTP/SFTP. - Enable them. Activate each mod in the server’s content/config so it loads on startup.
The golden rule: clients must match the server
Every connecting player needs the same mods in the same versions as the server, or they won’t be able to join. And because the server never auto-updates Workshop content, whenever a mod author pushes an update you must re-download it on your PC and re-upload it to the server.
Make hosting painless
Running the dedicated server, forwarding ports, and keeping mods in sync is a lot to manage from home. XGamingServer Barotrauma hosting handles the install and ports for you, with full file access for uploading mods and instant restarts — so you can focus on the dive, not the setup.
FAQ
How many players can a Barotrauma server hold? The game supports large crews; the practical limit is your server’s allocated slots and CPU.
Why can’t my friends join after I added a mod? They’re missing the mod or running a different version — mod lists must match exactly between client and server.
Do mods download to players automatically? Players subscribe to mods through the Workshop as normal; only the server requires manual mod files.
Sources: Official Barotrauma Wiki — Hosting a Dedicated Server, Enabling Mods on a Dedicated Server.
