You have spun up an Arma Reforger dedicated server, the console says it is running, and now you just want to get in and play. For most people that is a 30-second job. For everyone else it is a frustrating loop of “server not appearing in the browser,” version mismatch warnings, and friends on console who cannot see the same server you can. This guide walks through every way to connect to an Arma Reforger server in 2026 — direct connect by IP, the in-game server browser, and the favourites list — and then tackles the real reasons a server fails to show up: the UDP ports, the public address, and keeping the server build in lockstep with the game client.
Everything here is aligned with the current live build, 1.7.0.41 “Partisan Update” (released May 28, 2026), and the official Bohemia Interactive server configuration spec. If you are still standing up the server itself, start with our full Arma Reforger server setup walkthrough; this page assumes the server is already online and focuses purely on getting clients connected.
The three ways to connect
Arma Reforger gives you three connection paths from the main menu. They all end up at the same place — a session on your server — but each suits a different situation:
- Direct connect (by IP) — type the server’s public IP and game port. Best when the server is brand new, private/hidden, or not showing in the browser yet.
- Server browser — Reforger queries the backend list and shows matching public servers. Best for discovering and joining community servers.
- Favourites — pin a server so you can rejoin it in two clicks without searching every time.
Direct connect by IP
From the main menu, open Play → Servers and look for the Direct Join / “IP Connect” option. You will enter two things: the server’s public IPv4 address and the game port, which defaults to 2001. That game port is the value of publicPort in the server config — not the query port and not RCON. If your host gave you a custom port, use that number instead of 2001.
Direct connect is the single most reliable method because it bypasses the public server-list query entirely. A server can be perfectly playable yet invisible in the browser (a query-port issue), and direct connect will still get you in. It is also the only practical way to join a server with game.visible set to false. One important constraint: IPv6 is not supported, so always use an IPv4 address.
The server browser
Open Play → Servers and Reforger pulls the live list from Bohemia’s backend. For your own server to appear here, three things must all be true:
game.visibleistrue(the default) in your config.- The A2S query port (UDP 17777) is reachable from the outside.
- The server has successfully registered with the backend using a correct
publicAddress/publicPort.
Use the search box to filter by your server name (the game.name field, up to 100 characters). The list is large, so searching by name is far faster than scrolling. If you set a join password (game.password), the server still shows in the browser but prompts for the password on join.
Favourites
Once you have found your server — whether through search or after a successful direct connect — flag it as a favourite. It then sits in your Favourites tab and you can rejoin without re-typing the IP or hunting through the full list every session. This is the recommended workflow for a server you and your group play on regularly: connect once by IP to confirm everything works, favourite it, and use the tab from then on.
The ports that make connection work
Almost every “I can’t connect” or “my server won’t show up” problem comes down to ports. Arma Reforger uses several UDP ports, each with a distinct job. Two of them matter for connectivity; the third is for remote administration.
| Purpose | Config field | Default | Protocol | Must forward? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game traffic | bindPort / publicPort | 2001 | UDP | Yes — required to connect |
| Steam / A2S query | a2s.port | 17777 | UDP | Yes — for browser listing |
| Game RCON | rcon.port | 19999 | UDP | Only for remote admin |
| BattlEye RCon | RConPort (in BEServer_x64.cfg) | e.g. 5678 | — | Only for BE admin |
The two ports that govern whether players can connect at all are 2001/UDP (the game) and 17777/UDP (the query/listing). The official Server Hosting documentation states plainly that port forwarding is required for a server to be reachable from outside the LAN. Forward 2001/UDP at minimum so clients can connect, and forward 17777/UDP so the server appears (and reports player counts correctly) in the browser. RCON on 19999/UDP and BattlEye RCon are only relevant if you administer the server remotely — they have nothing to do with players joining.
If you host with us, those ports are already open and mapped, so connection is just a matter of handing your friends the IP and port. If you are self-hosting behind a home router, you must add the UDP forward rules yourself, and remember the protocol is UDP, not TCP — forwarding TCP does nothing here.
“My server won’t appear in the browser” — the fixes
This is the number-one Reforger hosting complaint, and it is almost never a “broken server.” The server is running; it just is not being found. Work through these in order.
1. Confirm the query port is open
Browser visibility depends on the A2S query port, UDP 17777, being reachable. The game port (2001) being open is not enough — the listing comes from a separate query socket. Make sure a2s.port is 17777 (or your chosen value) and that exact UDP port is forwarded. In current builds the query config is a nested block:
"a2s": {
"address": "192.168.9.10",
"port": 17777
}2. Check visibility
If game.visible is set to false, the server is intentionally hidden from the list — players must use direct connect. Set it to true if you want it discoverable.
3. Fix the public address (the classic Linux/Docker trap)
By default a Linux or Docker server registers the container’s internal IP with the backend — which is unreachable from the internet, so clients cannot connect even when ports are open. The fix is to explicitly set publicAddress and publicPort to a reachable IP and port. Note that several of these fields were renamed in build 0.9.8.73: the old gameHostRegisterBindAddress is now publicAddress, and gameHostRegisterPort is now publicPort. Use the new names. In Docker, also expose the UDP port, e.g. -p 2001:2001/udp. As a fallback, the “IP Connect” option in the browser still works regardless of registration.
4. Correct the player count with lobbyPlayerSynchronise
If the server shows but reports the wrong number of players (e.g. always empty or stuck), set operating.lobbyPlayerSynchronise to true — it sends the player identity list with each heartbeat and resolves the real-versus-reported count discrepancy. It defaults to true since 0.9.8.73, so a typical fix is making sure it has not been turned off.
For a deeper walkthrough of every field referenced above, see our dedicated Arma Reforger config.json reference and the official Arma Reforger hosting documentation.
Version match: the silent connection killer
You can have perfect ports and a correct public address and still be unable to connect if the server build does not match the client build. Arma Reforger requires the dedicated server to run the same build as the game clients. When Bohemia ships an update — like 1.7.0.41 — your client auto-updates through Steam, but the dedicated server does not. The mismatched builds reject the connection, often with a vague error that sends people chasing port problems that do not exist.
The fix is to re-run the SteamCMD update against the dedicated-server app ID and validate. The stable dedicated server is app ID 1874900 (the experimental branch is 1890870, and the game client is 1874880 — do not confuse them). Run:
steamcmd +login anonymous +app_update 1874900 validate +quitThe server installs anonymously — no game ownership required. After updating, restart the server and clients will connect again. Two important follow-ups:
- Mods must also match the build. The 1.7.0.41 modding changes relocated or removed several APIs, so any out-of-date mod can break the server until it is updated by its author.
- Set
-maxFPS. The wiki strongly recommends launching with-maxFPSin the 60–120 range so the server does not consume all available CPU — relevant because an overloaded server can drop connections.
A typical Linux launch line, matching the official example, looks like this:
./ArmaReforgerServer \
-config /home/user/.config/ArmaReforgerServer/config.json \
-profile /home/user/.config/ArmaReforgerServer \
-maxFPS 60Console players can’t see the server? It’s crossplay rules
If your PC friends connect fine but Xbox or PlayStation players cannot find the server, the cause is almost always the crossplay configuration — not a connection fault. Crossplay is controlled by game.supportedPlatforms, an array of platform tokens: PLATFORM_PC, PLATFORM_XBL (Xbox), and PLATFORM_PSN (PlayStation, supported since 1.2.1.169). The default is ["PLATFORM_PC"] — PC only — which is why a fresh server is invisible to console players until you change it.
The shortcut is game.crossPlatform: true, which auto-adds PC, Xbox and PSN when they are missing. But there are hard rules — and one big gotcha around mods:
- Valid vanilla combinations: PC only, or PC + all consoles (Xbox and PlayStation together). Combinations like PC+Xbox alone or Xbox+PSN are invalid on a vanilla server.
- PlayStation + mods are mutually exclusive. PS5 players cannot access modded servers at all — any mod present silently excludes PSN. With
crossPlatform: trueon a modded server, PSN is simply not added. - Xbox players can join modded servers, but only with mods Bohemia has certified for console. Adding any PC-only mod drops Xbox.
- PC has no mod restrictions.
Net effect: a fully cross-platform PC + Xbox + PS5 server must run vanilla. With mods, the best you can reach is PC + Xbox (and only with console-certified mods). The full configuration is covered in our guide on making your Arma Reforger server cross-platform.
Other reasons a connection gets rejected
A handful of less common issues can also block a join even when the basics are right:
- BattlEye kick (“Missing GameID/MasterPort server config settings”). This is caused by an incorrectly edited
BEServer_x64.cfg. The fix is to delete the file and verify the game files via Steam, then re-add only yourRConPort/RConPasswordlines by appending them — never erase the existing contents. - fastValidation mismatch. Keep
gameProperties.fastValidationset totrueon public servers (it is the default). Disabling it is only for local debugging and can cause join problems. - Server full / no slots. Check
game.maxPlayers(range 1–128, default 64). If it is full, enable a join queue withoperating.joinQueue.maxSize(range 0–50, default 0/disabled). Listed admins also get a priority queue — see our guide on setting up server queues. - Wrong port in direct connect. A surprising number of failures are simply someone typing the query port (17777) or RCON port (19999) into direct connect instead of the game port (2001).
A correct config, end to end
Most connection problems disappear when the networking block of config.json is correct. Here is the official wiki example with real values — note the matching publicAddress across the root, A2S and RCON blocks, and the platform array set for crossplay:
{
"bindAddress": "0.0.0.0",
"bindPort": 2001,
"publicAddress": "192.168.9.10",
"publicPort": 2001,
"a2s": { "address": "192.168.9.10", "port": 17777 },
"rcon": {
"address": "192.168.9.10", "port": 19999,
"password": "changeme_withoutspaces",
"permission": "monitor", "blacklist": [], "whitelist": []
},
"game": {
"name": "Server Name - Mission Name",
"password": "",
"passwordAdmin": "changeme",
"admins": ["76561198200329058"],
"scenarioId": "{ECC61978EDCC2B5A}Missions/23_Campaign.conf",
"maxPlayers": 32,
"visible": true,
"crossPlatform": true,
"supportedPlatforms": ["PLATFORM_PC", "PLATFORM_XBL"],
"gameProperties": {
"battlEye": true,
"fastValidation": true
}
}
}The key takeaways for connectivity: bindAddress stays 0.0.0.0 (or empty) so the socket binds to all interfaces; publicAddress is the reachable IP that gets registered with the backend; and publicPort (2001) is the number your players type into direct connect.
Frequently asked questions
What port do I use to connect to an Arma Reforger server?
For direct connect, use the game port, which defaults to 2001 (UDP) — this is the publicPort value in the server config. Do not use the query port (17777) or RCON port (19999). If your host assigned a custom game port, enter that instead. Both 2001/UDP (game) and 17777/UDP (query) must be forwarded for a self-hosted server, but only 2001 is what you type into Direct Join.
Why can’t I find my Arma Reforger server in the browser?
The usual culprit is the A2S query port (UDP 17777) not being reachable — the browser listing comes from that separate query socket, not the game port. Confirm 17777/UDP is forwarded, that game.visible is true, and that the server registered a reachable publicAddress (the most common Linux/Docker failure is registering an internal IP). While you sort it out, you can always join via direct connect by IP, which bypasses the public listing entirely.
How do I direct connect to an Arma Reforger server by IP?
Go to Play → Servers and choose the Direct Join / IP Connect option, then enter the server’s public IPv4 address and the game port (default 2001). IPv6 is not supported, so always use an IPv4 address. Direct connect is the most reliable method because it skips the server-list query — it works even when the server is hidden or not appearing in the browser.
Why do I get a version mismatch when connecting?
The dedicated server must run the same build as the game client. Your client auto-updates through Steam when Bohemia ships a patch (such as 1.7.0.41), but the dedicated server does not — so it gets left on an older build and rejects connections. Update it by re-running steamcmd +login anonymous +app_update 1874900 validate +quit against dedicated-server app ID 1874900, then restart. Remember to update mods too, since the 1.7.0.41 modding changes broke older mod APIs.
Why can’t my Xbox or PlayStation friends connect to my server?
Console players are blocked by crossplay configuration, not a connection fault. A new server defaults to ["PLATFORM_PC"] — PC only. Add PLATFORM_XBL and/or PLATFORM_PSN to game.supportedPlatforms, or set game.crossPlatform: true. Critically, PlayStation players cannot join any modded server, and Xbox players can only join with Bohemia-certified console mods. A fully cross-platform PC + Xbox + PS5 server must be vanilla.
How do I connect as an admin?
Join the server normally, then open the in-game command line (the chat key — Enter in-game, C in the lobby) and type #login using your game.passwordAdmin. If your Steam64 ID or identity ID is in the game.admins array, you can run #login with no password (since 1.0.0). From there you have commands like #players, #kick, #ban, #restart and #shutdown. See our Arma Reforger 1.7 admin guide for the full command reference.
Connect once, play for months
Connecting to an Arma Reforger server is straightforward once you understand the moving parts: use direct connect with the game port (2001) for reliability, make sure the query port (17777/UDP) is open so the server lists in the browser, keep the dedicated server on the same build as your client, and configure supportedPlatforms correctly if you want console players in. Get those four right and the favourites tab becomes your one-click door back in every session.
If you would rather skip the port-forwarding and version-matching entirely, a managed host handles all of it — ports pre-opened, automatic updates that keep the server build current, and crossplay ready out of the box. You can deploy an Arma Reforger server in minutes with XGamingServer and hand your friends nothing more than an IP and a port.
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