Your Valheim server runs the official 1.0 dedicated server with crossplay switched on, and it is ready about two minutes after checkout. This is the five-minute path from "just bought it" to your group standing in the meadows together — PC and console alike.
1. Find your server
Open your dashboard and select the new Valheim service. The Overview tab shows the server's status, the live console, and — once it's online — the connection card with your server address.
The very first boot generates a brand-new world, which takes around 20 seconds on top of the normal start-up. Watch the console for a line like:
Session "Your Server Name" registered with join code 123456
That line means the world is loaded, the server is registered for crossplay, and people can join.
2. Get your connection details
There are two ways in, and which one a player uses depends on their platform:
- PC (Steam, Microsoft Store, Mac): open Valheim → Start Game → pick a character → Join Game → Join IP, then paste the
host:portfrom your connection card. Or use the Community tab and search your server name if it's public. - PlayStation 5, Xbox, Nintendo Switch 2 — and PC too: Join Game → Join Code, and type the six-digit code from the console line above.
Everyone then enters the server password. It was generated for you at checkout — find it on the Server Settings tab, and change it whenever you like.
The join code changes every time the server restarts. Read the newest one from the console before you share it. The IP and port never change.
3. Make it yours
Head to the Server Settings tab. Everything a Valheim server can be told lives there:
- Server Name — what players see in the server list and on the join screen.
- Server Password — at least 5 characters, and it can't be part of the world name (the game refuses to start otherwise).
- World Name — the world your server loads. Change it to start fresh, or match it to a world you upload.
- Public Server — on to appear in the in-game Community list, off for invite-only.
- Enable Crossplay — on by default so console players can join. Switch it off only if you want a Steam-only server.
Every change needs a restart — Valheim reads its settings once at launch. The full walkthrough is in Changing Your Server Settings.
4. Bringing a world you already have
Valheim 1.0 keeps your existing worlds, and the Deep North appears in any part of the map nobody has explored yet. Upload the world's .db and .fwl files, set the World Name to match, and restart — the step-by-step is in Backups & Saves.
5. Before you invite everyone
- Every player must be on the same game version as the server. The server updates itself on every restart; players update through Steam or their console store.
- Adding mods? Read Updates & Mods first. The server is vanilla on purpose, and a broken mod is the number-one reason a Valheim server won't start after 1.0.
- The Backups tab is already protecting your world. Take a manual backup before your first experiment anyway.
If something's not right
- The console never shows
registered with join code→ read the last lines of the console; a password shorter than 5 characters, or one contained in the world name, stops the server dead. - Friends can't connect → work through Players Can't Join.
- Console friends specifically → Crossplay & Join Codes.
- Anything else → open a ticket from your dashboard and paste what the console showed.