Run a Barotrauma dedicated server on the Windows or Linux PC you already have. NodeMesh installs it, writes the server settings and keeps it running. Barotrauma is in Beta on NodeMesh, and we haven't run it on our own hardware yet.
Free on your own PC — one host, no time limit.
Sign up, then paste one command from your dashboard on the PC that will run the server — PowerShell on Windows, a terminal on Linux. The agent installs as a service and pairs with your account.
Choose the game in the panel. NodeMesh downloads the dedicated server, sets it up and starts it, and you watch every step in the live console.
Switch on the traffic relay for the server and the panel gives you a public address. Send it to your friends: their traffic goes through the relay to your PC, so you never open a port on your router.
The memory figures are for the game server alone. If you also play on the same PC, the game itself needs its own memory on top.
Players open Join Server in the main menu, enter a name, then use Direct Join with your server's address and game port. The server also lists itself on Steam with your PC's own address, so we do not know yet whether a join through the NodeMesh relay works: if it does not, forward the two UDP ports on your router and share your own address.
The server uses two UDP ports, the game port and Steam's server-list port. NodeMesh gives every server its own pair, but only the game port goes through the relay. Server settings live in serversettings.xml, which the game rewrites when it stops; a change you save while the server runs is kept and applied on the next Start. Campaign saves are kept inside the server folder on Linux; on Windows the game stores them under the service account's AppData folder, outside NodeMesh backups. There is no remote console, so a plain Stop can lose progress since the last time the game saved. Steam Workshop mods are not supported yet.
One host — your own PC — is free with no time limit, for up to 5 game servers: the web panel and console, the config editor, the mod manager, auto-restart on crash and the traffic relay. Extra hosts cost credits.
See pricing →Beta: you can create this server today, but we have not run it on our own hardware yet. Expect rough edges, and tell us what you find.
No. The dedicated server is a free Steam tool that NodeMesh downloads anonymously, so no Steam login is stored on your PC. Your players do need the game.
Yes, the server has both a Windows and a Linux build, so the host can be either. NodeMesh has not run it on either yet.
The developers publish no figure for the server. We ask for 4 GB and recommend 8 GB, the game's own Steam requirements, as a starting point.
Possibly. NodeMesh cannot make the server save before a Stop, and the game has no remote console, so progress since its last save can be lost.
Yes, for one host. Running game servers on your own PC is free with no time limit — up to 5 servers, traffic relay included. You only pay, in credits, if you add more hosts.
Create an account, install the agent and pick the game. One host is free with no time limit.
Create a free account