ARK: Survival Evolved: Linux Server HowTo (English Version)

A quick HowTo run a ARK: Survival Evolved server on linux (Debian).

UPDATE: THIS TOOL HELPS YOU DO THE JOB

Meanwhile you can find a few tools, which help you with the installation, start, stop and update of the server. You can read about one of them in our article ARK: Survival Evolved Linux Server Tools.

Steam command line client quick installation guide

sudo apt-get install lib32gcc1
useradd -m steam
su - steam
mkdir ~/steamcmd
cd ~/steamcmd
wget https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/client/installer/steamcmd_linux.tar.gz
tar -xvzf steamcmd_linux.tar.gz
cd ~/steamcmd

Server Installation

Download the ARK dedicated server(~16.5 GB):

./steamcmd.sh +login [USER] [PASSWORD] +force_install_dir /home/steam/arkdedicated +app_update 376030 validate +quit

The installation path can be modified of course. To run the server, a few system configuration changes must be made.

Increase ulimit

in /etc/sysctl.conf add the following at the end of the file:

fs.file-max=100000

in /etc/security/limits.conf add the following:

* soft nofile 100000
* hard nofile 100000

in /etc/pam.d/common-session add the following:

session required pam_limits.so

Start the Server

cd /home/steam/arkdedicated/ShooterGame/Binaries/Linux/
./ShooterGameServer TheIsland?listen?SessionName=[SERVERNAME]?ServerAdminPassword=[ADMINPASSWORD] -server -log

Configuration

You will find the configuration file at
/home/steam/arkdedicated/ShooterGame/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/GameUserSettings.ini

Simply replace the [ServerSettings] part with the following code to have access to all available options. All options you don’t want can be removed (like DifficultyOffset and ServerPassword). The default value will then be used instead.

[/script/engine.gamesession]
MaxPlayers=5

[ServerSettings]
ShowMapPlayerLocation=True
ServerHardcore=False
GlobalVoiceChat=False
ProximityChat=False
NoTributeDownloads=False
AllowThirdPersonPlayer=False
AlwaysNotifyPlayerLeft=False
DontAlwaysNotifyPlayerJoined=True
ServerPVE=False
ServerCrosshair=True
ServerForceNoHUD=False
DifficultyOffset=0
ServerAdminPassword=ADMINPASSWORD
ServerPassword=SERVERPASSWORD
MaxStructuresInRange=1300.000000
AutoSavePeriodMinutes=15.000000

[MessageOfTheDay]
Message=WELCOME_MESSAGE
Duration=20

Important!

The server doesn’t automatically save when stopped!
To save the world before stopping the server, run the following commands INGAME in the console:

enablecheats ADMINPASSWORD
saveworld

However, it is possible to modify the time between automatic saves using the following config parameter:

AutoSavePeriodMinutes=5.000000

Update the Server

The server update is similar to the installation command, just run this line and after it finishes, start the server again.

./steamcmd.sh +login [USER] [PASSWORD] +force_install_dir /home/steam/arkdedicated +app_update 376030 +quit
FYI

If the official servers go down for a patch, it can take up to 15 minutes before the patch is available for your server. So don’t panic if the update command doesn’t find any new updates ;-)

The setup itself is not that hard, but the management is a little crude. I’ll update this How-To as I find better tools and information for doing this.

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