First, choose your operating system
Funcom's patch notes for Conan Exiles Enhanced, dated 5 May 2026, put it plainly: a Linux version of the server exists, and Steam picks the Windows or Linux download to suit your system. The Enhanced technical documentation adds one practical warning: Linux cares about upper and lower case in file names, so keep the save database name in lower case. Before that release, anyone hosting on Linux leaned on Wine, a community project rather than anything Funcom shipped.
- Pick Ubuntu if you are happy at a terminal; the steps below are written for it.
- Pick Windows Server if you would rather click than type. Funcom's free Dedicated Server Launcher runs only on Windows and handles updates, Workshop mods and the main settings for you. With us, Windows Server is a paid licence charged each month in addition to the server itself. The operating systems on offer vary from line to line, and Windows never runs on our ARM machines.
The ports your players will knock on
Funcom publishes a short table of what the server listens on. Here it is in plain words:
- 7777 over UDP is the game itself. Change it with Port= in the [URL] section of Engine.ini, or -Port= at launch.
- 7778 over UDP is the pinger the server browser uses to see that you are online. It is always one above the game port, and you cannot set it separately.
- 27015 over UDP answers server queries. It lives under [OnlineSubsystemNull] as GameServerQueryPort, or -QueryPort= on the command line.
- 7777 over TCP sends mods to players on the Epic Games Store version (PC only). Enhanced came out for Steam owners only, so this matters just on a Legacy server with Epic players; an Enhanced server can keep it closed. Steam players get mods from the Workshop instead.
- 25575 over TCP is RCON, the remote admin console. Set it in Game.ini under [RconPlugin] or with -RconPort=.
Funcom also asks you to delete the old [OnlineSubsystemSteam] block from Engine.ini, as it is no longer used, since server queries no longer go through Steam. Your Primcast server has a public IPv4 address of its own, so nobody else is competing for these numbers.
Setting it up, step by step
- Install SteamCMD from Ubuntu's multiverse repository.
- Create an ordinary user for the game, because Valve's SteamCMD guide calls root a security risk.
- Switch the firewall on before the first launch: SSH, the three UDP ports, and RCON only from the address you manage it from (198.51.100.7 below is a stand-in).
- Download app 443030 with an anonymous login; no Steam account is needed.
- Start the server once with ConanSandboxServer.sh -log so it creates its settings, then stop it with Ctrl+C.
sudo add-apt-repository multiverse
sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386
sudo apt update
sudo apt install steamcmd
sudo useradd -m -s /bin/bash exiles
sudo ufw allow OpenSSH
sudo ufw allow proto udp to any port 7777,7778,27015
sudo ufw allow proto tcp from 198.51.100.7 to any port 25575
sudo ufw enable
sudo -u exiles bash -c 'cd /home/exiles && /usr/games/steamcmd +force_install_dir /home/exiles/conan +login anonymous +app_update 443030 validate +quit'
sudo -u exiles bash -c 'cd /home/exiles/conan && ./ConanSandboxServer.sh -log'According to the official wiki, that first run writes Engine.ini, Game.ini and ServerSettings.ini into ConanSandbox/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/. Updating later is just a matter of stopping the server and repeating that download command. Valve notes that validate restores any shipped file you changed, which is one more reason to make your edits only in the Saved folder. For a server that comes back by itself after a reboot, turn that launch line into a systemd service that runs as the exiles user.
Keeping the keys to your world private
Three settings decide who gets in and who gets control. Treat each one like a house key.
; Engine.ini
[OnlineSubsystem]
ServerPassword=choose-a-join-password
; (the wiki's Linux guide uses ServerSettings.ini [ServerSettings] instead)
; ServerSettings.ini
[ServerSettings]
AdminPassword=choose-a-long-admin-password
; Game.ini
[RconPlugin]
RconEnabled=1
RconPassword=choose-a-different-rcon-password
RconPort=25575- ServerPassword is what your friends type to join. Funcom's setup page places it in Engine.ini, in the [OnlineSubsystem] section beside ServerName; the wiki's Linux guide puts it in ServerSettings.ini instead. Set it in one file, and if it does not take effect, look for a ServerPassword line in the other. Since Enhanced, Funcom says connections to the server are encrypted using it.
- AdminPassword unlocks every setting in game, so share it only with people you would trust with the whole world.
- RconPassword opens the remote console. Use a different value from the admin one.
Keep these in the files rather than on the launch line, because command-line arguments are visible to anyone who runs ps on the machine and they stay in your shell history. After editing, run chmod 600 on all three files, Engine.ini, ServerSettings.ini and Game.ini, so only the exiles user can read your passwords.
Looking after saves, mods and memory
Enhanced joins both maps, the Exiled Lands plus Siptah, into a single world divided into regions. If your clan never sails to Siptah, you can leave that island out, as the technical documentation explains: add a [Regions] section to Engine.ini with ExcludedRegions=IsleOfSiptah. Its sublevels then stay unloaded, which the docs say can reduce RAM use.
Your world now lives in game_0.db instead of Game.db; on its first start the server copies the old file across when the new one does not exist yet. Copy ConanSandbox/Saved and ConanSandbox/Mods somewhere safe before each update. Two fixes from the official troubleshooting page are worth remembering: if players cannot connect after you upgrade an older install, clear out any BuildIdOverride and bUseBuildIdOverride entries left in Engine.ini; and when -MULTIHOME pins the server to a single IP, pass that IP to -MULTIHOMEHTTP too, so it still appears in the browser. Groups not ready for Enhanced can switch to the legacy beta branch, named conan-exiles-legacy.
Choosing a machine for it
Funcom has not posted hardware guidance for the Enhanced server in the documents we read; the community requirement tables you will find were written before Enhanced moved the game to Unreal Engine 5. Speaking for ourselves: a few fast cores and plenty of spare memory serve a survival game better than a long list of slow cores, and your mods will change the picture, so try your own list before inviting everyone.
Our game server hosting gives you a whole machine on HPE enterprise hardware, with Ubuntu or Windows installed in one click. Browse the dedicated servers, pick a city from our locations near most of your players, and a racked server is ready about 30 minutes after we approve the order. Its port is unmetered, so player traffic never runs into an allowance. Running more than one survival world? The Valheim and Enshrouded guides follow the same approach.
Questions people ask
- Do I still need Wine to host Conan Exiles on Linux?
- No. With Enhanced, Funcom added a Linux version of the server, and Steam fetches it automatically when you install on a Linux machine. Wine was the community workaround for the older Windows-only server.
- What is the Steam app ID of the server?
- It is 443030, and it downloads with login anonymous in SteamCMD, so you can skip signing in to Steam altogether.
- Which ports should I open in my firewall?
- Open 7777, 7778 and 27015 over UDP for players and the server browser. Open 7777 over TCP only on a Legacy server where Epic Games Store players need mods from you (Enhanced is Steam-only, so it can stay shut), and allow 25575 over TCP (RCON) only from your own address.
- Where are the settings files on Linux?
- The official wiki places them in ConanSandbox/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/ inside the server folder. They appear after the first start.
- Is the Dedicated Server Launcher available for Linux?
- No, Funcom's launcher is a Windows program. If you want it, order the server with Windows Server, charged as a monthly licence in addition to the server, on a line that offers it (no ARM machine does).
- How can I make the server use less memory?
- If you do not play on the Isle of Siptah, exclude that region in Engine.ini with ExcludedRegions=IsleOfSiptah under [Regions]. The Enhanced documentation says this keeps its sublevels from loading and can lower RAM use.