Will friends who bought Empyrion on Epic be able to play on it?

Yes. Eleon confirmed in the v1.11.9 patch notes that the standalone server isn't sold on Epic and comes free through SteamCMD, and that release lets Epic players onto any Steam dedicated server that shows publicly. So keep yours visible and protect it with a password. Want an Epic friend as admin? You write their Epic ID into adminconfig.yaml yourself; it doesn't appear there on its own.

What does Dark Faction need on my server?

Eleon's guide says that if your server uses the Dark Faction scenario or other DLC content, you set EnableDLC: true in your YAML. Change it in your own copy, not the stock file, or the next update will put it back.

Do I have to update the server whenever the game updates?

Yes. Eleon's patch notes ask you to update the game and the server at the same time, so players on the new release can join. Back up first, then run the update block above.

Can I turn on anti-cheat?

Yes, on Windows: set EACActive: true in your YAML. Eleon's guide notes that EAC won't work on Linux unless Eleon adds support, which is one more reason to stay on Windows.

Can one machine host two Empyrion worlds?

Eleon doesn't document it, so here is our approach. Install the second server in its own folder, with a YAML and launcher copy of its own, give it a different range of four game ports (and its own telnet port if you use telnet), open that block in the firewall, and back it up on its own.

Empyrion Dedicated Server for Your Faction

Will it run on Linux? Not officially

No: Eleon's official setup guide says Linux isn't supported and there are no plans to support it. The server you download is a set of Windows programs (EmpyrionDedicated.exe plus EmpyrionPlayfieldServer.exe), started from Windows batch files.

The guide mentions that some players have got it working on Linux anyway and points them to Eleon's Discord, where a Linux_Support channel exists, without describing how. Easy Anti-Cheat (EAC), the anti-cheat Empyrion can switch on, won't work there either. If you want a server that runs the way Eleon intends, plan on Windows Server.

Got friends on the Epic version? They still use this same server: Eleon confirmed in v1.11.9 that there's no Epic edition of it, and SteamCMD provides it free.

How big a machine does your galaxy need?

Eleon hasn't published hardware numbers for its server, so we won't invent any. What helps is knowing how it works: one main server program runs alongside playfield servers, separate processes that each load one or more playfields, meaning planets, orbits and sectors of space.

So what matters is how many places your players are in at the same time. A group that sticks together on one planet asks less than the same group scattered across a system. That's our reasoning, not an Eleon figure: give yourself spare memory and cores, then check Task Manager while everyone is online and adjust.

Installing the server, step by step

Sign in to your Windows Server machine over Remote Desktop with an administrator account.
Paste the PowerShell below. It downloads SteamCMD, Valve's command-line installer, and fetches the server into C:\EmpyrionDS with the same command Eleon's guide uses.
Make a copy of dedicated.yaml called Crew.yaml and change settings only in the copy. Eleon warns that game updates overwrite the original files.
Make a copy of EmpyrionDedicated_NoGraphics.cmd called Crew_NoGraphics.cmd, and edit its launch line so it reads EmpyrionLauncher -startDedi -dedicated Crew.yaml.
Open the ports (next section) and double-click Crew_NoGraphics.cmd. The server starts quietly in the background.

mkdir C:\steamcmd -Force | Out-Null
Invoke-WebRequest https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/client/installer/steamcmd.zip -OutFile C:\steamcmd\steamcmd.zip -UseBasicParsing
Expand-Archive C:\steamcmd\steamcmd.zip -DestinationPath C:\steamcmd -Force
C:\steamcmd\steamcmd.exe +force_install_dir C:\EmpyrionDS +login anonymous +app_update 530870 validate +quit

Why NoGraphics? The version with a window has a warning in its own batch file: over Remote Desktop it floods its log and the server lags badly. Remote Desktop is exactly how you'll manage a rented server, so skip it.

In your copy, under GameConfig: GameName becomes the name of your save, Mode picks Survival or Creative, Seed decides how the galaxy is generated, and CustomScenario names a scenario folder from Content\Scenarios. Playing Dark Faction content? Set EnableDLC: true. Want anti-cheat? Set EACActive: true. Eleon suggests Notepad++ for these files rather than plain Notepad.

Opening the right ports for your players

Your players need four ports: the game port from your YAML plus the three after it, with TCP and UDP both allowed on each, as Eleon's guide puts it. Eleon's own team used 30000 as the game port when they explained forwarding, and with that game port it's 30000 to 30003. Check the game port in your own YAML (the server port setting, Srv_Port); if it's different, shift both the list below and the firewall command to match.

30000-30003, TCP and UDP: open. This is how players reach your world.
30004, telnet's default: keep closed. Eleon's guide says never to forward it.

At home you'd forward these on your router. Your rented server comes with a public IPv4 address of its own, so Windows Firewall is what stands between it and the internet. Eleon's guide approves the two server programs by name; we suggest opening ports instead, because a rule for a program lets it accept connections on every port it uses, telnet included. This adds both rules and then lists them so you can check:

foreach ($proto in 'TCP', 'UDP') {
    New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Empyrion players $proto" -Direction Inbound -Protocol $proto -LocalPort 30000-30003 -Action Allow
}
Get-NetFirewallRule -Direction Inbound -Enabled True | Where-Object DisplayName -like '*Empyrion*' | Format-Table DisplayName, Action

If the list also shows rules for the Empyrion programs themselves, switch those off.

Who gets admin, and why telnet stays off

Telnet is a text console for running server commands remotely. According to Eleon's guide, the server runs fine without it, and Eleon's guide labels it a very insecure protocol: telnet sends everything, your password included, unencrypted. If you ever need it, enable it in your YAML with a strong password, leave port 30004 shut, and connect from the server's own desktop, which is what the stock launcher suggests anyway.

Admins and bans: permissions, bans and mutes live in adminconfig.yaml, matched to each player's ID. Eleon added an example file, adminconfig.example.yaml, to start from; look for it in your install.
Epic players' IDs changed once: with v1.11.10 Eleon recalculated long Epic IDs, so an older admin file may need those entries updated.
Keeping it private: Srv_Public: false takes your server off the public list. But according to Eleon's v1.11.9 patch notes, Epic players can get onto Steam-hosted dedicated servers that show up in the public list, so if anyone in your group plays on Epic, leave the server listed and use a password instead, as Eleon's staff also advise.
Admin Helper: EAH, a management tool, comes in the DedicatedServer\EmpyrionAdminHelper folder. Configure it only with the server shut down, so it can install what it needs.

Keeping your world safe across updates

Your galaxy lives in a Saves folder: Eleon's notes describe each world as a folder in Saves\Games with the game's name, holding its players, templates and shared data. Those notes are about the game you play, where Saves lives in the game's own folder; we're assuming your server mirrors that at C:\EmpyrionDS\Saves, so check the folder is there and holds your world before you trust the script. Before any update, stop the server properly with the saveandexit console command (or from EAH), make sure Task Manager no longer lists either Empyrion server program, then run this:

$when = Get-Date -Format yyyy-MM-dd_HHmm
$copy = "C:\WorldBackups\$when"
robocopy C:\EmpyrionDS\Saves "$copy\Saves" /E /R:2 /W:5
if ($LASTEXITCODE -lt 8) {
    try {
        Copy-Item C:\EmpyrionDS\Crew.yaml, C:\EmpyrionDS\Crew_NoGraphics.cmd $copy -ErrorAction Stop
        C:\steamcmd\steamcmd.exe +force_install_dir C:\EmpyrionDS +login anonymous +app_update 530870 +quit
    } catch {
        Write-Warning "Copying your settings failed, so the update was skipped: $_"
    }
} else {
    Write-Warning "Backup did not complete (robocopy exit $LASTEXITCODE). Update skipped."
}

It copies your saves, your YAML and your launcher to a dated folder, and only updates the server if every copy worked. We expect adminconfig.yaml inside Saves, where the script already picks it up, but that's an assumption too: find it with Get-ChildItem C:\EmpyrionDS -Recurse -Filter adminconfig.yaml, and if it's somewhere else, add that path to the Copy-Item line. If you added a custom scenario, copy its folder from Content\Scenarios as well. Then download the dated folder to your own computer or another machine, so one failed disk can't take the world and its backup together.

Keep the server on the same release as your players: Eleon's patch notes ask for both to be updated together. Read each release's notes before you carry on with an old world, since some, such as v1.13, say new content needs a new save game.

Need to roll a world back? Do it like this:

Check that your backup's Saves\Games folder contains the world matching your GameName.
Stop the server with saveandexit and wait until both Empyrion programs have left Task Manager.
Rename the live C:\EmpyrionDS\Saves folder to Saves.before-restore.
Copy it back with robocopy "C:\WorldBackups\YYYY-MM-DD_HHMM\Saves" C:\EmpyrionDS\Saves /E, using your backup's folder name. An exit code ($LASTEXITCODE) of 8 or more means some files didn't copy, so stop and look before starting the server.
Start Crew_NoGraphics.cmd, log in and look around your base.
When everything looks right, delete Saves.before-restore.

The server that fits

Our game servers give you a whole physical machine, so no other customer's game competes with yours for the processor, and its network port isn't shared with anyone at the access switch. You manage the server; we keep the hardware and the network running.

Windows Server (versions up to 2025) comes as a one-click option on our widest lines, as a paid licence priced per core and charged the same every month even if you prepay the server. Our ARM machines can't run Windows.
Nothing meters the port, so a scenario download for every new player never turns into an extra charge.
Rack servers and blades include a remote console that works even when Windows won't start.
Choose one of five cities, three in the US and two in Europe, on our data center locations page, ideally close to most of your players.
A machine already in the rack is ready in about 30 minutes once your order is approved; payment checks can add time.

New to running Windows remotely? Our Windows remote desktop guide covers the basics.

When another option makes more sense

If you'd rather not look after Windows yourself, a managed game slot with a start button is simpler than a server of your own. If you only need the galaxy online for one weekend, an in-stock machine you rent by the hour avoids paying for a month. And if your group also builds in Space Engineers, our Space Engineers guide works the same way.

Questions people ask

Will friends who bought Empyrion on Epic be able to play on it?: Yes. Eleon confirmed in the v1.11.9 patch notes that the standalone server isn't sold on Epic and comes free through SteamCMD, and that release lets Epic players onto any Steam dedicated server that shows publicly. So keep yours visible and protect it with a password. Want an Epic friend as admin? You write their Epic ID into adminconfig.yaml yourself; it doesn't appear there on its own.
What does Dark Faction need on my server?: Eleon's guide says that if your server uses the Dark Faction scenario or other DLC content, you set EnableDLC: true in your YAML. Change it in your own copy, not the stock file, or the next update will put it back.
Do I have to update the server whenever the game updates?: Yes. Eleon's patch notes ask you to update the game and the server at the same time, so players on the new release can join. Back up first, then run the update block above.
Can I turn on anti-cheat?: Yes, on Windows: set EACActive: true in your YAML. Eleon's guide notes that EAC won't work on Linux unless Eleon adds support, which is one more reason to stay on Windows.
Can one machine host two Empyrion worlds?: Eleon doesn't document it, so here is our approach. Install the second server in its own folder, with a YAML and launcher copy of its own, give it a different range of four game ports (and its own telnet port if you use telnet), open that block in the firewall, and back it up on its own.

An Empyrion dedicated server that keeps your galaxy online