How to install mods for ARK: Survival Evolved

ARK: Survival Evolved has a huge mod scene on the Steam Workshop: stacking mods, structure sets, quality-of-life tweaks, new creatures, and full overhauls. On a dedicated server, mods are configured by ID and downloaded automatically. This guide covers adding them and the gotchas.

For first boot, see Getting started with your ARK: Survival Evolved server.

This guide covers ARK: Survival Evolved

ARK: Survival Ascended is a separate game with a different mod system — its mods come from CurseForge rather than the Steam Workshop, so the Workshop IDs and ActiveMods steps below do not apply to it.

How ARK: Survival Evolved Server Mods Work

ARK: Survival Evolved server mods come from the Steam Workshop. You do not upload mod files by hand; instead the server reads a list of Workshop mod IDs from the ActiveMods= line in GameUserSettings.ini and loads them in that order. With auto-managed mods enabled (the -automanagedmods startup flag, which you add yourself, see Step 2), the server downloads and updates the mod files itself on boot.

Players do not need to prepare anything: when someone joins a modded ARK server, the game automatically downloads and subscribes them to every mod the server runs. The only cost is waiting at the connect screen while large mods download the first time.

Step 1: Find the Mod IDs

1. Open the mod's Steam Workshop page.

2. The mod ID is the number at the end of the Workshop URL.

3. Note the IDs of every mod you want, in the order you want them loaded.

Load order matters

Map mods generally go first, and overhaul or total-conversion mods have their own placement rules listed on their Workshop page. Read each mod's description.

Step 2: Add the Mods to Your Server

There is no mods field on the Startup tab of your managed ARK: Survival Evolved server. You set the mods in two places:

1. Stop the server. ARK rewrites its INI files when it shuts down, so edits made while it runs are lost.

2. In the File Manager, open ShooterGame/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/GameUserSettings.ini and put the Workshop IDs on the ActiveMods= line under [ServerSettings], comma-separated with no spaces, in load order. This is the setting that actually loads them:

[ServerSettings]
ActiveMods=123456789,987654321,456789123

ActiveMods is case-sensitive

If you ever edit that line by hand in the File Manager, note that capitalization matters: it must be exactly ActiveMods with a capital A and M, or ARK silently ignores it.

3. On the Startup tab, add -automanagedmods to the Additional Arguments field. That flag makes the server download, install and update Workshop mods itself. Our start line does not include it by default, and without it the server does not download mods.

4. Start the server. On boot, it should download each mod from the Workshop; watch the Console to confirm each one installs. The first start after adding mods takes longer while they download; watch the Console for progress.

Step 3: What Players See

Players do not need to install anything in advance. On join, ARK automatically downloads and subscribes them to every mod on the server, then loads in. For servers with large mod lists this first connect can take a long time, so it is worth posting your mod list (or a Workshop collection link) in your Discord: players who subscribe ahead of time skip the wait at the connect screen.

If a player joins while the server or their client is still mid-download after a mod update, they can hit a "Mod Version Mismatch" error. The fix is simply waiting for the download to finish and reconnecting.

Updating and Removing Mods

• Updates download automatically on server restart, as long as -automanagedmods is in Additional Arguments. After a big game patch, restart once more if a mod errored the first time.
• Removing a mod is more involved: removing a mod that added items or creatures can corrupt or wipe the things that depended on it. Back up first, and ideally remove content mods only at a wipe.

Common Issues

What to Read Next

• Configuration Overview
• How to Add Admins and Commands
• Getting started with your ARK: Survival Evolved server

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