Space Engineers Dedicated Server Setup: Install, Ports and Config

A Space Engineers dedicated server is Keen Software House's free Space Engineers Dedicated Server tool (Steam app 298740), a Windows program you install from Steam's Tools section or with SteamCMD using an anonymous login. You run SpaceEngineersDedicated.exe, pick Local/Console, set up the world in its configurator and press Save & start. Players connect on UDP 27016 by default. Keen's minimum is a 3.2 GHz CPU with 3 logical cores and 6 GB of RAM.

This guide covers the original Space Engineers (SE1). Space Engineers 2 has no dedicated server yet. Keen's 19 October 2026 update says SE2 multiplayer starts as "4-player co-op with player hosting only" and that "Dedicated servers will come later."

Checked against Space Engineers 1.210.014 (hotfix, 14 August 2026)

That is the build on the dedicated server's public Steam branch on 27 October 2026. Keen also keep older versions as branches (1.209, 1.208 and so on) if a mod pack needs one.

Requirements

From Keen's Dedicated Servers page:

Note what changes between the two columns: Keen's recommendation raises the clock speed and the RAM, not the core count. Buy for per-core speed.

You don't need to buy a second copy for the server. Keen: "server providers don't require a licensed copy of the game", although getting the files through the Steam client needs an account that owns it. SteamCMD's anonymous login doesn't.

Install the Server

With Steam. Open your library, filter to Tools, search for Space Engineers Dedicated Server and install it.

With SteamCMD. This is Keen's own command, with a real folder filled in:

steamcmd.exe +login anonymous +force_install_dir C:\SEDS +app_update 298740 +quit

Run it again to update. The server files go into DedicatedServer64\ inside that folder, and that is where SpaceEngineersDedicated.exe lives.

First Start: Local/Console or a Windows Service

Run SpaceEngineersDedicated.exe and you get the instance list:

• Local/Console runs the server as a normal window. Choose it, click Continue to server configuration, fill in the server and world name, pick a scenario or a saved world, and press Save & start.
• Add new instance creates a Windows service with its own name, so the server keeps running when nobody is logged in. Start the tool as Administrator for this. Each instance needs its own ports.

The configurator saves everything to SpaceEngineers-Dedicated.cfg, an XML file in the instance's data folder. Saved worlds are read from AppData\Roaming\SpaceEngineersDedicated in your user folder, or from ProgramData\SpaceEngineersDedicated for services. To run a world you built in single player, copy it from your game's save directory (AppData\Roaming\SpaceEngineers) into the dedicated server's folder, then choose it under Saved worlds.

Admins go on the Users tab as 64-bit Steam IDs. An admin gets the Alt+F10 admin screen in game. The same tab holds the ban list and reserved slots, and the Mods tab takes Workshop items.

Command-line options

For a script or a headless box, these are the switches Keen document:

To stop the server cleanly so the world saves, use taskkill /IM SpaceEngineersDedicated.exe. Adding /f kills it immediately without saving.

Ports and Firewall

Keen: "The game uses UDP protocol to communicate. The default listen port is 27016."

1. Forward UDP 27016 (or the Port you set in Server settings) on your router to the server PC.
2. Allow the same UDP port inbound in Windows Firewall.
3. If you run a second instance, give it a different port. One port serves one instance.

SpaceEngineers-Dedicated.cfg also has a SteamPort (8766 in the default file) and, if you turn on the Remote API for VRage Remote Client, a RemoteApiPort. The Remote API is off in the default file. Only open it if you use it, and keep its key private, because it can control the server.

Players connect from Join Game: filter the list to dedicated servers, or use Direct Connect with IP:port. A server limited with a Steam Group ID only shows to that group's members.

Running It on a GameServerKings Server

On your Space Engineers server the install, Wine setup and ports are done when you get it. We run the same Windows SpaceEngineersDedicated.exe under Wine, started with -path pointing at config/, plus -noconsole -ignorelastsession. That changes three things compared with the guide above:

1. There is no configurator window on the server. Settings live in config/SpaceEngineers-Dedicated.cfg and the world in config/Saves/World/. Edit the XML in the File Manager with the server stopped. Or build the config in the tool on your own PC and upload it, which is the route Configuring your Space Engineers server walks through.
2. Some values come from the Startup tab and are rewritten at every boot. Server Name, Server Description, World Name, Game Mode, Auto Save Interval and Steam Group ID are Startup variables. The game port, Steam port and the world path are set by the panel. Max Players follows your plan.
3. The world folder is fixed. The server always loads config/Saves/World/Sandbox.sbc. To use your own world, upload the contents of the save folder into config/Saves/World/, replacing what is there.

Connect with the IP and port in the panel's Address, not 27016. For Workshop mods see installing Space Engineers mods, for plugins see Torch, and for first-boot basics see getting started with your Space Engineers server. Xbox and PlayStation players need the settings in Space Engineers crossplay.

FAQ

Is the Space Engineers dedicated server free?

Yes. Keen give it away with the game, and SteamCMD downloads app 298740 with an anonymous login. You only pay for the machine, or for a host.

Does Space Engineers 2 have a dedicated server?

Not as of October 2026. Keen's SE2 updates say multiplayer starts as 4-player co-op with player hosting only, and "Dedicated servers will come later." Everything on this page is for Space Engineers 1.

What port do I forward for a Space Engineers server?

UDP 27016 by default, the Port in Server settings. Forward it on your router and allow it in the firewall. Keen's guide only asks for UDP.

Can I run a Space Engineers dedicated server on Linux?

Keen only release a Windows server, and their requirements assume Windows (.NET 4.8, Visual C++ runtimes). It can run under Wine, which is how our servers run it, but Keen don't support that.

How do I make myself admin on my server?

Add your 64-bit Steam ID on the configurator's Users tab, or to the <Administrators> list in SpaceEngineers-Dedicated.cfg, then restart. In game, Alt+F10 opens the admin screen.

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