VEIN Dedicated Server: Setup, Ports and Game.ini

A VEIN dedicated server is a separate program from the game. Steam lists it as VEIN Dedicated Server (app ID 2131400), and you can download it without owning VEIN. It runs your world around the clock, with no player needed as host, and you configure it through two text files and a handful of launch flags. Ramjet Studios documents the basics in its server-hosting pages, but it doesn't offer support for them, and it won't recommend any hosting company.

This page covers both routes. First, what each setting on a GameServerKings VEIN server does and what to change after the first start. Then the self-hosting steps from Ramjet's documentation, for anyone running the server on their own machine.

Checked against

VEIN 0.025 (26 September 2026), Ramjet's server-hosting documentation, and the GameServerKings VEIN server configuration on the same day.

VEIN server at a glance

Your GameServerKings VEIN server

Your server runs the Linux build (Vein/Binaries/Linux/VeinServer-Linux-Test) and starts it with -Port, -QueryPort and -log already set. You don't have to install anything. The Startup tab in the panel has these settings:

Every time the server starts, the panel writes the name, password, player count, query port and bind address into Game.ini. Always change those five on the Startup tab. If you edit them in the file, your change disappears on the next restart. Everything else in Game.ini belongs to you, and the panel leaves it alone.

First-start checklist

Start the server once so it creates its files, then stop it and open Files > Vein/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/Game.ini. These are the lines worth setting, all from Ramjet's config documentation:

[/Script/Vein.VeinGameSession]
ServerDescription=PvE server. No raiding. Restarts 06:00 UTC.
SuperAdminSteamIDs=76561198000000001
AdminSteamIDs=76561198000000002

[/Script/Vein.VeinGameStateBase]
WhitelistedPlayers=76561198000000001
+WhitelistedPlayers=76561198000000002

[/Script/Vein.ServerSettings]
DiscordChatWebhookURL="https://discord.com/api/webhooks/..."

• Replace the placeholder admin. The default file ships with AdminSteamIDs=1234. Put your own 17-digit SteamID64 there, or under SuperAdminSteamIDs if you want to promote other admins from inside the game. Extra IDs go on new lines that start with +. Our VEIN console commands guide covers admin setup and the admin menu in detail.
• ServerDescription is shown when a player selects your server in the browser. Use it for rules and your Discord link.
• WhitelistedPlayers (VEIN 0.023 and later) locks the server to the listed SteamIDs. Leave the section out to let anyone join.
• DiscordChatWebhookURL forwards in-game global chat to a Discord channel. Create the webhook in Discord (channel settings > Integrations > Webhooks) and keep the URL in quotes. DiscordChatAdminWebhookURL, set in the same section, sends admin reports to a separate channel.

Save the file and start the server. Gameplay settings (PvP, loot scarcity, zombie numbers, XP rate and the rest) aren't in Game.ini. Change them live from the \ admin menu's **Config** section. If you want one of them to be the server's default, send support the vein. lines you want and we'll add them for you.

How players join

• Server browser: search for your server name. The browser shows player counts, ping and the server's settings.
• Direct connect: since 0.023 the server browser has a direct connect button. Enter the IP address and port from the top of your panel. This works even if the server isn't listed.

Players' Steam clients update VEIN on their own. The server's Auto update setting only installs a patch when the server starts, so restart it after a patch comes out to keep it on the same build as your players.

Saves and moving a world

Take a backup from the panel before any big change. Two things to know if you move a world between servers:

• Since 0.016 Hotfix 5, dedicated servers don't store settings in the save. They keep them in console variables. A world you move to a new server takes on that server's settings, so set them again afterwards.
• Unreal Engine removes config lines that only repeat a default value. If a line you added disappears after a restart, check whether you set it to the default. If you did, nothing is wrong.

Hosting a VEIN dedicated server yourself

If you're running it on your own hardware, these are the steps from Ramjet's documentation:

Linux (Ubuntu shown)

sudo add-apt-repository multiverse; sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386; sudo apt update
sudo apt install steamcmd
steamcmd +force_install_dir ~/vein +login anonymous +app_update 2131400 validate +quit

Then link Steam's steamclient.so into the server's Vein/Binaries/Linux folder, as Ramjet's guide describes. If the log shows dlopen failed trying to load … .steam/sdk64/steamclient.so, copy or link SteamCMD's linux64/steamclient.so to ~/.steam/sdk64/.

Windows: download SteamCMD from Valve, extract it, and run steamcmd.exe +force_install_dir C:\vein +login anonymous +app_update 2131400 validate +quit. If a Windows server doesn't appear in the browser and the log says the Steam dedicated server API failed to initialise, Ramjet suggests running it with administrator rights.

Starting it: run VeinServer with -log, and open UDP 7777 and 27015 on your firewall and router. The server is ready when the log shows SDR RelayNetworkStatus: avail=OK. Other launch options Ramjet documents:

To update, run the same SteamCMD line again. Gameplay settings go in Engine.ini, in the same folder as Game.ini, under a [ConsoleVariables] header.

Ramjet also documents an optional HTTP API. Adding HTTPPort=8080 to Game.ini makes the server answer GET /status, /players and /weather with JSON. It has no authentication, so don't expose that port to the internet. On a GameServerKings server it would need an extra port, so contact support if you want to use it.

Troubleshooting

• Your Game.ini change disappeared. You edited the name, password, player count or ports in the file. Change those on the Startup tab.
• You can't use the admin menu. Your SteamID64 isn't in AdminSteamIDs or SuperAdminSteamIDs, or it's on a second line without the leading +. Restart after editing.
• Friends get a password error. Passwords are case-sensitive and can only contain letters, numbers, dashes and underscores.
• The server isn't in the browser. Use direct connect with the address from your panel. See players can't connect if that fails too.
• Players can't join right after a VEIN patch. Restart the server so Auto update installs the same build your players have.

What to Read Next

• VEIN console commands, admin menu and server settings: admin setup and every vein.* setting
• VEIN mods: what works on your PC and on a dedicated server
• How to use your server panel: Startup, Files and the console
• How to create a backup: before moving or wiping a world

Made with 💜 by GameServerKings