---
title: "Getting started with your Vintage Story server"
description: "Complete your first boot, use core console commands, manage .vcdbs world files, and tune serverconfig.json for smooth seasonal changes."
url: "https://www.gameserverkings.com/knowledge-base/vintage-story/getting-started-with-your-vintage-story-server/"
category: "Vintage Story"
category_url: "https://www.gameserverkings.com/knowledge-base/vintage-story/"
published: "2026-07-02T04:01:11.183Z"
updated: "2026-08-07T20:33:24.476Z"
source_format: "markdown"
site: "GameServerKings"
---

# Getting started with your Vintage Story server

Vintage Story is a deep technological survival sandbox with realistic crafting chains, geology, and seasonal systems. Your server is light to run and quick to boot, with strong modding through the game's official ModDB.

## First Boot

1. Open your [Vintage Story game server](/games/vintage-story/) in the panel.

2. Click **Start**.

3. First boot pulls the server files (about 500 MB; very small), which takes 3 to 5 minutes.

4. The console shows `Server program version: x.x.x` followed by `Server entering RUNNING state`.

To connect: in Vintage Story, **Multiplayer** > **Direct Connect**, enter the IP and port from the **Address** at the top left of your panel.

## In-Game Admin Commands

```text
/time set day
/time set night
/weather set sunny
/weather set rain
/tp <player>
/tpp <player1> <player2>     Teleport one player to another
/gamemode 0/1/2              0=survival, 1=creative, 2=spectator
/give <item> <count>
/spawn                       Teleport to spawn
/setspawn                    Set spawn at your location
/clear                       Clear chat
/savemap                     Save the world
/stop                        Shut down the server
/kick <player>
/ban <player>
/unban <player>
```

## World Management

Worlds are at `Saves/` in the data folder. Each world is a `.vcdbs` (SQLite) file plus folders for chunks and player data.

To wipe:

1. Stop the server.

2. Delete or rename the world file.

3. Restart. A new world generates with the seed from `serverconfig.json`.

To upload a single-player save:

1. Find your local save at `%AppData%\VintagestoryData\Saves\`.

2. Upload to the server's `Saves/`.

3. Update `serverconfig.json`'s `WorldName` field.

## Backups

World saves are small (50 MB to 2 GB even for long-running servers). Daily panel **Backups** are very cheap.

> [!NOTE] The game takes its own backups too
> Vintage Story also creates in-engine backups in `Backups/` automatically every few hours.

## Performance Tips

- Lower `MaxChunkRadius` if you see chunk-load lag (12 is a good compromise)
- Schedule a daily restart to clear cached chunk memory
- Watch the console for chunk save messages; if they take longer than 5 seconds, your disk I/O is the bottleneck

## Common Issues

- **Server not in public list**: Confirm `AdvertiseServer: true`. The list also takes a few minutes to populate on first boot.
- **Mods fail to load**: Check the console log for the failure reason. Usually a missing dependency like CommonLib.
- **Cannot connect with "version mismatch"**: Player is on a different VS version. Game updates frequently; restart the server to pull the latest version.
- **World load slow**: Normal for older saves with many explored chunks. 30-60 seconds is typical for a year-old save.

## What to Read Next

- [Vintage Story Configuration](/knowledge-base/vintage-story/configuration-overview/)
- [Vintage Story Admin Setup](/knowledge-base/vintage-story/how-to-add-admins-and-commands-vintage-story/)
- [Installing Mods on Vintage Story](/knowledge-base/vintage-story/how-to-install-mods/)

---

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