A campaign that belongs to the whole crew
A player-hosted Barotrauma campaign ends when its host leaves. On a dedicated server the lobby, permissions, campaign and submarine files live on their own machine, so the next crew can assemble without waiting for one particular player to start the game first.
GHosting installs the official native Linux dedicated server in an isolated container in Europe or North America. Steam updates, the service, both UDP ports and the public address are managed from the dashboard, while the campaign data stays outside the replaceable runtime.
Two UDP ports, allocated as one unit
Barotrauma uses one UDP port for player traffic and a second for Steam queries. Old self-hosting setups often forward only 27015, leave 27016 closed and then wonder why a process that says it started cannot be found or joined reliably.
Every GHosting instance reserves a consecutive pair in the host game range and forwards both with kernel NAT. The server config, command line and public devices all use the same numbers, so adding a second game server cannot quietly collide with the first one.
Workshop content without hand-editing XML
Paste Barotrauma Workshop links into the Mods tab and apply the list. The server downloads each item through SteamCMD, checks that it contains a Barotrauma filelist, puts it in the directory the dedicated server expects and rebuilds the enabled content-package list. Reapplying picks up Workshop updates and removes items you deliberately removed.
Dependencies are still a real part of modding. Add every required Workshop item listed by a mod author, keep a copy of the campaign before changing a large set, and expect every player to use compatible content. GHosting automates installation and load order; it does not promise that arbitrary third-party packages work together or repair a campaign damaged by removing one.
Settings that match the server browser
The panel covers the join password, player cap, public listing, message of the day, play style, voice chat, spectating, karma and traitor probability. Apply merges those values into Barotrauma's existing serversettings.xml rather than replacing the whole file, so campaign settings, permissions and values changed in the game survive.
The live Console tab sends commands through the actual dedicated-server console. That is useful for moderation and lobby administration, while Files and owner-only SFTP expose the multiplayer campaigns, Workshop content, permissions and logs when you need a backup or a careful manual change.
Restart at the lobby, not halfway through a mission
Barotrauma saves a multiplayer campaign at its own transitions. A clean process exit preserves server settings and closes the network stack, but it cannot create a safe new campaign checkpoint in the middle of an active mission. Restarting there can return the crew to the last in-game save and discard the progress since it.
Apply settings, mods and updates from the lobby or after reaching an outpost and completing the campaign save transition. GHosting sends the game's quit command and waits before systemd uses its fallback signal, but there is deliberately no daily restart timer that can interrupt a crew without asking.
Try the real server for 48 hours
A verified account can start one 48-hour Crew trial with no payment card and no automatic renewal, subject to available capacity. It is the same 4 GB server, both UDP ports, panel, console and file access as the paid plan.
Use it for the two tests that decide whether a Barotrauma server is any good: turn on public listing and find the server in the browser from a machine that has never touched it, then apply the Workshop set your crew wants and watch it load. Continue during the retention window and the campaign, mods and permissions carry on.
Conservative plans and flexible billing
Crew starts at 4 GB for up to eight vanilla players. Expedition adds memory and CPU for a larger crew or a small Workshop set. Abyss is the safer choice for a full 16-player group or heavier content packages. Player count is only a guide because an active round and a large mod collection can cost more than an idle lobby.
Choose pay once or optional automatic renewal. A pay-once server stops at the end of its term, while a subscription renews for the amount and cadence accepted at checkout until you cancel. After paid access ends, files stay available during the seven-day grace window. Renew in that window and the same campaigns and mod set return; past it the server is deleted, so download the Multiplayer folder before a long break. Your first server is covered by a 72-hour money-back guarantee.