Enshrouded Server Not Showing Up? Ports, Versions and Fixes

An Enshrouded server can be running without appearing where you expect, visible but unjoinable, or reachable only from the host's home network. Those symptoms look alike from the Join screen, but they have different causes.

Work through this checklist in order. It follows the current 2026 configuration, including the role-password system and the single queryPort used by modern server builds.

Use an Enshrouded server with the port, updates and role config managed for you

1. Confirm the server actually reached online state

Do not start with the browser list. Read the server console or latest log first. A healthy startup reaches messages similar to HostOnline (up) and a transition to Host_Online. If the process exits, loops or never reaches that state, the listing and router cannot fix it.

The most common local causes are invalid JSON, a bad gameplay value, wrong file ownership on Linux, or starting the executable from a different working directory so it reads another config and save path.

2. Update the separate server installation

A client update does not update the Enshrouded Dedicated Server tool. After a patch, the server may still appear in the list while Join is disabled with a version mismatch. Stop it and update Steam app 2278520:

steamcmd +force_install_dir /path/to/enshrouded \
  +login anonymous +app_update 2278520 validate +quit

On Linux, keep the Windows platform override used during installation. Then update every player's game client and restart both sides. Compare the versions in the startup log if the message remains.

3. Forward the current UDP query port

The current official config exposes queryPort, defaulting to 15637. Create a UDP forward from the router's public port to UDP 15637 on the server machine, and allow the same UDP port through Windows Firewall, UFW or the cloud firewall.

Many old articles still prescribe a gamePort on 15636. Current server builds remove that legacy field and bind the query port. Troubleshoot the port actually present in your own enshrouded_server.json.

Give the server machine a reserved private address. Otherwise DHCP can assign it a new address and leave a previously correct router rule forwarding to the wrong device.

4. Separate LAN success from internet success

Try the server's private address from another device on the same network. If LAN works but the public address does not, the game process and config are probably fine. The failure is now between the router and internet:

• the UDP rule points to the wrong private address;
• a machine or provider firewall still blocks the port;
• two routers are creating double NAT;
• the ISP uses CGNAT and does not give you a public IPv4 address;
• you tested the public address from inside a router that does not support NAT loopback.

Compare the router's WAN address with the public address reported by an external service. If they differ and the WAN side is private or carrier-grade space, ask the ISP for public IPv4 or use a host with a reachable address.

5. Check the Enshrouded browser filters

In the Join menu, enable Show dedicated server. Clear filters for password protection, empty sessions, Steam friends and free slots while testing. Search for the exact configured name, not the Windows filename or machine name.

Keen also supports adding the public IP and query port through Steam's Game Servers favorites. A favorite is sorted above the long public list and is useful when the in-game browser has not surfaced a new server yet.

6. Fix password and user-group problems

The top-level password field is obsolete. Current access lives in the userGroups array, and the password entered by a player selects that group's permissions.

Give Admin and Friend different non-empty passwords. A blank enabled role can be entered freely, and leaving Admin blank is particularly dangerous. If the server stops starting after an edit, validate the JSON for commas, quotes and braces. Also check that each group contains valid boolean permission fields and a numeric reservedSlots.

Before regenerating the file, copy it and the save directory. Letting the executable create a fresh default config is a good diagnostic, but blindly deleting the original can discard role and world-rule changes you still need.

7. Treat lag as a capacity problem, not a port problem

Rubber-banding and the in-game server-load warning mean the connection was already established. Port forwarding will not cure them. Keen documents about 4.4 GB RAM at idle and recommends a six-core, 16 GB machine for four to six active players.

Check CPU steal or contention as well as the percentage shown inside a virtual server. A VM can report moderate usage while competing guests take the physical CPU. Lower slotCount to the actual group size, reduce Extreme enemy counts, restart a long-running process, and test on a host with stronger single-core performance before blaming the players' connections.

A short diagnosis map

• No HostOnline message: fix the process, JSON, ownership or working directory.
• Visible with version mismatch: update app 2278520 and every client.
• Works on LAN only: fix UDP forwarding, firewall, double NAT or CGNAT.
• Reachable by IP but missing in the list: clear filters and add a Steam favorite.
• Password rejected: use the password inside the intended userGroup.
• Players join but rubber-band: investigate RAM, CPU contention and world load.

If you would rather skip that maintenance, a GHosting Enshrouded server starts with 8 GB RAM, a fixed public address, the current role configuration, automatic Steam installation, version checks, console and file access. Nothing renews automatically.

See Keen Games' official connection and server FAQ, configuration reference and user-group documentation for the upstream behavior used in this checklist.