Vintage Story is an indie survival game with deep crafting systems, realistic seasons and a style reminiscent of early Minecraft but with much more depth. The game runs on its own engine and uses .NET, which means server setup works a bit differently than most games. This guide walks you through the full process.
System requirements
A Vintage Story server is relatively lightweight compared to many other game servers:
- 2 CPU cores (4 recommended for larger groups)
- 4 GB RAM for 1 to 10 players
- 5 GB disk space (grows with the world)
- .NET 7 or higher installed on the server
- Linux or Windows
Memory usage increases as players explore more of the world. For a server with 20 or more players, 8 GB RAM is a sensible choice.
Installation
Vintage Story is not installed via SteamCMD. Download the Linux or Windows server directly from the Vintage Story website. You need a valid game key to download the server files.
On Linux, extract the archive and start the server with:
./VintagestoryServerOn Windows, run the included .bat file. The server automatically generates a default world and configuration files on first launch.
World configuration
Configure world settings before the world is generated for the first time. Key options include:
- World size: infinite by default, but you can set a fixed size to limit disk growth.
- Season length: controls how quickly seasons change. Longer seasons create a more relaxed pace.
- Starting era: choose which technological era players start in.
- Soil mechanics: enable or disable soil collapse and ground stability.
These settings live in the server configuration file. Changes to world generation only take effect when creating a new world, not on existing terrain.
Ports and firewall
Vintage Story uses TCP port 42420 by default. Open this port in your firewall and, if hosting at home, forward it in your router. Players connect to your server using the IP address and this port.
Adding mods
Vintage Story has an active modding community. Place server-side mods in the Mods/ folder of the server installation. After a restart the server loads them automatically. Players receive server-side mods automatically when connecting, so they do not need to install anything manually.
Popular mods add extra crops, animals, building materials or trade systems. Always test mods on a test server before deploying them to your main server, because incompatible mods can cause world corruption.
Maintenance
Use the built-in console for server management. You can add players to the whitelist, set permissions and save the world manually. Set up automatic backups; a corrupted world means hours of lost progress. A daily backup of the Saves/ folder is the minimum.
Can I run Vintage Story on a VPS?
Yes, a VPS is actually an ideal choice for a Vintage Story server. The game is not particularly heavy, so a VPS with 4 GB RAM and 2 vCPUs is sufficient for a small group. Choose a VPS location close to your players for the lowest latency. Linux is the most efficient OS option.
Are mods automatically sent to players?
Yes, server-side mods are automatically sent to connecting players. Players do not need to download or install mods themselves. This makes mod management simple: place them on the server and everyone has them available immediately after connecting.
How large does the world get on disk?
That depends on how much players explore. A world with a small group staying near spawn grows slowly and stays under 1 GB. With active explorers heading in all directions, a world can reach 5 to 10 GB after months of play. Set a world border if you want to limit growth, and keep an eye on your disk space.
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