Terraria's developer, Re-Logic, publishes a free dedicated server for Linux that lets your friends play in a shared world whether or not you are online. In this tutorial you will install the official Terraria server on Ubuntu 24.04, create a world from a configuration file, run the server as a systemd service inside a tmux session so you can still use its console, open the firewall and schedule world backups.
Prerequisites
To follow this guide you need:
- A server running Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (x86_64), for example a CubePath VPS. 1 CPU core and 2 GB of RAM are enough for a small group on a medium world; large worlds with many players need more memory.
- A non-root user with
sudoprivileges. - A PC copy of Terraria on the same version as the server you download.
Step 1 - Installing the required packages
The server is distributed as a ZIP file, and you will use tmux to keep its interactive console available while it runs in the background:
sudo apt update
sudo apt install unzip tmux
Step 2 - Creating a dedicated user
Run the server under its own unprivileged account, never as root:
sudo useradd -m -s /bin/bash terraria
sudo -iu terraria
The rest of this step and the next one run as the terraria user.
Step 3 - Downloading the Terraria server
Open terraria.org, scroll to the bottom of the page and copy the link of the PC Dedicated Server download. The file name contains the game version without dots, for example terraria-server-1449.zip for version 1.4.4.9. Use the link for the version your players run:
wget -O terraria-server.zip "https://terraria.org/api/download/pc-dedicated-server/terraria-server-1449.zip"
unzip terraria-server.zip
The archive contains a directory named after the version with Windows, Mac and Linux builds. Move the Linux build to a stable path so future updates only replace that directory:
mv 1449/Linux ~/server
rm -rf 1449 terraria-server.zip
chmod +x ~/server/TerrariaServer.bin.x86_64
ls ~/server
You should see TerrariaServer.bin.x86_64 together with its libraries.
Step 4 - Writing the server configuration
Without a configuration file the server asks interactive questions on every start. A config file makes it start unattended and creates the world automatically the first time.
Create a directory for worlds and open a new config file:
mkdir -p ~/worlds
nano ~/serverconfig.txt
world=/home/terraria/worlds/CubePath.wld
autocreate=2
worldname=CubePath
difficulty=0
maxplayers=8
port=7777
password=your_server_password
motd=Welcome to the CubePath Terraria server
worldpath=/home/terraria/worlds
banlist=/home/terraria/banlist.txt
secure=1
upnp=0
The keys that matter most:
| Key | Meaning |
|---|---|
world | Full path of the world file to load. |
autocreate | If world does not exist, create it with this size: 1 small, 2 medium, 3 large. |
worldname | Name given to a newly created world. |
difficulty | For new worlds: 0 classic, 1 expert, 2 master, 3 journey. |
password | Password players must enter. Leave it out for an open server. |
secure | 1 enables the built-in cheat protection. |
upnp | 0 disables automatic port forwarding, which is pointless on a server with a public IP. |
Leave the terraria user when you are done:
exit
Step 5 - Running the server with systemd and tmux
The vanilla Terraria server expects an interactive console and does not behave well without one. The common solution is to start it inside a detached tmux session and let systemd manage that session. You get automatic start at boot and restart on failure, and you can still attach to the console to run commands.
Create the unit file:
sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/terraria.service
[Unit]
Description=Terraria dedicated server
Wants=network-online.target
After=network-online.target
[Service]
Type=forking
User=terraria
Group=terraria
WorkingDirectory=/home/terraria/server
ExecStart=/usr/bin/tmux new-session -d -s terraria /home/terraria/server/TerrariaServer.bin.x86_64 -config /home/terraria/serverconfig.txt
ExecStop=/bin/sh -c '/usr/bin/tmux send-keys -t terraria exit Enter; while /usr/bin/tmux has-session -t terraria 2>/dev/null; do sleep 1; done'
TimeoutStopSec=90
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=10
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
ExecStop types exit into the server console, which saves the world and shuts down cleanly, then waits until the session is gone before systemd considers the service stopped.
Start the service and enable it at boot:
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable --now terraria
sudo systemctl status terraria --no-pager
The first start generates the world, which takes a minute or more for a medium or large map.
Step 6 - Using the server console
Attach to the console as the terraria user:
sudo -u terraria tmux attach -t terraria
When the world has loaded you will see:
Listening on port 7777
Type 'help' for a list of commands.
: Server started
Useful console commands are help, playing (list connected players), save, kick <player>, ban <player>, say <message> and motd. To leave the console without stopping the server, detach from tmux with CTRL+B and then D. Do not type exit unless you want to stop the server, and do not press CTRL+C.
Confirm from your normal shell that the server is listening:
sudo ss -tlnp | grep 7777
LISTEN 0 ... 0.0.0.0:7777 0.0.0.0:* users:(("TerrariaServer.",pid=...,fd=...))
Step 7 - Opening the firewall
Terraria uses a single TCP port, 7777 by default. If UFW is enabled, allow it:
sudo ufw allow 7777/tcp
In Terraria, choose Multiplayer, then Join via IP, pick a character, enter your_server_ip and port 7777, and type the password from serverconfig.txt.
Step 8 - Backing up worlds
A Terraria world is the .wld file in /home/terraria/worlds, plus .wld.bak backups the game keeps next to it. The server saves automatically, but copies on the same disk do not protect you from disk failure or a corrupted save.
Create a backup directory and schedule a nightly archive at 05:00 for the terraria user, keeping 14 days:
sudo -u terraria mkdir -p /home/terraria/backups
sudo -u terraria crontab -e
0 5 * * * tar -czf /home/terraria/backups/worlds-$(date +\%F).tar.gz -C /home/terraria worlds && find /home/terraria/backups -name 'worlds-*.tar.gz' -mtime +14 -delete
The % is escaped because cron treats a bare % as a newline. Copy the backups directory to another machine or to object storage on a regular basis.
Step 9 - Updating the server
When a new Terraria version is released, clients on the new version cannot join an old server. Stop the service, download the new ZIP as in Step 3, and replace only the server directory; your config and worlds live outside it:
sudo systemctl stop terraria
sudo -iu terraria
wget -O terraria-server.zip "https://terraria.org/api/download/pc-dedicated-server/terraria-server-NEWVERSION.zip"
unzip terraria-server.zip
rm -rf ~/server
mv NEWVERSION/Linux ~/server
chmod +x ~/server/TerrariaServer.bin.x86_64
rm -rf NEWVERSION terraria-server.zip
exit
Replace NEWVERSION with the version number in the new download link, then start the server again:
sudo systemctl start terraria
Troubleshooting
- The service fails to start. Run
sudo journalctl -u terraria -n 50and attach to the tmux session if it exists. A wrong path inworldorworldpath, or a missing execute bit onTerrariaServer.bin.x86_64, are the usual causes. - Players get "Lost connection" right after joining. The client and server versions differ. Update the server as in Step 9.
- The world is not created.
autocreateonly works together withworldpointing to a file that does not exist yet and aworldname. Check all three keys. - No one can connect from outside. Make sure TCP 7777 is open in UFW and in any external firewall, and that
portin the config matches.
Conclusion
You now have the official Terraria dedicated server running on Ubuntu 24.04 under systemd, with an attachable console and nightly world backups. As next steps, you can upload an existing world by copying its .wld file into /home/terraria/worlds and pointing world at it, or switch to TShock, a community server built on the same game code that adds user accounts, permission groups, protected regions and plugins.