Enshrouded server not showing up: the fixes

1. Check that the server is really up#

A server process that is running is not always a server that is ready. Keen's Dedicated Server FAQ names the lines that mean it is fully started. Something like this appears in the server window and in its log file:

[Session] 'HostOnline' (up)!
[Session] finished transition from 'Lobby' to 'Host_Online' (current='Host_Online')!

Until those lines appear, nobody can find the server, so there is nothing to fix in the list yet. A server that never reaches them has a startup problem instead. On Linux, start with when an Enshrouded server on Linux won't start.

2. Show dedicated servers in the Join list#

The in-game server browser is reached by selecting Join in the main menu. Keen's FAQ says to "make sure to enable the 'Show dedicated server' options in the server filter to show dedicated servers in the server list". The Server Filter widget sits on the right side of the screen, and it can hide a server in other ways too. It filters by:

• password protection;
• sessions with Steam friends;
• empty servers;
• a minimum number of free slots.

Ask the friend who cannot see the server to check every one of those before anyone touches a router. Keen also give the list's sort order: favourites first, then friends' sessions, then dedicated servers, then peer-to-peer sessions.

3. Add the server by IP as a favourite#

A server can be starred as a favourite in the in-game list, and favourites are sorted to the top. When a server does not appear in the in-game list at all, Keen's FAQ says the Steam client's favourites are the option that "needs to be used". Keen's Favorite Server via IP article gives the steps:

1. Write down the server's IP address and its query port.
2. In the Steam client, open View, then Game Servers.
3. On the Favorites tab, click the + button at the bottom.
4. Enter the IP and the query port, separated by a colon, for example 203.0.113.10:15637.
5. Open the server list in Enshrouded. The server is now listed at the top.

The port in that entry is the query port, the one Keen's steps ask for, not any other port the server uses.

4. Open the query port, and Steam's own ports#

Keen's FAQ and their Network Troubleshooting article give the same answer on ports: "queryPort": 15637 by default, plus the ports Steam uses, which Valve lists in its Required Ports for Steam article. Three related facts from Keen's articles:

• The query port can change. Keen's Dedicated Server Configuration article says queryPort in enshrouded_server.json "can be changed to match your firewall settings". If you change it, the forward and the Steam favourite have to change with it.
• IPv4 only. "The server is using IPv4", and the troubleshooting article adds that Enshrouded is "currently only utilizing IPv4 for multiplayer". A connection that only works over IPv6 will not reach it.
• Leave ip alone. The default is 0.0.0.0, and Keen describe the setting as one to use "if needed for internal network configurations".

For forwarding the port through a home router, see the port forwarding guide.

5. Listed, but the join fails#

The password decides the group

Enshrouded's permissions come from user groups in enshrouded_server.json, each with its own password. Keen's Server Roles Configuration article says each group has "an accompanying password that grants the permissions to the logged-in player", so the password a friend types decides which group they join as. Two cases catch people out:

• A fresh file has passwords nobody chose. Keen write that "by default, randomized passwords are created to prevent unwanted players from joining the server". Open the file, read the group passwords, and give each friend the one for their group, or set your own.
• The old single password line. Keen say that if the file's top-level password line is set, the game creates a group called default that uses it, with the same permissions as Keen's Friend preset. On our 1.0 test servers the game dropped the line and made one Default group with a random password instead, so give friends a password from the userGroups list.

Keen's 1.0 changelog adds that on dedicated servers "the user groups with the associated passwords work as before - promoting and demoting is not possible while playing on the server". Getting someone into a different group therefore means giving them a different password. The Enshrouded server settings reference lists every group flag.

"Full" with slots free

Each user group can carry reservedSlots. In Keen's words, when one or more are set "the lobby will be marked as 'full' for players who try to log into the server under a different user group and would fill up all session slots". Keen's own example file reserves one slot for Admin and three for Friend. A Guest who sees a full server while the player count looks low is meeting those reservations. Lower them, or raise slotCount, which Keen say "must be a number between 1 and 16".

PS5 or Xbox friends

Keen's launch FAQ of 2026-10-13 says "Enshrouded will not be cross-platform at launch". A console player cannot join a PC server however the server is set up.

Stale builds

The weeks after a big release move fast. Keen's notes for Hotfix 1.0.0.2 (2026-10-16, version 1269579) say the hotfix before it "fixed the misbehaving session lists in the multiplayer join menus", and that 1.0.0.2 fixed a regression it caused in configuring world settings. If the list behaved oddly on launch week, update the game and the server before chasing anything else. The Linux guide linked above has the SteamCMD update line.

6. Drops, and a list that stays empty on one PC#

When the problem follows one player rather than the server, Keen's Network Troubleshooting article lists these steps for "random connection drops, or the server list not populating":

• Clear Steam's download cache: in Steam, open Settings, then Downloads, then Clear Download Cache.
• Flush DNS: press Windows+R, type cmd, and run ipconfig /flushdns.
• Try another DNS server: Keen suggest Google's, 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4.
• Use a cable: for high packet loss on Wi-Fi, switch to a wired connection.
• Send an invite: Keen also suggest inviting friends to the game from the Steam friends list.

The same article's Steam privacy advice, a public profile, is about peer-to-peer sessions that do not show up rather than dedicated servers.

Where ForgeWorld Gaming fits#

On a ForgeWorld Gaming Enshrouded server, the Address box on the control panel's Console tab shows the address players use. For a Steam favourite, use that IP with the Steam Query Port from the Startup tab, not the port in the Address box: the query port is the one Steam asks. Each start writes the Startup tab's Server Name and Steam Query Port into enshrouded_server.json, with your plan's player count as the slot count, so change the name and query port on the Startup tab rather than in the file. The Server Password there is the password of the Default user group, the one your friends type; if that field is empty, the Default group keeps the password it has, a random one on a new server; the Console tab shows it once the server is up, and the file keeps it under userGroups. Other groups' passwords set in the file through the Files tab survive restarts. While the Auto Update variable is on, each start also checks Steam for a newer server build, so a restart after a Keen hotfix brings the server up to date. Last checked 2026-10-22.

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