What command installs the ARK: Survival Ascended server with SteamCMD?

As the steam user, run steamcmd +force_install_dir ' ' +login anonymous +app_update 2430930 validate +quit (Steam app ID 2430930).

Dedicated Server: ARK Survival Ascended Dedicated Server Linux Setup

Learn how to set up an ARK: Survival Ascended dedicated server on Linux for seamless gameplay and easy server management → Find out more

10 November 20262 min read2 Views0 helpful

Introduction

Do you have a Linux dedicated server and want to install the ARK: Survival Ascended dedicated server on it? You’re in the right place. In this guide, we’ll walk you through installing the service on your Linux server with SteamCMD. We’ll use Ubuntu as an example, but the process is very similar for other distributions.

Dedicated Server: ARK Survival Ascended Dedicated Server Linux Setup

Prerequisites

First, connect to your dedicated server via SSH. If you need help, see our SSH Getting Started guide.

You’ll also need to set up SteamCMD on your Linux server if you haven’t already. Follow our SteamCMD Linux Setup guide, and make sure SteamCMD is fully set up before continuing.

Info

Wine compatibility layer ARK: Survival Ascended currently doesn’t offer a native Linux server build. Therefore, an additional preparation step is required to run the Windows server version on Linux. You’ll need to install the Wine compatibility layer once if you haven’t already done so on your Linux server. Follow our quick Wine Compatibility Layer Setup guide to get it set up before continuing.

Installation

Code

sudo -u steam -s
cd ~

Once you’re logged in, you can start the installation with the following command. This installs the server directly through SteamCMD as the steam user.

Code

steamcmd +force_install_dir '/home/steam/ARK-SA-Server' +login anonymous +app_update 2430930 validate +quit

Please wait for the download to finish—it may take a while for larger games. If everything was successful, a confirmation message will appear.

Configuration

You’ve now completed the basic installation of your ARK: Survival Ascended server. You can make further changes using a configuration file in the server directory.

You can adjust all configuration parameters in the GameUserSettings.ini file, which you’ll find in the Saved folder.

Code

nano /home/steam/ARK-SA-Server/ShooterGame/Saved/Config/WindowsServer/GameUserSettings.ini

See our ARK: Survival Ascended Server Configuration guide to learn about all available options and what they do.

Start and connect to the server

Now for the exciting part: start your server. Go to the game’s main directory and run the ArkAscendedServer.exe file with the following command. Important: use xvfb-run and wine to start the server through the Wine compatibility layer.

Code

xvfb-run wine /home/steam/ARK-SA-Server/ShooterGame/Binaries/Win64/ArkAscendedServer.exe TheIsland_WP?listen

Info

Unfortunately, you can’t run the server’s Battleye anti-cheat version on Linux because the anti-cheat isn’t compatible.

You should now see logs in the terminal confirming that the server started successfully. Note that the first startup may take a little longer while everything is set up. Alternatively, you can connect directly by entering [your_ip_address]:7777 in the search bar at the bottom of the server list.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You’ve successfully installed and configured your ARK: Survival Ascended server on your dedicated server. As a next step, we recommend following our Linux Service Setup guide. It will help you set up your new dedicated game server as a service, with benefits such as automatically starting the server at boot, automatic updates, easy management, and access to logs and much more!

If you have any questions or run into any issues, our support team is available every day and will be happy to help!

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

You’ll need SSH access to your Linux server and a one-time SteamCMD setup. See the “SteamCMD Linux Setup” guide.

As the steam user, run steamcmd +force_install_dir '<path>' +login anonymous +app_update 2430930 validate +quit (Steam app ID 2430930).

ARK: Survival Ascended currently doesn’t offer a native Linux server build, so you’ll need to install the Wine compatibility layer once to run the Windows server version on Linux.

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Dedicated Server: ARK Survival Ascended Dedicated Server Linux Setup

Introduction

Prerequisites

Installation

Configuration

Start and connect to the server

Conclusion

Frequently asked questions

Software

Prerequisites

Installation

Configuration

Start and connect to the server

Conclusion

Game Server

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