ARK is reimagined from the ground-up into the next-generation of video game technology with Unreal Engine 5! Form a tribe, tame & breed hundreds of unique dinosaurs and primeval creatures, explore, craft, build, and fight your way to the top of the food-chain. Your new world awaits!
Here's what you need to run a ARK: Survival Ascended dedicated server.
Small private server, 1-10 players
Community server, 10-30 players
Large public server, 30-70 players
Start hosting from your own computer
Run a ARK: Survival Ascended server on your desktop, laptop, VPS, or dedicated machine — GameCP automates Docker setup, resource allocation, and ARK: Survival Ascended configuration instantly. Automatic port forwarding means your friends can connect without touching your router. Start local, scale to a VPS when you're ready.
Skip the manual SteamCMD installation, port forwarding, and systemd configuration. Install on your own computer and start hosting instantly.
The full manual process to host a ARK: Survival Ascended dedicated server on a VPS. Or install GameCP on your own computer and skip all of this.
Set your server settings, then install Docker, SteamCMD, and pull the ARK: Survival Ascended container image.
# Update system and install Docker
sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y docker.io
sudo systemctl enable --now docker
# Create game server directory
sudo mkdir -p /opt/gameserver
# Install SteamCMD
sudo mkdir -p /opt/steamcmd
curl -sqL "https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/client/installer/steamcmd_linux.tar.gz" | sudo tar zxvf - -C /opt/steamcmd
# Server configuration
export SESSION_NAME="${SERVER_NAME}"
export SERVER_MAP="TheIsland_WP"
export SERVER_PVE="1"
export BATTLE_EYE="1"
export AUTO_UPDATE="1"
# Pull the container image
docker pull ghcr.io/ptero-eggs/steamcmd:protonDownload the ARK: Survival Ascended dedicated server using Steam App ID 2430930.
# Download ARK: Survival Ascended server files (App ID: 2430930)
/opt/steamcmd/steamcmd.sh \
+force_install_dir /opt/gameserver \
+login anonymous \
+app_update 2430930 -beta ${SRCDS_BETAID} validate \
+quitARK: Survival Ascended requires 3 ports to be open for game traffic and queries.
sudo ufw allow 27015/udp sudo ufw allow 7777/both sudo ufw allow 27020/tcp
Start the ARK: Survival Ascended server using the configuration from Step 1.
Create the startup script
# Create the startup script
cat > /opt/gameserver/start.sh << 'EOF'
#!/bin/bash
# Setup Proton environment
export HOME=/home/container
export STEAM_COMPAT_CLIENT_INSTALL_PATH="/home/container"
export STEAM_COMPAT_DATA_PATH="/home/container/steamapps/compatdata/2430930"
mkdir -p ""
# Tell EOS our public IP (required for non-standard ports)
export EOS_OVERRIDE_HOST_IP=
# Graceful shutdown function
rmv() {
echo 'Saving world and shutting down...'
rcon -t rcon -a 127.0.0.1:27020 -p saveworld 2>/dev/null
rcon -t rcon -a 127.0.0.1:27020 -p DoExit 2>/dev/null
wait 2>/dev/null
echo 'Server closed.'
exit 0
}
trap rmv 15 2
# Build optional flags
OPTIONAL_FLAGS=''
[ -z "" ] || OPTIONAL_FLAGS=" -mods="
[ "1" == "1" ] || OPTIONAL_FLAGS=" -NoBattlEye"
[ "1" == "0" ] || OPTIONAL_FLAGS=" -ServerPVE"
# Seed log file for tail
mkdir -p ./ShooterGame/Saved/Logs
touch ./ShooterGame/Saved/Logs/ShooterGame.log
# Start the server (Proton handles Wine layer)
LD_PRELOAD="" proton run ./ShooterGame/Binaries/Win64/ArkAscendedServer.exe \
TheIsland_WP?listen?MaxPlayers=?SessionName=""?Port=?QueryPort=27015?RCONPort=27020?RCONEnabled=True?ServerPassword=""?ServerAdminPassword="" \
-port= \
-queryport=27015 \
-PublicIPForEpic= \
-PublicIP= \
-Multihome=0.0.0.0 \
-WinLiveMaxPlayers= \
-oldconsole \
-servergamelog \
&
ARK_PID=$!
# Tail the game log so GameCP console captures output
tail -c0 -F ./ShooterGame/Saved/Logs/ShooterGame.log --pid= &
# Wait for the server process
wait
EOF
chmod +x /opt/gameserver/start.shRun the container
docker run -d \
--name ark-survival-ascended-server \
-p 27015:27015/udp \
-p 7777:7777/both \
-p 27020:27020/tcp \
-e SESSION_NAME="${SERVER_NAME}" \
-e SERVER_MAP="TheIsland_WP" \
-e SERVER_PVE="1" \
-e BATTLE_EYE="1" \
-e AUTO_UPDATE="1" \
-v /opt/gameserver:/opt/gameserver \
-w /opt/gameserver \
ghcr.io/ptero-eggs/steamcmd:proton \
./start.shGameCP automates every step above: Docker, SteamCMD, port forwarding, startup, and config. Install on your own PC and deploy a ARK: Survival Ascended server in under 5 minutes.
Deploy with GameCPExplore step-by-step setup guides for other popular games supported by GameCP.
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