lloesche/valheim-server Docker image

Valheim Server in a Docker Container

Docker example

Volume mount the server config directory to /config within the Docker container.

If you have an existing world on a Windows system you can copy it from e.g. C:\Users\Lukas\AppData\LocalLow\IronGate\Valheim\worlds to e.g. $HOME/valheim-server-config/worlds and run the image.

Do not forget to modify WORLD_NAME to reflect the name of your world!

If behind NAT make sure that UDP ports 2456-2458 are forwarded to the container host. Also ensure they are publicly accessible in any firewall.

If your server name does not show up in the server list a couple of minutes after startup you likely have a firewall issue.

$ mkdir -p $HOME/valheim-server-config/worlds
# copy existing world
$ docker run -d \
    --name valheim-server \
    -p 2456-2458:2456-2458/udp \
    -v $HOME/valheim-server-config:/config \
    -e SERVER_NAME="My Server" \
    -e WORLD_NAME="Neotopia" \
    -e SERVER_PASS="secret" \
    lloesche/valheim-server

A fresh start will take several minutes depending on your Internet connection speed as the container will download the Valheim dedicated server from Steam.

Docker+systemd example

Create an optional config file /etc/sysconfig/valheim-server

SERVER_NAME="My Server"
SERVER_PORT=2456
WORLD_NAME=Dedicated
SERVER_PASS=secret
SERVER_PUBLIC=1

Then enable the Docker container on system boot

$ sudo mkdir /etc/valheim
$ sudo curl -o /etc/systemd/system/valheim-server.service https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lloesche/valheim-server-docker/master/valheim-server.service
$ sudo systemctl daemon-reload
$ sudo systemctl enable valheim-server.service
$ sudo systemctl start valheim-server.service

Updates

The container will check for Valheim server updates every 15 minutes. If an update is found it is downloaded and the server restarted.

Backups

The container will on startup and periodically create a backup of the worlds/ directory.

The default is once per hour but can be changed using the BACKUPS_INTERVAL environment variable. The number is in seconds. Meaning for hourly backups set BACKUPS_INTERVAL=3600.

Default backup directory is /config/backups/ within the container. A different directory can be set using the BACKUPS_DIRECTORY environment variable. It makes sense to have this directory be a volume mount from the host. Warning: do not make the backup directory a subfolder of /config/worlds/. Otherwise each backup will backup all previous backups.

By default 3 days worth of backups will be kept. A different number can be configured using BACKUPS_MAX_AGE. The value is in days.

Beware that backups are performed while the server is running. As such files might be in an open state when the backup runs. However the worlds/ directory also contains a .db.old file for each world which should always be closed and in a consistent state.

Environment Variables

Name	Default	Purpose
SERVER_NAME	My Server	Name that will be shown in the server browser
SERVER_PORT	2456	UDP start port that the server will listen on
WORLD_NAME	Dedicated	Name of the world without .db/.fwl file extension
SERVER_PASS	secret	Password for logging into the server
SERVER_PUBLIC	1	Whether the server should be listed in the server browser (1) or not (0)
UPDATE_INTERVAL	900	How often we check Steam for an updated server version in seconds
BACKUPS_INTERVAL	3600	Interval in seconds between backup runs
BACKUPS_DIRECTORY	/config/backups	Path to the backups directory
BACKUPS_MAX_AGE	7	Age in days after which old backups are flushed
BACKUPS_DIRECTORY_PERMISSIONS	755	Unix permissions for the backup directory
BACKUPS_FILE_PERMISSIONS	644	Unix permissions for the backup zip files
CONFIG_DIRECTORY_PERMISSIONS	755	Unix permissions for the /config directory
WORLDS_DIRECTORY_PERMISSIONS	755	Unix permissions for the /config/worlds directory
WORLDS_FILE_PERMISSIONS	644	Unix permissions for the files in /config/worlds

Synology Help

This is not an extensive tutorial, but I hope these screenshots can be helpful. Beware that the server can use multiple GB of RAM and produces a lot of CPU load.

Finding your server

Once the server is up and running and the log says something like

02/09/2021 10:42:24: Game server connected

it can still be challenging to actually find the server.

There are two ways of getting to your server. Either using the Steam server browser or using the in-game Community server list.

When in-game, click on Join Game and select Community. Wait for the game to load the list of all 4000+ servers. Only 200 servers will be shown at a time so we will have to enter part of our server name to filter the view.

When using the Steam server browser, in Steam go to View -> Servers. Click on CHANGE FILTERS and select Game Valheim. Wait for Steam to load all 4000+ Servers then sort the SERVERS column by clicking on its title. Scroll down until you find your server. From there you can right-click it and add as a favourite.

Note that in my tests when connecting to the server via the Steam server browser I had to enter the server password twice. Once in Steam and once in-game.

A third option within Steam is to add the server manually by IP. Steps:

1. ADD SERVER
2. Enter Server IP and port+1. So if the server is running on UDP port 2456 enter ip:2457
3. FIND GAMES AT THIS ADDRESS...
4. ADD SELECTED GAME SERVER TO FAV...

Do NOT use the ADD THIS ADDRESS TO FAVORITES button!