Install and run a Sons of the Forest dedicated server on Windows (native) or Linux (Wine)

Platform Support

Platform	Support	Notes
Windows	✅ Native	Recommended (official support)
Linux	⚠️ Wine/Proton	Requires compatibility layer, higher overhead

Sons of the Forest

Sons of the Forest supports dedicated multiplayer servers. This guide covers both Windows (native, recommended) and Linux (Wine/Proton).

Windows Server (Recommended)

System Requirements

RAM: 8GB minimum (10GB+ recommended for stable operation)
vCPU: 4 cores minimum
Storage: SSD strongly recommended, 30GB+ available space
Network: Stable upstream for player connections
OS: Windows Server 2016+ or Windows 10/11

Step 1: Download Server on Windows

steamcmd +force_install_dir "C:\SotF-Server" +login your_steam_username your_steam_password +app_update 2465200 validate +quit

Step 2: Configure OptionsSotF.cfg

Create C:\SotF-Server\OptionsSotF.cfg:

[Game]
GameName=My Sons of the Forest Server
GamePassword=your_server_password
AdminPassword=your_admin_password
MaxPlayers=8
PvP=true
LandClaimSystem=true
CanJoinOffline=false
AllowSpectators=true
GoalsEnabled=true
LogFile=./server.log
SaveFolder=./Saves

[Network]
Port=8766
QueryPort=27015
Region=Automatic
Public=true
AntiCheatEnabled=true

[Server]
DifficultyPreset=Normal
VegetationRespawnDays=5
AnimalSpawnMode=Regenerate

Step 3: Create Startup Batch

Create C:\SotF-Server\start-server.bat:

@echo off
cd /d C:\SotF-Server
SonsOfTheForest.exe -configfile OptionsSotF.cfg
pause

Step 4: Run as Service (Optional)

nssm install SotFServer "C:\SotF-Server\SonsOfTheForest.exe" "-configfile OptionsSotF.cfg"
nssm start SotFServer

Linux Server (Wine/Proton)

System Requirements

RAM: 8GB minimum (10GB+ recommended for stable operation)
vCPU: 4 cores minimum
Storage: SSD strongly recommended, 30GB+ available space
Network: Stable upstream for player connections
OS: Ubuntu 20.04+ or similar

Sons of the Forest has significant resource overhead when running under Wine/Proton. RAM usage is higher than native Linux servers. We recommend 10GB+ RAM for production servers; 8GB is minimum but may cause stability issues with many players.

Install Wine/Proton-GE

Option 1: Wine-GE (Recommended for dedicated servers)

sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y wine wine32 wine64 libwine libwine:i386 winetricks
sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386
sudo apt update

Install Wine-GE (bleeding-edge gaming fork):

cd ~/
git clone https://github.com/GloriousEggroll/wine-ge-custom.git
cd wine-ge-custom
./install.sh

Option 2: Proton-GE

mkdir -p ~/.steam/root/compatibilitytools.d
cd ~/.steam/root/compatibilitytools.d
wget https://github.com/GloriousEggroll/proton-ge-custom/releases/download/VERSION/Proton-GE-custom-VERSION.tar.gz
tar -xzf Proton-GE-custom-VERSION.tar.gz

Install SteamCMD and Download Server

Create a dedicated user for the server:

sudo useradd -m -s /bin/bash sotf
sudo su - sotf

Install SteamCMD:

mkdir -p ~/steamcmd
cd ~/steamcmd
curl -sqL "https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/client/installer/steamcmd_linux.tar.gz" | tar zxvf -

Download the Sons of the Forest server (AppID 2465200):

cd ~/steamcmd
./steamcmd.sh +login your_steam_username your_steam_password +app_update 2465200 validate +quit

The server will install to ~/steamapps/common/SonsOfTheForest/.

Configuration File (Linux)

Create OptionsSotF.cfg in the server directory:

nano ~/steamapps/common/SonsOfTheForest/OptionsSotF.cfg

OptionsSotF.cfg:

[Game]
GameName=DeluxHost SotF Server
GamePassword=your_server_password
AdminPassword=your_admin_password
MaxPlayers=8
PvP=true
LandClaimSystem=true
CanJoinOffline=false
AllowSpectators=true
GoalsEnabled=true
LogFile=./server.log
SaveFolder=./Saves

[Network]
Port=8766
QueryPort=27015
Region=Automatic
Public=true
AntiCheatEnabled=true

[Server]
DifficultyPreset=Normal
VegetationRespawnDays=5
AnimalSpawnMode=Regenerate
EnemyHealthMode=Normal
EnemyDamageMode=Normal
PlayerHealthMode=Normal
PlayerDamageMode=Normal

Adjust MaxPlayers between 1-8. Higher player counts increase CPU/RAM requirements significantly.

Running with Wine (Linux)

Create a wrapper script to launch the server:

nano ~/start-sotf-server.sh

start-sotf-server.sh:

#!/bin/bash
export WINEPREFIX=~/.wine
export WINEARCH=win64
cd ~/steamapps/common/SonsOfTheForest/

# For Wine-GE:
wine SonsOfTheForest.exe -configfile OptionsSotF.cfg

# For Proton-GE (uncomment if using Proton):
# /home/sotf/.steam/root/compatibilitytools.d/Proton-GE-custom-VERSION/proton run SonsOfTheForest.exe -configfile OptionsSotF.cfg

Make it executable:

chmod +x ~/start-sotf-server.sh
./start-sotf-server.sh

Port Configuration

Open required UDP ports:

sudo ufw allow 8766/udp
sudo ufw allow 27015/udp
sudo ufw allow 9700/udp

Port assignments:

8766/UDP, Game server port
27015/UDP, Query/Rcon port
9700/UDP, Backup game traffic

Systemd Service (Linux)

Create /etc/systemd/system/sotf-server.service:

sudo tee /etc/systemd/system/sotf-server.service > /dev/null <<'EOF'
[Unit]
Description=Sons of the Forest Dedicated Server
After=network-online.target
Wants=network-online.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=sotf
WorkingDirectory=/home/sotf/steamapps/common/SonsOfTheForest
Environment="WINEPREFIX=/home/sotf/.wine"
Environment="WINEARCH=win64"
ExecStart=/usr/bin/wine SonsOfTheForest.exe -configfile OptionsSotF.cfg
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=15
StandardOutput=journal
StandardError=journal
TimeoutStartSec=120

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
EOF

Enable and start:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable sotf-server
sudo systemctl start sotf-server

Monitor:

sudo systemctl status sotf-server
sudo journalctl -u sotf-server -f

Save Files and Backup

Save files are stored in the configured SaveFolder (default: ./Saves/). Back them up regularly:

tar -czf sotf-saves-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz ~/steamapps/common/SonsOfTheForest/Saves/

To restore:

tar -xzf sotf-saves-backup-YYYYMMDD.tar.gz -C ~/steamapps/common/SonsOfTheForest/

Performance Tuning

Increase Wine memory allocation (Linux)

export STAGING_SHARED_MEMORY=1

Add to your start script.

Disable fullscreen optimization (Linux/Proton)

export DXVK_HUD=fps

Monitor resource usage (Linux)

top -p $(pgrep -f "wine.*SonsOfTheForest")
free -h
df -h

Troubleshooting

Server won't start: Check logs with journalctl -u sotf-server -n 100

High CPU usage: Reduce player count or lower graphics settings in config

Players can't connect: Verify UDP ports 8766/27015/9700 are open, check firewall rules

Out of memory: Increase swap space or add more RAM

sudo fallocate -l 4G /swapfile
sudo chmod 600 /swapfile
sudo mkswap /swapfile
sudo swapon /swapfile

Wine crashes on startup: Update Wine-GE/Proton-GE to the latest version

cd ~/wine-ge-custom
git pull
./install.sh

Tips & Tweaks

OptionsSotF.cfg Key Parameters:

Parameter	Value	Impact
`MaxPlayers`	1-8	Server capacity
`PvP`	true/false	Enable/disable PvP
`LandClaimSystem`	true/false	Allow land claiming
`VegetationRespawnDays`	1-30	Resource regeneration time
`AnimalSpawnMode`	Regenerate/OfflineOnly/None	Animal respawn behavior

Multiplayer Settings Tips:

Start with MaxPlayers=4 for stable testing
Increase gradually as you monitor server stability
PvP=false recommended for new communities
Enable LandClaimSystem to prevent griefing

Save File Locations:

Windows: C:\SotF-Server\Saves\
Linux: ~/steamapps/common/SonsOfTheForest/Saves/

Backup saves regularly before updates.

Updates

Update the server regularly (Windows/Linux):

cd ~/steamcmd
./steamcmd.sh +login your_steam_username your_steam_password +app_update 2465200 validate +quit
sudo systemctl restart sotf-server

Sons of the Forest

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