Palworld Dedicated Server in Docker: Quick Setup Guide

Palworld is one of the game servers running on my Steam Game Server Framework. Native Linux server, no Wine workarounds -- just pull the image and start.

Here's everything you need to set up your own Palworld server.

Quick Start

Create a directory and add a docker-compose.yml:

mkdir palworld-server && cd palworld-server

services:
  palworld:
    # Docker Hub:
    image: rndmjoker/gameserver-steam-palworld:latest
    # Or from GitHub Container Registry:
    # image: ghcr.io/rndmjoker/gameserver-steam-palworld:latest
    container_name: palworld-server
    restart: unless-stopped
    network_mode: host
    mem_limit: 12g
    volumes:
      - serverdata:/home/steam/serverdata
      - serverconfig:/home/steam/serverconfig
    environment:
      - ServerName=My Palworld Server
      - AdminPassword=secure-password
      - ServerPlayerMaxNum=16

volumes:
  serverdata:
  serverconfig:

docker compose up -d
docker compose logs -f

The first start takes a bit longer because SteamCMD downloads the full server (~7 GB). After that it's fast.

Alternative with docker run

docker run -d \
  --name palworld-server \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  --network host \
  --memory 12g \
  -e ServerName="My Palworld Server" \
  -e AdminPassword="secure-password" \
  -e ServerPlayerMaxNum=16 \
  -v serverdata:/home/steam/serverdata \
  -v serverconfig:/home/steam/serverconfig \
  rndmjoker/gameserver-steam-palworld:latest

Technical Details

Property	Value
Steam App ID	`2394010`
Platform	Linux (native)
Default Port	`8211/udp`
RCON Port	`25575/tcp`
RAM Recommendation	12 GB
Server Binary	`PalServer.sh`

Networking

The server runs in host network mode. That means the ports are directly open on your machine.

Port	Protocol	Description
`8211`	UDP	Game port (player connections)
`25575`	TCP	RCON (remote console, optional)

If you have an external firewall (e.g. at your hosting provider), you need to open port 8211/udp there. Docker doesn't do that automatically in host mode.

Configuration

The entire server is configured via environment variables. You don't need to edit any config files -- anything you want to change, you just add as -e VARIABLE=value to your docker run or in the environment: section of your docker-compose.yml. The actual config files are generated from these variables on every container start.

The Quick Start above shows a minimal example. If you want to see all available settings at once, grab the complete docker-compose.yml or the .env.example from the GitHub repo -- they contain over 80 parameters with descriptions and default values.

Here's an excerpt of the most important settings:

Server Basics

Variable	Default	Description
`ServerName`	`My Palworld Server`	Server name
`ServerDescription`	(empty)	Description
`ServerPassword`	(empty)	Password to join
`AdminPassword`	`changeme`	Admin password (change this!)
`ServerPlayerMaxNum`	`32`	Max players
`GAME_PORT`	`8211`	Game port
`RCON_PORT`	`25575`	RCON port
`RCONEnabled`	`False`	Enable RCON

Game Balance

Variable	Default	Description
`DayTimeSpeedRate`	`1.0`	Day time speed
`NightTimeSpeedRate`	`1.0`	Night time speed
`ExpRate`	`1.0`	Experience rate
`PalCaptureRate`	`1.0`	Capture rate
`PalSpawnNumRate`	`1.0`	Pal spawn rate
`WorkSpeedRate`	`1.0`	Work speed
`PlayerDamageRateAttack`	`1.0`	Player attack damage
`PlayerDamageRateDefense`	`1.0`	Player defense
`DeathPenalty`	`All`	Death penalty (`None`, `Item`, `ItemAndEquipment`, `All`)

All other parameters (PvP, Hardcore, Randomizer, building limits, etc.) are in the docker-compose.yml on GitHub.

Build from Source

If you want to modify the Dockerfile or the hooks:

git clone https://github.com/RndmJoker/gameserver-steam-palworld.git steam-palworld
cd steam-palworld
cp .env.example .env
nano .env
docker compose up -d --build

Server Management

View logs

docker compose logs -f

Restart (applies config changes)

docker compose restart

Stop the server

docker compose down

Force update

The server is automatically updated on every container start. For a manual update, just restart:

docker compose restart

Fast restart (skip update)

- SKIP_STEAM_UPDATE=true

Backups

Save games are stored in the serverdata volume. To create a backup:

docker cp palworld-server:/home/steam/serverdata/Pal/Saved ./palworld-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d)

Troubleshooting

Server crashes immediately

Check if you have enough RAM:

free -h
docker stats palworld-server --no-stream

Palworld needs at least 8 GB, 12 GB is better.

Players can't connect

Server running? docker ps | grep palworld
Port open? ss -tulnp | grep 8211
Firewall checked? Port 8211/udp must be open externally

Crash logs

docker logs palworld-server 2>&1 | tail -50