Sons of the Forest server guide: join, admins, settings and fixes
Updated 2 November 2026 · 3 minute read · Sons of the Forest (PC) · By Exclsv Support
Everything you need to run your Sons of the Forest server in HQ, in one page.
Join
- In Sons of the Forest, choose Multiplayer, then Join, then Dedicated.
- Search for your server’s name.
- Enter the password if you set one.
Owners
Add the Steam IDs (17 digits) of the server’s owners to serverconfig/ownerswhitelist.txt in the file manager, one per line. Owners can use the admin console in game.
Settings
Open Settings, then Game settings. Each setting has a plain label, one line of help and the game’s own default where HQ knows it. Most changes take effect at the next restart.
To start a new world and keep the old one, change Save slot to an unused number.
Backups and going back
HQ takes an hourly backup (Automatic backups) and keeps each for up to 48 hours, plus an off-site backup every 6 hours with 7 daily copies. To go back, open Backups, then Automatic backups, pick a time and choose Go back. Your world as it is now is kept, so you can undo it.
If it doesn’t work
Friends can’t find it
Wait until HQ shows it online, then search again: a new server can take a few minutes to appear.
It crashed after a big patch
Sons of the Forest’s server runs on Windows only, so we run it through Wine. Big game patches can need a fix on our side first: use Undo update to go back to the previous build, and open a ticket so we can check.
Run this on Exclsv: Sons of the Forest server hosting, from £17.99 a month