Run a server

Node-Server is the program players connect to. It runs on Windows, on Linux and in Docker. You don’t need an account to run one: without it the server just isn’t in the public list, and players join it by address.

What you need

• A computer or a VPS players can reach on one port, TCP and UDP. The default is 30814. If the server is at home, forward that port on your router.
• Windows x64, or Linux x64 as new as Ubuntu 24.04: the Linux build needs glibc 2.38 and the libstdc++ of GCC 13. On an older Linux, run the Docker image.
• An account at nodemp.com, only if the server should be in the list.

Five steps

1. Download and start the server. Follow the page for your system: Windows, Linux or Docker.
2. Open the port 30814 for TCP and UDP. The firewall commands are on the same pages.
3. Give it a name, a map and slots, below.
4. Put it in the list with a server key: Get listed.
5. Join it from the launcher, below.

The server is published on GitHub under the tag server-v1.12.0: an archive for Windows, one for Linux and the Docker image, each with a .sha256 file next to it for checking the download.

The first start

On its first start the server writes a short server.toml with the settings a host usually changes, makes a TLS certificate and creates the content/ and logs/ folders. When all went well, the console ends with:

listening on [::]:30814 (tcp, tls 1.3, dual-stack: IPv4 + IPv6)
0 resources · 1 module loaded
server is ready

The no database configured warning above them is normal. The database module ships with the server and waits until a plugin needs it.

To stop the server, press Ctrl+C or type stop in its window.

Name, map and slots

Open server.toml and change these lines in the [server] table:

[server]
name = "Friday freeroam"
map = "/levels/west_coast_usa/info.json"
max_players = 16
cars_per_player = 2

• name is the server’s name in the list and in the game.
• map is the path to the map’s info.json: /levels/<map folder>/info.json. Mods and maps explains how to add a map of your own.
• max_players is how many players can be on at once.
• cars_per_player is how many cars one player can have.

The server reads the file only when it starts, so restart it after a change. It doesn’t write to the file itself: your edits and comments stay. Every other setting is on server.toml. In Docker there is no file; the same settings are environment variables there.

Join your server

Open the launcher. A server with a key is in the Servers tab; find it by name.

A server without a key isn’t in the list. Click Direct Connect and enter the public address with the port, such as 203.0.113.10:30814. From a computer on the same home network, use the server’s local address instead, such as 192.168.1.20:30814.

Next

• Mods and maps and resources: what to add to the server.
• Console, kicks and bans: running it day to day.
• Updating: installing new releases.