How to install Valheim mods on your server

Valheim mods run on BepInEx, a mod loader, and most of them come from Thunderstore. On Wilderack you install them from the Mods tab in one tap. For most mods, every player needs the same mods on their own game too.

Iron Gate doesn’t support mods officially. They’re made by the community, and a game update can break them until their authors catch up.

How Valheim mods work

• BepInEx loads the mods. The server needs it, and so does each player who uses mods. On Thunderstore it’s called BepInExPack_Valheim.
• Mods are .dll files in the BepInEx/plugins folder, sometimes with a folder of their own.
• Settings for mods appear in BepInEx/config after the first start with the mod.

Your server can run as Vanilla or BepInEx. Pick the server type in Settings. Switching takes a backup first.

Install mods from the Mods tab

1. Open Mods and search Thunderstore by name, like “plan” or “map”.
2. Choose Install. The install plan lists the mod, the other mods it needs, and BepInEx if the server doesn’t have it yet.
3. Confirm. We make a backup first, then download every file from Thunderstore.
4. Restart the server to turn the mods on. If it’s asleep, they load next time it starts.

Mods never update on their own, because an update can break a world. The Mods tab shows when updates are ready, with the changelog, and Update all runs them together with one backup.

Help your friends match

Most mods have to be on the server and on every player’s game, at the same version. Players without them may not get in, or see missing items and broken buildings.

The easy way is a mod manager such as r2modman or the Thunderstore Mod Manager:

1. In Mods, open the What your friends need card and download the profile file.
2. Each friend installs r2modman or the Thunderstore Mod Manager and chooses Valheim.
3. They import the profile file in the mod manager, then start Valheim from the mod manager so the mods load.

Owners can also share their own mod manager profile as a code. Codes stop working after a while, so the profile file is better for groups that join over several days.

Install mods by hand

Use this for a mod that isn’t on Thunderstore, or a version you made yourself.

1. Make sure the server type is BepInEx in Settings.
2. Stop the server.
3. Open Files, or connect over SFTP (works with FileZilla) with the details on the SFTP card in Files.
4. Upload the mod’s .dll file, or its whole folder, into BepInEx/plugins.
5. If the mod needs other mods, add those too. Its download page lists them.
6. Start the server. Watch Console for BepInEx loading lines and any errors.

To change a mod’s settings, edit its file in BepInEx/config while the server is stopped. Many mods send their server settings to players when they join, so the server’s copy wins.

Updates and versions

Valheim needs the server and every player on the same game version, mods or not. A big game update can break mods until their authors fix them.

When Valheim updates:

1. Update the server’s game version in Settings. Your friends’ games update through their store.
2. Check Mods for updates. Install them once they’re out.
3. If a mod has no update yet, remove it for now, or wait to play until it’s fixed.

If the server won’t start after an update, Console shows the crash helper. It can point to the mod that failed.

Remove a mod

Remove the mod in Mods. We take out exactly the files it installed. Its settings stay unless you tick Remove its settings too. Tell your friends to remove it from their profile as well.

Removing a mod that added items or buildings can delete those things from your world. Make a backup in Backups first, so you can go back.