Update an Enshrouded server after a patch

Enshrouded refuses connections between a game and a server on different versions, so the evening a patch lands your server needs updating before anyone can join. A restart usually does it.

6 min read · Updated Oct 21, 2026 · By GuavaHost Team

Why a patch locks everybody out

Steam updates your game on its own, often while you are not looking. Your server does not get the same treatment: it runs the build it last installed until something tells it to fetch a new one.

For the gap in between, the two sides do not agree on a version and Enshrouded will not connect them. There is no partial compatibility and no warning in advance. What you get instead is a server that was fine last night and a group of players who cannot join, usually reported as "the server is down" rather than as a version problem.

It works in the other direction too. If your server updates while a player has not launched Steam for a week, that player is the one left behind until their game updates.

Update the server

Everything happens in your control panel. Sign in at customer.guavahost.com, open My servers and click Manage on your Enshrouded server.

1. Tell anyone online that the server is going down for an update.
2. Open the Backups page and click Create backup. A patch is exactly the kind of change you want a way back from. Backing up and restoring an Enshrouded world has the detail, including why stopping the server first gives you the cleanest copy.
3. Press Restart at the top of the server page.
4. Watch the Console tab. The start after a patch takes longer than usual, because the server downloads the new build before it boots. Let it finish rather than pressing anything else.
5. When the console reports the server online and ready, join it yourself before telling everyone it is back.

That is the whole job on a normal patch. You do not run update commands by hand and there is no version field to type in.

When a restart is not enough

Occasionally a restart comes back on the old version, usually because the download did not complete or a game file is damaged. The next step is a reinstall, which runs the install step again and pulls the current server files from scratch.

1. Press Stop and wait for the server to go fully offline.
2. Take a backup if you have not already.
3. Go to the Settings tab, find the Reinstall server card and confirm the reinstall.
4. When it finishes, press Start and watch the Console.

A reinstall replaces the game files, not your world. Your save folder and enshrouded_server.json stay where they are, so your server name, role passwords and difficulty settings survive it. Reinstalling your server explains what a reinstall touches in general terms.

It is still worth opening enshrouded_server.json afterwards to confirm it looks the way you left it, particularly if the patch notes mention new server settings.

What players see on a mismatch

This is the frustrating part: Enshrouded does not say "wrong version" in plain English. What players actually report is one of these:

• The server is missing from the in-game browser entirely.
• The server appears but a join attempt fails or times out.
• A direct connection by IP and port is refused.

All three look exactly like a server that is offline, which is why a patch day sends so many people hunting for network problems that are not there. Before you check anything else, confirm the console says the server is up, then confirm your own game and the server are on the same build. Enshrouded server not showing or will not connect works through the other causes if the versions already match.

Get your players in step

• Ask them to restart Steam. Steam sometimes sits on a pending update until the game is launched or the client is restarted.
• Check Steam is not set to update only on launch. Enshrouded can also be told to download now from its page in the Steam library.
• Make sure nobody is on a beta branch. A player who opted into a Steam beta for Enshrouded is on a different build from a server running the normal release, which looks identical to a mismatch and is fixed in the game's Steam properties rather than on the server.
• Give it a few minutes. If the server has only just finished its update, the browser can take a little while to list it again. A direct connection by address usually works first.

Patch day without the panic

A short routine makes update evenings boring, which is what you want:

• Back up first, every time. It takes seconds and it is the only step you cannot add afterwards.
• Read the patch notes for server settings. Enshrouded has added settings to enshrouded_server.json across updates. New settings appear with their default values, and anything you had changed by hand is the part worth re-checking.
• Expect mods and tools to lag behind. Anything that reads the game's data for you can break on a patch and needs its own update.
• Set a nightly restart. It does not update the server on its own, but a server that restarts every night picks up a new build the first morning after a patch without anybody noticing. Setting up an automatic daily restart shows how, including how to warn players in chat first.
• Watch your memory after a big content patch. A patch that adds a region or more detailed terrain can nudge memory use up. How much RAM an Enshrouded server needs has the sizing, and the Usage card on your server's Overview shows where you actually sit.

If the server will not come back at all

Read the Console from the top of the start attempt rather than the bottom. The first error is the useful one, and it usually names a file or a setting. Two common patterns after a patch:

• The server boots and then stops with a complaint about its configuration, which points at enshrouded_server.json and most often at a setting the patch changed or a typo from an earlier edit.
• The server never finishes downloading, which shows as a start that sits still for a long time and is worth one more restart before you reinstall.

If neither applies, restore the backup you took before the update, start the server and come and ask us with those console lines in hand. Our team is online 24/7.

Common questions

Does my Enshrouded server update itself?

It installs the current build when it starts, so a restart is what triggers an update. It will not update while it is running, which is why a patch released mid-session locks players out until you restart.

Will updating my Enshrouded server delete my world?

No. An update replaces the game files and leaves your save folder and enshrouded_server.json alone, and that is true of a reinstall as well. Take a backup anyway, because an update is the point at which you most want one.

How do I know which version my server is on?

The Console prints version information as the server starts, so the easiest check is to restart and read the first lines of the start. Comparing that against the current patch notes tells you whether the server has picked the new build up.

Can I stay on an older version so my group does not have to update?

Not in any way that holds up. Steam keeps players on the current build by default, and Enshrouded expects the server and the game to match, so the practical answer on patch day is to update the server and ask everyone to update their game.

Still stuck? Jump into our Discord at discord.gg/GuavaHost and the team will help you out.

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