Why can't anyone join my Valheim server?

Check four things, in this order: the permitted list, the password, crossplay, and whether everyone’s on the same version as the server. Each one has a quick fix.

1. Someone’s on the permitted list

permittedlist.txt is Valheim’s allow list. It sits in your server’s save folder, next to adminlist.txt. Iron Gate’s guide is blunt about it: once one person is on the list, everyone else is banned.

1. Open permittedlist.txt in your Game Panel’s file manager.
2. Add every player’s ID, one per line. Or empty the file to let anyone in.
3. Save it and restart your server from the Game Panel.

IDs look like Steam_76561198000000000, and players find theirs in the F2 panel in game (how to find your ID). If your server was stuck on a version before hotfix 1.0.12, the list only understood the newer V_ IDs.

While you’re in there, check bannedlist.txt for the player who can’t get in.

2. The password breaks Valheim’s rules

The start script that ships with Valheim’s dedicated server sets two rules for the password:

• It needs at least 5 characters.
• It can’t appear anywhere in the server name. A server called Viking Mates can’t use the password Viking.

If the server isn’t showing up, or nobody can log in, check both. Then fix -password in your server’s settings in the Game Panel and restart.

3. Console players need crossplay

Without -crossplay, the server runs on Steam and only Steam players can see it or join. Anyone playing on Xbox, PlayStation 5, Switch 2, the Microsoft Store or the Mac App Store needs the server started with -crossplay. Set it in your server’s settings in the Game Panel.

With crossplay on, players can join three ways:

• find it in the server list
• join by the server’s address and port, which are in your Game Panel
• open Join Game, choose Add server and paste the join code, which anyone already on the server can see in the pause menu

The join code changes every time the server restarts, so share the address instead.

Xbox players need crossplay allowed on their console as well. Iron Gate’s crossplay FAQ says that if they can’t find the option, they may need to change their parental control settings.

Can’t see the server in the list at all? -public 0 hides it, and then everyone joins by address.

4. Versions don’t match

After a Valheim update, the server and every player have to be on the same version. If they aren’t, Valheim tells you as soon as you pick the server from the list. Update your server (your Game Panel can run updates on a schedule), then have everyone restart Valheim so it updates too.

On crossplay servers, a patch sometimes reaches one platform a few days after the others. Iron Gate’s patch notes say when that breaks crossplay, as it did for Mac App Store players with patch 1.0.20.