[Linux/Ubuntu] Setting Up an ARK: Survival Evolved Server Was a Huge Pain, So I Used a Tool Instead

Background

When I tried to install it normally with SteamCMD,

I got stuck on this error. On top of that, the screen did not update, so I could not even tell whether the server was open or closed. At that point, I gave up and looked for another method.

Conclusion

GitHub: GitHub - arkmanager/ark-server-tools: Set of server tools used to manage ARK: Survival Evolved servers on Linux

Set of server tools used to manage ARK: Survival Evolved servers on Linux - arkmanager/ark-server-tools

github.com

Using this solves everything in a fairly rough-and-ready way. If you can read English, just follow the README.md. If you cannot read English, or you can but it is too much of a pain, use the rest of this article as a supplement.

Warning

There will be various commands in this article, but do not blindly run commands taught to you by strangers on the internet, myself included. Proceed while also reading the official README.

How to do it

1. Log in to the server

Windows will not work here. Use Linux.

If you are using Windows, this article may be useful.

ARKサーバーをWindowsPCに構築する

ARK Server Managerを使用してWindowsPCにARKサーバーを立てるやり方を紹介します。

mohumohu-tech.com

2. Install dependencies

Common dependencies

These should basically already be installed, but if you are using some unusual OS, check just in case.

>=bash-4.0
>=coreutils-7.6
findutils
perl
rsync
sed
tar

CentOS and RHEL

Install the following.

perl-Compress-Zlib
curl
lsof
glibc.i686
libstdc++.i686
bzip2

Ubuntu and Debian

For most people, the following command should be fine.

sudo apt update && sudo apt install perl-modules curl lsof libc6-i386 lib32gcc-s1 bzip2 -y

If you are using Debian Buster or Ubuntu 20.04 or older, run this command instead.

sudo apt update && sudo apt install perl-modules curl lsof libc6-i386 lib32gcc bzip2 -y

3. Install arkmanager

Run the following. If your username is not steam, replace it with your own username. In my environment, that alone was enough for it to work without issues.

Privileged user, root

If you are not root, do not forget to put sudo before curl as well.

curl -sL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/arkmanager/ark-server-tools/master/netinstall.sh | sudo bash -s steam

Non-privileged user

curl -sL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/arkmanager/ark-server-tools/master/netinstall.sh | bash -s -- --me

That is all.

4. Install the server

Run the following.

arkmanager install

If you want to decide the directory name, I feel like there was an option for that. Sorry, I do not know how.

Once you run it, the server should probably be installed under /home/username/ARK. If you do not give it a specific name, this server will be named main.

5. Configure the server

Run the following.

arkmanager printconfig

Then you should see something like this.

Running command 'printconfig' for instance 'main'
/etc/arkmanager/instances/main.cfg => arkserverroot
/etc/arkmanager/instances/main.cfg => serverMap
/etc/arkmanager/instances/main.cfg => ark_RCONEnabled
/etc/arkmanager/instances/main.cfg => ark_RCONPort
/etc/arkmanager/instances/main.cfg => ark_SessionName
/etc/arkmanager/instances/main.cfg => ark_Port
/etc/arkmanager/instances/main.cfg => ark_QueryPort
/etc/arkmanager/instances/main.cfg => ark_ServerPassword
/etc/arkmanager/instances/main.cfg => ark_ServerAdminPassword
/etc/arkmanager/instances/main.cfg => ark_MaxPlayers
/etc/arkmanager/arkmanager.cfg => arkstChannel
/etc/arkmanager/arkmanager.cfg => install_bindir
/etc/arkmanager/arkmanager.cfg => install_libexecdir
/etc/arkmanager/arkmanager.cfg => install_datadir
/etc/arkmanager/arkmanager.cfg => steamcmdroot
/etc/arkmanager/arkmanager.cfg => steamcmdexec
/etc/arkmanager/arkmanager.cfg => steamcmd_user
/etc/arkmanager/arkmanager.cfg => steamcmd_appinfocache
/etc/arkmanager/arkmanager.cfg => steamcmd_workshoplog
/etc/arkmanager/arkmanager.cfg => arkserverexec
/etc/arkmanager/arkmanager.cfg => arkbackupdir
/etc/arkmanager/arkmanager.cfg => arkbackupcompress
/etc/arkmanager/arkmanager.cfg => arkwarnminutes
/etc/arkmanager/arkmanager.cfg => arkprecisewarn
/etc/arkmanager/arkmanager.cfg => arkNoPortDecrement
/etc/arkmanager/arkmanager.cfg => arkautorestartfile
/etc/arkmanager/arkmanager.cfg => arkAutoUpdateOnStart
/etc/arkmanager/arkmanager.cfg => arkBackupPreUpdate
/etc/arkmanager/arkmanager.cfg => arkMaxBackupSizeMB
/etc/arkmanager/arkmanager.cfg => msgWarnUpdateMinutes
/etc/arkmanager/arkmanager.cfg => msgWarnUpdateSeconds
/etc/arkmanager/arkmanager.cfg => msgWarnRestartMinutes
/etc/arkmanager/arkmanager.cfg => msgWarnRestartSeconds
/etc/arkmanager/arkmanager.cfg => msgWarnShutdownMinutes
/etc/arkmanager/arkmanager.cfg => msgWarnShutdownSeconds
/etc/arkmanager/arkmanager.cfg => msgWarnCancelled
/etc/arkmanager/arkmanager.cfg => logdir
/etc/arkmanager/arkmanager.cfg => appid
/etc/arkmanager/arkmanager.cfg => mod_appid
/etc/arkmanager/arkmanager.cfg => mod_branch
/etc/arkmanager/arkmanager.cfg => defaultinstance

You can probably guess from the output, but if you edit /etc/arkmanager/instances/main.cfg, you can change the config for the main server.

6. Open the ports

The ports that need to be opened are as follows.

• 7777/udp
• 7778/udp
• 27015/udp

Incidentally, the arkmanager README says to open 27016, but that is a lie. Nothing happens. This is because Steam looks for port 27015 by default.

This port can be changed, but that just creates unnecessary extra work. Use 27015.

Also, the README says to open 32330, but that is the RCON port for remote command execution, so if you are not familiar with it, you should actually avoid opening it. If it gets exposed, people can mess with your server as much as they like.

It also says to open TCP, but ARK SE only uses UDP, so there is no need to open TCP. This README is kind of strange.

7. Start the server

Run the following.

arkmanager start @main

@main is the server you just created. By using start, it runs in the background. You can also use run instead, but I do not recommend it because Ctrl+C will not stop it.

As the message says, it takes around 10 minutes for startup to complete. In my environment, it takes about 2 minutes on average. Since it is running in the background, you can log out of the server, or disconnect the session, in this state without any problem.

8. Check the server status

Run the following.

arkmanager status @main

If you get a screen that looks roughly like this, you are good.

Still, what exactly is arkservers.net? Does opening a server automatically list it there or something…?

9. Stop the server

Run the following.

arkmanager stop @main

That is all. From here, tweak the settings however you like and turn it into the server you want. Good survival.

Extra 1: Disabling BattlEye, the anti-cheat

Add the following to /etc/arkmanager/instances/main.cfg. If you want to edit something other than main, replace main accordingly. It is probably fine to put it anywhere.

arkflag_NoBattlEye="true"

That is all.

If you are thinking something like:

• I am only playing with friends, so I do not need anti-cheat
• I plan to install mods

then you only need to add this one line, so you may as well do it.

Incidentally, it is not BattleEye, but BattlEye. Seriously confusing.

Extra 2: Whitelist

If you want a whitelist, add one more line to /etc/arkmanager/instances/main.cfg. Again, if you want to edit something other than main, replace main accordingly.

arkflag_exclusivejoin="true"

The whitelist is not written in the cfg file. It is written in ShooterGame/Binaries/Linux/PlayersJoinNoCheckList.txt inside the server folder.

When I asked AI, it told me to put it under Win64, and I was completely fooled. So everyone, please do not trust what AI says too much.

Just put Steam IDs in the file, separated by line breaks. You can find a Steam ID by opening the profile in the Steam app or in a browser and checking the number at the end of the URL.

I do not think it is private information, but I hid it just in case. It is quite long, so copy and paste is the sensible option.

Extra 3: When the server somehow refuses to start, such as after restoring a backup

If you see errors such as Server has double-forked and cannot be effectively monitored or kill: (-5497) - No such process, the OS permission settings may be messed up. You can fix it with chmod.

Move to ShooterGame/Binaries/Linux inside the ARK folder, then run:

chmod +x ShooterGameServer

After that, it should work.

Extra 4: When installation keeps failing for some reason

Check whether you have enough storage. Specifically, you need around 200 GB. Even though this is a dedicated server.

Even when there is not enough storage, it does not tell you that the storage is insufficient.

References

GitHub: ark-server-tools/README.asciidoc at master · arkmanager/ark-server-tools

Set of server tools used to manage ARK: Survival Evolved servers on Linux - arkmanager/ark-server-tools

github.com

So README files can be written in AsciiDoc too. First time I have seen that.