Enshrouded Server Won't Start? Causes and Fixes
An Enshrouded server that will not start is nearly always its settings file, and it fails without a log. Where the reason is, the four causes, and the fix.
First: is it stuck, or has it stopped?
They can look alike in the panel, and they are different problems.
Open the Console. It follows the server's own log from the start of each boot, with GameGrid's [GameGrid] lines in between.
| What you see | What it means |
|---|---|
| The game's lines appearing, the world loading | It is starting. Wait: see below |
The game's lines, then [GameGrid] lines about the server exiting | It started and then stopped. The game's last lines usually say why |
Only [GameGrid] lines and nothing from the game | It refused its settings file. Read on |
It might just be slow
A first start creates the world, and that takes longer than a normal boot. The same is true after you clear the world for a fresh start.
Give a first start a few minutes and watch the Console for [GameGrid] Server is ready: players can join. rather than restarting it: restarting a server that is creating a world just starts it over.
Enshrouded fails quietly, and that is the key fact
When Enshrouded does not like its settings file, it exits within half a second and writes no log file at all. The Console stays empty of the game's lines because there is nothing to follow.
The reason is not lost, though. Enshrouded prints it to its standard output, and GameGrid keeps that in `logs/stdout.log`. Open Files, go to logs, and open stdout.log: the last lines say what the game refused.
You may also see GameGrid's crash recovery trying again in the Console ("attempt 1 of 3"; it makes at most three attempts in ten minutes). A refused settings file fails every attempt the same way, so fix the cause rather than waiting.
The four causes, in order
1. Two user groups share a password
stdout.log says: Internal Error: user groups passwords must be unique.
Group passwords have to be different from each other. GameGrid will not save two the same from Settings, the Customer API or Discord, so this comes from a hand edit or an uploaded file. Open Settings โ User Groups, use Show to find the two that match, give one of them a new password (delete it and add it again with the new password), and press Save Changes. See User Groups, Passwords and Permissions.
2. A value the server does not recognise
stdout.log says something like Failed to parse enum 'DedicatedServerTagFlag: Invalid value ...', naming the setting and the value.
Enshrouded accepts a fixed set of words for its choices (tags, the tombstone, weather and so on) and nothing else. The Settings page only offers valid ones, so this follows a hand edit or an uploaded file. Fix the value on the Settings page, or correct the file in Files with the server stopped.
A number out of range does not stop the server: the game uses its nearest limit instead.
3. An invisible character at the start of the file
stdout.log says: Internal Error: Failed to parse Config.
That is often a byte-order mark: some Windows editors add one when they save, without telling you. GameGrid removes it before every start, so a plain restart fixes it. If the message stays after a restart, it is cause 4.
4. Broken JSON
A missing bracket, a missing comma, a stray quote. The game cannot read the file at all, and exits without a log.
You can hunt for the character in Files, but the faster fix is below.
The fix that works regardless
If you edited the file and the server will not start, do not hunt for the character. Restore a backup from before the edit:
Backups โ pick one from before the edit โ Restore โ Restore backup.
That is faster and more certain than reading JSON, and GameGrid takes backups every day as well as whenever you ask. Restoring also puts back that backup's user groups and passwords. See Enshrouded Saves, Backups and Restore.
Then make the change through the Settings page instead, where it is checked before it is written.
Other causes, less common
| Cause | What to do |
|---|---|
| A mod that no longer fits the game build | The server starts rather than failing: with several mods only the one that failed is left out, with one the server starts without your mods. logs/mod-framework.log says which. Check the Mods page |
| A world file that was replaced badly | Restore a backup. Never swap save files on a running server |
| Just after a game update | Check the Console on the first start; see Enshrouded Game Updates on GameGrid |
| Game files damaged or incomplete | Admin โ Check & Repair checks that every game file is present and from one build, and puts missing ones and a wrong port back |
What is not the cause
Worth ruling out so you do not chase them:
- Ports. They are assigned and written for you before every start.
- Firewall. Handled.
- The preset. GameGrid sets it to Custom before every start.
- Your slot count. Any value from 1 to 16 is fine.
- The Inventory & Storage settings. If one cannot be applied, the server starts with the game's own value.
Still not starting
Open a ticket and include:
- What you changed last, and when
- The last lines of
logs/stdout.log - Whether you edited any file by hand or over FTP
"I edited the settings file and now it will not start" is a quick fix once we know. Without it we are guessing.