Valheim Dedicated Server Installer

Self-host a Valheim server on Ubuntu and manage it entirely through conversation with Claude. This repo provides everything you need: automated installation, mod management via Thunderstore, and an MCP server that lets Claude handle server administration through natural language.

What's Included

• Install script — Sets up SteamCMD, the Valheim dedicated server, and systemd services
• MCP server — Enables Claude to manage your server directly (start/stop, mod installation, status checks, etc.)
• CLAUDE.md — Project context that helps Claude understand the server architecture and available commands

Quick Start

1. Install Ubuntu 24.04
2. Install Claude Code
3. Ask Claude to clone this repo and run the install script
4. Start managing your server through conversation

Requirements

• Ubuntu 24.04
• Root access (sudo)
• Ports 2456-2458 UDP open for incoming connections

Installation

Interactive

git clone https://github.com/Alohamoras/valServer.git
cd valServer
sudo ./install.sh

Non-Interactive

sudo ./install.sh -n "My Server" -w "MyWorld" -p "secret123" -y -s

Flag	Description
-n	Server name (displayed in server list)
-w	World name (name of the world save)
-p	Server password (minimum 5 characters)
-y	Skip confirmation prompt
-s	Start server after installation
-h	Show help message

Using Your Server

After installation, just ask Claude. The MCP server is automatically configured during install.

Example requests:

• "What's the server status?"
• "Restart the server"
• "Create a backup"
• "Search for mods with 'equipment' in the name"
• "Add the Jotunn mod"
• "Update the server and all mods"
• "Enable map sharing in Valheim Plus"
• "Show me the last 100 lines of server logs"

Claude can handle server lifecycle, mod management, configuration, backups, and updates — all through conversation.

Features

• Installs SteamCMD and Valheim Dedicated Server
• Installs Valheim Mod Manager (vmm) for mod management
• Installs BepInEx and Valheim Plus via vmm
• Creates systemd service for easy server management
• Configures daily auto-updates for game and mods (5 AM Eastern Time)
• Automatically configures UFW firewall rules if active

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Reference

The sections below document manual commands and file locations. These are provided for troubleshooting, advanced use cases, or if you prefer to manage the server without Claude.

File Locations

Description	Path
Server files	/home/steam/valheim-server/
World saves	/home/steam/.config/unity3d/IronGate/Valheim/
Valheim Plus config	/home/steam/valheim-server/BepInEx/config/valheim_plus.cfg
Mod config (vmm)	/home/steam/vmm_config.toml
Backups	/home/steam/valheim-backups/
Update log	/var/log/valheim-update.log

Manual Server Management

sudo systemctl start valheim     # Start server
sudo systemctl stop valheim      # Stop server
sudo systemctl restart valheim   # Restart server
sudo systemctl status valheim    # Check status
sudo journalctl -u valheim -f    # View live logs

Manual Updates

Updates run automatically daily at 5 AM Eastern Time. To update manually:

sudo /home/steam/update-valheim.sh

Uninstalling

Remove the server and all components:

sudo ./uninstall.sh

Flag	Description
-y	Skip confirmation prompts
-k	Keep world saves and backups
-h	Show help

Example: sudo ./uninstall.sh -y -k removes everything except your world data.

Manual Mod Management

Mods are managed via Valheim Mod Manager (vmm), which downloads mods from Thunderstore and handles dependencies automatically.

# Search for mods
sudo -u steam bash -c 'source ~/.cargo/env && vmm search "mod name"'

# Add a mod (use Owner-ModName format from search results)
sudo -u steam bash -c 'source ~/.cargo/env && vmm add ValheimModding-Jotunn'

# Install all configured mods
sudo -u steam bash -c 'source ~/.cargo/env && vmm update'

Valheim Plus Configuration

Edit the config file directly:

sudo nano /home/steam/valheim-server/BepInEx/config/valheim_plus.cfg

Restart the server after making changes:

sudo systemctl restart valheim

MCP Server Details

The MCP server provides Claude with these tools:

Category	Tools
Server	server_status, server_start, server_stop, server_restart, server_logs, server_info
Config	config_get, config_set, config_sections
Backup	backup_create, backup_list, backup_restore, backup_delete
Update	update_check, update_server, update_valheimplus, update_all
Mods	mods_list, mods_add, mods_remove, mods_search, mods_update

Manual MCP setup (only needed if auto-setup failed):

1. Install dependencies:

   cd mcp-server
   python3 -m venv venv
   source venv/bin/activate
   pip install -r requirements.txt
   deactivate

2. Register with Claude Code:

   claude mcp add --transport stdio valheim -- /path/to/valServer/mcp-server/venv/bin/python /path/to/valServer/mcp-server/valheim_server.py

3. Restart Claude Code