Check if your 7 Days to Die server is online
7 Days to Die wants TCP and UDP both, and that is exactly the detail most forwarding guides only get half of.
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The ports 7 Days to Die uses
Gameplay goes over TCP on the base port, while the Steam query runs over UDP on the base port plus the next two. Forward TCP alone and people can play but no list finds you; forward UDP alone and lists find you but nobody can get in.
Every port a default 7 Days to Die install uses
With the game port left at 26900. If you changed it with ServerPort in serverconfig.xml, the other ports move with it.
| Port | What it is for |
|---|---|
| 26900 TCP | Game trafficRequired ServerPort. 7 Days needs TCP here and UDP on the ports above it — an unusual split that trips most people up. |
| 26900 UDP | Game trafficRequired The same number over UDP. |
| 26901 UDP | Server dataRequired Claimed automatically alongside the main port. |
| 26902 UDP | Server dataRequired Claimed automatically alongside the main port. |
| 26903 UDP | Steam queryRequired Needed to show up in the server browser. |
| 8080 TCP | Web dashboardDo not forward The control panel. It has a login, but it is still an admin surface on a game box. |
| 8081 TCP | TelnetDo not forward Unencrypted remote console. Forwarding this is the worst mistake available on this page. |
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Still offline? Try this
Your router rules need both protocols and the whole range, not only the base number. If everything is open and queries still time out, check whether a Blood Moon is under way — horde night can load the CPU so heavily that query replies get dropped, and from outside that reads as offline.
What a 7 Days to Die server needs to run well
- Memory, 8 players
- 6 GB
- CPU cores
- 4+
- Disk
- 15 GB+
Horde night is the peak — zombie pathfinding is what saturates the CPU, not normal play.
What the checker asks
The checker sends the game's server query to the port one above the game port, 26901 on a default install, over UDP. That is why a server forwarded for TCP only can be fully playable for the people already in it and still fail here: the query never reaches it. A pass here means the UDP side is open; players still need the TCP rule on the game port to join.
A new world takes a while to exist
With GameWorld set to RWG, the first start generates a whole random world before the server opens, and on a large WorldGenSize that takes many minutes. Until it finishes, the server answers nothing. If you have just created a world, watch the server log for generation to finish before deciding something is wrong.
After a big update
Clients update through Steam on their own; the server, app 294420 in SteamCMD, only updates when you run the update. Players on a newer version cannot join an older server. Major version updates are also known for not carrying old saves forward cleanly, so read the patch notes before updating a server with a world you care about.