Getting Started with Your The Isle Dedicated Server

Introduction

The Isle is one of those games that really commits to the fantasy – you're a dinosaur, you start small, and you have to survive long enough to grow up. Running your own server means you get to decide how that experience plays out for everyone. Growth rates, which dinosaurs are available, whether people can kill on sight – it's all yours to control.

I'll walk you through getting your server set up, connecting to it, and the stuff you'll probably want to configure first. If you haven't ordered yet, you can grab a server from our The Isle hosting page.

What You'll Need

Before anything else, make sure you've got:

• A LOW.MS The Isle server – order one from our The Isle hosting page if you haven't already. Plans start from 50 slots with 10 GB RAM.
• The Isle installed on Steam – you'll want it updated to the current version.
• Your server details – after ordering, your server IP, game port, query port, and RCON port are all shown in your control panel.

About The Isle Branches

The Isle has two branches you'll see mentioned a lot:

Legacy is the original version of the game and it's the default branch on Steam. It had a bigger dinosaur roster but it's no longer being updated.

Evrima is the actively developed branch – better graphics, dynamic ecosystems, nesting, and new dinosaurs getting added regularly. To run Evrima, you'll need to opt into it via the Steam Beta tab. All LOW.MS servers run Evrima.

If you're launching The Isle and things look different from what you expected, double-check you're on the right branch. It trips people up more than you'd think.

Step 1: Access Your Control Panel

Once your server is provisioned, log in to your LOW.MS Control Panel and select your The Isle service. From there you'll see your server's IP address, game port, query port, and RCON port.

That's your home base for everything – starting and stopping the server, editing config files, viewing logs, all of it.

Step 2: Initial Server Configuration

Your server ships with sensible defaults, but there are a few things you'll want to set up straight away.

Server Name and Password

Head into Configuration Files from your control panel sidebar to set these:

• ServerName – this is what shows up in the in-game server browser. Pick something memorable.
• ServerPassword – leave it blank for a public server, or set one if you want to keep things private.
• RconPassword – your RCON admin password. Keep it secure and don't share it around.

Player Slots

Your slot count matches your hosting plan – LOW.MS offers anywhere from 50 to 500 player slots. If your community outgrows your plan, you can upgrade any time.

Game Mode

Evrima currently runs Survival mode. You spawn as a juvenile dinosaur and have to eat, drink, and not get eaten until you reach adulthood. Simple concept, genuinely tense in practice.

Step 3: Connecting to Your Server

Through the In-Game Browser

This is the standard way most people connect:

1. Launch The Isle from Steam (make sure you're on the Evrima branch).
2. From the main menu, click Play.
3. Go to Session Filter and select Unofficial.
4. Search for your server by name.
5. Click it to join. Enter the password if you've set one.

Steam Overlay (Fallback Method)

If your server isn't showing up in the browser for whatever reason, you can connect through Steam directly:

1. Open the Steam overlay (Shift+Tab).
2. Open the Server Browser and go to the Favourites tab.
3. Click Add a Server and enter your server's IP and query port.
4. Once it appears, you can connect from there.

This is handy as a backup, but most of the time the in-game browser works fine.

Friend Spawn Codes

Evrima has a spawn code system so friends can group up when joining. Once you're in-game, you can generate a spawn code and share it so someone else spawns near you. Worth noting – this only works for baby dinosaurs. Once you've grown, you'll need to find each other the old-fashioned way.

Step 4: Verify Everything Works

After you connect, run through a quick checklist:

Does your server show up in the in-game browser? Good. Can a friend join? Even better. Are your settings actually applied – growth rates, dinosaur roster, that kind of thing? Check those too.

If you've set up RCON, test that as well. One thing to be aware of: Evrima uses its own RCON protocol, so standard tools like mcrcon won't work. You'll need an Evrima-compatible RCON client like TheIsleEvrimaRCON.

Things to Do After Setup

Sort Out Admin Access

Get familiar with RCON commands early. You'll need them for kicking troublemakers, tweaking settings on the fly, and general server management. Our settings guide has a full list of what's available.

Tweak Growth Rates

Growth speed is probably the single biggest thing that affects how your server feels to play on. Too slow and people get bored waiting hours to reach adulthood. Too fast and there's no sense of progression. I'd suggest starting somewhere in the middle and adjusting based on what your players tell you.

Set Server Rules

It's worth deciding on rules early, before your community gets big enough for drama. The usual ones people go with:

No KOS (Kill on Sight) rules, where players have to interact before fighting. Growth-stage restrictions on who can hunt who. Nesting area protections. Rules about mixpacking – whether herbivores and carnivores can hang out together. Not every server needs all of these, but having something written down saves arguments later.

Enable Backups

Your LOW.MS server has backup functionality built in. Check Cloud Backup and Cloud Restore in your control panel sidebar to make sure they're set up. You'll be glad you did the first time something goes sideways.

Common First-Time Issues

Server not in the browser? Give it a few minutes after starting – it takes a bit to register. If it still doesn't show, check that your server has fully booted by looking at Log Viewer in your control panel.

Can't connect at all? Make sure you're using the right IP and port, and that you're actually running Evrima, not Legacy. This is the number one issue people hit.

RCON not responding? Double-check you're using an Evrima-compatible client and that your RCON port and password are correct.

Performance issues? If you're running a high player count, you might benefit from more RAM. The Isle is pretty memory-hungry.

Our troubleshooting guide covers these and more in detail.

What's Next

Once you're up and running, the settings guide is worth reading through – it covers every config option, RCON commands, and gameplay tweaks you can make. And if you run into problems down the line, the troubleshooting guide should have you covered. If not, our support team is always happy to help.