How to Join Your Terraria tShock Server

tShock runs entirely on the server side. That is why you connect with the completely normal Terraria client, exactly like on a regular Terraria server: there is no in-game server browser for dedicated servers, you connect directly using the IP address and the port of your server.

Find connection details

Important

To connect you need the IP address and the Game Port of your server. You can find both in the dashboard of your server. tShock only uses a single port over TCP – there is no Query Port.

Via Join via IP

1. Start Terraria
   Launch Terraria on your PC.

2. Open Multiplayer
   Select Multiplayer in the main menu.

3. Select Join via IP
   Click on Join via IP.

4. Select your character
   Choose the character you want to play with on the server.

5. Enter the IP address
   Enter the IP address of your server – without the port:

   Example

   123.45.67.89

6. Enter the port
   In the next field, enter the Game Port shown in the dashboard of your server.

7. Connect
   Confirm your input to join the server. If a password is set on the server, you will be prompted for it afterwards.

Note

The options Join and Join via Steam in the multiplayer menu are meant for games hosted by a friend directly from within the game. For your dedicated server you always need Join via IP.

Logging in on the server

By default a tShock server does not require a login – you get onto the server without an account and play just like on a regular Terraria server.

Once you have created an account, you log in through the in-game chat:

/login <username> <password>

Tip

To learn how to create an account with admin rights, see Add Admin.

Server password

Note

The server password of a tShock server is not part of the dashboard, it is the value ServerPassword in the file /tshock/config.json. If nothing is entered there, anyone can join without a password. After a change the command reload in the server console is enough – a restart is not required.

Common reasons why joining fails

Caution

The client and the server have to run the same Terraria version. Every tShock version is built for one specific Terraria version; if your game version does not match, the server rejects the connection with a version message. Which tShock version gets installed is controlled by the tShock Version field in the dashboard.

Important

A tShock server is joined with the normal Terraria client – not with the tModLoader client. The other way around, the normal client cannot join a tModLoader server. For a tModLoader server you need the matching server type: Join Terraria tModLoader server.