Solutions for common Terraria dedicated server issues, including startup failures, connection problems, mod errors, and world corruption. For server configuration basics, see Terraria Server Setup Guide.
Server Starts but World Does Not Load
Check that the world path in serverconfig.txt exactly matches the filename in the saves/Worlds/ directory, including capitalisation. The path is case-sensitive on Linux servers.
# Correct — matches actual filename
world=/home/container/saves/Worlds/MyWorld.wld
# Wrong — case mismatch will fail
world=/home/container/saves/Worlds/myworld.wld
If the file does not exist at all and you want a new world created automatically, set the autocreate value in serverconfig.txt to 1 (Small), 2 (Medium), or 3 (Large).
Cannot Connect — Connection Refused or Timeout
Confirm the server is running in GPanel and that you are using the correct IP and port shown on the connection details page. See How to Find Your Server IP and Port if you are unsure.
Other things to check:
- Make sure the server has fully started — watch the console log for the "Listening on port..." message before attempting to connect.
- If you recently changed the port in
serverconfig.txt, revert it. The panel assigns your port automatically; changing it may cause a mismatch. - Verify your local firewall or antivirus is not blocking outbound connections from Terraria.
Password Prompt Does Not Appear / Wrong Password Error
If you set a password in serverconfig.txt, make sure there are no extra spaces around the value. The line should read exactly password=yourpassword with no quotes and no trailing spaces.
# Correct
password=mysecretpass
# Wrong — extra spaces will be included in the password
password= mysecretpass
password=mysecretpass Mods Not Loading on tModLoader Server
- Confirm the
.tmodfiles are in themods/directory, not a subdirectory inside it. - Check that the tModLoader version on the server matches the tModLoader version the mods were built for. Outdated mods will not load on newer tModLoader versions.
- Review the server console log in GPanel for specific error messages from tModLoader during startup.
For full mod installation instructions, see Terraria Mod Installation (tModLoader).
Difficulty Setting Has No Effect (tModLoader)
On tModLoader servers, the difficulty line in serverconfig.txt must not start with a # character. A commented-out line such as #difficulty=0 is ignored by tModLoader, meaning the difficulty may default to Normal regardless of the value.
# This is IGNORED by tModLoader:
#difficulty=0
# This is applied correctly:
difficulty=0
difficulty setting only applies when a new world is being created via autocreate. It cannot change the difficulty of an existing world file.
World Corruption After Switching Between Vanilla and tModLoader
Always use separate world files for vanilla and tModLoader sessions. If you loaded a tModLoader world in vanilla and it is now corrupted, the safest recovery option is to restore from a backup.
Server Crashes on Startup
A malformed serverconfig.txt or a missing world file are the most common causes of startup crashes. Steps to diagnose:
- Open the console log in GPanel and look for the first error line.
- Double-check all paths and values in
serverconfig.txt. - If you recently installed mods, try removing them from the
mods/directory to see if the server starts without them. - If the crash persists with no mods and a clean config, open a support ticket.
Related Articles
- Terraria Server Setup Guide — Server configuration, world setup, and connecting
- Terraria Mod Installation (tModLoader) — Installing and managing mods
- How to Find Your Server IP and Port
- How to Upload Files via SFTP
