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Run SteamCMD’s app_update 376030 command before every ARK: Survival Evolved server start. On Linux, put that command in systemd’s ExecStartPre; on Windows, place it immediately before the launch command in a batch file. Back up ShooterGame/Saved, test the sequence during a maintenance window, and only then allow the service to restart unattended.
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What automatic updating does—and what it does not do
An ARK dedicated server does not patch itself while its server process is running. Automatic updating means that a startup procedure stops (or has not yet started) the game process, runs SteamCMD, downloads any files assigned to the dedicated-server branch, and launches the server only if the update step succeeds. The mechanism is SteamCMD and the dedicated-server application ID is 376030.
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This approach checks for updates whenever the server starts. It therefore covers a manual restart, a reboot, and a service restart after a crash. It does not, by itself, wake a server that has been left running indefinitely and restart it on a schedule. If you need regular update checks while the server is normally online, add a separately tested maintenance scheduler that stops the server, runs the same startup procedure, and starts it again.
Before you automate anything
Choose and record one server directory
SteamCMD must update the same directory from which the server executable is launched. Pick a permanent location and use it consistently in every script and service definition. The examples below use /home/steam/servers/ark on Linux. On Windows, substitute the full path you selected, such as D:ARKServer; do not mix a download directory with a different launch directory.
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- Use cunning strategy and tactics to tame, train, ride and breed the 100+ dinosaurs and other primeval creatures roaming the dynamic, persistent ecosystems across land, sea, air, and even underground Build your character's strengths and gain items, skills, and pet creatures using in-depth role-playing systems
- Start a tribe with hundreds of other players to survive and dominate competing tribes...and ultimately discover ARK's true purpose
- Build a fire or shelter, then craft customizable clothing & armors to help protect against damage and extreme temperatures on your way to unlocking advanced technologies and equipment
- Chop down trees and mine metal and other precious resources to build massive multi-leveled structures composed of complex snap-linked parts
Install SteamCMD and verify a manual update
Install SteamCMD using the package or archive appropriate for your operating system. Before creating an unattended service, run one interactive update with the exact app ID:
steamcmd +force_install_dir <install_dir> +login anonymous +app_update 376030 +quitReplace <install_dir> with the absolute server directory. Wait for SteamCMD to exit, then confirm that the directory contains ShooterGame/Binaries/Linux/ShooterGameServer on Linux or the corresponding Windows executable. A manual run exposes missing libraries, permissions, disk-space problems, and an incorrect path while you can still see the console.
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Make a restorable copy of ShooterGame/Saved before enabling unattended updates. The official dedicated-server documentation identifies this directory as containing world saves, player and tribe data, configuration, logs, and cluster data. Stop the server before copying it so files are not changing during the backup. Keep at least one copy outside the live server directory; a backup stored beside the files being updated does not protect you from an accidental deletion of the whole installation.
Define a maintenance window and a rollback plan
Players are disconnected when the process is stopped, and a new build may require a client update before anyone can reconnect. Tell players when restarts occur, retain the previous backup, and decide who will disable automatic restarts if an update fails. Test both a successful update and a deliberate failure (for example, temporarily pointing the script at a nonexistent SteamCMD path) so you know that the server stays stopped rather than launching a partially updated installation.
Linux: update before every systemd start
systemd’s ExecStartPre is the cleanest Linux integration. It runs SteamCMD first; only when that command returns success does systemd execute ShooterGameServer. The documented pattern is:
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- Capture and Tame Dinosaurs: Discover over 100 different dinosaurs and prehistoric creatures on the island, finding ways to tame them into useful additions for your tribe's dino herd
- Survive Above All: Hunger, thirst, basic safety, and protecting yourself from the weather are all part of the game
- Harvest, Hunt and Build: Cut down trees and turn them into a basic home, which you can quickly expand into a Jurassic estate. Hunt for meat, scavenge for plants (or start your own garden!)
- Customize Everything: An extensive crafting system invites you to mix and match materials scavenged from the island, while also modifying the colors, textures, shapes, and styles
- Explore the Island: Solve the mystery of The ARK as you explore this massive island, discovering Explorer's Notebooks (filled with clues!) throughout
[Service]
ExecStartPre=/home/steam/steamcmd +force_install_dir /home/steam/servers/ark +login anonymous +app_update 376030 +quit
ExecStart=/home/steam/servers/ark/ShooterGame/Binaries/Linux/ShooterGameServer TheIsland?SessionName=<session_name>Save the service as a unit such as /etc/systemd/system/ark.service. Replace the paths and session name. A production unit should also identify the account that owns the files and define a restart policy:
[Unit]
Description=ARK Survival Evolved dedicated server
Wants=network-online.target
After=network-online.target
[Service]
User=steam
WorkingDirectory=/home/steam/servers/ark
ExecStartPre=/home/steam/steamcmd +force_install_dir /home/steam/servers/ark +login anonymous +app_update 376030 +quit
ExecStart=/home/steam/servers/ark/ShooterGame/Binaries/Linux/ShooterGameServer TheIsland?SessionName=<session_name>
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=15
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.targetThe update command is deliberately before the game command. If SteamCMD exits with an error, systemd does not proceed to ExecStart; inspect the journal, correct the cause, and start the service again. Restart=on-failure is useful for a crash after a successful update, but it should not be used to hide a persistent update failure.
Enable and test the unit
- Reload unit files:
sudo systemctl daemon-reload. - Start the service interactively:
sudo systemctl start ark.service. - Check its state:
sudo systemctl status ark.service. - Read the combined SteamCMD and server output:
sudo journalctl -u ark.service -b. - After confirming a clean start, enable it at boot:
sudo systemctl enable ark.service.
For a controlled update test, stop the service, run sudo systemctl start ark.service, and watch the journal from another terminal with sudo journalctl -fu ark.service. You should see SteamCMD authenticate anonymously, process app_update 376030, exit, and then the server executable start. Test a reboot only after this manual restart works.
Linux permissions and path checks
- The account named by
User=must be able to execute SteamCMD and read, write, and create files in the server directory. - The path in
ExecStartPremust point to the actual SteamCMD executable, not a shell alias that exists only in your interactive profile. - The path in
ExecStartmust point to the binary inside the directory passed to+force_install_dir. - Keep the unit’s
WorkingDirectoryat the server root so relative configuration and save paths resolve as expected. - Do not run two update processes against the same directory. A second SteamCMD instance can contend for files and leave the launch step incomplete.
Windows: chain SteamCMD and the server in a batch file
Windows setup documentation uses a batch file or shell script to run SteamCMD and then launch the server. Create a file such as update-and-start.bat outside the live save directory. Use absolute paths and quote paths that contain spaces:
@echo off
set STEAMCMD=C:steamcmdsteamcmd.exe
set ARKDIR=D:ARKServer
"%STEAMCMD%" +force_install_dir "%ARKDIR%" +login anonymous +app_update 376030 +quit
if errorlevel 1 (
echo SteamCMD update failed with exit code %errorlevel%.
exit /b %errorlevel%
)
start "ARK server" "%ARKDIR%ShooterGameBinariesWin64ShooterGameServer.exe" TheIsland?SessionName=<session_name>
The conditional exit is important: a failed update must not be followed by a launch of an unknown or partially updated state. Replace C:steamcmdsteamcmd.exe, D:ARKServer, the map, and the session name. If your installation uses a different executable location, use the path created by your server installation rather than copying this example unchanged.
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- Capture and Tame Dinosaurs: Discover over 100 different dinosaurs and prehistoric creatures on the island, finding ways to tame them into useful additions for your tribe's dino herd
- Survive Above All: Hunger, thirst, basic safety and protecting yourself from the weather are all part of the game. Run too far and not only will you be exhausted, but you will also quickly get hungry and thirsty. Weather effects are based on real-world climates, and so you'll need to hide out from rain and snow, while making the most of sunny days
- Harvest, Hunt and Build: Cut down trees and turn them into a basic home, which you can quickly expand into a Jurassic estate. Hunt for meat, scavenge for plants (or start your own garden!)
- Gather Resources, Customize Everything: An extensive crafting system invites you to mix and match materials scavenged from the island, while also modifying the colors, textures, shapes and style of everything from the walls of your home, to your character's armor, weapons and more
- Explore the Island: Solve the mystery of The ARK as you explore this massive island, discovering Explorer's Notebooks (filled with clues!) throughout. Make your way to the final boss and figure out why you've been dropped into this Jurassic-era experience
Run the batch file manually first
- Open Command Prompt in an account that can write to the server directory.
- Run the batch file and leave the window visible.
- Confirm that SteamCMD completes
app_update 376030before the server window appears. - Stop the server normally, run the batch file a second time, and verify that it checks the installation without downloading unchanged files.
- Only after two clean runs should you create a shortcut, scheduled task, or service wrapper that starts this batch file at boot.
When using Windows Task Scheduler, set the task to run whether or not a user is logged on, select an account with write access to both SteamCMD and the ARK directory, and configure the task to start in the directory containing the batch file. Keep the batch file’s error check so a scheduled run cannot silently start after a failed update.
Preventing data loss during unattended updates
SteamCMD updates program files; your highest-value data remains under ShooterGame/Saved. A practical backup sequence is:
- Stop the ARK service or server process.
- Copy
ShooterGame/Savedto storage outside the live installation. - Record the backup date and the server’s map, session name, and configuration files.
- Run SteamCMD with
app_update 376030. - Start the server and verify that the expected world, players, tribes, and settings are present.
Do not copy a backup over the live directory while the server is running. If an update introduces a startup problem, stop the process, preserve the failed installation for diagnosis, restore the saved data and the known-good server files you retained, and disable unattended restarts until the cause is understood.
How to observe and verify an automatic update
What a healthy startup looks like
- The service starts only after networking and the SteamCMD executable are available.
- SteamCMD uses
+login anonymousand targets app ID376030. - The update command exits successfully.
- The server executable starts from the same directory SteamCMD updated.
- The service remains active and the server is reachable after the restart.
What to log
On Linux, use the systemd journal as the single timeline for ExecStartPre and ExecStart. On Windows, redirect batch output to a dated text log or retain the console window for the first several runs. Record the timestamp, SteamCMD exit code, and whether the server loaded the expected save. These records distinguish a download failure from a game-process crash.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
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Launching SteamCMD against an active installation can replace binaries while they are in use and can create an inconsistent state. Automatic updating should therefore be tied to a stop-and-start operation. A periodic scheduler, if you add one, must stop the server, wait for the process to exit, run the tested update command, and start the server only after SteamCMD succeeds.
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- Capture and Tame Dinosaurs: Discover over 100 different dinosaurs and prehistoric creatures on the island, finding ways to tame them into useful additions for your tribe's dino herd
- Survive Above All: Hunger, thirst, basic safety, and protecting yourself from the weather are all part of the game
- Harvest, Hunt and Build: Cut down trees and turn them into a basic home, which you can quickly expand into a Jurassic estate. Hunt for meat, scavenge for plants (or start your own garden!)
- Customize Everything: An extensive crafting system invites you to mix and match materials scavenged from the island, while also modifying the colors, textures, shapes, and styles
- Explore the Island: Solve the mystery of The ARK as you explore this massive island, discovering Explorer's Notebooks (filled with clues!) throughout
Troubleshooting common failures
SteamCMD command not found
Use an absolute executable path in systemd or the batch file. Interactive shell configuration is not inherited by system services, and a scheduled Windows task may use a different PATH than your desktop session.
Permission denied or files cannot be written
Give the service account ownership or write permission for the SteamCMD installation and the ARK server directory. Check that the directory is not read-only and that another account is not holding files open. Run the command once as the intended service account, not only as an administrator.
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The service starts the old build
Compare the directory in +force_install_dir with the directory in ExecStart or the Windows launch line. A perfectly successful update is useless if the launch command points to a second copy. Search the service definition and scripts for duplicate ARK paths and remove stale installations from the startup chain.
SteamCMD fails and the server still launches
On Linux, keep SteamCMD in ExecStartPre; systemd will block ExecStart when the prerequisite returns a failure. On Windows, retain the batch file’s if errorlevel 1 branch and use exit /b. Avoid wrappers that discard the SteamCMD exit code.
The update appears to hang
Check the service log for network errors, authentication output, disk-space warnings, or a SteamCMD process already running in the same directory. Stop duplicate SteamCMD instances, verify outbound network access, and rerun the command interactively. Do not repeatedly restart the game until SteamCMD has completed or clearly failed.
Players cannot connect after the restart
First confirm that the process is running and that it loaded the intended map and session name. Then check whether the server and clients are on compatible builds; an automatic update can make the server newer while players still have the previous client version. If the server fails before loading the save, stop it, review the startup log, and use the backup and known-good files prepared before automation.
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The server restarts in a loop
A loop can result from a persistent SteamCMD failure combined with an aggressive restart policy, or from the game process crashing immediately after launch. Review the first failure in the journal or batch log, temporarily disable automatic restart, and fix the underlying path, permission, network, or installation issue before re-enabling it.
Self-hosting versus managed ARK hosting
Running SteamCMD and systemd or Windows scripts yourself gives you direct control over files, mods, configuration, backups, and the exact maintenance window. It also makes you responsible for operating-system updates, firewall and account security, storage, monitoring, and diagnosing failed updates. Managed hosting can handle the machine and service lifecycle for you, but the available control, backup policy, update timing, regions, and mod support depend on the provider and plan.
| Decision area | Self-hosted server | Managed hosting |
|---|---|---|
| Files and mods | Full access to installation, configuration, saves, and mod workflow. | Access varies by control panel and provider policy. |
| Operating-system administration | You install and maintain SteamCMD, the OS, security updates, and the service. | The provider generally maintains the host; your panel permissions may be limited. |
| Backups | You schedule, verify, and store copies of ShooterGame/Saved. |
Backup frequency, retention, and restore controls must be confirmed in the plan. |
| Maintenance-window control | You choose exactly when the stop, update, and restart happen. | Controls depend on the provider’s update and restart tools. |
| Update-failure visibility | Direct SteamCMD output, exit codes, and system logs are available. | You may see only panel status or provider support messages. |
| Cost | Uses your existing hardware or virtual machine plus power, storage, and administration time; no universal total can be stated. | Monthly pricing, deposits, limits, cancellation terms, and included backups vary and must be checked before purchase. |
| Geographic latency | You select the machine location and network path. | Choose from the provider’s available regions; verify the location serves your players. |
If you do not want to maintain SteamCMD, operating-system updates, backups, and service logs, a category-level ARK server hosting plan is the alternative. Confirm current ARK: Survival Evolved support, region, save access, mod support, update controls, backup restoration, pricing, and cancellation terms directly with any provider before committing.
Quick Recap
A safe operating checklist
- SteamCMD is installed and its absolute path is recorded.
- The server directory passed to
+force_install_diris the directory launched by the service or batch file. - The command uses
+login anonymous +app_update 376030 +quit. ShooterGame/Savedhas a recent copy outside the live directory.- The service account can read and write the installation.
- The update step blocks launch when it fails.
- Logs show SteamCMD finishing before the game executable starts.
- A maintenance window and player notification procedure are documented.
- You have tested a clean restart, a failed update, and restoration of a backup.
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