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What is Terraria? A Beginner's Introduction

Welcome to the world of Terraria! If you're completely new to the game, think of it as a 2D action-adventure sandbox. Your goal is to explore a vast, randomly generated world, dig for treasure and resources, craft powerful weapons and armor, build amazing structures, and fight a huge variety of creatures and epic bosses.

  • Dig, Fight, Explore, Build: These are the four pillars of the game.
  • Progression: Defeating certain bosses unlocks new challenges and content, making the world evolve as you play.
  • Multiplayer: Terraria is even more fun with friends, and hosting a server is the best way to create a persistent world that you and your community can build in together.

Choosing Your Terraria Server Type

We offer several ways to play, each designed for a different experience. Choosing the right server type from the start is key to enjoying your time with friends.

Vanilla

This is the official, unmodified version of the Terraria server. It provides the pure, intended gameplay experience exactly as the developers designed it. It's stable and straightforward but does not support any kind of mods or plugins.

  • Best for: A standard survival playthrough with friends who want the authentic Terraria experience.

TShock

Think of TShock as the "PaperMC of Terraria". It's a powerful server modification that allows you to use plugins. Plugins are server-side additions, meaning players don't need to install anything to enjoy their features. They provide powerful admin tools, anti-cheat capabilities, new commands (like /home or /warp), and advanced server management features.

  • Best for: Creating a managed server with rules, ranks, and admin commands. Perfect for building larger communities where you need control over the gameplay environment.

TModLoader

Think of TModLoader as the "Forge of Terraria". This version allows you to play with game-changing mods that add new items, bosses, biomes, and entirely new mechanics. Mods are client-side, meaning every player must have them installed. It's the ultimate way to customize your gameplay content.

  • Best for: Playing with custom content like the famous Calamity Mod and experiencing Terraria in a completely new way.
  • Important: To join a TModLoader server, every player must also have TModLoader and the exact same mods installed on their computer via Steam.

How to Join Your Server

Once your server is running, players can connect in two main ways.

Join via Steam (Easiest Method)

If you and your friends are on each other's Steam friends list, this is the simplest way to connect.

  1. Start Terraria on your computer.
  2. Open your Steam Overlay (usually Shift+Tab).
  3. Find your friend in the friends list, right-click their name, and click "Join Game".

Join via IP Address

This method works for anyone, even if they aren't on your friends list.

  1. In the control panel, find your server's IP and Port on the main page. The default port for Terraria is 7777.
  2. In Terraria's main menu, click "Multiplayer", then "Join via IP".
  3. Select your character, enter the Server IP address, and then enter the Port.
  4. Click "Accept" to connect.

Using TShock (Plugins)

Plugins add powerful admin and management tools to your TShock server.

Becoming a Server Admin

The first time you start a TShock server, you need to make yourself an admin to use commands.

Find Your Setup Code

Start your TShock server and watch the "Console" in the control panel. When it's starting for the first time, it will print a special setup code. It will look something like this: To setup the server, join the game and type /setup CODE, where CODE is a number.

Use the Code In-Game

Join your server via IP. Once in-game, open the chat window and type /setup YOUR_CODE (replacing YOUR_CODE with the number from the console). This will temporarily make you a "Super Admin".

Create a Permanent Admin Account

Now that you have temporary power, you need to create a permanent account. Type the following commands into the game chat:

  1. /user add YOUR_USERNAME YOUR_PASSWORD superadmin (This creates a user account for you).
  2. /login YOUR_USERNAME YOUR_PASSWORD (This logs you into your new account).

You are now a permanent admin! The next time you join, you just need to use the /login command.

Installing Plugins

  1. Download a Plugin: Find plugins from the official TShock GitHub Releases or their community forums. You will download a .dll file.
  2. Upload to ServerPlugins Folder: In your server's File Manager, navigate to the /ServerPlugins folder. Upload the .dll file you downloaded into this directory.
  3. Restart your Server: Restart the server to load the new plugin. You can now use any commands the plugin adds.

Using TModLoader (Mods)

Unlike Minecraft, Terraria mods are managed almost entirely in-game through the Steam Workshop. The server owner enables mods, and all other players must subscribe to those same mods to join.

Important: All players, including the server owner, must have TModLoader installed via Steam to play on a modded server.

Recommended Starter Mods

If you're new to modded Terraria, this is a fantastic "starter pack" that dramatically improves the experience:

  • Calamity Mod: A massive content mod that adds hundreds of new items, dozens of new bosses, and new biomes. It's one of the most popular mods of all time.
  • Magic Storage: A quality-of-life mod that provides a central network for all your storage chests, making item organization a breeze.
  • Boss Checklist: An informational mod that gives you a clear in-game list of which bosses you need to fight next, how to summon them, and what loot they drop.

How to Install Mods on Your Server

Create and Upload Your Mod List

The server needs a file to know which mods to download from the Steam Workshop. The easiest way is to create this list on your own computer first.

  1. Launch TModLoader on your PC from Steam.
  2. From the main menu, go to "Workshop" > "Manage Mods".
  3. Click "Enable All" for the mods you want, or enable them one by one.
  4. This process automatically creates a file named enabled.json on your computer. Find it by going to "Workshop" > "Mod Packs" > "Open Mod Packs Folder". It will be inside the "Local" folder.
  5. Upload this enabled.json file to your server's File Manager. Place it inside the /tModLoader/mods directory.

Restart and Let Mods Download

Restart your server. Watch the console. The server will now automatically detect the enabled.json file and begin downloading all the listed mods from the Steam Workshop. This can take some time for large mods like Calamity.

Players Subscribe to Mods

All players who wish to join must now go to the Steam Workshop for TModLoader and subscribe to the exact same list of mods that you enabled on the server. Once they have subscribed and Steam has downloaded the mods, they will be able to join your server via the IP address.

Uploading a Custom World

You can easily use a world from your single-player game or one you've downloaded.

Find Your World File

Terraria worlds are stored on your PC as single files ending in .wld. You can typically find them in your Documents folder at: %userprofile%/Documents/My Games/Terraria/Worlds.

Upload the World File

In the control panel's File Manager, navigate to the folder where worlds are stored. Based on the standard Pterodactyl egg, this should be /.local/share/Terraria/Worlds/. Upload your .wld file into this folder.

Can't find the folder? If that folder path doesn't exist, your server egg might use a simpler /worlds folder in the main directory.

Change the Startup Variable

The final step is to tell the server which world to load. Go to the "Startup" tab in the control panel. You should see a list of variables. Find the variable named something like "World File Name" or WORLD_FILENAME. Change its value to be the exact name of your world file, including the .wld extension (e.g., MyAwesomeWorld.wld).

Restart Your Server

Restart the server. It will now boot up using your custom world!