Run a server on Linux

The Enshrouded dedicated server exists for Windows only. A Linux host runs it under Proton. The settings on this page remove most of the time Proton adds.

Install the server with Enshwick

1. Install the dedicated server with SteamCMD, app 2278520.
2. Install Enshwick into the folder that holds enshrouded_server.exe.
3. Start the server through Proton with WINEDLLOVERRIDES="powrprof=n,b" in its environment. Proton then loads the powrprof.dll of Enshwick.

Use a kernel with ntsync

Run Linux 6.14 or newer with the ntsync module loaded. Proton 11 and GE-Proton 11 use it without extra settings. With it, the waits between game threads take much less time.

1. Load the module: sudo modprobe ntsync.
2. Check that /dev/ntsync exists.
3. In a container, pass the device through, such as --device /dev/ntsync for Docker.

Turn off Wine’s debug output

Set WINEDEBUG=-all in the server’s environment. Wine then writes no debug lines. These lines cost time on a busy server.

Keep the server on the same cores

Give the server its own CPU cores, so that other programs do not move it between cores.

• With systemd, set CPUAffinity= in the service’s unit.
• With Docker, use --cpuset-cpus.
• Without either, start the server with taskset -c <cores>.

WINE_CPU_TOPOLOGY sets which cores the game sees. Use it when the game must see fewer cores than the host has.

Let the CPU run at full speed

Set the CPU frequency governor to performance, so that the cores do not slow down between busy moments: sudo cpupower frequency-set -g performance.

Check the result

At start, the Optimizer mod writes one line into logs/enshwick/mods/enshwick.optimizer.log. The line names the Wine version, the kernel, the fast waits it found, the governor and the CPUs the game saw. With ntsync in place, it reads /dev/ntsync present. Each missing setting gets a line of advice.

For a server in Docker or Kubernetes, see Running a server in Docker or Kubernetes.