Join a Terraria serverJoin the server via IP & port

Published on August 4, 2026 · last updated on November 3, 2026

Find IP and port

Every server at MainHoster.de has a fixed address made up of IP and port. You find both in the web interface after ordering. Terraria's default port is 7777; what counts is always the port shown in the panel. You need IP and port together to connect.

Why the port is not a minor detail: on a game server system, several servers share the same IP address. Only the port says which of them is meant. Both together make up the fixed server address, usually written in the form 123.123.123.123:7777 - even though Terraria asks for them separately when joining.

The 7777 is only Terraria's default. What counts is the port shown next to your server in the web interface; the same value belongs in the serverconfig.txt. Anyone who guesses the default instead of checking ends up with a connection attempt that goes nowhere without a message - that is the most common reason for "nothing happens" on the first join.

Join via IP

1. Start Terraria and choose a character.
2. In the menu, click Multiplayer and then Join via IP.
3. Enter the IP, then the port (e.g. 7777) and - if set - the password.
4. The server loads the world and you are in.

Which character you bring along

Unlike in many other games, your character does not live on the server. Terraria separates the two cleanly: the world sits with the server, the character including equipment and inventory stays locally with you. That is why you choose it before joining, and why you take it with you when you switch to another server.

Two practical consequences follow. First, you do not lose collected equipment if the server goes down - it sits in your local character file. What you can lose is what lies in the world: builds, chest contents, world progress. That is exactly what a backup of the world file is for, see create backups.

Second, Journey characters and normal characters cannot be mixed. A Journey character only gets into Journey worlds, a normal one only into Classic, Expert and Master worlds. If your server runs in Journey mode, all players therefore need a matching character - what looks like a connection error from the outside is often just that. Details under Journey mode.

Join with tModLoader

If your server is a tModLoader server, start tModLoader on your PC instead of normal Terraria. Make sure you have the same tModLoader version and the same mods enabled as the server - only then does joining work. Otherwise, the way is identical: Multiplayer → Join via IP.

From a phone and via Steam

Two ways are searched for regularly and do not work as expected. The first: Terraria Mobile does not play together with a PC server. The mobile version and the desktop version are separate products with their own network protocol - joining via IP is not possible from there, regardless of the version.

The second: the Steam friends list only shows servers that someone hosts from within the game. A dedicated server never appears there, even if it runs perfectly. That is not a bug but the difference between the two kinds of hosting - and exactly the reason why a dedicated server keeps running when you go offline. With us, the way always leads via Join via IP.

The same applies to consoles as to mobile: the console versions cannot join dedicated PC servers.

What your fellow players need from you

Most failed joins can be avoided by giving your fellow players everything right away instead of just the address. Four pieces of information are enough:

• IP and port from the web interface, ideally written down separately - Terraria asks for them one after the other anyway.
• The password, if one is set in the configuration. How to set and change it is explained under make your server private.
• The server variant: for Vanilla and TShock, players start normal Terraria; for tModLoader, the tModLoader client. Players do not notice TShock - to them, it behaves like Vanilla.
• With tModLoader, the mod list including versions, most easily as a copy of the enabled.json.

A fifth point comes up after every Terraria update: everyone has to be on the same game version. Steam updates the client automatically, while the server stays where it is - whoever tests first after a patch notices before the group does. How to catch up is explained in update the server.

Connection does not work?

• Is the server running? Check the status in the panel.
• IP & port exact? Enter both together, always the port from the panel.
• Same version? Server and client have to use the same Terraria or tModLoader version.
• Identical mods? With tModLoader, server and client mods have to match.

The error message tells you fairly precisely where to look. "Lost connection" right when connecting usually means: wrong port, or the server is restarting. "You are not using the same version" is unambiguous - Terraria has updated on one side, see update the server. And if nothing further happens after the password prompt, the password from the serverconfig.txt is wrong.

A special case with tModLoader: it is not enough to own the same mods - they also have to be enabled and present in the same version. A single mod that only the server has loaded prevents joining. The server names the mod in question if you read the message in full.

If none of this helps, continue in more detail under fix connection problems.

Frequently asked questions