Install Valheim mods via BepInExFramework, plugins folder and matching versions

Published on September 2, 2026 · last updated on October 21, 2026

Why a framework at all?

Valheim has no built-in mod support. BepInEx sits between the game and the mods: it hooks in at startup and loads everything in the plugins folder. That is why it is not a mod itself, but the prerequisite for all the others.

On the server, the same logic applies as on the client - with one important difference: the server only needs the mods that actually affect the game world. Pure display or comfort mods that only act on the player's side do not belong on the server.

Server mod or client mod?

This distinction saves a lot of trouble. Roughly speaking:

• Both sides - everything that changes the world: new building pieces, changed values, additional content. The server and all players need the mod.
• Player only - map extensions, displays, camera settings. The server stays out of it.
• Server only - rare, for example administration tools.

The page of each mod usually states which applies. If in doubt, it belongs on both sides - that is the safe way.

Installation step by step

1. Switch the server type to BepInEx. In the game server panel, choose BepInEx under server type and confirm - the framework is set up without you touching a single file. You can follow the progress live and open the install log while it runs.
2. Start once and stop again. This creates the folder structure, including the plugins folder.
3. Put the mods in place. Place the mod files in the plugins folder - via WebFTP or, faster for many files, via SFTP.
4. Start and check. At startup, BepInEx reports in the console which mods it has loaded - the most reliable check.

If a mod comes with its own configuration file, it is usually created at the first start. Only then can you adjust it. And for all file work, the same rule still applies: stop the server first.

Switching the server type: Vanilla, BepInEx, Valheim Plus

Elsewhere, setting up the framework is the tedious part: find the right version, unpack it, move it into the server folder, adjust the start command. With us, it is one item in the panel. Three server types are available for Valheim - Vanilla, BepInEx and Valheim Plus - and you switch between them yourself, without a ticket and without waiting. Before the switch, a dialog describes what happens to world, mods and configuration.

What makes up your group's server is kept: your world and your settings - world name, server name, password, crossplay switch and backup intervals are unchanged after the switch. So you are not setting up the server again, you are only swapping the foundation.

The practical side effect: this lets you switch mods on and off. If you switch to Vanilla, no mods run any more without you having to delete anything; switch back to BepInEx and they are back. That is exactly the clean way after a Valheim update - Iron Gate does not guarantee mod support, and after a big patch it usually takes a few days until the mod authors have caught up. Start unmodified first, check that everyone gets back in, then bring the mods back. The switch is also worth its weight in gold for troubleshooting: if it is unclear whether a mod or the world itself is causing the problem, a quick switch to Vanilla separates the two cases in a minute - see Fix connection problems.

Valheim Plus is the third type and is meant for everyone who does not want to put together their own mod collection, but rather run a well-known all-in-one solution. The basic rule applies here unchanged as well: whatever runs on the server has to run in the same version for all players. And because you work as a team: the right to change the server type can be granted to individual members specifically, without anyone needing your main login.

The one rule: the same version everywhere

By far the most common mistake on modded Valheim servers is not the installation, but a version mismatch. If the server and the players do not use exactly the same mod in the same version, either joining fails or strange errors appear in the world.

In practice, that means:

• Agree within the group before updating a mod and switch together.
• Keep a simple list of which mods are in use in which version.
• After a Valheim update, check whether all mods fit it - some take a few days.

Anyone who joins later gets the list and installs exactly those versions. What to do if it still gets stuck is explained in Fix connection problems.

What mods cost the server

Mods are the second big factor for resource requirements - alongside world size. Building-piece extensions weigh in particularly heavily because they end up in the world and are permanently part of the calculation.

For a vanilla group, a small plan is enough; for an ambitious mod collection, you should go one level higher - the tiers are listed on the product page. Raising the player limit beyond ten, by the way, also works via a server mod.

Removing mods

Careful: whatever was built with a mod disappears with it. A removed building-piece mod leaves gaps in bases - in the worst case a roof collapses because the supporting structure is missing.

That is why every change to the mod list should come with a backup of the world files, see Create backups. And the basic rule: agree on the mod list at the start of a round - adding is usually harmless, removing rarely is.

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