How to Update Your Barotrauma Server
Update your Barotrauma server safely with SteamCMD. Covers version mismatch errors, mod compatibility checks, and pre-update backups.
Before You Update
Do this every time, no exceptions:
- Stop the server — never update a running server
- Back up your saves — copy
Servers/<ServerName>/Saves/somewhere safe
Barotrauma updates occasionally change the save file format. An older save may not load on a newer server version. The backup is your only fallback if the update breaks something.
Updating via SteamCMD
login anonymous
app_update 1026340 validate
quit
The validate flag checks file integrity in addition to downloading updates. It takes a bit longer but catches corrupted files. Worth running, especially after a major update.
After the Update
Restart the server and check the console output for errors. If it starts cleanly, you're good.
Check client versions. The client and server must run the same game version. Clients who haven't updated yet will see a "Version mismatch" error when connecting. Tell your crew to update via Steam before rejoining.
Check your mods. After major updates, mods can break. Look at the Workshop page for each mod you're running — check the "Last Updated" date vs. the Barotrauma update date. Out-of-date mods can cause:
- Server crashes on startup
- Missing content errors
- Campaign desync
If a mod hasn't been updated to match the new game version, your options are:
- Disable the mod until an update ships
- Find an alternative mod
- Check if the mod's author posted a compatibility note
Handling a Broken Save After Update
If the update shipped a save format change and your campaign won't load:
- Stop the server
- Restore from your pre-update backup
- Check the Barotrauma forums or Discord for community reports — usually someone posts a fix or the devs ship a hotfix quickly
- Wait for a hotfix or a community save converter tool before playing
Never try to manually edit gamesession.xml to patch a format change unless you know exactly what changed.
Automating Updates
On Linux, you can schedule updates with cron. Be careful — always stop the server before updating:
# Stop server, update, restart
systemctl stop barotrauma
/steamcmd/steamcmd.sh +login anonymous +app_update 1026340 +quit
systemctl start barotrauma