Troubleshooting: Server Not Showing in Browser
Diagnostic steps for when your Conan Exiles server is running but not appearing in the in-game server browser.
Overview
A Conan Exiles server can be running and accepting direct connections while still not appearing in the Steam server browser. The server browser query and direct connection use different ports and mechanisms. Work through the checks below methodically.
Step 1: Verify the Server Is Actually Running
Check the panel — confirm the server process is shown as running, not crashed or pending. Then check the log for a successful startup line:
ConanSandbox/Saved/Logs/ConanSandbox.log
Look for a line similar to:
LogOnlineGame: Server registered with Steam
or
Server is listening on port 7777
If you see crash errors or Wine startup failures instead, the server has not started. Resolve startup errors before investigating server browser visibility.
Step 2: Verify Port 27015 UDP Is Open
The Steam server browser queries port 27015 UDP. This is the most common cause of server browser invisibility.
Test from outside the server host:
# Using nmap (from your local machine or another external server)
nmap -sU -p 27015 your.server.ip
Expected result: 27015/udp open. If the result is filtered or closed, the port is blocked.
Also test the game port:
nmap -sU -p 7777 your.server.ip
Both ports must be open.
Step 3: Check Engine.ini Port Configuration
Confirm the ports in Engine.ini match the actual ports the server is bound to:
[URL]
Port=7777
[OnlineSubsystemSteam]
ServerQueryPort=27015
If your panel uses non-standard ports (e.g., port 27020 for the query port), update ServerQueryPort to match. A mismatch between the configured query port and the open firewall port is a common error.
Step 4: Check for Firewall Blocks
On the node's host OS, verify firewall rules allow 27015 UDP inbound:
# ufw
ufw status | grep 27015
# iptables
iptables -L INPUT -n | grep 27015
If no rule exists, add it:
ufw allow 27015/udp
Also verify port 7778 UDP is open — without it, clients may connect briefly and then drop, which can prevent proper Steam registration.
Step 5: Steam Registration Delay
After a fresh start, the Steam server browser can take 2–5 minutes to list a new server. If the server just started, wait and then refresh the browser. In-game, use the Direct Connect option to connect by IP while waiting:
your.server.ip:7777
If direct connect works but the browser does not show the server after 10 minutes, the query port is not reachable from Steam's network.
Step 6: Check for NAT Issues
If the node is behind NAT (common in some hosting setups), ensure:
- Port forwarding rules exist for
7777UDP,7778UDP, and27015UDP pointing to the container/VM's internal IP. - The external IP is bound correctly. In
Engine.ini, you can force the advertised IP with:
Some Unreal Engine builds also accept[OnlineSubsystemSteam] GameServerQueryPort=27015-MultiHome=<external_ip>as a startup argument.
Step 7: Wine / xvfb Issues (Linux Hosts)
On Linux, if the server binary fails to initialize properly under Wine, it may start a process without actually binding the network ports. Check:
ss -ulnp | grep 7777
ss -ulnp | grep 27015
If neither port appears in the output, the server is not bound to the network. Check for Wine errors in the log and verify xvfb-run is running correctly.
Step 8: Server Name Filtering
The Steam server browser has a known issue where servers with certain Unicode characters or very long names fail to appear in regional filters. Try:
- Searching by IP directly in the server browser.
- Simplifying the server name to ASCII characters only temporarily.