Squad Server Port Forwarding
Open all required ports for a Squad dedicated server: game ports UDP 7787–7788, Steam query UDP 27165, beacon UDP 15000, and RCON TCP/UDP 21114. All are needed for full server browser visibility.
Squad Server Port Forwarding
Squad requires five ports for full functionality. Missing any can prevent the server from appearing in the browser or accepting connections.
Required Ports
| Port | Protocol | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| 7787 | UDP | Primary game traffic |
| 7788 | UDP | Game port + 1 (secondary game traffic) |
| 27165 | UDP | Steam server browser query |
| 15000 | UDP | Beacon / server discovery |
| 21114 | TCP + UDP | RCON (remote console) |
Note: Ports 7787 and 7788 must both be open. Squad uses two consecutive game ports by default.
Opening Ports with UFW (Ubuntu/Debian)
sudo ufw allow 7787/udp
sudo ufw allow 7788/udp
sudo ufw allow 27165/udp
sudo ufw allow 15000/udp
sudo ufw allow 21114/tcp
sudo ufw allow 21114/udp
sudo ufw reload
Verify:
sudo ufw status
Opening Ports with firewalld (CentOS/RHEL/Fedora)
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=7787/udp
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=7788/udp
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=27165/udp
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=15000/udp
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=21114/tcp
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=21114/udp
sudo firewall-cmd --reload
Opening Ports with iptables
iptables -A INPUT -p udp --dport 7787 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p udp --dport 7788 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p udp --dport 27165 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p udp --dport 15000 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 21114 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p udp --dport 21114 -j ACCEPT
Persist with iptables-save > /etc/iptables/rules.v4.
Running Multiple Servers
Each instance needs its own port set. Increment by 2 per game port:
| Instance | Game Port | Game+1 | Query Port | Beacon | RCON |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Server 1 | 7787 | 7788 | 27165 | 15000 | 21114 |
| Server 2 | 7789 | 7790 | 27166 | 15001 | 21115 |
| Server 3 | 7791 | 7792 | 27167 | 15002 | 21116 |
Cloud Provider Firewalls
AWS, DigitalOcean, Hetzner, and similar providers have a cloud-level firewall (security groups) separate from the OS firewall. Both layers must allow these ports. Check your provider's control panel if ports appear open at the OS level but are still unreachable.
Verify Ports Are Open
From an external machine:
nmap -sU -p 7787,7788,27165,15000 YOUR_SERVER_IP
All should show open or open|filtered.