Trackmania Nations Forever on Linux

Trackmania Nations Forever on Linux

The Trackmania server download includes a native Linux binary — no Wine required. This guide covers the full Linux setup and systemd service configuration.

Downloading and Extracting

# Create a directory
mkdir -p /opt/tmnf-server
cd /opt/tmnf-server

# Download the TMNF server binary
wget -O TrackmaniaServer_Latest.zip \
  http://files.v04.maniaplanet.com/server/TrackmaniaServer_Latest.zip

unzip TrackmaniaServer_Latest.zip
rm TrackmaniaServer_Latest.zip

For ManiaPlanet (TM2):

wget -O ManiaplanetServer_Latest.zip \
  http://files.v04.maniaplanet.com/server/ManiaplanetServer_Latest.zip
unzip ManiaplanetServer_Latest.zip

Setting Permissions

# Make the binary executable
chmod +x /opt/tmnf-server/TrackmaniaServer

# Create a dedicated non-root user
sudo useradd -r -m -d /opt/tmnf-server -s /sbin/nologin trackmania
sudo chown -R trackmania:trackmania /opt/tmnf-server

Configuring the Server

Edit GameData/Config/dedicated_cfg.txt before first launch:

nano /opt/tmnf-server/GameData/Config/dedicated_cfg.txt

At minimum, set:

• <name> — your server's display name
• <login> and <password> in <masterserver_account> — your Nadeo account
• <password> in <authorization_levels> for each tier — change from defaults

Test Launch (Foreground)

su -s /bin/bash trackmania -c '
cd /opt/tmnf-server
./TrackmaniaServer /nodaemon /internet \
  /dedicated_cfg=dedicated_cfg.txt \
  /game_settings=MatchSettings/Nations/NationsBlue.txt
'

The /nodaemon flag keeps it in the foreground so you can see output. Press Ctrl+C to stop.

Systemd Service

Create /etc/systemd/system/tmnf-server.service:

[Unit]
Description=Trackmania Nations Forever Dedicated Server
After=network-online.target
Wants=network-online.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=trackmania
Group=trackmania
WorkingDirectory=/opt/tmnf-server
ExecStart=/opt/tmnf-server/TrackmaniaServer \
  /internet \
  /dedicated_cfg=dedicated_cfg.txt \
  /game_settings=MatchSettings/Nations/NationsBlue.txt
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=15s
StandardOutput=journal
StandardError=journal
SyslogIdentifier=tmnf-server

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Enable and start:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable tmnf-server
sudo systemctl start tmnf-server

Check status and logs:

sudo systemctl status tmnf-server
sudo journalctl -u tmnf-server -f

Running Multiple Servers

Each server instance needs a different game port, P2P port, and XMLRPC port. Copy the full server directory for each instance and modify the ports in each copy's dedicated_cfg.txt:

• Server 1: server_port=2350, server_p2p_port=3450, xmlrpc_port=5000
• Server 2: server_port=2351, server_p2p_port=3451, xmlrpc_port=5001

Create a separate systemd service file for each instance.