Before you start
The server is Windows only. SCUMServer.exe is a 64-bit executable, so a 32-bit Windows install will not run it at all. The wiki also names the redistributables the server needs, both of which ship in the _CommonRedist folder that comes down with the server files: the Microsoft Visual C++ runtimes for 2012, 2013 and 2015-2022, and the DirectX End-User Runtimes.
Give it a volume with real room. The server files alone are large, and the wiki's advice is to plan for saves and future content updates on top rather than sizing the disk to today's download.
Install it with SteamCMD
Install SteamCMD, make a folder for the server, and pull it down anonymously:
steamcmd +force_install_dir <install_dir> +login anonymous +app_update 3792580 +quit
The wiki attaches a warning to that number that is worth taking seriously: use app id 3792580, and do not be confused by the other SCUM server application that also appears in searches. Installing the wrong one is a slow way to learn nothing.
Updating later is the same command again. If you want it to happen every time the server starts, put the SteamCMD line at the top of the batch file that launches the server, which is what the wiki's own example script does.
Start it
The executable sits in <your server folder>\SCUM\Binaries\Win64\. Put a batch file there and give it the launch line:
start SCUMServer.exe -log -port=7777 -MaxPlayers=64
The switches the wiki documents are short. -log gives you a console window with output in it. -port= sets the game port. -MaxPlayers= overrides the slot count set in ServerSettings.ini. There is also -nobattleye, which starts the server without the anti-cheat, and the wiki marks it as not recommended.
Ports, and the query port that is not where you would guess
| Port | Protocol | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| 7777 | UDP | Game client port. This is the one -port= sets. |
| 7778 | UDP | Raw UDP socket, always the game port plus one. |
| 7779 | TCP | Query port for the Steam server browser, always the game port plus two. |
| 7777 | TCP | Remote console, optional. |
Three details in that table catch people. The query port is TCP where the game port is UDP, so a rule that forwards one protocol for the whole range leaves you invisible. The two extra ports are derived from the game port, so moving the game port moves them: a second instance on 7780 uses 7781 and 7782. And the wiki notes that the query port cannot sit between 27020 and 27050 when you are running locally, because Steam has those.
Their forwarding advice, in their own words, is to try 7777 as the port and 7779 as the query port, because those are the pair that most often works. If you run more than one server on a machine, watch the load carefully; a couple of busy servers on one box behave very differently from a couple of test ones.
ServerSettings.ini
Gameplay rules live in ServerSettings.ini. Be aware of what the wiki says about its own settings page before you trust a table you found somewhere: the page is marked as a test page, and it states outright that the actual function of some of these settings is unclear or not true, pending further testing and conversations with the developers. Treat any settings list, including that one, as a starting point to verify rather than a specification.
The settings that are documented and load-bearing:
- Server Name and Server Password. The password applies to everyone, administrators and whitelisted players included.
- Slots, default 20, with a documented range of 20 to 100.
- MaxPing, default 255. A player at or above it cannot connect, and one who climbs past it while connected is kicked.
- TimeToRemainInGameAfterLeaveRequest, default 20 seconds. Your character stays visible for that long after a disconnect, which is how you stop people logging out mid-fight.
- StartTimeOfTheDay and TimeOfTheDaySpeed. The second is a multiplier, and the wiki gives the arithmetic: divide six by your value to get the day length in hours, so 3 gives a two-hour day.
- MessageOfTheDay and MessageOfTheDayMinutes, the recurring notice and how often it appears.
- The world caps, MaxAllowedZombiesInWorld, MaxAllowedAnimalsInWorld, MaxAllowedVehiclesInWorld and their relatives. These are ceilings on what is rendered in across all players at once, and they are the settings most worth touching on a busy server.
Player lists are separate from the settings above and there are four of them: a reserved list, which lets a player kick a random person to get in; an admin list, which grants the full set of hash commands; a ban list; and an exclusive join list, which turns the server into a whitelist server the moment anyone is on it.
Getting found, and staying up
Your server appears in the Steam server list and in the community SCUM list. The wiki is honest about the limits there: the in-game list only shows a limited number of servers at a time, and it says plainly that your server may not always appear in the unofficial lists. The reliable route for your own players is to add the server's address and port to Steam favourites and join from the favourites tab.
To have the server come back after a reboot, the documented route is Windows Task Scheduler. Create a basic task, set the trigger to when the computer starts, set the action to start your batch file, and set the "Start in" path so the batch file's working directory is right. In the task properties, choose to run whether the user is logged on or not.
One honest gap. The wiki's own sections on console commands and on backing up server data both read "to be determined", so there is no published save path or backup procedure to hand you. Until there is, the safe habit is to stop the server and copy the whole install folder before every update, which is slower than a targeted backup and is the only version nobody can get wrong.
Self-hosting or renting
If you have a spare Windows machine that stays on, self-hosting SCUM is free and every file stays yours. For a small private server that is often the right call.
The costs are the usual list. The machine has to be awake whenever anyone wants to play, and it should not be the computer you play on. Many home connections cannot accept incoming connections at all, whatever you do to the router. Updates arrive on the developer's schedule, not yours, and each one is a stop, a SteamCMD run and a restart. And with no documented backup procedure, protecting the world is a manual job you have to remember.
Renting moves that work rather than removing it. The settings, the player lists and the schedule are still your decisions.
Where RadarHost fits
RadarHost rents SCUM servers hosted in Beauharnois, Quebec, Canada. There are three plans, Standard, Premium and Diamond, priced in Canadian dollars, with no setup fee and cancel any time. Renting changes who keeps the machine on; the settings, the lists and the world above are still yours to choose. After payment, our team reviews the order and emails setup details or next steps within 24 hours. Current plans and prices are on the SCUM availability page.