Choosing a Server Type

When deploying a container for Terraria, you will be prompted to choose between Terraria Vanilla, Terraria modded (tModLoader) or Terraria modded (tShock). In this guide, you will learn the differences of these three platforms.

Differences between using Vanilla, tModLoader or tShock

• Vanilla: the Terraria server software, completely unmodified. Choose this if you wish to play the game as it is without any changes. Players are expected to join with unmodified Terraria clients.

• tModLoader: this kind of server software allows loading "tModLoader mods". Choose this if you wish to add mods that change the game itself, such as adding new weapons, bosses or blocks. Players are expected to join with a modified Terraria client.

• tShock: this kind of server software allows loading plugins. Choose this if you wish to play like in a Vanilla server, with improved administration & utility tools. The main difference from modded servers is that players do not need to install any plugins you add. Players are expected to join with unmodified Terraria clients

Upon understanding what kind of Terraria server you wish to make, you are now set to make your server on FPS. Now, we suggest you to check the Initial Terraria server config guide) before proceeding to guides for specific server setups

Information regarding forthcoming Terraria update

It is expected that around the end of 2025, a big Terraria update (1.4.5) will release. This update makes significant changes to the game, although it is likely that configuration settings won't change as much as from the configurations at the time this documentation was written. This update will affect mostly the Modded-category servers, since new servers might either require additional setup steps, plus the modifications these type of servers require to adapt with the update changes, which might cause potential issues with mods or plugins. When updating a world, it is always advised to backup your worlds.