dedicated-server

Dedicated Server in Godot 4.3+

All examples target Godot 4.3+ with no deprecated APIs. GDScript is shown first, C# follows.

Related skills: See multiplayer-basics for ENet setup, RPCs, and authority model. See multiplayer-sync for state synchronization and interpolation.

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1. Headless Export

A dedicated server runs without a display, GPU, or audio device. Godot supports this through the --headless flag and a dedicated export preset.

--headless Flag

Pass --headless on the command line to suppress the display and audio drivers at runtime:

./my_game.x86_64 --headless

--headless is a runtime flag that works on any exported binary. Godot 4 has no separate server platform or server export template: a dedicated-server export uses the regular template, so the binary keeps its rendering code (a smaller binary needs a custom-compiled template). What the export changes is the PCK and a feature tag — see below.

Server Export Preset

In the Godot editor, create a dedicated Linux export preset:

1. Open Project → Export.
2. Add a Linux preset and name it Linux Server.
3. On the Resources tab, set Export Mode to Export as dedicated server. This adds the dedicated_server feature tag — which makes the binary start with the headless display and dummy audio drivers even without --headless — and marks res:// as Strip Visuals: visual resources are exported as placeholders (e.g. a texture keeps only its size). Set folders the server needs intact to Keep.
4. Use the Exclude filter on the same tab to drop client-only files (audio, client-only scenes) from the server PCK entirely.

Feature Tags

Use OS.has_feature() to branch between server and client code at runtime. Define a custom server feature on the export preset's Features tab (Custom (comma-separated) field) or rely on the built-in dedicated_server feature that a dedicated-server export sets automatically:

# boot.gd — autoload, runs before any scene loads
extends Node

func _ready() -> void:
    if OS.has_feature("dedicated_server") or DisplayServer.get_name() == "headless":
        # Disable rendering-dependent systems
        RenderingServer.set_render_loop_enabled(false)
        # Start server logic
        ServerBootstrap.start()
    else:
        # Start client logic
        ClientBootstrap.start()