Install Rackd

Rackd is a desktop application for Windows and Linux (x86_64). On Windows, download Rackd-Setup.exe and follow the installer. On Linux, download Rackd-linux-amd64.tar.gz, extract it, install GTK3 + WebKitGTK, and run ./Rackd. It works on Windows 10 and 11, 64-bit.

First run

When you open Rackd for the first time it asks you to create an admin account. This login is local to the app — pick a username of at least 3 characters and a password of at least 6. You can add more accounts later from Settings → Accounts.

Create a server

1. Open the Servers tab and click New server.
2. Give it a name and pick the game.
3. Set the port and max players, or keep the defaults.
4. Leave Download game files now ticked so Rackd fetches the server files through SteamCMD as soon as you create it.
5. Click Create server.

Once the files finish downloading, press Start on the rack unit. Open the server to reach its console, RCON, backups and settings.

Import an existing server

Already have a server folder from before Rackd? Open Servers, click Import existing and choose the folder. Rackd recognises the game from its files and reads the port, server name, player limit and RCON settings from the server's own config (for example server.properties, serverconfig.xml, PalWorldSettings.ini or the start script). Check the details, then click Import server.

• Use the folder where it is (recommended): nothing is moved. Deleting the server in Rackd never deletes this folder.
• Copy or Move puts the files in Rackd's servers folder instead.

Rackd lists anything that needs a look before you start, such as a missing config file, a port another Rackd server already uses, an unaccepted Minecraft EULA or a missing RCON password.

Windows Firewall

When you create, import or start a server, Rackd offers to add a Windows Firewall rule named Rackd - <server name> for exactly the ports that game needs (admin ports such as RCON stay closed). Windows asks for admin permission once. If you say no, the server still starts; players on other PCs may just be blocked. Each server's Connect tab shows whether the rule is in place and has a one-click fix if the port changed. Rackd removes the rule when you delete the server. Choose Ask, Automatic or Never in Settings → Windows Firewall.

Crashes & auto-restart

Rackd tells a crash apart from a normal stop. When a server crashes, its page shows the reason (exit code) and the last lines it printed, the Activity log records it, and a crash log is saved in Rackd's crashes folder. Rackd then restarts it after 10, 30 and 60 seconds. If it crashes more than 3 times in 10 minutes, Rackd stops restarting it, marks it as a crash loop and alerts you (Discord and email alerts are part of Pro). You can cancel a pending restart, or turn auto-restart off in the server's Settings. A crashed server has nobody connected, so restarting it never kicks players, and Rackd won't restart it while a game update is running.

Players

The Players tab on a server shows who is online, when they joined, and a history of everyone the server has seen (first seen, last seen, sessions and total play time). Rackd reads names from the server console or from the game's RCON player list. If a game doesn't report names, the tab shows the count it can see, or says the count is unavailable. Unavailable never means empty.

Kick, ban, unban, whitelist, private message and broadcast send the game's own admin commands. Each one asks you to confirm and is recorded in the Activity log. Rackd never runs them on its own. What each game supports:

• Minecraft Java: all actions (console or RCON).
• Minecraft Bedrock: kick, allowlist add/remove, message, broadcast. Bedrock has no ban command.
• Garry's Mod, CS:Source, TF2, L4D2, Day of Defeat: Source: kick, ban, unban (by SteamID) and broadcast, with RCON turned on. No built-in whitelist or private messages.
• CS2: kick and broadcast, with RCON turned on.
• ARK: kick, ban, unban, whitelist and broadcast (by SteamID), with RCON turned on.
• Palworld: kick, ban and broadcast, with RCON turned on. Unban means editing banlist.txt.
• Project Zomboid: kick, ban, unban, whitelist and broadcast.
• Terraria: kick, ban and broadcast.
• Don't Starve Together: broadcast.
• Valheim, Rust, 7 Days to Die, Killing Floor 2, Satisfactory, Conan Exiles, Enshrouded, Sons of the Forest: not yet. The tab explains why for each game.

Performance graphs

The Performance tab on a server graphs CPU, memory and player count for the last 1h, 24h or 7d. CPU is the server process's usage, where 100% is one CPU core. Crashes are marked with a solid red line, and restarts (yours or automatic after a crash) with a dashed amber line. They are also listed under the graphs.

Rackd records a sample every 15 seconds while a server is running. After 24 hours, samples are averaged into 5-minute points, and history older than 7 days is removed. Deleting a server deletes its history. When the server was stopped, there is a gap in the graph. Player count is only drawn when the game reports it (see Players). If it doesn't, that stretch is blank and labelled unknown, never zero.

Phone dashboard

Check on your servers from your phone, from anywhere. There's nothing to install and no router setup.

1. In Rackd, open Settings → Remote access (phone) and switch it on. It's off until you do.
2. Click Pair a phone. Scan the QR code with your phone's camera, or open your Rackd account panel (Cloud customers get that link by email when they sign up for hosting; desktop licence holders use the sign-in flow from the app) and type the 6-digit code. The code works once and expires after 5 minutes.
3. Tap Connect on the phone, check both screens show the same 4-digit number, and click Allow in Rackd.

The phone shows your servers, whether they're running, players, CPU/memory/player graphs, mod updates and the Activity log. You can start, stop and restart a server. Each action asks you to confirm; if players are online, or Rackd can't see the player count, you have to confirm a second time. An unknown count is never treated as empty. The phone can't delete servers, edit files, restore backups, kick or ban. Ultimate also shows a read-only console and a Back up button.

To get alerts for crashes and mod updates, tap Settings → Turn on alerts on the phone. On iPhone, first tap Share → Add to Home Screen and open Rackd from there (iOS 16.4 or later). Alerts don't say what happened; open the app to see.

How it stays safe: Rackd makes one outgoing connection to relay.rackd.io, so no ports are opened. Messages between your phone and PC are end-to-end encrypted (P-256 key agreement and AES-256-GCM); the relay passes them along but can't read them or send commands. Each phone has its own key; remove one in Settings and it's cut off immediately. Every phone action is recorded in the Activity log. Needs Rackd Pro (one PC per phone) or Ultimate (several PCs on one phone, console, backup); the trial and free installs can't turn it on.

Rackd account & web panel

Manage all your PCs from your Rackd account panel in a browser. Cloud hosting customers receive that panel link by email after they sign up; desktop licence holders open it from the sign-in flow in the app. Your account is the email you bought Rackd with. You sign in with a passkey (fingerprint, face or PIN) or with an email and password, if you set one.

1. In Rackd, open Settings → Rackd account and click Sign in to Rackd account. Your browser opens.
2. The first time, click Create account and let the browser save a passkey. If you already have an account, click Sign in with a passkey.
3. Check that Rackd and the browser show the same 4-digit number, and click Allow in Rackd.

You can also create the account in your Rackd panel with your licence key. That works for older lifetime licences too. A PC without a licence can be signed in, and the account activates its licence there.

The panel shows every server on every machine, status, players (an unknown count is shown as unknown), graphs, mod updates and Activity. From a linked account you can also create servers from templates, install them, start, stop and restart, send console commands, change game settings, manage players, back up and restore, check for and schedule updates (they only run when the server is empty, so nobody is kicked) and delete a server. Risky actions ask you to confirm, and delete and restore always ask twice. Pro covers one machine; Ultimate covers more. Everything goes through the same end-to-end encryption as the phone, so the relay can't read or send commands. Paired phones keep their smaller, read-mostly set of actions.

In the panel's Settings you can add a passkey on another device, remove a PC (it's signed out at once), sign out, or delete the account. In Rackd, Sign out in the Rackd account card does the same for that PC. Paired phones aren't affected. Lost every passkey? In your Rackd panel enter your licence key and choose Make a new one; each PC then needs Sign in to Rackd account again. Use a current browser (Chrome, Edge, Safari) so your passkey can unlock the account on any device.

Linux server (headless agent)

Rackd can run on a Linux server with no screen as rackd-agent, a background service. You manage it from your Rackd panel or from the command line.

You need: a 64-bit (x86_64) Linux machine with systemd (Ubuntu 22.04/24.04, Debian 12 or similar), root or sudo, and curl and openssl. It can be a VPS, a home server or a VM. A Pro or Ultimate licence covers it like a PC (Pro covers one machine).

Install

curl -fsSL https://rackd.io/install.sh | sudo bash

The script downloads the agent, checks its signature against Rackd's release key (the same key that signs desktop updates) and stops if it doesn't match. It then installs /usr/local/bin/rackd-agent and the rackd-agent systemd service, which runs as root, starts at boot and keeps its data in /var/lib/rackd.

Link it to your Rackd account

sudo rackd-agent link

1. The agent prints a link. Open it in a browser where you're signed in to your Rackd panel.
2. Check that the browser and the terminal show the same 4-digit match code, then type y in the terminal.
3. Wait for the browser to say the machine is on your account. It then shows up in the panel's sidebar under PCs with its servers.

If the machine has no licence yet, your account's licence is activated on it when you link.

Create and run servers

sudo rackd-agent games                      # list game templates
sudo rackd-agent create terraria "My world"  # create from a template
sudo rackd-agent install 1                   # download the server files
sudo rackd-agent start 1                     # start / stop / restart
sudo rackd-agent servers                     # list servers and status
sudo rackd-agent status                      # agent, licence and relay status

Once a server exists you can start it, stop it, watch players and graphs, back it up and more from your Rackd panel.

Firewall ports

Rackd doesn't change the Linux firewall. If one is on, open each game's port. Rackd logs the exact command when you create a server, for example sudo ufw allow 7777/tcp (Terraria), sudo ufw allow 19132/udp (Minecraft Bedrock), sudo ufw allow 25565/tcp (Minecraft Java) or sudo ufw allow 2456:2457/udp (Valheim). For players outside your network, also forward the port on your router or open it in your VPS provider's firewall. The agent only makes outgoing connections to Rackd and needs no open ports.

Update

Run the install command again. It downloads the latest signed agent and restarts the service; your servers and settings are kept.

Uninstall

sudo systemctl disable --now rackd-agent
sudo rm /usr/local/bin/rackd-agent /etc/systemd/system/rackd-agent.service
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo rm -rf /var/lib/rackd    # only if you also want to delete servers, worlds and backups

Then remove the machine in your Rackd panel → Settings.

Mod update alerts

The Mods tab shows the mods installed on a server, the installed version (or the date of the installed copy) next to the latest one, and an updates available badge. Rackd checks about every 6 hours, or when you press Check now, and saves the results. New updates are recorded in the Activity log, once per new version. On Pro they are also sent to your Discord/email alerts.

• Project Zomboid, ARK, Garry's Mod, Don't Starve Together: Steam Workshop items from the server's config (WorkshopItems, ActiveMods, +host_workshop_collection, dedicated_server_mods_setup.lua), plus Workshop items you installed through Rackd. The installed date comes from the server's Workshop download record. If there is no record, Rackd shows the latest update date and says the installed version is unknown.
• Minecraft Java: jars in mods and plugins, matched on Modrinth by file hash. Rackd looks for newer versions for the same loader and Minecraft version. Jars that aren't on Modrinth are listed as "can't check".
• Valheim: BepInEx mods installed by a Thunderstore mod manager (with a manifest.json), checked on Thunderstore.
• Other games: not supported. The tab shows the reason, for example that Bedrock add-ons have no public registry.

Checking only reads. Rackd never downloads or installs a mod update, and never restarts a server or kicks anyone because of one.

Set up Discord alerts

Rackd can post to a Discord channel whenever a server comes online or crashes. You'll need a webhook URL from Discord first.

1. Create a webhook in Discord

1. In Discord, hover the channel you want alerts in and click the gear (Edit Channel).
2. Open Integrations → Webhooks.
3. Click New Webhook, give it a name like Rackd, and pick the channel.
4. Click Copy Webhook URL.

2. Add it to Rackd

1. In Rackd, open Settings → Notifications.
2. Paste the URL into the Discord webhook URL field.
3. Click Save.
4. Click Send test — a message should appear in your Discord channel.

Set up email alerts

Prefer email? In Settings → Notifications fill in your SMTP host, port (usually 587), username, password, a from address and the address alerts should go to. Click Save, then Send test to confirm. Discord and email can both be on at once.

Rackd Connect

Rackd Connect opens your server's port on your router using UPnP, so players outside your network can join without you logging into the router. Open a server, go to its Connect panel and click Open port. Rackd shows the public address to share. Click Close port to remove the mapping again.

Activate a licence

When you buy Rackd Pro or Ultimate, your licence key is emailed to you. It looks like RACKD-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX.

1. Open Settings → License.
2. Paste your key into the field and click Activate.
3. The edition badge updates and every Pro feature unlocks immediately.

Rackd checks the key, then stores a signed copy and re-checks it in the background. If your PC is offline or our server is down, your licence keeps working for up to 30 days. To move to another PC, click Deactivate and activate the same key on the new machine.

Subscriptions (monthly or yearly) show their plan and renewal date in Settings → License, with a Manage subscription link to update your card or cancel. If a subscription ends, Rackd shows a renew prompt and falls back to trial rules for starting servers — nothing is deleted, running servers aren't stopped, and renewing restores everything with the same key. Lifetime licences never expire. Licences bought before subscriptions existed are lifetime licences.

FAQ

Is there a free trial?

Yes — every install starts with a 7-day trial of full Pro features. No card required. After it ends you'll need to activate a Pro or Ultimate licence to keep starting servers.

What happens when the trial expires?

Rackd stops starting, creating or modifying servers until a licence is activated. Your server files stay on disk — back them up if you need to leave them, or activate a key to pick right back up.

Is this a subscription?

It's your choice. Pro is $4/month or $39/year, and Ultimate is $10/month or $99/year. Or buy once for life: Pro $49, Ultimate $129, with updates included. Subscriptions can be cancelled anytime and keep working to the end of the paid period. Anyone who bought a one-time licence before keeps it for life.

Is my key locked to one computer?

No. Deactivate on one PC and activate on another whenever you need to.

What if I change my mind?

Email support@rackd.io within 30 days for a full refund. See the refund policy.

Where are my servers stored?

On your own PC, in Rackd's data directory — shown in Settings → About.