Puck Guide

Getting Started - The Simple Way

There are TWO different ways of hosting your own Puck server. The simple way (covered here) is to open the game normally, head to the "SERVER BROWSER" menu, and click "HOST GAME" at the bottom. The advanced way (a dedicated Linux server) is covered further down.

You will be presented with this screen

The Advanced Way

Want a more permanent, dedicated, and high-performance setup?

VPS vs Home Server

VPS: Professional hosting, better uptime, monthly cost. Best for 24/7 public servers (CDL, Toasters Rinks & PHL).

Home Server: No ongoing costs, full control, uses your bandwidth/electricity. Best for friends & family servers.

VPS providers

The following providers are recommended for hosting. The cheapest plan is not always the best, look for 1-2 cores + 2GB RAM — both options below have cheap plans that meet this requirement. Both are affiliate links to make it cheaper (and why not) and I may earn credit, VPS.org gives you $50 in free credit.

• VPS.org — Cheapest option

  The most affordable option on this list. Plans with 2GB RAM are available at a low monthly cost. Good reliability for lightweight servers. Ideal if you're on a tight budget.

• Vultr — Most reliable option

  A well-established provider with data centers worldwide. Slightly pricier than VPS.org but more proven reliability and easier to use. Great if you want the lowest-friction setup experience.

Operating System

Debian (Recommended) - Stable, beginner-friendly, minimal resources.
Ubuntu Server - User-friendly, great community support.
Fedora Server - Modern features, cutting-edge packages.
Docker Container - Easiest deployment (Not available yet).
Windows Server - Familiar interface but resource-heavy. Not recommended.

Server Setup & Configuration

Step 1: Update Your System

apt update && apt upgrade -y

Step 2: Install Prerequisites & SteamCMD

Install necessary tools and prepare SteamCMD:

On debian you need to add the non-free repo, but on distros like Ubuntu you may not. If you're on Debian 12 Bookworm, replace trixie with bookworm in the line below.

cat > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/steamcmd.list << 'EOF'
deb [arch=i386] http://deb.debian.org/debian trixie main non-free
deb [arch=i386] http://deb.debian.org/debian trixie-updates main non-free
deb [arch=i386] http://deb.debian.org/debian-security trixie-security main non-free
EOF
dpkg --add-architecture i386
apt update
apt install steamcmd rsync

Step 3: Create Server Download Directory

mkdir -p /srv/puck-download

Step 4: Download Puck Server Files

Use SteamCMD to download the server files:

/usr/games/steamcmd +force_install_dir /srv/puck-download +login anonymous +app_update 3481440 +quit

Note: 3481440 is the Steam App ID for Puck's dedicated server. You can verify it on SteamDB.

Step 5: Create System User for Running Server

Create a dedicated system user for running the server:

adduser --system --no-create-home --group puckd

Step 6: Set Up the First Server Instance

Create the server directory and assign permissions:

mkdir -p /srv/puck/server1
cp -r /srv/puck-download/* /srv/puck/server1/
chown -R puckd:puckd /srv/puck/server1
chmod +x /srv/puck/server1/start_server.sh
chmod +x /srv/puck/server1/Puck

Step 7: Create Server Configuration

nano /srv/puck/server1/server_config.json

Paste and modify as needed:

{
  "port": 30609,
  "name": "MY PUCK SERVER - GUIDE",
  "maxPlayers": 12,
  "password": null,
  "tickRate": 200,
  "isPublic": true,
  "useVoip": false,
  "useWhitelist": false,
  "mods": [],
  "gameMode": "public",
  "level": "default"
}

Step 8: Create systemd Unit

nano /etc/systemd/system/puck@.service

Paste:

[Unit]
Description=Puck Dedicated Server - %i
After=network.target

[Service]
WorkingDirectory=/srv/puck/%i
User=puckd
ExecStart=/srv/puck/%i/start_server.sh --serverConfigPath /srv/puck/%i/server_config.json
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=5

# Hardening
NoNewPrivileges=true
PrivateTmp=true
ProtectHome=true
ProtectSystem=strict
ReadWritePaths=/srv/puck/%i

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Step 9: Enable and Start the Server

systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl enable puck@server1
systemctl start puck@server1

Check status:

systemctl status puck@server1
journalctl -u puck@server1 -f

Step 10: Open Firewall Ports

By default, Debian has no firewall configured, meaning all ports are open. On a VPS, this is a security risk.

Install ufw and open required TCP & UDP port

apt install ufw
ufw allow ssh
ufw allow 30609/tcp
ufw allow 30609/udp
ufw enable

Adjust port number based on your configuration.

Managing Multiple Servers

Step 1: Duplicate Server Files

Copy the existing server instance to create a new one:

cp -r /srv/puck/server1 /srv/puck/server2

Step 2: Configure New Server Ports

Edit the configuration file and change the port numbers:

Change ports to one above, example 30610 and open it

nano /srv/puck/server2/server_config.json
ufw allow 30610/tcp
ufw allow 30610/udp

Step 3: Set File Permissions

Mods & Logging will break if you skip this step

Give ownership of the new files to the puckd user:

chown -R puckd:puckd /srv/puck/server2

Step 4: Enable Auto-Start

Enable the new server to start automatically on boot:

systemctl enable puck@server2

Step 5: Start and Monitor

Start the server:

systemctl start puck@server2

Check if it's working with logs:

journalctl -u puck@server2 -f

{
"phaseDurationMap": {
    "None": 0,
    "Warmup": 60,
    "PreGame": 10,
    "FaceOff": 5,
    "Play": 300,
    "BlueScore": 5,
    "RedScore": 5,
    "Replay": 10,
    "Intermission": 10,
    "GameOver": 30,
    "PostGame": 10
},
"spawnDelay": 5,
"maxPeriods": 3
}

{
"teamAssignments": {
    "Blue": [
    "76561198000000000",
    "76561198000000001",
    "76561198000000002"
    ],
    "Red": [
    "76561198000000003",
    "76561198000000004",
    "76561198000000005"
    ]
},
"phaseDurationMap": {
    "None": 0,
    "Warmup": 60,
    "PreGame": 10,
    "FaceOff": 5,
    "Play": 300,
    "BlueScore": 5,
    "RedScore": 5,
    "Replay": 10,
    "Intermission": 10,
    "GameOver": 30,
    "PostGame": 10
},
"spawnDelay": 5,
"maxPeriods": 3
}

Server Management Commands

• View logs: journalctl -u puck@server1 -f
• Restart: systemctl restart puck@server1
• Stop: systemctl stop puck@server1

Updating the Server

Stop the server, re-pull the latest files with SteamCMD, then sync them into your instance — excluding configs so you don't nuke your settings:

systemctl stop puck@server1
/usr/games/steamcmd +force_install_dir /srv/puck-download +login anonymous +app_update 3481440 +quit
rsync -a --exclude='*.json' /srv/puck-download/ /srv/puck/server1/
chown -R puckd:puckd /srv/puck/server1
systemctl start puck@server1

Repeat the rsync + chown + start steps for each additional instance (server2, server3, etc).

Troubleshooting

Service won't start
Check logs with journalctl -u puck@server1

Can't connect
Double-check firewall and public IP on VPS

Your Puck server should now be live and ready for players.