ReSkate Server Setup: Host a Dedicated Lobby

A ReSkate dedicated server is a headless lobby program, ReSkateServer.exe, that hosts a skate session without the game or Steam installed on the host machine. Download the server package that matches your players' ReSkate version (as of v1.1.3, checked 2026-10-07), run it once to generate ReSkateServer.json, set your server name and admin SteamID64s, and restart — your lobby goes live in the in-game server browser. Version numbers below are a snapshot this page updates as releases land.

Official source: ReSkate on GitHub — the README's Dedicated servers section and Server/README.txt define every file name, field, and command quoted here. The community walkthrough How to host a ReSkate server (skatemods, non-official) covers the same flow.

Header art: official skate. (EA) X Games key art — the headless server has no graphics to screenshot.

How a ReSkate Dedicated Server Works

If you only know the 32-player Steam lobbies from the multiplayer guide, a dedicated server is the always-on alternative: a console program that hosts without rendering the game. The host needs no game install and no Steam login. Friends connect through Steam relay, so nobody opens router ports for a basic server.

Three behaviors define the experience. The server logs into Steam anonymously and gets a fresh Steam ID and join code on every start, so players search your server name rather than a permanent address. Players and server must run the exact same ReSkate version — version match is the number-one cause of "can't join" reports. On Windows the server self-updates while the lobby is empty (auto_update defaults to true; --no-update disables it); the Linux build has no self-update and is upgraded by swapping folders. New to the project? Start with what ReSkate is first.

What You Need Before You Start

The host side is deliberately light: a Windows or Linux machine that stays online, the correct server package from GitHub Releases, and the 17-digit SteamID64 of everyone who should administrate (look yours up at steamid.io). Keep the whole extracted folder together: steam_api64.dll, steamclient64.dll, tier0_s64.dll, vstdlib_s64.dll, and world-layers.json must sit next to the executable.

The player side has stricter requirements:

skate. itself is free-to-play: every skater needs their own Steam account with skate. claimed from the store — ReSkate never ships the game, and our install guide walks the official path. ReSkate lobbies never touch EA servers, and EA has made no public statement about ReSkate as of 2026-10-07; the full trust discussion lives in our safety guide.

The Five-Step Setup

Step 1 — Download the package that matches your players. Open ReSkate Releases and pick the server archive for the exact version your group plays on. As of v1.1.3 the two flavors are:

Watch the Linux suffix: the server manual still writes .zip, but the actual published asset as of v1.1.3 is .tar.gz — always trust the Releases page on file names. Only ever download from GitHub Releases.

Step 2 — Extract it into its own folder. Unpack into a dedicated directory (for example, ReSkateServer\), separate from any game install.

Step 3 — Run once to generate the config, then stop it. Launch the server executable, let it create ReSkateServer.json next to itself, then shut it down. There is no sample config to download — this first boot materializes the file.

Step 4 — Set at least name and admins. Open ReSkateServer.json in any text editor. For a first server, change exactly two things and leave everything else at defaults:

{
  "name": "Friday Night Skate Club",
  "admins": ["<your-SteamID64>"]
}

Replace <your-SteamID64> with your real numeric ID from steamid.io, keeping the quotes. Names must be 1–64 characters using letters, digits, spaces, and - _ [ ] ( ) only. Console or in-game edits are written back into this same file. Since v1.1.1 the defaults also opt into the ReSkate team's shared ban list (global_bans, on by default) — the config reference documents it.

Step 5 — Start it, verify, and share the name. Launch the server again and type status in its console: it reports the name, map, player count, and current join code. Tell your friends the server name to search in the in-game browser — the code rotates every restart, so only ever share fresh ones.

Do You Need Port Forwarding?

No. Traffic goes over Steam relay, so a default server is reachable with zero router changes, and players join without touching their own networks either. Port forwarding is a pure optimization, not a requirement.

Forwarding these ports only buys a real ping number in the browser and slightly faster joins:

v1.1.0 and later reject out-of-range port values instead of silently accepting them. If you run multiple servers on one box, give each its own port pair. A rented VPS works like a home PC here: no game install, no Steam client, just the extracted folder and an outbound connection to Steam.

Linux Server Differences

Linux hosting needs its own callout because the native build (available since v1.0.8) differs slightly from the Windows one. The full walkthrough lives in our Linux server deployment guide — here is the short list for setup day.

There is no self-update on Linux — unpack the new release into a fresh folder and move your ReSkateServer.json over. The --export-world-layers helper fails on Linux, so export world-layers.json on Windows once and copy it to the server. The shared ban list needs the curl binary on the host, or global_bans lookups cannot run. Logs land in ReSkateServer.log plus the journal under the shipped contrib/reskate-server.service unit.

Custom Maps and Staying in Sync

On the server, copy the map mod's folder from a game client's Mods directory into a Mods folder next to the server — the server reads only its reskate-levels.json — then put the map's name in the map field (stock values like San Vansterdam or Stadium 1; custom ones use their mod name such as bbcity). Every player must have that exact same map mod installed, or they cannot enter. Mods install through our mod install guide, and a version bump on either side re-triggers the same-version rule.

When something breaks after an update, confirm identical ReSkate versions on server and players, confirm the map mod on both sides, and only then open the error troubleshooting collection.

FAQ

My friends cannot find the server in the browser. What do I check? Search the exact name first, and confirm the server process is running — the join code rotates every restart, so only share fresh codes. Then verify version match and that listed is on.

I forgot to set admins. Am I locked out forever? No. Stop the server, add your SteamID64 to the admins array, and start it again — or grant admin live from the local console with admin add.

Do players need to buy anything or open ports? skate. is free on Steam, so the only cost is disk space and a Steam account each. No purchases, no port forwarding, no VPN.

How do I update the server when ReSkate releases a new version? On Windows, leave auto_update on and restart into an empty lobby. On Linux, deploy the new archive into a clean folder and carry your JSON across. Either way, update the players too.

re-skate.wiki is an independent, non-official fan site with no affiliation to EA, Full Circle, Dingo-Shenanigans, or Thunderstore. Server behavior above is documented as of ReSkate v1.1.3 (2026-10-06), checked 2026-10-07.