American Truck Simulator (ATS) dedicated server guide for Linux

TOC:

• Create a DockerImage
• Step-by-step guide for a local installation

Useful links:

• Official guide to ATS Dedicated Server: https://modding.scssoft.com/wiki/Documentation/Tools/Dedicated_Server
• American Truck Simulator at Steam
• (unofficial) ATS Dedicated Server at SteamDB

---

Create you DockerImage from a DockerFile for ATS Dedicated Server

• Dockerfile can be found at ./docker/Dockerfile

Prerequisites to create the DockerImage:

• Installed Docker on your server
• Copy game config files from your local game into the ats-config folder.
• On Linux: All config files can be found in: ~/.local/share/American Truck Simulator :
  • ~/.local/share/American Truck Simulator/server_packages.dat
  • ~/.local/share/American Truck Simulator/server_packages.sii

See this guide for more details: https://modding.scssoft.com/wiki/Documentation/Tools/Dedicated_Server#How_to_export_server_packages

• Adjust the main config file to your needs.
• ~/.local/share/American Truck Simulator/server_config.sii

Build DockerImage

• Open a terminal in the directory where the Dockerfile is located (e.g. ./docker)

docker build -t ats-dedicated-server .

docker save ats-dedicated-server | gzip > ats-dedicated-server.tar.gz

• Copy this file to your server (which have docker installed): scp ats-dedicated-server.tar.gz user@server:/home/user/

• Log-in to your server and extract the file:

gunzip ats-dedicated-server.tar.gz

docker load < ats-dedicated-server.tar

docker run -d --restart unless-stopped -p 27015:27015/tcp -p 27015:27015/udp -p 27016:27016/tcp -p 27016:27016/udp --name ats-dedicated-server ats-dedicated-server

docker stop ats-dedicated-server

---

Step-by-step guide to install ATS Dedicated Server on Ubuntu Linux

Prerequisites:

• Install a suitable Linux distribution (Ubuntu 24.04 LTS headless was tested for this guide)
  • Note: This guide assumes that you know how to install and operate a secure linux server.
• Install SteamCMD (see the official guide)

Installation steps:

Prepare libs and config:

• run as some sudo-user:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

(Optional: These should be configured when you install steamcmd)

sudo add-apt-repository multiverse; sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386; sudo apt update

• install needed dependency for ARS Dedicated Server

sudo apt install libatomic1 

Install the dedicated server:

sudo -u steam -s && cd ~

• run as steam user:

mkdir -p /home/steam/Steam && cd /home/steam/Steam

./steamcmd.sh +login anonymous +app_update 2239530 validate +quit

• the first startup of the server will create necessary config files:

cd ~/Steam/steamapps/common/American\ Truck\ Simulator \ Dedicated\ Server/bin/linux_x64/ && ./server_launch.sh

Note: all config files can be found in: ~/.local/share/American Truck Simulator

• You need to copy the config files server_packages.dat and server_packages.sii from your local game into the folder ~/.local/share/American Truck Simulator of the server. See this guide for more details.

• Adjust the main config file to your needs:

nano ~/.local/share/American\ Truck\ Simulator/server_config.sii

• start the server:

cd ~/Steam/steamapps/common/American\ Truck\ Simulator \ Dedicated\ Server/bin/linux_x64/ && ./server_launch.sh

Update the server

• run as steam user:

sudo -u steam -s

/home/steam/Steam/steamcmd.sh +login anonymous +app_update 2239530 validate +quit

(optional) Adjust firewall settings

sudo ufw allow 27015
sudo ufw allow 27016
sudo ufw reload

(optional) Create a systemd service for the server

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/ats.service

• copy the following snippet into the new file:

[Unit]
Description=American Truck Simulator Dedicated Server
After=network-online.target
Wants=network-online.target

[Service]
User=steam
Group=steam
Environment=HOME=/home/steam
Environment=USER=steam
WorkingDirectory=/home/steam/Steam/steamapps/common/American Truck Simulator Dedicated Server/bin/linux_x64
ExecStart="/home/steam/Steam/steamapps/common/American Truck Simulator Dedicated Server/bin/linux_x64/server_launch.sh"
KillSignal=SIGINT
TimeoutStopSec=30
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=5
LimitNOFILE=65535

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

• enable and start the service:

sudo systemctl enable ats
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl start ats
sudo systemctl status ats

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Paul Schulze. This project is licensed under the MIT LICENSE