Steam Guides

Steam Dedicated Server Query Tool

This tool will search for dedicated game servers that utilize the Steam server list and Steam server query protocol. Many, but not all, Steam-based games use these features in their dedicated server software.

You can query servers by address, or search for servers by name.

  • Address: Enter a domain or IP address to query all servers registered with Steam at that address, or enter both an address and query port to query a specific server.
  • Name: Enter a full or partial server name to find all servers with a matching name that are registered with Steam.

 

Troubleshooting

Server not found by tool

NOTE: Not all dedicated servers for Steam games make use of the Steam server list or Steam server query protocol that is utilized by this tool.

If your server is not found, first ensure it is currently running and you have forwarded the server query port (UDP) from your router to your server PC. Next, enter both the IP and port of the server into the tool. Then you can try to narrow down the cause with the following steps.

  • If it is still not found, then either the address or port is incorrect, the server is misconfigured or something is blocking communication on the port. Some possible causes:
    • The server may be misconfigured. Test that it is listening on the expected port. For this, you can run the command netstat -a -p udp from a command prompt.
    • A firewall or security software on the server PC may be blocking the application or port.
    • A firewall on a router may be blocking the port.
    • A missing or misconfigured port forward on a router
    • A double NAT (two routers in sequence). If one of the routers is controlled by your ISP, ask them to put it into "bridge mode" so that it passes all traffic to your internal router.
    • Your ISP may have you behind a carrier-grade NAT (cgnat) which would make your server inaccessible from the internet.
    • Some other network related issue.
  • If the server is able to be queried, check that it reports the correct Steam App ID for the game client. Note that it must report the App ID for the client and not the ID for the dedicated server app. You can find a Steam game's App ID by looking at its URL in the Steam store.
    • If the reported app ID does not match the client App ID, then most likely you are running the server from a Steam client. For most games, you need to run the server directly from disk and not from a Steam client.
    • If the app ID is correct, but the server is not registered with Steam, then you may have a more complex network issue preventing the server from communicating with Steam servers or from registering with the correct IP.

Server registered but query failed

If the tool shows that your server is registered with Steam, but shows an error when querying the server directly, this usually indicates that the query port is not properly open or forwarded. For this case, follow the same steps as indicated above in the "Server not found by tool" section.

Server found by tool but not in game

First, make sure the correct game client app ID is reported by the tool as mentioned above.

Many games rely on Steam to list servers. Due to how Steam server listing works, the list of servers in game will populate slowly over time, and will eventually stop once it reaches some threshold. This generally means that far away servers will not show up at all. Closer servers may take a while to show up.

To work around this issue, most games offer some method to connect either by direct IP and port or by using a lobby code or invitation code that the server generates.

An option that works in many games is to add the server to your Steam favorites so that you do not have to look it up every time. Servers in your Steam often will show at the top of the list in-game or in a separate favorites section.

  1. From your Steam client, open the "View" menu at the top and select "Game Servers".
  2. In the window that opens, press the "Favorites" button at the top, then press the "+" button at the bottom. Enter the IP and port of the server, separated by a colon. For example: 1.2.3.4:27015. Then press "OK".
  3. You should then see the server appear in the favorites list. You can now close this window and return to the game.

Cannot connect to server

If the query tool finds your server, but you are not able to connect, check the following.

Server version mismatch

Most games will not allow a client to connect to a server running a different version of the game. The mechanism for checking client and server versions varies from one game to another. A common issue is that game clients get automatically updated, but the server has not been updated.

Cannot connect from same network

If people are able to connect to your server externally, but not from within the server's local network, then most likely the router does not support NAT loopback (a.k.a. NAT reflection or hairpinning). In some games, you can work around this by entering the local IP of the server PC when connecting from within the network rather than the public IP. If this is not an option, then you may need to use a proxy or VPN on your client to route the connection outside of your network and back, or get a router that supports NAT loopback and enable it if it has the option to be disabled.

Cannot connect from outside of network

If people are able to connect from within your network, but not externally, follow the same steps as above in the "Server not found by tool" section.