Enshrouded Server Version Mismatch: Force an Update

Enshrouded Server Version Mismatch: Force an Update

When Keen Games ships an Enshrouded patch, the client almost always updates before the dedicated server build propagates. Players see something like:

"When I log in it says there is a version mismatch. I have build 23095682 on my machine and my server says 23008921. How do I force an update?"

That report is the entire diagnosis already. Two build IDs, one number apart from the other. The world is untouched, the server is healthy, the binary on disk just predates the patch.

What the build IDs mean

Steam exposes a numeric build ID for every game and every dedicated server app. When Keen pushes a patch:

1. The game client build ID changes within minutes for everyone with auto-update enabled.
2. The dedicated server build ID changes when the server app is updated separately by the host (or by SteamCMD on a self-managed box).
3. Until both numbers match, the client refuses to join with "version mismatch".

Enshrouded does not have a "join with older client" fallback. The numbers must align.

Step 1: Confirm the client build

In Steam: right-click Enshrouded in the library, Properties → Updates. The installed build ID is shown near the top. Note that number.

Step 2: Confirm the server build

On Supercraft the active branch is shown in the panel for the deployment. To confirm what is on disk, the version file is at:

cat ens/version
# example output
ens/stable/latest

That tells you the branch ("stable", in the example) but not the Steam build ID. The build ID for the installed server binary changes whenever Supercraft refreshes the upstream Enshrouded server image. If the panel offers an "update" or "reinstall" action, that is what triggers a fresh pull from Steam.

Step 3: Trigger the server update

1. Stop the deployment from the panel.
2. Use the panel's branch picker to confirm the desired branch (almost always stable; switch only if you opted into a beta).
3. Trigger an update / reinstall from the panel. On Supercraft this rsyncs the latest dedicated server build from the maintained repository.
4. Wait for the deployment to come back online. The version file should now reflect the latest build.
5. Tell the affected player to try joining again.

On a typical Enshrouded patch, the server-side update lands within a few hours of the client patch. If you are seeing a several-day-old build ID on the server, that is the moment to ask support to refresh the upstream repository.

What this is not

• Not a save problem. Save files for Enshrouded survive across patches. Do not restore a backup as your first move.
• Not a port problem. The customer would see "connection failed" or "timeout", not a version-mismatch dialog.
• Not runtime trace noise. Enshrouded server logs contain 019c:trace:steamclient:... lines all the time. Those are normal. The version mismatch is a client-side check, not a server-side crash.

Reading the server logs while you wait

Standard layout for an Enshrouded server on a Supercraft node:

ens/
├── process-control/
│   ├── stdout.log              # game stdout
│   ├── stderr.log              # trace noise + actual errors
│   └── run_watch.stderr.log    # supervisor (exit codes, OOM kills)
├── version                     # branch token, e.g. ens/stable/latest
└── ftp/                        # FTP staging area

If the server starts cleanly but the version is wrong, stderr.log will be full of routine trace lines and otherwise quiet. That is the normal "healthy but outdated" state. If the server is crash-looping, see Reading stderr.log when stdout is silent instead.

Setting expectations with your players

A "version mismatch" message is the most polite failure a multiplayer game can give you. The world is fine, the save is fine, the server is fine, and the fix is one update cycle away. Tell your players: "server build is one patch behind, refreshing now, try again in 10 minutes".

Pairing branches and patches the easy way

On Supercraft Enshrouded hosting the branch picker and the latest server build live in the panel, so the typical post-patch flow is "stop, update, start" without opening SteamCMD. Combine it with the save rollback guide if a patch genuinely breaks your world.