ark-ascended-server

Containerized Ark: Survival Ascended server

This project runs the Windows Ark: SA binaries in Debian 12 Linux headless with GE Proton.

Disclaimer: This is not an official image. No support, implied or otherwise is offered to any end user by the author or anyone else. Feel free to do what you please with the contents of this repository.

Usage

The processes within the container do NOT run as root. Everything runs as the user steam (gid:10000/uid:10000). There is no interface at all, everything runs headless. If you exec into the container, you will be operating as the steam user.

Ports

Port	Protocol	Default
Game Port	UDP	7777
RCON Port	TCP	27020

This is the port required by Ark: SA. If you have read elsewhere about the query port, that is deprecated and not used in the Survival Ascended version of Ark. If you are not able to see your server, make sure you have enabled the correct port forwarding on your router.

If you are still running into issues, there is one potential cause that may be out of your control that I feel I must mention. Some ISPs (internet service providers) utilize a technology called CGNAT (Carrier Grade Network Address Translation). CGNAT can cause issues with port forwarding. If you suspect this may be the case, you will need to contact your ISP for assistance.

Environment Variables

Name	Description	Default	Required
SERVER_MAP	The map that the server runs	TheIsland_WP	True
SESSION_NAME	The name for your server/session	None	True
SERVER_PASSWORD	The password to join your server	None	False
SERVER_ADMIN_PASSWORD	The password for utilizing admin functions	None	True
GAME_PORT	This is the port that the server accepts incoming traffic on	7777	True
RCON_PORT	The port for the RCON service to listen on	27020	False
MODS	Comma separated list of CurseForge project IDs. Example: ModId1,ModId2,etc	None	False
EXTRA_FLAGS	Space separated list of additional server start flags. Example: -NoBattlEye -ForceAllowCaveFlyers	None	False
EXTRA_SETTINGS	? Separated list of additional server settings. Example: ?serverPVE=True?ServerHardcore=True	None	False
TZ	Set timezone for the container	America/Toronto	False

Backup Environment Variables

Name	Description	Default	Required
BACKUP_ENABLED	Enable automated backups	false	False
BACKUP_REPOSITORY	Restic repository URL/path	None	True if backups enabled
BACKUP_PASSWORD	Password for the Restic repository	None	True if backups enabled
BACKUP_SCHEDULE	Cron schedule for backups	0 0 * * * (daily at midnight)	False
BACKUP_RETENTION_DAYS	Number of days to keep backups	7	False
BACKUP_PATHS	Paths to backup	/home/steam/ark/ShooterGame/Saved	False
BACKUP_EXCLUDE	Space separated list of exclude patterns	None	False
BACKUP_BEFORE_UPDATE	Whether to backup before updating	true	False

Container Registries

This container is available from both Docker Hub and GitHub Container Registry (GHCR).

Docker Hub

docker pull sknnr/ark-ascended-server:latest

GitHub Container Registry

docker pull ghcr.io/doomhound188/ark-ascended-server:latest

Docker

To run the container in Docker, run the following command:

docker volume create ark-persistent-data
docker run \
  --detach \
  --name Ark-Ascended-Server \
  --mount type=volume,source=ark-persistent-data,target=/home/steam/ \
  --publish 7777:7777/udp \
  --publish 27020:27020/tcp \
  --env=SERVER_MAP=TheIsland_WP \
  --env=SESSION_NAME="Ark Ascended Containerized" \
  --env=SERVER_PASSWORD="PleaseChangeMe" \
  --env=SERVER_ADMIN_PASSWORD="AlsoChangeMe" \
  --env=GAME_PORT=7777 \
  --env=RCON_PORT=27020 \
  sknnr/ark-ascended-server:latest

You can also use the GHCR image by replacing sknnr/ark-ascended-server:latest with ghcr.io/doomhound188/ark-ascended-server:latest.

Docker Compose

To use Docker Compose, either clone this repo or copy the compose.yaml file out of the container directory to your local machine. Edit the compose file to change the environment variables to the desired values.

compose.yaml:

services:
  ark-ascended:
    # Use one of the following image options:
    image: sknnr/ark-ascended-server:latest  # Docker Hub
    # image: ghcr.io/doomhound188/ark-ascended-server:latest  # GitHub Container Registry
    ports:
      - "7777:7777/udp"
      - "27020:27020/tcp"
    environment:
      - SESSION_NAME=Ark Ascended Containerized
      - SERVER_PASSWORD=PleaseChangeMe
      - SERVER_MAP=TheIsland_WP
      - SERVER_ADMIN_PASSWORD=AlsoChangeMe
      - GAME_PORT=7777
      - RCON_PORT=27020
    volumes:
      - ark-persistent-data:/home/steam/

volumes:
  ark-persistent-data:

To bring the container up:

docker compose up -d

To bring the container down:

docker compose down

Podman

To run the container in Podman, run the following command:

podman volume create ark-persistent-data
podman run \
  --detach \
  --name Ark-Ascended-Server \
  --mount type=volume,source=ark-persistent-data,target=/home/steam/ \
  --publish 7777:7777/udp \
  --publish 27020:27020/tcp \
  --env=SERVER_MAP=TheIsland_WP \
  --env=SESSION_NAME="Ark Ascended Containerized" \
  --env=SERVER_PASSWORD="PleaseChangeMe" \
  --env=SERVER_ADMIN_PASSWORD="AlsoChangeMe" \
  --env=GAME_PORT=7777 \
  --env=RCON_PORT=27020 \
  --restart always \
  --label io.containers.autoupdate=registry \
  docker.io/sknnr/ark-ascended-server:latest
  # Or use GHCR:
  # ghcr.io/doomhound188/ark-ascended-server:latest

Kubernetes

I've built a Helm chart and have included it in the helm directory within this repo. Modify the values.yaml file to your liking and install the chart into your cluster. Be sure to create and use a PersistentVolume and PersistentVolumeClaim for the data storage.

Backups

The container includes a built-in backup system using Restic which can automatically back up your server data on a schedule. To enable backups, you need to set the appropriate environment variables.

Basic Backup Configuration

docker run \
  --detach \
  --name Ark-Ascended-Server \
  --mount type=volume,source=ark-persistent-data,target=/home/steam/ \
  --publish 7777:7777/udp \
  --publish 27020:27020/tcp \
  --env=SESSION_NAME="Ark Ascended Containerized" \
  --env=SERVER_ADMIN_PASSWORD="YourAdminPassword" \
  --env=BACKUP_ENABLED=true \
  --env=BACKUP_REPOSITORY="s3:https://s3.amazonaws.com/your-bucket-name" \
  --env=BACKUP_PASSWORD="YourSecureBackupPassword" \
  sknnr/ark-ascended-server:latest

Backup Repository Types

Restic supports various repository types including:

• Local: /path/to/repository
• S3: s3:https://s3.amazonaws.com/bucket_name
• SFTP: sftp:user@host:/path
• Rest Server: rest:https://user:pass@host:8000/

For complete details on repository types, see the Restic documentation.

GitHub Container Registry

Automated Workflow

This repository includes a GitHub Actions workflow that automatically builds and publishes the container image to GitHub Container Registry (GHCR) when:

1. Changes are pushed to the main branch that affect files in the container/ directory
2. A new release is published
3. The workflow is manually triggered

The workflow builds the container image using the container/Containerfile and pushes it to GHCR with the following tags:

• latest - For the most recent build from the main branch
• v1.2.3 - Full semantic version tag (when a release is created with a tag like v1.2.3)
• v1.2 - Major.Minor version tag
• v1 - Major version tag
• sha-abc123 - Short commit SHA for all builds

To use this workflow:

1. Fork this repository
2. Ensure your repository has permission to publish packages
3. Make your changes to the container
4. Push to main or create a release to trigger the workflow

Manual Publishing with Makefile

The Makefile includes targets for building and pushing to GHCR manually:

# Build the image for GHCR
make build-ghcr

# Build and push to GHCR
make push-ghcr

Before using these targets, you need to:

1. Log in to GHCR:

   echo $GITHUB_TOKEN | buildah login ghcr.io -u USERNAME --password-stdin

2. Update the GHCR_NAMESPACE in the Makefile to your GitHub username

The Makefile will tag the image with both latest and the short git commit hash.

Automatic Updates

Using Watchtower with Docker

Watchtower can automatically update your running Docker containers. To use Watchtower:

1. Run Watchtower:

   docker run -d \
     --name watchtower \
     -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock \
     containrrr/watchtower

2. Configure Watchtower (optional):

   docker run -d \
     --name watchtower \
     -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock \
     containrrr/watchtower \
     --interval 300 \
     --notifications email \
     --notification-email-from watchtower@example.com \
     --notification-email-to you@example.com \
     --notification-email-server smtp.example.com \
     --notification-email-server-port 587 \
     --notification-email-server-user user@example.com \
     --notification-email-server-password password

Using Built-in Update Functions in Podman

Podman supports automatic updates with the io.containers.autoupdate label.

1. Ensure your Podman run command includes the --label io.containers.autoupdate=registry option as shown in the Podman example above.

2. Create a systemd unit file for auto-update:

   [Unit]
   Description=Podman auto-update service
   Wants=network-online.target
   After=network-online.target
   
   [Service]
   Type=oneshot
   ExecStart=/usr/bin/podman auto-update --authfile /path/to/auth.json

3. Create a systemd timer to run the update service daily:

   [Unit]
   Description=Run Podman auto-update daily
   
   [Timer]
   OnCalendar=daily
   Persistent=true
   
   [Install]
   WantedBy=timers.target

4. Enable and start the timer:

   sudo systemctl enable podman-auto-update.timer
   sudo systemctl start podman-auto-update.timer

The chart in this repo is also hosted in my helm-charts repository here

To install this chart from my helm-charts repository:

helm repo add doomhound188 https://doomhound188.github.io/helm-charts
helm repo update

To install the chart from the repo:

helm install ark-survival-ascended doomhound188/ark-survival-ascended --values myvalues.yaml
# Where myvalues.yaml is your copy of the Values.yaml file with the settings that you want

Troubleshooting

Connectivity

If you are having issues connecting to the server once the container is deployed, I promise the issue is not with this image. You need to make sure that the ports 7777/udp and 27020/tcp (or whichever ports you have configured) are open and forwarded correctly on your router.

Storage

I recommend having Docker or Podman manage the volume that gets mounted into the container. However, if you absolutely must bind mount a directory into the container you need to make sure that ownership and permissions are set correctly. Use chown -R 10000:10000 /your/mount/path to set the correct ownership.

Backups

If backups aren't working:

1. Check that BACKUP_ENABLED is set to true
2. Verify that BACKUP_REPOSITORY and BACKUP_PASSWORD are set correctly
3. Check the backup logs with docker exec Ark-Ascended-Server cat /home/steam/backup.log