Connect your computer

Link your server to Server Reforged with a single command.

Now that Ubuntu is installed, let’s connect your computer to Server Reforged. This is the easy part. You copy one command from your dashboard and paste it into your server.

Step 1: Add your computer in the dashboard

  1. Sign in to your dashboard.
  2. Click Add rig. A “rig” is just our word for a computer you’ve connected.
  3. The dashboard shows you a single command to run. Keep this window open, you’ll copy it in a moment.

Step 2: Get to your server’s terminal

The simplest way is to type the command right on the server itself. Log in on the server’s own screen with your username and password, and you’ll have a terminal ready to go. That’s all you need.

Already comfortable with SSH? If you’d rather control the server from your normal computer, you can connect over SSH instead. Skip this if it’s new to you, the direct method above works just as well.

  1. On your server, the login screen often shows its address, something like 192.168.1.42. If you don’t see it, type ip a on the server and look for an address that starts with 192.168 or 10..
  2. On your normal computer, open a terminal:
    • Windows: open PowerShell from the Start menu.
    • Mac: open Terminal from Applications, then Utilities.
  3. Type ssh yourusername@your-server-address (using the username and address from before) and press Enter.
  4. The first time, it asks if you trust the computer. Type yes. Then enter your password.

Step 3: Run the command

  1. Get the command into your server’s terminal:
    • Typing on the server directly: type the command out exactly as the dashboard shows it. It’s one line, so take your time and check it.
    • Connected over SSH: copy the command from your dashboard and paste it in. In most terminals you paste with a right-click or Ctrl+Shift+V (on Mac, Cmd+V).
  2. Press Enter. It may ask for your password, since it needs admin access to set things up.

The command does the rest: it installs the Server Reforged helper and links your computer to your account. Give it a minute or two.

Step 4: Watch it connect

Flip back to your dashboard. Your computer shows up and switches to connected once it’s ready. That’s it. That old computer isn’t sitting around as a spare anymore. You just reforged it into a server.

The exact command is always the one shown in your dashboard. We generate it fresh for your account, so don’t copy commands from anywhere else.

Once it’s connected, you can unplug everything from the server except the power and ethernet cables. You don’t need the monitor, keyboard, or mouse anymore. The server can sit wherever it’s convenient, tucked away somewhere out of the way, as long as it stays plugged into power and your router.

Next up: create your first ARK server and get your friends playing.