How to Create a Cyberpunk 2077 Server with Open77

Open77 (OPEN//77) is the community multiplayer platform for Cyberpunk 2077. Hosting your own Cyberpunk 2077 server lets you:

• Play together in Night City: roleplay, freeroam, deathmatch or battle royale.
• Build your own game modes with Lua 5.4 resources and web interfaces (WebUI).
• Customize the world: vehicles, maps, NPCs, cyberware, weather and mods delivered automatically to players.
• Grow a community from the start of a young multiplayer scene, where there is still room to make a name for yourself.

Open77 works much like FiveM does for GTA V: a dedicated server, a free license key, a web admin panel and scripted resources. The server ships ready to play with the Freeroam mode, so you can open a world in minutes and then make it your own.

The Open77 server is deliberately lightweight: it needs neither Cyberpunk 2077, nor REDengine, nor any game data. Check these points before you start:

• ✔ System : Windows x64 or Linux x64 (Debian), the .NET runtime is bundled in the archive: nothing else to install
• ✔ Hardware : The official documentation sets no minimum; as a guideline, a VPS with 2 to 4 cores and 4 GB of RAM is enough to start, to be scaled with your Lua resources and player count
• ✔ Game : Cyberpunk 2077 does not need to be installed on the server machine
• ✔ Players : Each player needs Cyberpunk 2077 version 2.31 with the Phantom Liberty expansion, on 64-bit Windows 10 or 11, plus Alpha access
• ✔ Hosting : Your own PC for testing, then a VPS or dedicated server for a 24/7 server

To download the server and register it with the Open77 master, you need an account with Alpha access and a license key generated from the keymaster.

/alpha apply

The Open77 dedicated server is downloaded from the Host page of the official website. The archive contains the server and its .NET runtime, the ready-to-play Freeroam mode, Warden (setup wizard and web panel) and the Lua 5.4 runtime.

1. Go to open2077.net/host with your Alpha account and pick the Stable channel (recommended) rather than Unstable
2. Download the archive for your system: .zip for Windows, .tar.gz for Linux, and check its SHA-256 hash shown on the page
3. Extract the archive into a folder dedicated to your server
4. Run Start.cmd on Windows or ./start.sh on Linux (or the Open77.Server executable directly)

Set the license key

The recommended method is to pass the key through the OP77_LICENSE_KEY environment variable, so it is never written in plain text in a config file:

Linux :

export OP77_LICENSE_KEY="op77_live_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
./start.sh

Windows :

$env:OP77_LICENSE_KEY = "op77_live_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
.\Start.cmd

Warden is the web admin panel bundled with the Open77 server, the equivalent of txAdmin for FiveM. On first launch, if no server.jsonc file exists, a setup wizard opens in your browser.

http://localhost:11780

The server.jsonc file (JSON that accepts comments) holds the whole server configuration. The wizard generates one; here are the key blocks to know:

{
  "identity": {
    "name": "Night City RP",
    "visibility": "public"
  },
  "network": {
    "port": 11778,
    "publicEndpoint": "play.example.com:11778"
  },
  "query": {
    "enabled": true,
    "map": "Night City",
    "gamemode": "Freeroam"
  },
  "masterServer": {
    "enabled": true,
    "url": "https://master.open2077.net/",
    "licenseKey": null,
    "licenseKeyEnvironmentVariable": "OP77_LICENSE_KEY"
  },
  "warden": {
    "enabled": true,
    "bind": "127.0.0.1:11780"
  }
}

• identity.name - Server name shown in the launcher server browser
• identity.visibility - Directory visibility: public (listed), unlisted or private (invite only)
• network.port / network.publicEndpoint - Game UDP port (11778 by default) and the public address players use to connect
• query - Enables server information queries and sets the advertised map and game mode
• masterServer - Registration with the Open77 master; leave licenseKey as null to read the key from the OP77_LICENSE_KEY variable
• warden.bind - Listening address of the Warden panel, keep it local

Startup arguments

On a VPS, you can also pass everything as launch arguments: --no-setup skips the wizard, --public-ip advertises your public IP and --max-players sets the maximum number of players. Add --check-config to validate the configuration without starting the server.

./Open77.Server --no-setup --config server.jsonc \
  --public-ip 203.0.113.10 --port 11778 --max-players 32 \
  --log-level info

All of your server content (game modes, HUDs, scripts, maps, vehicles) takes the form of resources: packages of Lua 5.4 scripts, permissions and web files that the server loads and distributes to players. They are organized by category in the resources/ folder:

resources/
  system/       official platform resources
  gamemodes/    playable modes and HUDs
  dev/          examples and harnesses
  assets/
    loaders/    archivexl, tweakxl
    maps/       world packages
    vehicles/   vehicle packages
    mods/       third-party packages

The open77.lua manifest

Each resource has an open77.lua file declaring its name, version, server, client and shared scripts, web interface and the permissions it needs. Server scripts are never sent to players.

resource "garage"
version "1.0.0"
auto_start true

shared_script "shared/config.lua"
server_script "server/main.lua"
client_script "client/main.lua"

web_ui_page "web/index.html"
web_files { "web/**" }
permissions { "network.events" }

Manage resources from the console

After adding a folder, rescan the manifests with refresh, then start the resource with ensure. The start, stop, restart and resources (list) commands are also available, as well as hot reload from Warden.

refresh
ensure garage
restart garage
stop garage

Coming from FiveM?

Open77 borrows many FiveM concepts and provides compatibility aliases: Citizen.CreateThread, Wait, RegisterCommand, events and exports work, and fxmanifest.lua becomes open77.lua. However, GTA natives (Citizen.InvokeNative, RequestModel, RequestAnimDict) do not exist: a FiveM script has to be adapted, not just copied. If you are new to FiveM, also see our guide to creating a FiveM server.

MySQL / MariaDB database

To persist data (characters, inventories, vehicles), enable the database block in server.jsonc. Only MySQL and MariaDB are supported. The connection string, in MySqlConnector format, is best passed through the OP77_DATABASE_CONNECTION variable, and every resource accessing it must declare the database.access permission.

Server=127.0.0.1;Port=3306;Database=open77;User ID=open77;Password=SECRET;

Open77 can automatically install the mods your server needs (ArchiveXL, TweakXL, vehicles, maps) before the game boots: players have nothing to do by hand and do not need to restart to join.

The three trust verdicts

• Verified - mod reviewed by the Open77 team, any content allowed (including executables), distributed by the platform
• Unverified - only inert data is accepted (.archive, .tweak, .xl, engine INI files), hosted by your server
• Blocked - mod refused: players cannot join a server that requires it

Open77 uses a UDP port for gameplay and a TCP port for players to download resources. For your server to be reachable from the Internet, both ports must be open.

Ports to open

• UDP 11778 (default): game traffic, configurable with network.port or --port
• TCP 11779 (default): resource and mod downloads for players
• TCP 11780 : Warden panel, keep it local, do not open it publicly

Example firewall rules

Windows Defender :

New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Open77 Game" -Direction Inbound -Protocol UDP -LocalPort 11778 -Action Allow
New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Open77 Downloads" -Direction Inbound -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 11779 -Action Allow

Linux UFW :

sudo ufw allow 11778/udp
sudo ufw allow 11779/tcp

Linux iptables :

sudo iptables -A INPUT -p udp --dport 11778 -j ACCEPT
sudo iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 11779 -j ACCEPT

Warden centralizes the administration of your Cyberpunk 2077 server from the browser:

• Live console: read logs and run server commands
• Player moderation: warn, kick, ban and manage the ban list, broadcast announcements
• Lua resource management with hot reload, without restarting the server
• Admin accounts with role-scoped permissions, plus the server icon and banner

• ✔ Backups: regularly copy your server.jsonc, your resources/ folder and your database off the machine. Automate it: a manual backup always ends up being forgotten.
• ✔ Updates: stay on the Stable channel and update the server as soon as a new version is released, as players must use a compatible version. During the Alpha, back up your resources before every update.

Once registered with the master using its license key, a public server automatically appears in the Open77 launcher browser and on open2077.net. A few settings make all the difference:

• ✔ Choose a clear name and a description that state your game mode, language and atmosphere.
• ✔ Add tags: the first tag matching a known mode decides which category your server is filed under, otherwise it shows as "Custom".
• ✔ Add an icon and a banner from Warden, set your website and Discord, and share your direct connect link (open77://connect?server=...).
• ✔ List your server in the Top-Games Cyberpunk 2077 server ranking to reach new players through votes.