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Palworld server running out of memory or crashing? Start with a daily restart

How to tell a Palworld server ran out of memory, what it needs, how to set a daily restart with warnings and a save, and how to read the memory graph.

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Short answer

Palworld's server is hungry for memory: Pocketpair list 16 GB and recommend more than 32 GB. People who run servers report that it uses more the longer it stays up, and a restart hands all of that back. So start with one restart a day, at an hour when nobody plays, with a warning to players and a save first. Then watch the server's memory for a few days and let that decide whether you need a second restart or a bigger server.

Is it memory?

On Linux, which is what our servers run, a server that runs out of memory usually stops without saying why. The log just ends. An error in the last lines that mentions memory is the same problem. Any other error is more likely something else, and the error is the place to start.

On a home server, watch the server's process in Task Manager on Windows, or top on Linux, and compare it with the memory the PC has. If the server shares the PC with the game, the game needs its own memory on top.

On our servers the Overview page says what happened after any crash. When memory was at the limit just before the server stopped and the log ends without an error, the report is titled The server probably ran out of memory.

How much memory Palworld needs

Pocketpair's requirements page lists 16 GB and adds “Recommended for larger than 32GB”. It says 8 GB will boot, “but increases the possibility of server crashes due to out of memory”.

Those figures apply wherever the server runs. Ours start at 16 GB, and the RAM calculator gives our estimate for your group.

Start with a daily restart

A restart hands back the memory the server has gathered; your world is saved first and loads again as it was. Once a day is the place to begin. Pick an hour when nobody is on, and make sure players are warned before it goes down.

On our servers this is one button:

  1. Open your server in the panel and go to Schedules.
  2. On the Daily restart card, choose the time. It starts at 04:30, in your own time zone, which the card shows beside it.
  3. Press Add daily restart.

From then on, every day, players get a warning in the game 15, 5 and 1 minutes before, the world is saved, and the server restarts. The schedule only restarts a server that's running: it never starts one you've stopped.

There's a second benefit. Our Palworld servers check for a game update every time they start, while Update on start is on (it is by default, under Game → All settings). So a daily restart also keeps the server on the current version. A server that's a version behind is one of the commonest reasons friends can't connect.

On a home server, do the same by hand or with a script. As admin, in the game's chat, type /Save, then /Shutdown 300 Restarting: Pocketpair's /Shutdown takes a number of seconds and a message that players see. When the server has stopped, start it again.

Watch the memory graph

A daily restart is a starting point, and your own server tells you whether it's enough. How fast memory climbs depends on your world: how many players, how many bases, how long since the last restart.

On our servers, the Overview page has a Memory graph beside CPU. It shows what the server is using now, out of the size you bought, and draws the last two minutes while the page is open. Press table on the graph for the lowest, average and highest figures. The figure changes colour when it's within a tenth of the limit.

Take three readings a day for a few days and write them down:

  • a few minutes after the restart, once the world has loaded;
  • in the evening, with your usual players on;
  • as late as you can before the next restart.

If the last reading still has room to spare, one restart a day is enough. If it's close to the limit, or the figure changes colour before the day is out, you have two choices. Add a second time to the restart: edit the schedule and press Add a time. Or give the server more memory, under Memory on the server's Settings page, which shows the price before you confirm. If the first reading of the day is already near the limit, a restart won't help and the server needs the bigger size.

Settings that add load

Pocketpair name three settings that make the server work harder. They describe the cost as processing load and performance, so treat these as things to turn down on a struggling server, then check the graph again.

  • BaseCampWorkerMaxNum, the Pals working at each base. The default is 15 and the most is 50. Pocketpair: “Increasing this value raises processing load.”
  • BaseCampMaxNumInGuild, the bases each guild may have. The default is 4 and the most is 10, with the same warning.
  • PalSpawnNumRate, how many wild Pals appear. Pocketpair note that it “impacts performance”.

All three are in the panel's settings editor on our servers. For a home server, Palworld server settings explained covers the two base settings, and PalSpawnNumRate is on Pocketpair's Configuration parameters page. Change them with the server stopped.

If it keeps crashing

On a home server, check the disk as well as the memory. Pocketpair recommend a fast SSD and warn that “low-performance storage may corrupt saved data”.

On our servers, After a crash on the Settings page can restart the server once for you, for crashes a restart can help with. The Overview page still says what happened. If the report isn't about memory, press Copy the last 200 lines above the console, open Help in the panel and paste them into your message. A person reads it, not a bot.

Keep your own copy: download your files from the panel's Files page, as one .zip or over SFTP.

More on our Palworld servers. Game facts checked against Palworld v1.0.5 on 12 November 2026.

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