Create your first free server on Torchlite

Getting a server on Torchlite takes a few minutes and no card. You make an account on torchlite.host, choose a plan and a game, and the server is built and installed for you. Then you manage it from the control panel at game.torchlite.host.

This guide walks through every screen in order and tells you which choice to make at each step.

Before you start

You need three things:

• An email address from a big provider. New accounts need a Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, iCloud or similar address; throwaway domains are refused.
• A password of at least 8 characters that you do not use anywhere else. It becomes your login for the website, the panel and SFTP.
• To be 16 or older, or younger with a parent's permission.

Each person gets one account, and one account can hold one free game server, on any plan, plus one Discord bot. If you already have an account, log in instead of signing up again.

Create your account

On torchlite.host, click Create your server. If you are not logged in yet, you land on the login page first.

1. Switch to the Sign up tab.
2. Type your Email address and a Password. The meter under the password tells you if it is too weak.
3. Leave Keep me signed in on this device ticked if this is your own computer.
4. Click Create account.

We email you a 6-digit code. Type it on the Check your email screen and click Create my account. The code expires after a few minutes, and Resend code unlocks after a short wait.

Once the code is accepted you are logged in and sent straight to the server wizard.

Pick a plan

The first time you open the wizard, a notice explains that ads on the website and our sponsor TorchByte pay for the servers. Click Got it, create my server to continue.

The first step is Pick your plan. All plans are free; the difference is how much of the machine you get and how often you have to renew.

Which one to choose:

• Lite suits a small group on a light server: Minecraft on Paper with a handful of plugins, Terraria, or a TeamSpeak server. You get the longest gap between renewals.
• Turbo is marked Recommended and is selected for you. Pick it for more players, a bigger plugin list or a Fabric setup with performance mods. Minecraft's Java heap grows with the plan's RAM, so the extra memory matters.
• Max is only offered for Minecraft Forge, Minecraft NeoForge and Hytale, which need the memory. Hytale runs on Max only.
• Bot, under the three game plans, is for a Discord bot in Node.js or Python. It is renewed once a day; the Discord bot guide walks you through it.

If you are unsure, keep Turbo. A bigger plan is no use if you cannot be at the panel that often; the renewal guide explains the timer.

Click Continue when you have chosen.

Choose your game

The Choose your game step lists every game we can install, grouped by family, with a search box on top. Click one to select it.

Some games show a short note when you pick them, telling you what the server needs from you. Don't Starve Together, for example, needs a cluster token from your Klei account.

If the game does not run on the plan you picked, the wizard moves you to a plan that fits and says so. Picking Hytale, Forge or NeoForge on Lite or Turbo, for example, moves you to Max.

A few games have a third step, Setup, for settings we cannot fill in for you. You can type them now or leave them empty. Empty fields get a placeholder value so the server can be created, and you must replace it in the panel under Startup before the server will work. If you leave any empty, tick the box that confirms you understand this, then continue.

The box under the list shows how many slots are free. Click Create my server to start the build. If every slot is taken, the button says Join the queue instead.

Wait for the build

You now see a progress ring and a checklist: Panel account created, Slot reserved, Server deployed to a node, Game files installing and Ready to play. With a free slot, this usually takes a few minutes.

If you joined the queue, the screen says You are in the queue and shows your position. Servers are built in order, and the page updates on its own. If you close the tab, opening the wizard again in the same browser picks the build back up.

When it finishes you see Your server is live, with your panel username, the server's name and how often it needs renewing. An email titled "Your free … server is ready" arrives around the same time with an Open your panel button.

First login to the panel

Click Open my server, or go to game.torchlite.host. On the panel's login page, type your email (or the username shown at the end of the build) in Username or Email, then your Password, and click Login.

Open your server; it is named after the game and your username, for example "Minecraft (Paper) - alex". While the game files are still installing, a banner says the installation process is running and most buttons are disabled. It usually clears within a couple of minutes.

The bar at the top of every server page shows the name, the status, the server's address and live CPU, memory and disk use, next to the Start, Restart, Stop and Renew buttons. The panel tour explains each page in the sidebar.

The first Start

When a slot is free, a new server starts by itself as soon as the install finishes. If every running slot was busy, it waits in the start queue instead. A brand-new server keeps that place for 24 hours, starts on its own when its turn comes, and we email you when it does.

If the status says Offline, press Start and watch the Console. For Minecraft, the server is ready when the console prints a line with Done and the time it took to start. If a dialog asks you to accept the Minecraft EULA, press I Accept and the panel restarts the server for you.

From the moment it runs, the renewal timer counts down on the Renew button. It unlocks in the last 5 minutes, and time you have left is kept when you press it. Keep the panel open in a tab while you play.

Connect to your server

Click the address in the top bar to copy it: an IP address and a port, separated by a colon.

For Minecraft Java Edition, open Multiplayer, click Add Server, paste the address into Server Address and join. Your game version has to match the server's; on Paper and the other Minecraft types you can change it on the Versions page. Other games connect differently: Unturned players use the Server Code shown in the console, for instance.

Copy the address again from the panel if it ever stops working; the panel always shows the current one.

Common problems

"New accounts need a Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, iCloud or similar address"

Your email provider is not on the list we accept for new accounts. Sign up with an address from one of the big providers instead.

The code never arrived

Check the spam folder and wait a minute; mail can be slow. Make sure the address on the code screen is right. If the code expired, request a new one with Resend code when the countdown ends.

"This email already has an account"

You, or someone using your address, signed up before. Use the Log in tab, and Forgot your password? if you do not remember it.

"Your account is full"

One account holds one free game server, and yours already has it. Manage it from the panel, where Change game switches it to another game. A Discord bot is separate: if you have no bot yet, you can still create one.

The server will not start after the Setup step

You probably left a setting empty, so it still holds the placeholder. Open Startup in the panel, fill in the real value, and press Start again.