How to Make Your BeamMP Server Private

Context

You manage a BeamMP server at Winheberg and want to hide it from the public list so only your friends or community members can join? Whether it's for a training server, a closed community, or simply to avoid being flooded by random players, switching your server to private mode takes less than a minute.

This guide explains how to make your BeamMP server private from your Winheberg gaming panel.

How does private mode work on BeamMP?

BeamMP offers a Private setting in the server's configuration file. When it's enabled.

Your server no longer shows up in BeamMP's public list visible to all players
Players can still join your server by manually entering its address and port in their BeamMP client
Your regular players can add your server as a favorite to find it easily

Private mode doesn't add password protection. Anyone with your address and port can connect. For a server restricted to a specific group, you'll also need to set up a whitelist or an authentication system through third-party resources. Private mode is mainly meant to keep you off the public list.

Prerequisites

Before you start, make sure you have the following.

An active BeamMP server on your Winheberg gaming panel
A few spare minutes to edit the configuration and restart the server

1. Access the ServerConfig.toml file

The setting that controls your server's visibility is in the ServerConfig.toml file, at the root of your server.

Log in to your Winheberg gaming panel
Select your BeamMP server
In the side menu, click Files
At the root of your server, find the ServerConfig.toml file
Click it to open it in the panel's editor

2. Change the Private setting's value

In the ServerConfig.toml file, find the following line.

Private = false

Replace false with true to enable private mode.

Private = true

To quickly find the line, use the editor's search function (Ctrl+F) and type Private. This saves you from scrolling through the whole file by hand.

Then save the file with Save Content (or equivalent) at the top right of the editor.

3. Restart your server

For the change to take effect, you need to restart your BeamMP server.

Go back to your server's main page in the panel
Click Restart (or Stop then Start if needed)
Watch the console to confirm the server restarted correctly

Once restarted, your server is now invisible on the public BeamMP list. You can check by looking at the list from your BeamMP client, your server shouldn't show up there anymore.

How can your players join your private server?

Even though your server no longer shows up in the public list, your players can still join it. Here's the process to share with them.

Launch BeamMP from BeamNG.drive
In the server list, find the Direct Connect button (or equivalent depending on the launcher version)
Enter your server's address and port in the address:port format (for example gm1-wh01.wh-game.fr:30000)
Click Connect

So your players don't have to retype the address every time, recommend they add your server to their favorites in the BeamMP launcher. That way they'll find it in one click every session.

How can you find your server's address and port?

Your players will need these two pieces of information to connect.

Your server's address is shown on your server's main page in the Winheberg gaming panel, in the gm1-whXX.wh-game.fr format (where XX is your host machine's number)
The port is also shown on the same page, in the 30XXX format (a unique port assigned to your server)

Only share this information with the people you want to see join your server.

The full format to give your players looks like gm1-wh01.wh-game.fr:30000. That's the full string they need to paste into the Direct Connect field in the BeamMP launcher.

How do you make the server public again?

If you want to make your server visible on the public BeamMP list again, the process is the same but reversed.

Go back to Files on the panel
Open the ServerConfig.toml file
Replace Private = true with Private = false
Save and restart your server

Your server will reappear on the public list within minutes of the restart.

If you run into trouble

Here are the most common errors when switching to private mode.

❌ The server is still visible on the public list

If your server still shows up after the change.

Check that you did save the file ServerConfig.toml after editing it
Check that the server actually restarted
Wait a few minutes, the BeamMP public list can take a little time to update

❌ My players can't connect via Direct Connect

If your players get an error when trying to join.

Check that they're using the full address:port format (for example gm1-wh01.wh-game.fr:30000) and not just the address
Check that the server is actually started in the panel
Ask them to retype the address, a typo happens easily (missing dot, swapped digit, etc.)

❌ I can't find the Private line in ServerConfig.toml

If the line doesn't exist in your file, your server may be using an older version of the configuration file. You can manually add the line at the end of the file.

Private = true

Save and restart the server, the setting will be picked up.

Best practices

A few recommendations for managing a private BeamMP server smoothly.

Only share your address with trusted people, once it's out, anyone can try to connect
Contact our support to change your port if you notice unwanted connections, this isn't a self-service action from the panel
Set up a whitelist on the resource side if you want to go further and only allow specific BeamMP accounts
Document access for your players (dedicated Discord channel with the address, FAQ, etc.) to avoid repeated questions

Need help?

If your server stays visible on the public list despite these steps, or if you can't find the ServerConfig.toml file, our team is here. Open a ticket in the Technical department from your client area and fill in the Related Product field with the server in question.

Your BeamMP server is now out of sight, enjoy your private sessions 🔒