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How to Add Colors to Your Valheim Server Name

Wrap your Valheim dedicated server’s -name value in a six-digit HEX color tag, restart the server, and use separate closed tags for multicolor names.

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Use a Unity-style color tag in the dedicated server’s -name startup argument. The basic form is <color=#RRGGBB>Your name</color>, where RRGGBB is a six-digit hexadecimal color value. For example, -name "<color=#00BFFF>Frostheim</color>" gives the server-list name a deep-sky-blue color when the client renders the markup.

Stop the server before editing its startup script, save the change, and start it again. Windows administrators should work from a copy of start_headless_server.bat; Linux administrators use start_server.sh. Keeping a copy matters because a Steam update can reset the original script.

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What the color tag changes

The tag changes how your dedicated server name is rendered in the Valheim server browser. It does not rename the world, alter gameplay, change your network backend, or recolor text inside the game. The visible name is still supplied by the dedicated server’s -name startup argument; the color markup is simply wrapped around that value.

The syntax follows Unity-style rich-text color tags:

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<color=#FF0000>My Server</color>

The opening tag starts with <color=#, followed by exactly six hexadecimal characters, and ends with >. The closing tag is </color>. Hexadecimal digits can use 0–9 and A–F; uppercase and lowercase letters represent the same values.

Before you edit the server

  • Make sure you are editing the dedicated server’s startup configuration, not a client shortcut or a world-save file.
  • Stop the server cleanly before changing the script. Editing while it is running can leave the active process using the old name and can risk an overwritten file when the process shuts down.
  • Record the existing -name value and any other launch arguments so you can restore them if needed.
  • Use a plain-text editor. Do not paste the command into a rich-text word processor that can replace quotation marks or angle brackets.

Windows: change the name in the batch file

Iron Gate’s dedicated-server documentation recommends editing a copy of the Windows script, because Steam updates may replace the original. The file is commonly named start_headless_server.bat.

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  1. Stop the dedicated Valheim server.
  2. Open the server installation folder and make a copy of start_headless_server.bat. Give the copy a clear name, such as start_valheim_custom.bat, and use that copy for future launches.
  3. Open the copied file in a plain-text editor.
  4. Find the startup argument that begins with -name. A typical uncolored value looks like -name "My server".
  5. Replace only the name text with a complete color tag. For example:
-name "<color=#00BFFF>Frostheim</color>"
  1. Keep the surrounding double quotation marks. They make the entire colored name one argument, including any spaces.
  2. Save the file and launch the server with the copied script.
  3. Open the Valheim server list from a client and look for the new rendering. The name should appear in the selected color rather than showing the tag characters.

If the server is started by a control panel instead of a local batch file, look for a startup-arguments or server-name field. The panel may generate the same -name argument for you; enter the tag as the value and follow the host’s save-and-restart process.

Linux: change the name in the shell script

On Linux, Iron Gate’s documented startup script is start_server.sh. The principle is identical, but the script is interpreted by a shell rather than Windows Command Prompt.

  1. Stop the dedicated server.
  2. Make a backup or working copy of start_server.sh. Keep the copy outside the path that Steam updates replace, or configure your service to launch the copy.
  3. Open the copy in a plain-text editor.
  4. Locate the -name argument in the server command.
  5. Put the complete tag inside the existing quotes. For example:
-name "<color=#228B22>Meadowhold</color>"
  1. Save the script and start the server using that file or your service definition.
  2. Check the server browser from a client. If the tag is rendered, the name is colored; if the tag is visible, use the troubleshooting checks below.

Do not remove unrelated arguments while editing. Options for the world, password, port, public visibility, networking backend, and save interval must remain as they were unless you intentionally want to change them.

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Using more than one color

Close one color span before opening the next. Each colored segment needs its own opening and closing tag:

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-name "<color=#FF0000>Red</color> <color=#FFFF00>Gold</color>"

This produces “Red” in red and “Gold” in yellow, with a normal space between them. You can also color adjacent segments without a space:

-name "<color=#00BFFF>Frost</color><color=#FFFFFF>heim</color>"

Do not nest tags unless you have a specific reason to test that behavior. The reliable pattern is sequential, properly closed spans. A missing closing tag can cause the remainder of the name to inherit the first color or make the client display the markup literally.

Useful HEX color examples

The six digits are arranged as red, green, and blue pairs: RRGGBB. Each pair ranges from 00 (none of that channel) to FF (maximum).

Color idea HEX value Example argument
Red #FF0000 -name "<color=#FF0000>Ashen Keep</color>"
Gold/yellow #FFFF00 -name "<color=#FFFF00>Gold Coast</color>"
Deep-sky blue #00BFFF -name "<color=#00BFFF>Frostheim</color>"
Forest green #228B22 -name "<color=#228B22>Meadowhold</color>"
White #FFFFFF -name "<color=#FFFFFF>Northwatch</color>"
Black #000000 -name "<color=#000000>Night Raid</color>"

These values are examples, not a list of special Valheim colors. Any six-digit RGB HEX value that the client accepts can be substituted.

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Why the tag appears as plain text

If the server browser shows <color=#...> instead of colored text, the client is receiving the characters but not applying the markup, or the argument is malformed. Check the following in order.

Verify the opening tag

The opening form must be exactly <color=#RRGGBB>. Common errors include omitting the hash, using only three digits, adding a space before the closing angle bracket, or typing a different attribute name.

Verify the closing tag

End the colored text with </color>. The slash belongs after the opening angle bracket, and the closing tag does not contain a HEX value.

Check the six-digit value

Count the characters after #. #FF0000 is valid; #F00 is not the six-character form used by this procedure. Remove any spaces or punctuation inside the value.

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Check quotation marks and shell syntax

The complete name should remain inside the same pair of quotes after -name. Replacing straight quotes with typographic “smart” quotes can prevent the script from passing the value correctly. On Windows and Linux, angle brackets inside a quoted argument are treated as part of the value; do not move them outside the quotes.

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Confirm that the edited file is the one being launched

It is easy to edit a backup while a service, shortcut, or hosting panel continues to launch a different script. Check the command or panel configuration that actually starts the server, then restart that instance.

Restart after saving

The running process does not reread its -name argument. Stop it, save the file, and start it again before judging the result.

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Consider client-side rendering

The color is visible only when the Valheim client renders the markup. If one client shows literal tags while another renders the color, compare their game versions, server-list filters, and any installed modifications. The startup syntax itself remains the same.

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Keeping the color after Steam updates

Steam can reset an original startup script during an update. That is why the dedicated-server documentation recommends working from a copy. Store your customized script separately, launch the server through that copy, and keep a second backup of the known-good file. After an update:

  1. Check that the copy still contains the desired -name argument.
  2. Confirm that the service, shortcut, or panel still launches the copy rather than a newly replaced original.
  3. Start the server and verify the rendered name in the browser.

If you must use the regenerated original, reapply the color tag and retain a copy so the change is easy to restore next time.

Steam and Crossplay networking do not change the color syntax

Iron Gate documents Steam and Crossplay as separate networking backends. Steam uses the configured port range and normally requires router access for players outside the local network. Crossplay uses a relay and does not require port forwarding for outside access. Those choices affect connectivity, not the -name color-tag format.

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Choose the backend required by your players, then edit the same startup name argument. Do not add networking options inside the color tag, and do not assume that changing ports will fix a malformed name.

Managed hosting and control panels

A managed Valheim host may hide the batch or shell script and expose the startup command through a web control panel. Look for labels such as Server name, Startup parameters, Launch arguments, or Command line. Enter the complete value, including both tags and the six-digit HEX code, then save and restart.

If the panel strips angle brackets, rejects the value, or escapes the characters, contact the host’s support team or use its raw startup-arguments field. A panel that stores only a plain server-name field may not support rich-text markup; in that case, the limitation is in the hosting interface rather than in the color syntax.

Pre-launch validation checklist

  • The server is stopped while the file is edited.
  • The file being edited is the file actually launched.
  • The -name value is enclosed in straight double quotation marks.
  • The opening tag has # plus six HEX characters.
  • The closing </color> tag is present and correctly spelled.
  • There are no spaces inside either tag.
  • Separate colored words each have their own closed tag.
  • The customized script is copied so an update cannot remove the only working version.
  • The server has been restarted after saving.

Complete examples

One color for the full name

-name "<color=#FF0000>My Server</color>"

Two colors for separate words

-name "<color=#FF0000>My</color> <color=#FFFF00>Server</color>"

A single colored name with a world-friendly title

-name "<color=#228B22>Meadowhold: A Valheim Realm</color>"

In every example, the name remains one quoted argument. The only difference is the markup wrapped around the visible characters.

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