PalApi

PalApi is a mod loader for your Palworld dedicated server. It lets you run server-side plugins (auto-save, chat commands, protections, that kind of thing) without touching the players - people join with the normal vanilla game, they dont need anything installed on their side.

It only runs on the server. Your world, your save, your players: untouched.

This is an early release. It works and it has been tested a lot, but treat it like a beta and keep a backup of your save (you should be doing that anyway).

What you need

• A Palworld dedicated server running on Windows (the SteamCMD one, PalServer).
• Nothing else. No .NET, no runtime to install.

Install (the easy way - drop-in)

1. Download the zip from the Releases page and unzip it somewhere.
2. Open your server folder and go into: Pal\Binaries\Win64\ (thats the folder with PalServer-Win64-Shipping-Cmd.exe in it)
3. Copy version.dll into that folder, right next to the exe.
4. Copy the palapi.cfg file into the same folder (optional, but nice to have).
5. Copy the PalApi folder (the one with Plugins inside) into the same folder too.
6. Start your server like you always do.

Thats it. PalApi loads itself when the server boots.

Your Win64 folder should end up looking like this:

Pal\Binaries\Win64\
    PalServer-Win64-Shipping-Cmd.exe
    version.dll            <- PalApi
    palapi.cfg             <- PalApi (optional)
    PalApi\
        Plugins\           <- your plugins go here

Check that it worked

After the server started, look in the Win64 folder for a new file called palapi.log. Open it, near the top you should see a line like:

compat: build=... => COMPATIBLE

If you see COMPATIBLE, youre good. PalApi even re-checks itself every time Palworld updates, so a game patch usually doesnt break it.

If the file isnt there, double check version.dll is really in the same folder as the server exe.

Adding plugins

Put each plugin in its own folder under PalApi\Plugins\, like:

PalApi\Plugins\MyPlugin\MyPlugin.dll
PalApi\Plugins\MyPlugin\PluginInfo.json

Restart the server and it picks them up. You can also swap a plugin while the server runs (drop a .dll.palapi file), but a restart is the simple way.

Other install method (launcher)

If you'd rather not drop a dll in the game folder, the zip also has PalApiLoader.exe + PalApiCore.dll. Instead of starting the server the normal way, you start PalApiLoader.exe and it launches + loads the server for you. Same result, just injected a bit earlier. Most people dont need this, the drop-in version.dll is simpler.

Removing it

Delete version.dll (and the PalApi folder and palapi.cfg if you want). Server goes back to 100% vanilla. Nothing else is changed on your machine.

A small ask

PalApi is free and made for the community. If you like it, please dont resell it - its free for everyone anyway - and if you build something cool on top of it, share it back so everybody gets it.

Something broke?

Turn on the detailed log: open palapi.cfg and set debug_log=true, restart, then check palapi_debug.log. That file usually tells you whats going on. Bug reports and questions are welcome on the issues page.