ARK: Survival Ascended

Connects an ARK: Survival Ascended dedicated server on Windows to Takaro. It is one AsaApi plugin that runs inside ArkAscendedServer.exe; there is no extra program to run. Players do not install anything.

Install

1. Before you start

• An ARK: Survival Ascended dedicated server on Windows (Steam app 2430930) that you can stop and start. Running it on Linux through Proton is not tested.
• File access to its ShooterGame\Binaries\Win64 folder, and control over the command that starts the server. A locked-down rented host without file access cannot use this connector.
• A Takaro game server of type Generic and its registration token (Takaro shows it when you add the server).

2. Download

Download the latest release from takaro.io/games/ark-survival-ascended (or the newest ARK: Survival Ascended release on the GitHub releases page). You need one file:

• takaro-ark-ascended-windows-<build>-<version>.zip, where <build> is the server’s Steam build.

The zip holds the connector and the AsaApi plugin loader in the exact version the connector needs. Each release has a SHA256SUMS file to check the download with.

3. Install

1. Stop the server.
2. Unzip the file into ShooterGame\Binaries\Win64. You get:

ShooterGame\Binaries\Win64\
    ArkAscendedServer.exe
    AsaApiLoader.exe
    config.json
    ArkApi\
        AsaApi.dll
        Plugins\TakaroAsa\
            TakaroAsa.dll
            PluginInfo.json
            TakaroConfig.txt.example

3. From now on, start the server with AsaApiLoader.exe instead of ArkAscendedServer.exe, with the same arguments. The map must stay the first argument, as in TheIsland_WP?listen.

If you already run AsaApi, back up your config.json first and put it back after unzipping.

4. Configure

Copy ArkApi\Plugins\TakaroAsa\TakaroConfig.txt.example to TakaroConfig.txt in the same folder and fill it in:

Key	What to put there
TAKARO_REGISTRATION_TOKEN	Your Takaro registration token. Required.
TAKARO_SERVER_NAME	The name Takaro shows for this server.
TAKARO_SERVER_CHAT_NAME	Sender name on messages from Takaro. Empty = Server.
TAKARO_WS_URL	Leave wss://connect.takaro.io/.
TAKARO_IDENTITY_TOKEN	Leave empty. The connector makes one and keeps it in state\identity-token; keep that file when you move or reinstall the server.
TAKARO_CA_FILE	Leave empty to use the Windows certificate store.
TAKARO_WIRE_DEBUG	1 logs all Takaro traffic for troubleshooting. Default 0.

Console commands and shut down. Set this in ShooterGame\Saved\Config\WindowsServer\GameUserSettings.ini:

[ServerSettings]
RCONEnabled=True

The RCON port does not need to be open. Everything else works without this setting.

Start the server. Changes to TakaroConfig.txt need a restart.

Map picture (optional). On The Island, Takaro’s map shows your players on a grid out of the box. For the in-game map as background, upload a picture of the whole map once in Takaro: open the game server’s map, pick The Island and upload the image. Leave the bounds empty; the connector gives Takaro the exact ones. The connector ships no picture. Other maps have no map in Takaro.

5. Check that it works

The connector connects only after the world has finished loading, so the server shows as offline in Takaro during load. After that, ArkApi\Plugins\TakaroAsa\takaro.log shows:

takaro: identified gameServerId=…

The game server now shows as online in Takaro.

A missing token logs no TAKARO_REGISTRATION_TOKEN in TakaroConfig.txt, not connecting. A wrong token logs takaro: identify rejected. No takaro.log at all means AsaApi did not load the plugin: check that you started AsaApiLoader.exe, and see Known issues for game updates.

6. Upgrade

Stop the server, unzip the new release over ShooterGame\Binaries\Win64 and start it with AsaApiLoader.exe. TakaroConfig.txt and the state folder in ArkApi\Plugins\TakaroAsa stay as they are. The zip replaces config.json, so if you changed it, back it up first and put it back. After an ARK update, read Known issues first.

What works, what doesn’t

Game actions, events, levels and Characters checked on game 97.17 (Steam build 26515168), 2026-11-09; a core pass with levels, shop, modules and the Discord bridge rechecked on game 97.21 (Steam build 26564816), 2026-11-11. ✅ works, ⚠️ works with a limit, ❌ not supported.

What		Notes
Connection	✅	Connects once the world has loaded and reconnects by itself after a restart or network drop.
Player list	✅	Name, ping and IP. Steam players carry their Steam id, so they are the same player as in your other Steam games; other players carry their Epic (EOS) id.
Player location	✅	Live position; offline players give the last position seen since the server started.
Teleport	✅	Online players.
Player inventory	⚠️	Carried and equipped items of an online player. Account cosmetics are left out.
Player levels and skills	✅	Character level, experience and progress to the next level. The level rises when the player spends the point, as in the game. ARK has no separate skill levels.
Characters	✅	Each survivor is its own character, with its own level. Create New Survivor starts a new one.
Item list	✅	All items, with their in-game names.
Entity list	✅	Creatures, with their in-game names.
Locations	✅	The map’s player spawn points, as “Spawn point 1” and so on.
World map	⚠️	Map bounds are built in for The Island only, and the picture is a one-time upload (step 4).
Send a message	✅	To everyone or to one online player.
Console commands	⚠️	Needs RCONEnabled=True. Output comes back for cheat-manager commands.
Kick	✅	The player sees the reason.
Ban and unban	✅	Also offline and timed; a banned player is refused on rejoin, also after a restart.
Ban list	✅	Also bans made in the game; for those the reason and end time are unknown.
Give an item	✅	To an online player, by item code or item name, with amount (up to 10,000) and quality.
Shop	✅	Buying, orders and claims work. Items land like Give an item.
Shut down the server	⚠️	Needs RCONEnabled=True. The game saves by itself on the way out.
Player joined / left	✅
Chat messages	✅	Tribe chat arrives as “team”, all other chat as “global”.
Player death	✅	With position, and the killer when it was another player.
Entity killed	⚠️	Kills by a player directly, with creature and weapon names. A kill by a tamed creature is not reported.
Server log lines	✅	The game’s own lines; lines with addresses or credentials are held back.
Discord chat bridge	✅	Both ways; use chatBridgeNoEcho to avoid echoes.
Modules	✅
Game name, version and icon	✅

Known issues

• Every ARK server update stops the connector for a while. AsaApi needs an offset cache for the exact ArkAscendedServer.exe, which it downloads by file hash from community-run servers. The server ships no debug files to make one from, so the connector stays down until the community has published the cache for the new build. Takaro cannot speed this up. If you want no gap, hold back server updates until the cache is out.
• A teleport far above the map can remove the character without a death, and Takaro still reports success. Keep teleport heights close to the ground.
• Only -NoBattlEye is known to work. BattlEye on is unchecked.
• The Steam id comes from Epic Online Services at login. If Epic does not answer within a few seconds, the player joins with only the Epic (EOS) id. Players who joined with connector 0.1.0 already have an EOS-only player in Takaro; merge it into their Steam player in Takaro if needed.
• Without RCONEnabled=True, console commands and shut down answer with an error. Nothing else is affected.

Developers: see DEVELOPMENT.md.

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This page is generated from the ARK: Survival Ascended connector’s README in the gettakaro/connectors repository. Corrections belong there.

Download the ARK: Survival Ascended connector