YARK

YARK — ARK Survival Ascended dedicated server manager for Windows

Local ARK: Survival Ascended dedicated servers on Windows — managed from one desktop shell. Profiles, SteamCMD, mods, backups, logs, and INI in a single app.

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Public prerelease · v0.20.0 · not production-ready

Public prerelease — download only from this site or GitHub Releases. Verify the official download before installing.

YARK Windows overview listing ARK Survival Ascended server profiles with map artwork, status, fleet metric strip, survivors, RAM/CPU, sort controls, and Update All

Servers overview — fleet metric strip, survivors and process RAM/CPU, sort/view controls, Update All, and queue status that opens Downloads.

A look at the app

Every workspace surface

Captured from the Electron + React desktop shell. Interface is under active development and may change between builds.

YARK Windows overview listing ARK Survival Ascended server profiles with map artwork, status, fleet metric strip, survivors, RAM/CPU, sort controls, and Update All
Servers overview — fleet metric strip, survivors and process RAM/CPU, sort/view controls, Update All, and queue status that opens Downloads.
YARK Downloads queue with an active SteamCMD verify job, queued servers, and the live console panel on Windows
Downloads — SteamCMD install, update, and verify jobs in one queue, with Pause/Resume and a live console.
YARK first-run setup assistant showing SteamCMD and the default server-folder controls
Setup assistant — configure shared paths and Windows behavior, then create or import the first server.
ASA dedicated server configuration in YARK with visual Map picker, identity, Max players, Move installation, networking, cluster, and Auto-start
Server configuration — visual Map picker (Official / Map mods / Search Maps…), identity, ports, access, cluster, and Auto-start.
YARK Launch tab filtering curated ASA command-line flags with search while showing Extra arguments and the command preview
Launch tab — search curated ASA flags by token, description, or group; Extra arguments and the command preview stay visible.
YARK Mods tab with Discover CurseForge browse, load-order table, enable toggles, and detail screenshots
Mods — Discover browse with categories and pagination, dense load-order table, and detail screenshots/description on inspect.
Visual INI editor in YARK showing GameUserSettings.ini options with toggles, values, and descriptions
Visual INI editor — edit GameUserSettings.ini with searchable, described controls.
Per-server Backups tab in YARK with shared destination, Backup now, schedule, Import, and history for an ASA world
Server Backups — shared destination, Backup now in the history toolbar, world schedule, and restore for world / players / INI.
YARK Maintenance tab with Up next, restart schedule, wild dino wipe, and auto-update controls for an ASA dedicated server
Maintenance — schedule restarts, optional wild dino wipe, and opt-in auto-update with in-game chat warnings while YARK is open.
YARK Ark Server API tab for installing community API, Load on Start, and plugin zip management on an ASA dedicated server
Ark Server API — optional community API install, Load on Start, and plugin enable/disable (experimental; not Wildcard).
YARK configuration assistant with experience-profile cards and a six-step wizard
Configuration assistant — experience cards and a guided six-step wizard; nothing is written until the final review.
YARK backups dashboard with fleet health badges, disk usage, volumes, and per-server destinations on Windows
Backups — fleet health badges, disk usage, destinations, and alerts across servers.
YARK Clusters page for ARK Ascended transfers with create/membership, INI templates, and Cluster ID compliance
Clusters — create and membership, INI templates, and Cluster ID / shared directory compliance.
YARK Logs page listing recent ASA server problems and activity with severity filters
Logs — problems and activity across servers, with drill-down into each server’s Logs tab.
YARK Settings on Windows with category navigation and the setup assistant entry point
Settings — app-wide preferences by category, including Desktop alerts and the setup assistant.

Why YARK exists

YARK started because I was tired of the tools I used to manage my ASA servers. They worked, but I spent too much time fighting their configuration screens — and several features I wanted sat behind paid tiers.

I wanted a Windows app that was easier to live with, ran on my own machine, and did not lock the useful parts behind a paywall. At first it was just for my own servers. Once it became useful enough, I released it as a free, open-source prerelease.

Current development scope

Areas already being built and exercised in early public prerelease builds (Electron + React + TypeScript on Windows). This is not a shipping product checklist.

Next on the roadmap

Candidate product work after v0.20.0 — features operators will notice day to day. GitHub milestones stay authoritative; nothing here promises a stable 1.0 date.

ARK Survival Ascended dedicated server manager

YARK is a Windows desktop ASA dedicated server manager for hosts who run local ARK: Survival Ascended servers. Instead of juggling SteamCMD folders, INI files, CurseForge Project IDs, and backup scripts by hand, you keep multiple server profiles in one shell — install and update files, start and stop instances, schedule world backups, inspect logs, and edit configuration with a visual INI editor and guided assistant.

What it is not

YARK is not a cloud host, not an ARK game client launcher, and not an official Wildcard product. It is an independent local manager for dedicated-server tooling you run on your own machine.

Privacy and data

Server profiles and app settings stay on your PC (local SQLite). There is no YARK cloud account. Network use covers SteamCMD content, Wildcard’s public official-status CDN, and CurseForge mod metadata via a small Cloudflare Worker proxy. The desktop app never embeds a CurseForge API key. Server/admin credentials required by ASA remain local and may be present in app data, INI files, and INI backups. See Security & privacy for the current protection boundary.

About this site

Product pages and operator docs for YARK. Source and license: GPL-3.0 on GitHub. Chat and support: Discord.