Host on a VPS

To keep the server up 24/7, run the server alone on a Linux machine — no graphical interface and no repository clone. Everything is done by the Monky CLI, shipped ready to use in every release.

Requires Node.js 22 or newer (required by mediasoup; CI also uses 22).

Step by step

# 1. Install the CLI from the release
#    The ready-to-paste command, already on the latest version, is on the
#    download page: https://monkyorg.github.io/Monky/en/download
npm install -g --allow-scripts=mediasoup https://github.com/MonkyOrg/Monky/releases/download/vX.Y.Z/monky-cli-X.Y.Z.tgz

# 2. Create the server (interactive)
monky create

# 3. Check that it is up
monky status

monky create asks where to store the data, asks for the owner identity code and offers to start the server at the end. On a VPS, prefer a path outside your home directory, such as /srv/monky.

The server runs as a PM2 daemon and comes back on its own after a reboot. The full command reference lives in Monky CLI.

Ports used

Port	Protocol	What for	Needs opening?
3000 (or the chosen one)	TCP	Login, chat, channels and signalling	Yes, in the VPS firewall
41234	UDP	Local network discovery	No, on a VPS
High dynamic	UDP	P2P voice, video and screen	Usually works through STUN
40000-49151	UDP and TCP	WebRTC media in SFU mode (mediasoup)	Only with SFU mode enabled
3478	TCP and UDP	TURN relay, if you enable it	Only with the relay on
49152-65535	UDP	Media forwarded by the relay	Only with the relay on

When two members are behind CGNAT they may fail to connect directly. Monky ships an optional TURN relay (off by default) that forwards that pair's media through the server — see Media relay (TURN). Without it, the way out for very restricted networks is still a VPN.

Opening the SFU mode ports

In SFU mode media no longer goes straight between people: it comes into the server through that range. Because it is UDP traffic arriving without anyone having asked for it first, the RELATED,ESTABLISHED rule most distributions ship does not cover it — the range has to be opened explicitly, and the same goes for TCP, which is the way in for anyone on a network that blocks UDP.

# Open the SFU media range
sudo iptables -I INPUT -p udp --dport 40000:49151 -j ACCEPT
sudo iptables -I INPUT -p tcp --dport 40000:49151 -j ACCEPT

# Persist (survives a reboot)
sudo netfilter-persistent save

If you use ufw instead of iptables

sudo ufw allow 40000:49151/udp
sudo ufw allow 40000:49151/tcp

The provider's firewall is a separate one

Oracle Cloud, AWS, Azure, GCP and Hetzner have a firewall outside the machine that iptables cannot reach. The range has to be allowed in the web panel too, the same way described in Media relay (TURN) — the examples there are for the relay ports, but the path through the panel is the same.

To check it is in effect, join a voice channel and watch the media arrive:

sudo tcpdump -n -i any udp portrange 40000-49151 -c 20

In packets from outside the machine mean the range is open. Only Out traffic, or nothing at all, means something upstream is blocking it — look for a REJECT rule in the INPUT chain above the ones you just inserted (sudo iptables -L INPUT -n -v --line-numbers shows the order).

Maintenance

monky logs --level WARN           # what needs attention
monky config set port 3010        # changes the port and offers to restart
monky update --check              # is there a new version?
monky config set autoUpdate true  # updates itself daily at 4am

Upgrading the Node version

PM2 is a long-lived daemon and keeps using the Node it was started with. Changing the Node version — especially moving from apt to nvm — can leave the server in a state where pm2 status says online but nothing listens on the port.

After touching Node, always run:

monky update     # rebuilds native modules for the new ABI
monky restart    # re-pins the interpreter PM2 uses
pm2 save         # writes the good state to the PM2 dump

If the server still does not come back, monky restart --fresh recreates the PM2 process registration. Details and diagnostics are in Changing the Node version.

More than one server on the same VPS

Just run monky create again with another folder and another port. The CLI starts asking which server each command refers to — or you point at it directly with --data. See Multiple servers.