What is Varde?
Varde lets a group of friends run a game server that stays online even when the host’s computer doesn't. No rented hardware, no sysadmin skills.
The problem it solves
Today, playing Minecraft (or Valheim, or Terraria) with friends means one person’s machine is the server. When their laptop closes, the world is gone. When their internet hiccups, everyone lags. Renting a server fixes that but costs money every month and makes a stranger’s datacenter the owner of your world.
Varde takes a third path: the server lives with your group. Everyone installs a small app, the machines link together, and Varde keeps the world running on whichever machine is available. If the host drops, the world moves to the next machine and keeps going.
The pieces, in plain words
The app you install is the agent. It runs quietly in your tray and talks to the rest of the group. A shared control plane is the group’s address book: it hands out invites, remembers who owns which server, and tells machines how to find each other. Your actual game traffic travels directly between your machines, or through an encrypted relay when a direct path is blocked.
Every machine that hosts keeps a copy of the save. That is what makes failover safe: if a machine disappears mid-game, another machine picks up the world with everyone’s progress intact.
Where to go next
Playing on a friend’s server? Follow the join guide. Want to run the world yourself? Follow the host guide. Curious about the machinery? See how Varde works.