Install a TeamSpeak 3 server on Debian or Ubuntu

Want to run your own TeamSpeak 3 server on your Linux root server under Debian or Ubuntu? Then you are in the right place.

In this guide we install the TeamSpeak 3 server step by step over the SSH console. All commands are written for Debian 13, Debian 12 and Ubuntu 24.04 LTS. Older systems such as Debian 10 or Ubuntu 20.04 no longer receive security updates and should not be used for a voice server that is reachable from the internet.

Requirements and the ports you need

• A root server or VPS running Debian 13, Debian 12 or Ubuntu 24.04 LTS
• Root access over SSH
• UDP port 9987 for voice traffic (default port)
• TCP port 30033 for file transfers
• TCP port 10011 for ServerQuery access

Open at least ports 9987 (UDP) and 30033 (TCP) in your firewall. The ServerQuery port 10011, on the other hand, is better kept off the open internet: restrict it so that only your own IP address can reach it.

Update the package list and install pending updates

First update the package list of your operating system and install all available updates:

apt update && apt upgrade -y

Create a separate user for TeamSpeak

The TeamSpeak 3 server refuses to start as root, so it has to run under a user of its own. That is also the safer setup, especially when the same server hosts other applications as well. We recommend disabling the direct login for this user:

adduser --disabled-login teamspeak

You can skip the follow-up prompts for name, address or phone number with the Enter key.

Now switch to the new user and into its home directory:

su teamspeak

cd

Download and extract the TeamSpeak 3 server

Before you download, check whether a newer version has been released in the meantime. You will find the current release at https://teamspeak.com/en/downloads/#server in the "Linux 64-Bit" section. If a newer version is listed there, simply adjust the version number in the commands below. Version 3.13.7 used here reflects the state of July 2026.

wget https://files.teamspeak-services.com/releases/server/3.13.7/teamspeak3-server_linux_amd64-3.13.7.tar.bz2

tar xfvj teamspeak3-server_linux_amd64-3.13.7.tar.bz2

Afterwards you can remove the archive again:

rm teamspeak3-server_linux_amd64-3.13.7.tar.bz2

Accept the license terms and start the server

Switch into the TeamSpeak directory, confirm the license terms and start the server:

cd teamspeak3-server_linux_amd64

touch .ts3server_license_accepted

./ts3server_startscript.sh start

Without the file .ts3server_license_accepted the start aborts with a note about the unconfirmed license.

Save the credentials and the Privilege Key

On the very first start the server prints the most important credentials once. Make sure you save this output, it never appears a second time:

• The Privilege Key (token). It identifies you as the server administrator in the TeamSpeak client. Connect to the server once and the client asks for the token automatically.
• The ServerQuery credentials for the user "serveradmin". You need these later for administrative tasks, for example to generate a new token.

That completes the installation and your voice server is reachable.

Stop, start and check the server

You control the server through the bundled start script. These commands are available:

./ts3server_startscript.sh restart

./ts3server_startscript.sh stop

./ts3server_startscript.sh status

Always run these commands as the user "teamspeak" and from inside the TeamSpeak directory.

Start the TeamSpeak server automatically after a reboot

After a reboot of the operating system the TeamSpeak server stays down at first. So that it comes back up on its own, set up an autostart that calls the start script under the user "teamspeak". Our guide Run programs automatically at server start describes the complete procedure including a matching example for TeamSpeak.