Terms of Service

By downloading, installing, or using the Vaerune desktop app, creating a Vaerune account, or otherwise using the Service, you agree to be bound by these Terms and by our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

You must be at least 18 years old, or the age of legal majority in your jurisdiction, or have a parent or legal guardian's consent, to create a Vaerune account. You represent that you have the authority to enter into these Terms, whether for yourself or on behalf of an organization.

In short: Vaerune is a Windows desktop app that finds, installs, runs, updates, and monitors dedicated game servers on your own computer. An account is optional for basic use. Vaerune (a one-time purchase) unlocks running more servers at once and owning the app forever. Plus and Pro are subscriptions that add browser-based remote control, mobile access, and the built-in Vaerune Tunnel on top.

The Service currently consists of:

• The desktop app, which installs, configures, launches, backs up, and keeps online dedicated servers for supported games, entirely on your own PC.
• An optional Vaerune account, signed in via email one-time-code, Discord, Google, Steam, or Apple, used to track your entitlements.
• Vaerune (one-time purchase): unlocks running unlimited servers at once, running multiple instances of the same game, and owning the app forever with no subscription required, described further in Section 8.
• Plus and Pro (subscriptions): add Odin (browser-based remote control), mobile access, and Vaerune Tunnel (relay-based reachability with no port forwarding). Pro additionally adds a custom Vaerune Tunnel address, a rental discount, and your own Pro channel in our Discord. Described further in Section 8.
• The Vaerune API, Odin relay, and Vaerune Tunnel relay, backend services that check your entitlements and, for Plus and Pro subscribers who enable them, relay control commands between your own desktop app and your own browser session (Odin) or relay a server's game network traffic so it can be reached without port forwarding (Vaerune Tunnel).
• Paid server rental: Vaerune provisions and operates cloud infrastructure (a VPS) to run a dedicated server on your behalf, billed monthly, with that server's game traffic transiting Vaerune-operated relay infrastructure so it can be reached over the internet, described further in Section 8.

Free use of the desktop app lets you install any supported game and run one server at a time. Vaerune, Plus, and Pro unlock running more servers concurrently and additional functionality as described on our Pricing page, which may change from time to time as described in Section 8.

You are responsible for:

• Maintaining the confidentiality and security of your account and any device on which you sign in.
• All activity that occurs under your account, including any Odin session or Vaerune Tunnel you initiate.
• Providing accurate account and billing information and keeping it up to date.
• Promptly notifying us of any unauthorized use of your account.

We are not liable for any loss arising from unauthorized use of your account that results from your failure to safeguard your credentials.

Subject to your compliance with these Terms, Vaerune grants you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to download, install, and use the desktop app on devices you own or control, solely for your own use in managing dedicated game servers.

Vaerune and its licensors retain all right, title, and interest in and to the Service, including the desktop app, the website, our branding, and all associated intellectual property. Nothing in these Terms transfers any ownership right to you. Except for the limited license above, no rights are granted to you by implication, estoppel, or otherwise.

You may not, and may not permit anyone else to:

• Copy, modify, or create derivative works of the desktop app or website, except as permitted by applicable open-source licenses that may govern specific components.
• Reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble the desktop app, except to the extent applicable law expressly permits despite this restriction.
• Redistribute, resell, sublicense, rent, or lease the desktop app or any license key or account beyond what your plan permits.
• Remove or obscure any proprietary notices in the Service.

You agree not to use the Service to:

• Violate any applicable law or regulation.
• Infringe the intellectual property, privacy, or other rights of any third party, including a game publisher.
• Circumvent any technical measure, license restriction, or usage limit of the Service or of any third-party game, mod platform, or storefront (including Steam) that the Service interacts with.
• Distribute malware, or otherwise interfere with or disrupt the integrity or performance of the Service or any third-party service it connects to.
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to another user's account, server, Odin session, or Vaerune Tunnel.
• Use the Service to host, distribute, or promote content that is unlawful, or that violates the terms of service of the game or platform you are hosting.
• Upload, distribute, or make available through the Service any mod, asset, or other file you do not have the right to share, including pirated game files or copyrighted material used without permission (see Section 15 for how to report this).

We may investigate suspected violations and take appropriate action, including suspending or terminating access, as described in Section 14.

In short: You are solely responsible for the game servers you run, and for the players you allow on them. Vaerune does not run, moderate, or store your servers, saves, or configuration files. They stay on your machine.

The dedicated game servers you install, configure, and run using Vaerune, along with their save data, configuration files, mods, and any content generated by players on them, are stored locally on your own computer and are entirely your responsibility. You are solely responsible for:

• Complying with the applicable game publisher's end user license agreement, dedicated-server terms, and any usage policies for any game you host.
• The conduct of any players you invite onto a server you host, and any content, chat, or user-generated material on that server.
• Any mods you install, including their legality, safety, and compliance with the relevant game's and mod platform's own terms.
• Backing up any data you consider important; while Vaerune provides local backup tooling, you are responsible for verifying your own backups.

Vaerune has no visibility into, and does not moderate, store, or control, the content of servers you run locally, except for the limited operational data described in our Privacy Policy (for example, player counts used for status display).

The desktop app helps you find, install, and run dedicated servers published by third-party game studios and publishers, and it connects to third-party platforms such as Steam/Valve (including the Steam Workshop), SteamGridDB, Thunderstore, mod.io, Modrinth, CurseForge, and Nexus Mods to fetch server files, box art, and mod listings.

Vaerune is an independent, unofficial tool. We are not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Valve Corporation, Steam, or any game publisher or platform referenced or supported by the Service, except where explicitly stated. All trademarks, game titles, and logos referenced by the Service belong to their respective owners. Your use of any third-party game, platform, or mod is subject to that third party's own terms, and we are not responsible for the availability, content, or conduct of any third-party service.

8.1 Vaerune (one-time)

Vaerune is a one-time purchase that unlocks running unlimited servers at once, running multiple instances of the same game, and owns the app for the account that purchased it, including future updates, for as long as the Service is offered. It includes one month of Plus at no extra charge.

8.2 Plus and Pro (subscriptions)

Plus and Pro are recurring subscriptions, billed monthly or annually as selected at checkout. Pro is a higher subscription tier than Plus and includes everything Plus includes, plus additional capabilities described on our Pricing page; it is not a one-time purchase. Unless you cancel before the end of the current billing period, your subscription renews automatically at the then-current price, and you authorize us (via Stripe) to charge your payment method for each renewal.

8.3 Paid server rental

A rented server is billed monthly, in advance, at the price shown for that game and tier at checkout. Unless you cancel before the end of the current billing period, a rental renews automatically at the then-current price, and you authorize us (via Stripe) to charge your payment method for each renewal. You may cancel a rental at any time; cancellation stops future billing and takes the server offline, and we keep a snapshot of its world data for 30 days afterward so you can download it, as described on our Docs page for server rental. Deleting your Vaerune account is different: it ends any rental immediately and keeps no snapshot, so download anything you want to keep before deleting your account.

8.4 Payment processing

All payments are processed by Stripe. By purchasing Vaerune, subscribing to Plus or Pro, or renting a server, you also agree to Stripe's applicable terms. We do not store your full payment card details.

8.5 Price changes

We may change our prices from time to time. For subscriptions and rentals, we will provide advance notice of a price increase before it takes effect on your next renewal, as required by applicable law.

8.6 Cancellation

You may cancel a Plus or Pro subscription, or a server rental, at any time from your account billing portal; cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period, and you retain access to that tier's features, or to the rented server, until then.

8.7 Refunds

Vaerune offers a free tier so you can evaluate the software before you buy. Because of this, all fees are non-refundable: payments for Vaerune (one-time purchase), Plus or Pro (subscription), and server rental are final and not eligible for a refund, and Vaerune does not provide partial or prorated refunds. You may cancel a Plus or Pro subscription, or a rental, at any time, which stops future renewals and keeps your access through the end of the current paid period. These terms do not override any non-waivable statutory refund or withdrawal rights you may have under the mandatory law of your country or state of residence (for example, EU/UK consumer-withdrawal rights), which continue to apply where they cannot lawfully be waived. See our Refund Policy for a plain-language summary of this section.

8.8 Taxes

Prices may not include applicable taxes, which will be calculated and collected at checkout where required.

The desktop app can automatically download and install updates to itself, including security fixes, bug fixes, and new features. By using the desktop app, you consent to it checking for and installing such updates. Some updates may be required before the app continues to function. We recommend keeping automatic updates enabled to ensure compatibility with the games and services the app supports.

10.1 Odin

Plus and Pro include Odin, an optional feature that lets you view and control your own desktop app's servers from a web browser. This works by having your desktop app dial out to our relay service over an authenticated connection; a command you issue from your browser is relayed back to your own desktop app, which carries it out exactly as if you had clicked it locally. The relay is a pass-through control channel between your own devices carrying operational messages only (status, start/stop commands, console text, configuration); it does not host or take over your servers, and it never carries game network traffic, which continues to flow directly between players and your server over your own network exactly as it does without this feature enabled. It stops working the moment your desktop app is offline, or your Plus/Pro entitlement lapses.

You are responsible for keeping the browser session and any device used to access Odin secure, since it can start and stop servers on your machine.

10.2 Vaerune Tunnel

Plus and Pro include Vaerune Tunnel, a relay-based way to make a server reachable over the internet without configuring port forwarding on your router. Unlike Odin, which never carries game traffic, Vaerune Tunnel does: while a tunnel is turned on for a server, that server's game network traffic is relayed through infrastructure Vaerune operates so players can reach it at a Vaerune-assigned address. Pro additionally lets you choose a custom tunnel address and gets priority routing over the same relay infrastructure. You are solely responsible for the players you allow to connect through a tunnel and for the content and conduct on a server you make reachable this way, to the same extent as Section 6 above. Vaerune Tunnel stops working the moment your desktop app is offline, you turn the tunnel off, or your Plus/Pro entitlement lapses; it is not a guarantee of uptime or bandwidth.

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, the service is provided "as is" and "as available", without warranties of any kind, whether express, implied, or statutory, including implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, and non-infringement.

We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or secure, that any game server you run will remain compatible with a given game's updates, or that any third-party service the desktop app connects to (including game publishers' own servers, Steam, or mod platforms) will remain available. Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties, so some of the above exclusions may not apply to you.

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Vaerune and its officers, employees, and licensors will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or any loss of data, profits, revenue, or goodwill, arising out of or related to your use of the Service, even if advised of the possibility of such damages.

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Vaerune's total aggregate liability arising out of or related to these Terms or the Service will not exceed the greater of one hundred U.S. dollars (USD $100) or the amount you paid to Vaerune in the twelve (12) months preceding the event giving rise to the claim. Nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot be limited under applicable law.

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Vaerune and its officers, employees, and licensors from and against any claims, damages, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or related to: (a) your use of the Service; (b) any game server, mod, or content you install, host, or run using the Service; (c) your violation of these Terms or applicable law; or (d) your violation of any third-party right, including a game publisher's terms.

You may stop using the Service, and delete your account, at any time. We may suspend or terminate your account or access to the Service, in whole or in part, if we reasonably believe you have violated these Terms, created risk or possible legal exposure for us, or if required by law, with notice where reasonably practicable. Sections of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination (including Sections 4, 6, 11, 12, 13, and 16) will survive.

Termination of your account does not affect the desktop app's local operation of servers already installed on your device, though account-gated features (such as Vaerune/Plus/Pro entitlements, Odin, or Vaerune Tunnel) will no longer be available.

If you believe content accessible through the Service infringes your copyright, you may send a notice to our designated agent at support@vaerune.com, including the information required under 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3) (a description of the copyrighted work, the material you claim is infringing and its location, your contact information, and a statement of good faith belief and accuracy under penalty of perjury). We will respond in accordance with applicable law.

This mostly concerns mods, configuration files, or other content a user distributes through or alongside the Service, since the game servers you host under Section 6 stay on your own device and are not something we can access to remove. We may terminate the account of a user found, under our repeat infringer policy, to have repeatedly infringed the rights of others, consistent with Section 14.

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, United States, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles. The state and federal courts located in the State of Delaware have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service, and you and Vaerune each consent to that jurisdiction and venue. Nothing in this section limits any non-waivable consumer rights you have under the mandatory law of your country or state of residence.

We may update these Terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we will update the "Last updated" date above and, where required by law or where changes are significant, provide additional notice (such as an in-app or email notice). Your continued use of the Service after a change becomes effective constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

• Entire agreement. These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Vaerune regarding the Service.
• Severability. If any provision of these Terms is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in full effect.
• No waiver. Our failure to enforce any right or provision will not be a waiver of that right or provision.
• Assignment. You may not assign these Terms without our prior written consent; we may assign these Terms in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.
• Export compliance. You agree to comply with applicable export control and economic sanctions laws in your use of the Service.

Questions about these Terms can be sent to support@vaerune.com.