Install the
launcher
Two parts: get the launcher onto your PC, then your first drive. About ten minutes, most of it waiting for things to download.
- You need
- Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit) and BeamNG.drive from Steam, started at least once.
- Costs
- Nothing. BeamOnline is free.
Download the installer
One file, BeamOnline-Setup.exe.
Run it
Double-click the file and follow the installer. It adds BeamOnline to your Start menu.
If Windows shows “Windows protected your PC”, click More info, then Run anyway. This appears for new programs that haven't been signed yet; signed releases come before the public launch.
For testers. You build the launcher from the BeamOnline source folder the team gave you. Everything happens in PowerShell: press Start, type PowerShell, open it, and paste the commands with the Copy buttons.
Install the C++ build tools
Microsoft's compiler, which Rust uses on Windows. It's a big download (a few GB); let it finish.
winget install Microsoft.VisualStudio.2022.BuildTools --override "--quiet --wait --add Microsoft.VisualStudio.Workload.VCTools --includeRecommended"
Install Rust
winget install Rustlang.Rustup
Then close PowerShell and open a new one (so it finds Rust), and run:
rustup default stable-x86_64-pc-windows-msvc
Go to the source folder
Unzip the BeamOnline source you were given, for example to C:\BeamOnline, and go to its
launcher folder. Change the path if you put it somewhere else.
cd C:\BeamOnline\launcher
Build it
The first build takes a few minutes. Later ones are quicker.
cargo build --release
Got “Access is denied”? The launcher is still open: close it (or end
beamonline-launcher.exe in Task Manager) and build again.
Start it
.\target\release\beamonline-launcher.exe
Tip: right-click beamonline-launcher.exe in that folder and choose Send to → Desktop
(create shortcut). Then carry on with Part 2.
From zero
to driving.
Choose your name
Open Settings (left side). Under Profile, type the name other players will see above your car, 1 to 32 characters, and press Save.
Check the game setup
Still in Settings, Game setup should show three green ticks: your name, BeamNG.drive found, and the BeamOnline mod installed. The launcher installs the mod by itself.
- “BeamNG.drive's folder wasn't found”: start BeamNG.drive once (it creates its folder), close it, then press Check again.
- Mod “out of date” while the game is open: close BeamNG.drive, then press Update.
Find a server
Go to Servers → Public. Sort by players or ping by clicking the column names. The flag shows where a server is; hover over it for the country.
Click the ★ on a row to keep a server in My Favourites. A friend's
private server? Press Add server and type the address they gave you, for example
203.0.113.10:47800.
Join
Click Join (or double-click the server). If the host set a password, a box asks for it.
The launcher starts BeamNG.drive by itself, and the game loads the server's map by itself: you don't pick anything in the game. Keep the launcher open while you play; it's what connects you.
Drive
Press U to chat. To leave, click Leave in the launcher, or just close the game: the launcher notices and leaves for you.
You're on the grid.
Found a bug, or something unclear here? Tell the BeamOnline team; this is an early test.
Quick fixes
- “No answer from the server”
- The server is off, or its host hasn't opened its port. Try another one, or ask the host.
- “Update needed”
- That server runs an older BeamOnline version. Its host needs to update it.
- Map isn't in your game
- The server uses a mod map you don't have. The game says which; install it, then join again.
- “This server has changed”
- Its identity is different from last time. That's normal after the host reinstalls it; if you don't expect it, ask the host before trusting it.
- Career mode
- BeamOnline won't switch maps while you're in Career; leave it and the server's map loads.