Discover how Edgegap works

Discover how Edgegap works

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Fish-Networking

Fish-Networking

Deploy to Edgegap

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Last reviewed for accuracy

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Last reviewed for accuracy

Fish-Networking: How to integrate and host dedicated servers, and add Matchmaking to your multiplayer game

Fish-Networking: How to integrate and host dedicated servers, and add Matchmaking to your multiplayer game

This guide shows you how to host a game built with Fish-Networking (FishNet) on Edgegap's dedicated game servers, then add matchmaking so players are grouped and connected to a server near them automatically.

Once your game server is containerized, Edgegap deploys it worldwide to 615+ Edge Cloud locations (on-demand) from a simple API call and billed exclusively on usage: no entire server to rent, provision or keep running between matches. For persistent servers of reserved capacity, Edgegap offers Private Fleets. Edgegap's Matchmaking builds on top of that and is optional.

This guide covers:

  1. Preparing Unity, FishNet, your Edgegap account and a containerization tool

  2. Connecting your coding agent to Edgegap (optional)

  3. Getting your FishNet game ready for dedicated servers

  4. Building and containerizing your game server

  5. Deploying a test server and connecting to it

  6. Adding matchmaking (optional)

  7. Testing the full loop with two players

You can do it two ways, and mix them:

  • With a coding agent. Connect Claude Code, Cursor or another agent to the Edgegap MCP server and its agent skills. The agent edits your project, builds and containerizes the server, deploys it and writes the matchmaking code. You handle the clicks in Unity and the Edgegap dashboard, and playtest.

  • By hand. Every step below also works without an agent.

For building and containerizing the server, Edgegap's automated game server build tool plugin for Unity is optional. It builds your server, containerizes it and deploys it to the cloud from buttons in the Unity Editor, the quickest way to see your server online for the first time (step 4, Option A).

Here, we use FishNet's HashGrid demo, which ships with FishNet and runs as a dedicated server with the Tugboat transport. Any FishNet project works the same way. Using another netcode? See Unity Engine for every option.

No credit card required. Free tier includes the resources to deploy a real game server.

No credit card required. Free tier includes the resources to deploy a real game server.

Step-by-Step Guide

Detailed Integration Steps

1. Before you start

  • A free Edgegap account. Verify your email. No credit card is needed to test.

  • Unity Engine with the Linux build modules installed. Edgegap recommends an LTS version.

    • Add these modules from Unity Hub: Linux Build Support (Mono), Linux Build Support (IL2CPP) and Linux Dedicated Server Build Support. Add WebGL Build Support for a browser game. Restart Unity after adding them.

    • FishNet 4 works from Unity 2021.3. On versions before 2022.3, Edgegap's Unity SDK needs a small patch for matchmaking, which the agent applies (step 6).

  • Fish-Networking 4 in your project. For the HashGrid demo: get FishNet from the Unity Asset Store (Add to My Assets), then in Window → Package Manager → My Assets, select Import. See FishNet's installation guide.

  • A containerization tool, running. We recommend Docker Desktop, installed and running while you build.

    • Other container tools work with Edgegap too, but this guide only covers Docker.

  • For the agent path: an Edgegap API token, from Dashboard → User Settings → Tokens. It is organization-wide, so treat it like a password: never put it in your project, your game client or a chat.

Git: Unity needs a Git client (2.14.0 or newer) on your PATH to install packages from a Git URL, such as the Edgegap plugin. macOS usually has one already (Xcode Command Line Tools); on Windows, install Git.

2. Connect your coding agent to Edgegap

Skip this step if you're doing everything by hand.

The Edgegap MCP server lets your agent create apps and versions, deploy servers, read logs and generate matchmaker configurations on your account. The agent skills give it the tested FishNet workflow, FishNet-ready C# templates, the Dockerfile and the known pitfalls.

Claude Code (run in your own terminal, so the token never passes through the chat):

claude mcp add --transport http edgegap https://mcp.edgegap.dev/mcp -H "Authorization: token YOUR_EDGEGAP_API_TOKEN" --scope user

Then install the skills: /plugin marketplace add edgegap/edgegap-agent-skills, then /plugin install edgegap@edgegap. Restart the session.

Cursor, VS Code and other clients that send headers: add https://mcp.edgegap.dev/mcp with the header Authorization: token YOUR_EDGEGAP_API_TOKEN, and install the skills with npx skills add edgegap/edgegap-agent-skills --skill "*".

Claude Desktop: custom connectors can't send the header, so use the local server instead (Node 18+): { "mcpServers": { "edgegap": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@edgegap/mcp"] } } }. It asks for the token on first use.

Check it works:

"List my Edgegap apps."

An empty list is fine. An error about the token usually means the header reads token token ....

3. Get your FishNet server ready for dedicated hosting

On Edgegap, no player hosts the match. A headless dedicated server owns the game, so the dedicated server must start on its own, listen on a fixed port and stop when the match is over.

With your agent:

"Load the edgegap-fishnet skill and make this FishNet project dedicated-server ready: the server build starts the server headless on 0.0.0.0:7770, players spawn when clients connect, the Edgegap object survives scene changes, and the server stops itself when the match ends. Add the Edgegap server lifecycle and matchmaking client scripts. Then check it still works locally with one server and one client."

The agent turns Start On Headless off and lets the Edgegap lifecycle script start the server, the setup verified on Edgegap. It also removes any Edgegap API calls from the client, a pattern in older FishNet samples that ships your API token inside the game.

By hand, on your NetworkManager:

  • One server starter only. Keep Start On Headless on in ServerManager so the server build starts itself. If a script also starts the server, turn it off.

  • NetworkHudCanvas → Auto Start Type: Disabled. Set to Server or Host, it starts a second server in the server build.

  • Tugboat: keep its port, 7770/UDP by default, and leave the IPv4 bind address empty (all interfaces). For a browser (WebGL) game, use Bayou, also on 7770.

  • Keep Run in Background and Don't Destroy on Load checked on the NetworkManager.

  • Spawn players for remote clients (FishNet's PlayerSpawner), not for a host player.

  • In ServerManager, set Frame Rate to 30 to 60. A headless server left uncapped spins a CPU core at 100%.

  • Make sure your FishNet scene is enabled in Build Settings. Only enabled scenes get built.

HashGrid demo

Open Assets → FishNet → Demos → HashGrid → Scenes → HashGrid, add it to Build Settings, and check the NetworkManager has a Tugboat component (add it if not). The demo is already set up as a dedicated server.

Test locally first: one Editor (or build) as the server, one as a client on localhost, with Unity's Multiplayer Play Mode. Don't containerize a game that doesn't work on localhost.

4. Build and containerize your server

Edgegap runs your Linux server build inside a container. Use either option, or both: for example, the plugin for your first deploy and your agent for every build after that.

Option A (optional): Edgegap's automated game server build tool plugin for Unity. The quickest way to a first cloud deploy, all from buttons. It uses Docker to containerize your server. The video below shows this path on the HashGrid demo.

  1. In Unity, select Window → Package Manager, select +, then Add package from git URL, and paste https://github.com/edgegap/edgegap-unity-plugin.git.

  2. Open Tools → Edgegap Server Hosting, sign in, and paste the token it gives you under Connect your Edgegap Account. Select Validate Token.

  3. Select Build Server. The build lands in Builds/EdgegapServer/ServerBuild.

  4. With Docker running, select Validate, then Containerize with Docker. Optionally, Deploy Local Container and connect a client to it.

  5. Select Upload Image and Create App Version. In the browser, set the port to match Tugboat: 7770, UDP, named gameport (Bayou: WS with TLS Upgrade on). Submit.

Option B: ask your agent.

"Build the Linux dedicated server, containerize it with the edgegap-fishnet Dockerfile for linux/amd64, push it to my Edgegap Container Registry with a new tag, then create the app and app version with port 7770 UDP named gameport."

The agent asks you to run docker login registry.edgegap.com yourself, with the username and token from the Container Registry page, so those credentials stay out of the chat. Make sure the app version has the registry credentials set: without them, deployments fail with "Unable to pull image from registry".

Use a new image tag for every build, never latest.

HashGrid shortcut: skip the build. To see the demo on Edgegap before building your own server, use the ready-made HashGrid app version: in the Edgegap dashboard, create an application and select the Fish-Net Hashgrid button. It fills in the version, with port 7777/UDP. Submit, then deploy it in step 5.

Here's our video tutorial for Edgegap's plugin for Unity, using FishNet's HashGrid demo:

5. Deploy a test server and connect

Start one server by hand to prove the image, the port and your netcode work before adding matchmaking. Any of these works:

  • From the plugin: choose your app and version, then select Deploy to Cloud.

  • From the dashboard: open your app version in the Edgegap dashboard, select Deploy, pick a location close to you, and deploy.

  • From your agent: "Deploy my latest Edgegap version near me, wait until it's ready, show me the logs, and give me the IP address and external port."

When the deployment is Ready, copy its Host IP and External Port. On the NetworkManager, paste the IP into Tugboat's Client Address and the external port into its Port, press Play, then select Client on the HUD. Browser (Bayou) clients connect with Use WSS on, to the deployment's host name. The external port changes on every deployment, so read it each time. The server can take up to a minute after Ready to accept players.

Stop the deployment when you're done (Stop Last Deployment in the plugin, or ask your agent). The free tier runs one deployment at a time, and a forgotten test server blocks matchmaking.

Here, you picked the location and handed out the address. To group players and start a server near them automatically, add a matchmaker.

6. Add matchmaking

Edgegap's matchmaker is a hosted service: players send a ticket, it groups them by your rules (match size, teams, latency, skill, mode), deploys your server near them and returns the address to every client.

With your agent:

"Generate an Edgegap matchmaker configuration for my app version: one team of 2 to 4 players, and let a lone player get a server after 30 seconds so I can test alone. Save it as matchmaker-config.json."

Then, in the dashboard (this step has no API):

  1. Open Matchmaker and select Create Matchmaker.

  2. Name it, upload matchmaker-config.json, and select Create and Start.

  3. When it's ONLINE, copy the API URL and the Auth Token. The Auth Token is safe to ship in your game client: it gives no access to your Edgegap account.

Back with your agent:

"Put the matchmaker API URL and Auth Token on EdgegapMatchmakingClient, wire my Play button to FindMatch, then rebuild and push the server, create a new app version and tell me what to update in the matchmaker."

On Unity versions before 2022.3, the agent also patches Edgegap's Unity SDK, which otherwise sends tickets the matchmaker rejects.

By hand: follow the Unity matchmaking guide in our documentation.

Browser (WebGL) games: no latency rule in the matchmaker (browsers can't send latency pings), and list every origin that serves your build in allowed_cors_origins.

When you ship a new server build, update application.version in the matchmaker configuration (Stop, Edit, Start), or matches keep deploying the old build.

7. Test the full loop with two players

  1. Make sure no test deployment is still running.

  2. Run two clients: the Editor plus a build, two Multiplayer Play Mode players, or two browser tabs (bring each tab to the front before you click).

  3. Select Find Match in both. The status goes from searching to match found to host assigned, then both clients connect to the same server.

  4. Leave the match. The server logs that it's stopping, and the deployment disappears from the dashboard. That self-stop is what keeps your bill at zero when nobody plays.

On the free tier, the matchmaker stops 3 hours after each start (restart it from the dashboard), deployments stop after 60 minutes, and one deployment runs at a time.

Next Steps

Next Steps

Working with another Unity netcode? See Unity Engine. Prefer lobbies players browse? See the Server Browser for Unity.

Going live? Ask your agent to run the edgegap-launch skill's checklist: version rollouts, restart policy, maximum duration, cost control.

Stuck? Ask your agent to load edgegap-troubleshoot, or ask our team and other studios on the Edgegap Discord.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about hosting a Fish-Networking game on Edgegap's dedicated servers, with or without matchmaking.

Does Fish-Networking support dedicated servers?

Yes. Build for Linux Dedicated Server and let one thing start the server: ServerManager's Start On Headless, or a script. Set the NetworkHudCanvas Auto Start Type to Disabled so it doesn't start a second one.

Which port does Fish-Networking use on Edgegap?

Whatever your transport listens on. Tugboat and Bayou default to 7770. Set the same port on your Edgegap app version, named gameport: UDP for Tugboat, WS with TLS Upgrade for Bayou. Players connect to the external port Edgegap assigns to each deployment.

Do I need the Edgegap plugin to host a FishNet game?

No. The plugin is the quickest way to build, containerize and deploy from the Unity Editor. A coding agent connected to the Edgegap MCP server, or your own Docker build, works too.

Can I host a FishNet WebGL game on Edgegap?

Yes. Use the Bayou transport, set the app version port to WS with TLS Upgrade on, and have clients connect with Use WSS to the deployment's host name. Edgegap handles the certificate. This is the FishNet path verified end to end on Edgegap.

How much does it cost to host a Fish-Networking game server?

Testing is free, with no credit card. After that, Edge Cloud bills per vCPU per minute only while servers run, so a server that stops at the end of each match costs nothing between matches.

Clients

Learn more from clients who integrated Edgegap

31 case studies are available from studios that moved to Edgegap from another platform.

Key reasons why they chose Edgegap

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Cost

Pricing

Optimize costs and performance with hybrid orchestration

Optimize costs and performance with hybrid orchestration

Optimize costs and performance with hybrid orchestration

Edge Cloud

On-Demand

$0.00115

/ vCPU

/ MINUTE

Billed by the Minute, Only on Usage

Pay only when players play. 0 active servers = $0

Deploy game servers worldwide, per instance, to all 615+ edge cloud locations. Zero commitment.

Simply add a credit card.

Edge Cloud

On-Demand

$0.00115

/ vCPU

/ MINUTE

Billed by the Minute, Only on Usage

Pay only when players play. 0 active servers = $0

Deploy game servers worldwide, per instance, to all 615+ edge cloud locations. Zero commitment.

Simply add a credit card.

Private Fleet (Bare Metal)

Reserved Capacity

$0.0282

/ vCPU

/ HOUR

Billed Monthly, Always On

$280 per host/month (12 mo rate), or $350 monthly

Optimize the cost effectiveness of your game server with egress-free hosting of Private Fleets.

Persistent, available 24/7, exclusive to your studio.

Private Fleet (Bare Metal)

Reserved Capacity

$0.0282

/ vCPU

/ HOUR

Billed Monthly, Always On

$280 per host/month (12 mo rate), or $350 monthly

Optimize the cost effectiveness of your game server with egress-free hosting of Private Fleets.

Persistent, available 24/7, exclusive to your studio.

Your bill varies per rate and usage; which can vary per game type, player count, & more.

Your bill varies per rate and usage; which can vary per game type, player count, & more.

Model your usage with our estimate calculator ->

Model your usage with our estimate calculator ->

Edgegap's features & price: detailed comparison between Edge Cloud & Private Fleets

Edgegap's features & price: detailed comparison between Edge Cloud & Private Fleets

COMPARE

Free Trial

Edge Cloud

Private Fleets

FEATURES

Analytics & Monitoring

Billing Alarms

Click to Expand

28 more rows

Unlocks

Capabilities are unlocked when a credit card is added to the account.

COMPARE

Free Trial

Edge Cloud

Private Fleets

FEATURES

Analytics & Monitoring

Billing Alarms

Click to Expand

28 more rows

Unlocks

Capabilities are unlocked when a credit card is added to the account.

COMPARE

Free Trial

Edge Cloud

Private Fleets

FEATURES

Analytics & Monitoring

Billing Alarms

Click to Expand

28 more rows

Unlocks

Capabilities are unlocked when a credit card is added to the account.