How to Install TeamSpeak 3 on Ubuntu 20.04

Updated on November 21, 2023
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Introduction

TeamSpeak is a proprietary cross-platform voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) software popularly used by gaming and tech communities. This tutorial explains how to install TeamSpeak 3 server on Ubuntu 20.04.

Prerequisites

Before you begin the tutorial, you should:

Installation

  1. Create a separate user to run TeamSpeak server. In this tutorial 'teamspeak' is the username, you may choose any desired username.

     $ sudo adduser --disabled-login teamspeak
  2. Switch to teamspeak user.

     $ sudo su teamspeak
  3. Download the latest version of the TeamSpeak server. Check TeamSpeak's official website for the latest Linux Server 64-bit version and replace the version number in the URL below.

     $ wget https://files.teamspeak-services.com/releases/server/3.13.6/teamspeak3-server_linux_amd64-3.13.6.tar.bz2
  4. Extract the downloaded archive.

     $ tar xvfj teamspeak3-server_linux_amd64-*.tar.bz2
  5. Copy all contents from the extracted directory to the teamspeak user home directory.

     $ cp teamspeak3-server_linux_amd64/* -R /home/teamspeak/

    The download file is no longer required. You may delete it.

     $ rm teamspeak3-server_linux_amd64-*.tar.bz2
  6. Accept the license agreement by creating a license file.

     $ touch /home/teamspeak/.ts3server_license_accepted
  7. Exit from teamspeak user session.

     $ exit

    The shell prompt returns to non-root sudo user session.

  8. Create a systemd service file to make Teamspeak run on boot.

     $ sudo nano /lib/systemd/system/ts3server.service

    Add the folowing lines and save the file:

     [Unit]
     Description=TeamSpeak 3 Server
     After=network.target
    
     [Service]
     WorkingDirectory=/home/teamspeak
     User=teamspeak
     ExecStart=/home/teamspeak/ts3server_minimal_runscript.sh
     ExecStop=/home/teamspeak/ts3server_startscript.sh stop
     ExecReload=/home/teamspeak/ts3server_startscript.sh restart
     Restart=always
     RestartSec=15
    
     [Install]
     WantedBy=multi-user.target

    Reload the systemd service.

     $ sudo systemctl daemon-reload

    Start and enable TeamSpeak to run on boot.

     $ sudo systemctl start ts3server
     $ sudo systemctl enable ts3server

    Verify the TeamSpeak server is running.

     $ sudo systemctl status ts3server
     Active: active (running)
  9. Switch to the teamspeak user.

     $ sudo su teamspeak
  10. Get the ServerAdmin privilege key needed to connect for the first time to the server.

    $ cat /home/teamspeak/logs/ts3server_*

    The above command displays the ServerAdmin privilege key in the following format:

    --------------------------------------------------------
    ServerAdmin privilege key created, please use the line below
    token=****************************************
    --------------------------------------------------------

    Replace the stars with your unique token, and enter it into the TeamSpeak client.

Conclusion

This completes the steps to install TeamSpeak server on Ubuntu 20.04. You can download the TeamSpeak client and connect to your server.