Mumble is a free, open-source voice chat program known for low latency and clear audio, and it is a favourite with gaming groups, tabletop communities and anyone who wants a voice server that belongs to them. Running your own Mumble server means you decide the channel layout, who can speak where, and who can moderate, with no platform in the middle. This guide explains what the Mumble server is, how to take control of a fresh one with the SuperUser account, how its groups and ACLs work, and how to keep it backed up.
What you are hosting
Mumble comes in two halves: the client your members install, and the server they connect to. The server was long known as Murmur, and the Mumble project has since moved to calling it mumble-server. You will still see both names in guides and file names; they mean the same program.
The server handles voice, text chat, channels, user registration and permissions. Its settings live in an ini file, mumble-server.ini (older setups call it murmur.ini), and its channels, registered users and permissions are kept in a database, SQLite by default.
Why host it instead of running it at home?
A voice server has to be up whenever your group wants to talk, and it has to pass audio without delay. On a home PC, your members depend on that machine being on and on your home upload. A hosted server is always on, restarts itself if the process exits, and does not share your home IP address with everyone who connects.
What resources it needs
Mumble’s server is light. It uses little CPU and memory, because most of its work is relaying voice between clients. What grows with your community is bandwidth, driven mainly by how many people talk at once and the quality settings in use. Mumble sets a per-user bandwidth limit in its config, which also caps how much a single client can push through.
Size by the number of people online at your busiest time.
The settings that matter in mumble-server.ini
You can edit the ini file from the panel’s file manager or over SFTP, then restart for changes to apply. The options most people change:
serverpassword: a password everyone needs to join. Leave it empty for an open server, or set one for a private group.welcometext: the message shown to users when they connect. A short line with your rules and a link to your community works well.registerName: the name of the server, shown as the name of the Root channel and in the public server list if you register there.bandwidth: the per-user upper bandwidth limit, in bits per second.users: the most users allowed on at once.
If a value contains a comma, put it in quotes, or the server will read it wrongly.
First start: the SuperUser account
Every Mumble server has a built-in administrator called SuperUser. When the server starts for the first time, it generates a SuperUser password and writes it to the log. You can also set a new one at any time with the server’s -supw option.
To take control:
- Copy the SuperUser password from the console or log.
- In the Mumble client, connect with the username
SuperUserand that password. - Set up your channels and groups, then register your own account and give it admin rights.
Use SuperUser to set things up, not to run the server day to day. Once your own registered account is in the admin group, keep the SuperUser password stored safely as a recovery login.
Registering users and certificates
Mumble identifies people by a certificate on their client, not by a username and password. The client creates one the first time it runs. A user then registers on your server from the client, which ties their name to that certificate. Registered users can be added to groups and given permissions that survive reconnects.
Ask members to back up their certificate. If they lose it, the server will not recognise them as the same registered user.
Channels, groups and ACLs
Mumble’s permissions are built from groups and access control lists (ACLs), both set per channel.
Groups
The default setup defines an admin group on the Root channel. Because channels inherit groups and rules by default, anyone in that group has admin powers across the server. Add your registered account and a few trusted moderators to it. The special group @all means everyone, and is how you set what ordinary users can do.
ACLs
An ACL is a list of rules on a channel that grant or deny permissions, such as entering, speaking, moving users or editing the channel, to a group or user. Rules are applied from top to bottom, so a later rule can override an earlier one, and inherited rules appear in italics in the client’s ACL tab. You can override them on any channel below.
Some common patterns:
- A members-only channel: deny Enter to
@all, then allow it for your members group. - A briefing room: allow everyone to enter, but only let a speakers group talk.
- Team channels: give each team’s lead permission to manage their own channel without touching the rest.
Keeping it running and reading logs
The live console shows connections, authentication problems and startup config errors. If a change to the ini file stops the server starting, the log usually names the line at fault. If the process exits, the panel restarts it.
Security habits
- Protect the SuperUser password. Change it with
-supwif you think anyone else has seen it. - Review the admin group when moderators step down.
- Use a server password for private groups and change it if it is shared outside the group.
Updating
New Mumble server releases arrive from time to time. Your database and ini file carry over, but take a backup first and read the release notes, especially when the version jump is large.
Backups
The database holds every channel, registration and ACL you have set up. On GGHOST Cloud, backups run on a schedule you set and restore from the panel without a ticket. Moving from another host? Upload your database and ini file over SFTP and your channels come with you.
Getting Mumble on GGHOST Cloud
Mumble hosting is set up on request, so we can size it around your group.
- Tell us what you need. Ask us on Discord (or open a ticket) with roughly how many people are on at your busiest and whether you are moving an existing server.
- Get a quote. We size it, quote a monthly price, and set it up on our Pterodactyl panel, usually within a few days.
- Start the server and copy the SuperUser password from the console.
- Set up channels and groups, then share the address and port shown in the panel with your members.
You get the full panel at panel.gghost.cloud: live console and logs, file manager, SFTP, startup variables, scheduled tasks and sub-users, with auto-restart if the process exits. Every node is behind DDoS protection from our network providers. Live regions today are Singapore and Europe (France–Germany border), with the United States (East, Central and West), the United Kingdom, India, Japan and Australia on demand. There is no setup fee and no contract, billing is at app.gghost.cloud, and support comes from the people who run the servers, on Discord or at hello@gghost.cloud.
The short version
Take the SuperUser password from the first start, register your own account and put it in the admin group on Root, then keep SuperUser for recovery. Set serverpassword and welcometext in mumble-server.ini, use groups and ACLs rather than shared passwords, and back up the database on a schedule.
