A server is a remote machine you rent to run the bot on instead of your home computer. Some users run one for the always-on uptime and extra bandwidth. Many users never need one.
This page is background, not a setup guide. We do not recommend server providers. For provider recommendations, ask your cook group.
A server is not automatically better. For Target specifically, local machines pass Shape better than servers, and Windows servers are the worst option. See the Target guide before renting anything for Target.
Always online: tasks keep running without your home PC staying on.
Bandwidth: servers typically have far more network capacity than home internet, which is what actually limits how many tasks you can run.
Location: many retailer backends are hosted in Virginia, so servers near there get lower latency.
Bandwidth is usually the bottleneck, not CPU or RAM. A modest server with high bandwidth beats a powerful server on a throttled connection. As a rough baseline, 8 cores and 16GB RAM covers most setups.
VPS
A virtual slice of a shared machine. Cheaper.
Smaller setups
Dedicated (baremetal)
The whole physical machine. More expensive, more power.
Larger multi-bot setups
This part is a hard requirement, not guidance. Refract runs on:
Windows 10/11 on a desktop machine
Windows Server 2016 or newer
macOS 12 (Monterey) or newer
Windows Server 2012 and earlier will not work, and neither will macOS versions older than 12.
Avoid Windows Server 2022 if you can. It can have UI rendering issues in Refract (a purple interface). This is cosmetic only and does not impact performance, but other versions do not have the issue.
Start with your cook group. Which server providers are reliable, which oversell their bandwidth, and what members are actually running is community knowledge we do not track.
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