It can be incredibly frustrating to get all your friends ready to start a farm together only to have to troubleshoot while everyone waits! The “no free slots” error on a Stardew Valley multiplayer server is a relatively common issue that players have. Though there can be multiple causes for this problem, do not worry because they are all relatively easy to fix.
Follow this guide and your buddies and you will be fishing and chopping trees together in no time!
What does the No Free Slots Error Mean
This error is caused by a lack of available cabins in a multiplayer game. Only four people are allowed to play together on one server, and every single player who wants to join a server needs their own cabin. Once they choose a cabin, they will get to create a character that is tied to that specific cabin. Cabins behave much like the Farmhouse, but instead of belonging to the host of the server, they belong to a specific player or “farmhand”.
How to fix the No free slots error
Starting a multiplayer world from Scratch
The easiest solution to this error is occurs if you are starting a new server from scratch with friends. Then, you just need to make sure that when you are creating the world you start with enough cabins already present on your farm. When you are creating the world, you will have the option to start with up to four different cabins for free, just toggle the number that you want. You can also choose whether or not the players will share a wallet or if each player will have their own funds.
Turning a single-player world into multiplayer
Even if you have already begun your single-player world, you can still bring in your friends afterward. To do this, you will have to load in by yourself, in single-player, and have Robin build as many cabins as the number of friends you want to join.
The Carpenter’s Shop
Robin is Pelican Town’s resident carpenter who lives and works in the Carpenter’s Shop. She lives there with her husband (Demetrius), daughter (Maru), and son (Sebastian). This building is located in the upper righthand corner of Pelican Town, right below Linus’ camp and the Spa.
The easiest path to take to the Carpenter’s Shop is the path northwest of your farmhouse. Taking this small path will lead you north over Pelican town, directly to Robin’s house with the added bonus of foraging along the way.
The Carpenter’s Shop is open from 9 AM to 5 PM every day except Tuesday (closed) and Friday (closes early at 4 PM). If you have hired Robin to construct or upgrade a farm building already, then she will be on your farm completing the construction. Thus, she will not be at her shop and will not be available to help you build a cabin.
Cabin Options
Once you enter the Carpenter’s Shop, Robin is straight ahead behind a wooden counter. Just walk up to her and start a dialogue, select Construct Farm Buildings and then Cabin. It will always cost 100 gold, and either 10 stone, or 5 wood and 10 fiber, or 10 wood depending on what cabin style you choose.
The styles include Stone cabins, Plank cabins, or Log cabins. All of the styles are 5×3 tiles in size and all can be upgraded twice. Similarly to upgrading the Farmhouse, upgrading cabins does not increase the tile size of the building from the outside.
| Stone Cabin | Plank Cabin | Log Cabin |
 |  |  |
Once you buy the building from Robin, unlike other farm buildings, Cabins are built immediately. Thus you can build multiple cabins on the first day of the game. After you save, you can exit the game. Next time you want to start a multiplayer session, open the save file via Co-Op instead of Load. This allows other players to join in.
Loading in the world via Co-Op allows you to be able to host both remote and split-screen players.
If you are still having troubles with the No Free Slots Error
If you have gone about making a multiplayer game properly and you know you have enough cabins for your friends, there is still some things you can try to fix the “No Free Slots” error.
It is possible a friend might have made two different characters accidentally, or maybe a friend has left the farm and another wants to join. Unfortunately, the cabins are tied to a specific player once they accept the parsnips on the doorstep from Lewis. So the only way around this issue is if you delete said cabin.
To delete a cabin you will need to first load your world in single-player. Then the host can demolish said cabin at the Carpenter’s shop (or Wizard’s Tower if you have progressed far enough to unlock magic buildings). Once it is deleted, the player attached to that cabin is removed from the game. Any items in their inventory is put into a chest that is found where the cabin was located previously.
Hopefully this guide has helped you and your “No Free Slots” error is now a thing of the past. If you are still having some issues setting up Stardew Valley Multiplayer, check out our guide on how to set up a multiplayer world.
