If you want to play with friends, local hosting is best. Here are two ways to do it:
-Start the single-player world and click Open for a local network. This will expose an IP address others can connect to you through the Vintage Story server list. The server will be running while you play.
-If you want the server to be active all the time, run VintageStoryServer.exe from the folder where the game is installed. For other players to connect, you must find your local IP and share it with them