7 Days to Die server settings

Your 7 Days to Die server's settings live in two places in your dashboard: the Startup tab and the Server Settings tab. Here's what each one holds and how to change the ones players ask about most.

Startup or Server Settings?

The Startup tab holds what the server needs to start: its name and password, who can see it, the player limit, the world and save, and Easy Anti-Cheat. The Server Settings tab edits the game's own settings file, UserData/serverconfig.xml, for everything else.

Changes in either tab take effect the next time the server starts, so restart after saving.

Name, description and website

• Server name (Startup): what players see in the server browser.
• Description (Server Settings): shown with your server in the browser.
• Website link (Server Settings): a link players can click in the browser, such as your Discord invite.
• Join message (Server Settings): shown to every player while they join, and they have to accept it to carry on. Handy for your rules.

Password and visibility

Server password (Startup) asks players for a password when they join. Leave it blank for an open server.

Server visibility (Startup) sets who finds the server in the browser: 2 for everyone, 0 for nobody (players then connect by IP address), or 1 for Steam friends only. A dedicated server has no friends of its own, so 1 only works once the first player has joined by IP.

For a whitelist of named players, see 7 Days to Die admins, bans and whitelist.

Difficulty and the Sandbox code

Since version 3, the game's difficulty and its rules, such as how much damage is done and how zombies behave, are held in one Sandbox code on the Server Settings tab. The default code is the Adventurer difficulty. To make your own:

1. In the game, start a new game and open the sandbox options.
2. Set the options the way you want them.
3. Use the copy code button, and paste the code into Sandbox code on the Server Settings tab.
4. Save and restart the server.

Typing gso into the Console shows the code the server is using and the options it sets, each beside the game's default.

PvP, cheats and other rules

On the Server Settings tab:

• Player killing: who players can hurt. No killing, allies only, strangers only, or everyone (the game's default).
• Creative mode (cheats): turns cheat mode on for everyone.
• Zombies at once and Animals at once: how many roam the whole world. More zombies make the server work much harder, most of all on horde nights.
• Land claims: how many claim blocks each player gets, how big an area each protects and how long it lasts while its owner is away.
• Max view distance: lower uses noticeably less memory and processing, which helps a busy server.

Region and language

Region and Language (Server Settings) tell players in the server browser where your server is and which language its players speak. New servers start with Oceania as their region.

Editing the file by hand

The Server Settings tab covers the settings players change most. The rest are in UserData/serverconfig.xml in the File Manager tab, each with the game's own note beside it. Stop the server, edit, save and start it again.

Related guides

• How to make a 7 Days to Die server
• 7 Days to Die worlds and saves