Configure serverconfig.xml

Almost every setting of a 7 Days to Die server lives in a single file: serverconfig.xml, at the root of the server. This page covers the most useful properties, grouped by topic.

Editing the file safely

Stop the server before editing

Always stop the server from the panel Console before editing serverconfig.xml. The file is only read at startup: a change made while the server is running is not applied, and some values (world, map size) must not change while a game is running.

1. Log in to your Game Panel: game.yorkhost.fr
2. Select your server and stop it
3. Open the Files tab and edit serverconfig.xml
4. Only change the value attribute of the properties you want
5. Save, then start the server

Each setting uses this format:

<property name="ServerName" value="My 7 Days to Die server" />

Keep a copy

Download a copy of your serverconfig.xml before any game update or reinstall: an update may reset the file to its default values. A single missing quote or angle bracket makes the file invalid and prevents the server from starting.

Startup tab parameters

Some values can also be passed to the server through the startup command (panel Startup tab). A value passed at startup takes precedence over the one in serverconfig.xml. If a change in the file seems to be ignored, check whether the same setting is defined in the Startup tab.

Identity and access

Property	Role
ServerName	Name shown in the server list
ServerDescription	Description shown to players
ServerPassword	Password to join (empty = none)
ServerVisibility	2 public, 1 friends only, 0 not listed
ServerMaxPlayerCount	Maximum number of connected players
ServerReservedSlots	Slots reserved for certain permission levels
ServerAdminSlots	Extra slots for admins when the server is full
Region / Language	Information shown in the server list

Leave the network settings alone

Keep ServerPort at the value set by the panel. Also avoid changing the Telnet settings (TelnetEnabled, TelnetPort): on this type of panel, the console usually relies on them to pass your commands to the server.

More players means more zombies and more chunks loaded at the same time: raise ServerMaxPlayerCount in line with your plan's RAM.

World and game

Property	Role
GameWorld	Navezgane (official map), RWG (random generation) or the exact name of a pregenerated map
WorldGenSeed	Generation seed, used when GameWorld is RWG
WorldGenSize	Size of the RWG world, a multiple of 2048 (for example 6144, 8192, 10240)
GameName	Name of the save. Changing it starts a new game on the same world
GameMode	GameModeSurvival for the standard survival mode

Example for an 8k random world:

<property name="GameWorld" value="RWG" />
<property name="WorldGenSeed" value="YorkHost2026" />
<property name="WorldGenSize" value="8192" />
<property name="GameName" value="MyGame" />

Choose the world before playing

Changing GameWorld, WorldGenSeed or WorldGenSize later creates another world: buildings from the old one do not carry over. Officially supported sizes vary between game versions; the largest ones need a lot of RAM to generate. Everything is covered in Maps and worlds.

Difficulty and progression

Property	Role
GameDifficulty	From 0 (easiest) to 5 (hardest)
XPMultiplier	Percentage of XP earned (100 = normal)
BlockDamagePlayer	Percentage of player damage to blocks
BlockDamageAI	Percentage of zombie damage to blocks
BlockDamageAIBM	Same, during the Blood Moon
DeathPenalty	Penalty applied on death
DropOnDeath	What the player drops on death (nothing, everything, toolbelt, backpack…)
DropOnQuit	What the player drops when disconnecting

Day/night cycle

Property	Role
DayNightLength	Length of a full in-game day, in real minutes (60 by default)
DayLightLength	Number of daylight hours out of the 24 in-game hours (18 by default)

With DayNightLength at 60, an in-game day lasts one real hour. Raise it to 90 or 120 for a more relaxed pace, keeping in mind that the Blood Moon will then come less often in real time.

Blood Moon (night horde)

Property	Role
BloodMoonFrequency	A Blood Moon every N days (7 by default, 0 to disable)
BloodMoonRange	Random variation, in days, around the frequency
BloodMoonWarning	Hour at which the Blood Moon day is shown in red
BloodMoonEnemyCount	Number of zombies alive at the same time per player during the Blood Moon

Blood Moon and performance

BloodMoonEnemyCount is multiplied by the number of connected players: it is the setting that weighs the most on the server during the horde. If the server lags during the Blood Moon, lower it before upgrading your plan. See Troubleshooting.

Zombies and animals

Property	Role
EnemySpawnMode	Enables or disables enemy spawning
EnemyDifficulty	0 normal, 1 feral (more aggressive zombies)
ZombieMove / ZombieMoveNight	Zombie speed during the day / at night (0 walk to 4 nightmare)
ZombieFeralMove / ZombieBMMove	Speed of ferals / Blood Moon zombies
MaxSpawnedZombies	Maximum number of zombies on the whole map
MaxSpawnedAnimals	Maximum number of animals on the whole map

Loot and airdrops

Property	Role
LootAbundance	Amount of loot as a percentage (100 = normal)
LootRespawnDays	Number of days before loot respawns in a container
AirDropFrequency	In-game hours between two airdrops (0 to disable)
AirDropMarker	Whether the airdrop is shown on the map

PvP and land claims

Property	Role
PlayerKillingMode	0 no PvP, 1 allies only, 2 strangers only, 3 everyone
PartySharedKillRange	XP sharing distance within a party
LandClaimCount	Number of land claims per player
LandClaimSize	Size of the area protected by a land claim (in blocks)
LandClaimDeadZone	Minimum distance between two land claims of different players
LandClaimExpiryTime	Days of absence before a land claim expires
LandClaimOnlineDurabilityModifier / LandClaimOfflineDurabilityModifier	Durability of protected blocks when the owner is online / offline (0 = indestructible)

For a PvE server among friends, PlayerKillingMode at 0 or 1 avoids accidents. For a PvP server, use LandClaimOfflineDurabilityModifier to protect the bases of offline players.

Anti-cheat (EAC)

Property	Role
EACEnabled	Enables Easy Anti-Cheat (true by default)

Keep EAC enabled on a vanilla server or with XML modlets. It must be disabled when your players need to install mods containing code (DLLs) or assets: see Install mods.

What's next?

• Become an admin: the location of serveradmin.xml also depends on this file
• Maps and worlds: everything about GameWorld
• Backups and world reset: the role of GameName