7 Days To Die Wiki > Guides > serverconfig.xml Changes Not Applying

serverconfig.xml Changes Not Applying

Tags: config, serverconfig, troubleshooting, server

If you edit serverconfig.xml but nothing changes, there are four possible reasons. Since V3.0 the first one accounts for most cases by a wide margin, so start there.

1. The property is not one the server reads any more

V3.0 removed 30 properties from serverconfig.xml. A V3.2.0 server reads 69 properties; a 2.x server read 98. The gameplay rules moved out of the file and into sandbox options.

This is the cause behind the classic report: "I set BloodMoonFrequency to 10, restarted twice, and it is still 7." A current server never looks for BloodMoonFrequency in that file. The line sits there, the server boots normally, no error appears, and the value silently stays whatever the world was created with.

The removed properties include every blood moon setting, both day-length settings, loot and XP multipliers, zombie movement speeds, drop-on-death rules, air drops and the quest daily limit. If the setting you edited decides how the game plays rather than how the server runs, it is almost certainly one of them. The serverconfig.xml reference lists all 30 alongside the 69 that still work.

What to do instead. Gameplay rules are set in one of two ways:

Before the world exists: build a SandboxCode on the client's new-game screen, in the sandbox options panel, then copy the code into the SandboxCode property. Full migration guide.
On a running server: use setgamepref from the console or telnet, for example setgamepref BloodMoonFrequency 10. Console command reference.

One warning from the game itself: several settings cannot be changed once a world has been generated, so a fresh value may only take effect on a new world.

2. You are editing a different file than the one the server loads

Use the serverconfig.xml next to the server binary.
Check for duplicate copies in old backups or container volumes.
Keep only one active config per server instance.
If UserDataFolder or SaveGameFolder is set, confirm where the server is actually reading and writing.

3. The server did not restart, or the value is fixed at world creation

Properties are read at startup, so a full restart is required.
World shape is decided once: GameWorld, WorldGenSeed and WorldGenSize do nothing to a world that already exists, because the server loads the generated world rather than regenerating it. How generated worlds are cached.
Sandbox options, by contrast, do apply to an existing world. What carries over and what does not.

4. The XML itself is broken, or the code cannot be decoded

Fix missing quotes, stray characters or duplicated property names.
Compare against a clean default config if unsure.
A SandboxCode the server cannot decode is not an error either: the server starts on default rules, which looks exactly like "my settings were ignored".

Which of the two systems does your setting belong to?

If it decides	It lives in	How to change it
Name, ports, slots, anti-cheat, crossplay, land claims, save paths, world seed and size	`serverconfig.xml`	Edit the file, restart the server
Blood moons, day length, loot, XP, quests, zombie speed, difficulty, air drops	Sandbox options	`SandboxCode` before world creation, or `setgamepref` at runtime