Where does serverconfig.xml go on my server?

It sits in the root of the dedicated server folder, next to the server executable, and it is read once at startup. Connect over FTP, stop the server first, upload the file, then start it again. Uploading while the server runs is the classic way to lose your changes: the server holds its own copy in memory and writes state back on shutdown, so your file gets overwritten. If your host gives you a Config tab, that edits the same properties and saves you the FTP round trip.

Why are difficulty, XP and loot missing from this generator?

Because V3.0 removed them as individual properties. Difficulty, XP rate, loot abundance, Blood Moon frequency and range, zombie movement speeds, drop on death and around 150 other rules are now packed into the single SandboxCode value. Writing GameDifficulty into the file today does nothing at all: the server reads the SandboxCode instead. Build your code in our SandboxCode generator, paste it into the field at the top of this page, and it goes into the file as one line.

Which ports do I need open for 7 Days to Die?

More than most people expect. ServerPort is only the base of a block of six consecutive ports. The base port answers the Steam master list and the TCP query, the next one carries Steam comms and the A2S query that server browsers poll, the one after that carries the actual LiteNetLib gameplay traffic, and the top pair handles EOS registration for console crossplay. Open the whole range in UDP. Missing one does not throw an error, it just breaks joining or crossplay quietly.

Can I run mods with EACEnabled turned on?

Generally no. EasyAntiCheat blocks the code injection that most 7 Days to Die mods rely on, so anything beyond simple XML config edits needs EACEnabled set to false. The trade is real: with EAC off you lose anti-cheat, and console players can no longer join because crossplay requires it. Decide which server you are running before you invite people. A modded PC server sets EAC false, a crossplay server leaves it true and sticks to XML edits.

Do I have to restart, and will my world survive?

Yes, the file is only read at startup, so nothing you change here applies until the server restarts. Your world is safe as long as you leave GameWorld and GameName alone. Change either one and the server does not convert anything, it simply starts a fresh save under the new name and leaves the old save sitting on disk. That is also the recovery path: set the old names back and your original world returns.

7 DAYS TO DIE V2 / V3

7 Days to Die Server Config Generator

Build a complete serverconfig.xml in the browser. Set the server name, ports, slots, passwords, world generation, anti-cheat and crossplay, paste your V3.0 SandboxCode for the gameplay rules, then copy or download the file. Runs locally, no signup.

SandboxCode (all gameplay rules)

V3.0+

Since V3.0 every gameplay rule lives in one code: difficulty, XP, loot, Blood Moon frequency, zombie speeds and roughly 150 more. Paste a code you already have, or build one with our SandboxCode generator and bring it back here. "A" means every setting is on its default.

Build a SandboxCode

Valid code. Every gameplay setting is on its default.

Check before you upload

7 Days to Die does not use a single port. It binds 6 consecutive ports, 26900 to 26905, for Steam comms, LiteNetLib gameplay traffic and console crossplay registration. Every one of them has to be open or players connect and then time out.
TelnetPassword is empty, so telnet only listens on localhost. Your host's own console still works, but no remote admin tool can log in.

serverconfig.xml

Include comments Only changed properties

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<!-- 7 Days to Die serverconfig.xml generated with the DoomHosting server config generator -->
<ServerSettings>

  <!-- GENERAL SERVER SETTINGS - Server representation -->
  <property name="ServerName"            value="My Game Host"/> <!-- Name shown in the server browser. -->
  <property name="ServerDescription"     value="A 7 Days to Die server"/> <!-- One line shown under the name in the server browser. -->
  <property name="ServerWebsiteURL"      value=""/> <!-- Clickable link in the server browser. Empty for none. -->
  <property name="ServerLoginConfirmationText" value=""/> <!-- Shown on join and must be confirmed before the player continues. Empty to skip. -->
  <property name="Region"                value="NorthAmericaEast"/> <!-- Region filter the server is listed under. -->
  <property name="Language"              value="English"/> <!-- Primary language filter in the server browser. -->

  <!-- Networking -->
  <property name="ServerPort"            value="26900"/> <!-- Base port. The game also binds the five ports above it. -->
  <property name="ServerVisibility"      value="2"/> <!-- 2 = public, 1 = friends only, 0 = not listed. -->
  <property name="ServerDisabledNetworkProtocols" value="SteamNetworking"/> <!-- Protocols to disable, comma separated. Rented servers have real port forwarding, so SteamNetworking relay is normally disabled. -->
  <property name="ServerMaxWorldTransferSpeedKiBs" value="512"/> <!-- Per client world download speed in KiB/s on first join. -->

  <!-- Slots and access -->
  <property name="ServerMaxPlayerCount"  value="8"/> <!-- Slot cap. RAM and CPU still apply. -->
  <property name="ServerPassword"        value=""/> <!-- Password to enter the server. Empty means open. -->
  <property name="ServerReservedSlots"   value="0"/> <!-- Slots out of the cap that only a permission level below can use. -->
  <property name="ServerReservedSlotsPermission" value="100"/> <!-- Permission level required for a reserved slot. Lower number means higher rank. -->
  <property name="ServerAdminSlots"      value="0"/> <!-- Admins who can still join after the cap is reached. -->
  <property name="ServerAdminSlotsPermission" value="0"/> <!-- Permission level required for an admin slot. -->

  <!-- Anti-cheat, admin interfaces and security -->
  <property name="EACEnabled"            value="true"/> <!-- EasyAntiCheat. Required for console crossplay, blocks most mods. -->
  <property name="ServerAllowCrossplay"  value="false"/> <!-- V1.0+ - Let PlayStation and Xbox players join. Needs EACEnabled true and a public server. -->
  <property name="IgnoreEOSSanctions"    value="false"/> <!-- V1.0+ - Let EOS sanctioned accounts in. Must stay false for crossplay. -->
  <property name="HideCommandExecutionLog" value="0"/> <!-- How much admin command output is echoed. -->
  <property name="WebDashboardEnabled"   value="false"/> <!-- Built in web dashboard. Called ControlPanelEnabled before A20. -->
  <property name="WebDashboardPort"      value="8080"/> <!-- Port of the web dashboard. Must be a port your host has opened. -->
  <property name="WebDashboardUrl"       value=""/> <!-- External URL the dashboard is reachable on, if it sits behind a proxy. -->
  <property name="EnableMapRendering"    value="false"/> <!-- Render explored map tiles to disk for the dashboard map view. Costs disk and CPU. -->
  <property name="TelnetEnabled"         value="true"/> <!-- Telnet console. This is what most admin tools and our panel console attach to. -->
  <property name="TelnetPort"            value="8081"/> <!-- Telnet port. -->
  <property name="TelnetPassword"        value=""/> <!-- Telnet password. With no password the server only listens on loopback. -->
  <property name="TelnetFailedLoginLimit" value="10"/> <!-- Wrong passwords from one address before it is blocked. -->
  <property name="TelnetFailedLoginsBlocktime" value="10"/> <!-- How long that block lasts, in seconds. -->
  <property name="TerminalWindowEnabled" value="true"/> <!-- Windows only log window. It ships enabled and does nothing on a Linux host, which is what rented servers run. -->
  <property name="AdminFileName"         value="serveradmin.xml"/> <!-- Admin and permissions file, relative to the save folder. -->

  <!-- World generation -->
  <property name="GameWorld"             value="Navezgane"/> <!-- Navezgane, a Pregen world name, or RWG for a random world. Changing this starts a NEW map. -->
  <property name="WorldGenSeed"          value="asdf"/> <!-- Seed text used when GameWorld is RWG. Ignored for Navezgane and Pregen maps. -->
  <property name="WorldGenSize"          value="6144"/> <!-- RWG world width and height in metres, in steps of 2048. Large worlds take a long time to generate on first boot. -->
  <property name="GameName"              value="My Game"/> <!-- Save name. Changing it starts a fresh save and leaves the old one on disk. -->
  <property name="GameMode"              value="GameModeSurvival"/> <!-- Only GameModeSurvival ships with the dedicated server. -->

  <!-- Gameplay -->
  <property name="SandboxCode"           value="A"/> <!-- V3.0+ - Every gameplay rule in one code since V3.0: difficulty, XP, loot, blood moons, zombie speeds. "A" means all defaults. -->
  <property name="PlayerKillingMode"     value="3"/> <!-- Who players are allowed to hurt. -->
  <property name="PartySharedKillRange"  value="100"/> <!-- Distance in metres for shared kill XP and party quest credit. -->
  <property name="PlayerSafeZoneLevel"   value="5"/> <!-- Players at or below this level spawn inside a temporary enemy free zone. -->
  <property name="PlayerSafeZoneHours"   value="5"/> <!-- In game hours that safe zone lasts. -->
  <property name="BedrollDeadZoneSize"   value="15"/> <!-- Blocks around a bedroll where nothing will spawn. -->
  <property name="BedrollExpiryTime"     value="45"/> <!-- Real days a bedroll keeps its dead zone after the owner was last online. -->
  <property name="BuildCreate"           value="false"/> <!-- Creative mode. Leave false on a normal server. -->
  <property name="PersistentPlayerProfiles" value="false"/> <!-- Lock each player to the profile they first joined with. -->
  <property name="AllowSpawnNearFriend"  value="2"/> <!-- V2.0+ - Let a new player spawn next to a friend instead of a random point. -->
  <property name="AllowSpawnNearBackpack" value="false"/> <!-- V2.0+ - Offer a respawn next to your dropped backpack. -->
  <property name="CameraRestrictionMode" value="0"/> <!-- V2.0+ - Which camera views players may use. -->

  <!-- Land claims -->
  <property name="LandClaimCount"        value="3"/> <!-- Land claim blocks each player may place. -->
  <property name="LandClaimSize"         value="41"/> <!-- Protected area per claim in blocks. Keep it odd so the block sits in the centre. -->
  <property name="LandClaimDeadZone"     value="30"/> <!-- Minimum blocks between two claims owned by players who are not friends. -->
  <property name="LandClaimExpiryTime"   value="7"/> <!-- Real days a claim stays protected after the owner was last online. -->
  <property name="LandClaimDecayMode"    value="0"/> <!-- How claim protection weakens while the owner is offline. -->
  <property name="LandClaimOnlineDurabilityModifier" value="4"/> <!-- Block hardness multiplier inside a claim while the owner is online. 0 means indestructible. -->
  <property name="LandClaimOfflineDurabilityModifier" value="4"/> <!-- Same while the owner is offline. 0 means indestructible. -->
  <property name="LandClaimOfflineDelay" value="0"/> <!-- Minutes after logout before offline protection applies. -->

  <!-- Performance and advanced -->
  <property name="MaxSpawnedZombies"     value="64"/> <!-- Server wide zombie cap. Too high starves the CPU and caps blood moon hordes. -->
  <property name="MaxSpawnedAnimals"     value="50"/> <!-- Server wide animal cap. Animals are cheaper than zombies. -->
  <property name="ServerMaxAllowedViewDistance" value="12"/> <!-- Highest view distance a client may request. Lowering it is the cheapest RAM saving on a busy server. -->
  <property name="MaxQueuedMeshLayers"   value="1000"/> <!-- Chunk mesh queue depth. Lower it if the server stutters while players spread out. -->
  <property name="DynamicMeshEnabled"    value="true"/> <!-- Render player built structures at long range. -->
  <property name="DynamicMeshLandClaimOnly" value="true"/> <!-- Only build that long range mesh inside land claims. -->
  <property name="DynamicMeshLandClaimBuffer" value="3"/> <!-- Chunk radius around a claim included in the dynamic mesh. -->
  <property name="DynamicMeshMaxItemCache" value="3"/> <!-- How many mesh items are processed at once. -->
  <property name="MaxUncoveredMapChunksPerPlayer" value="131072"/> <!-- Map discovery cap per player. Each unit is 512 bytes of save data. -->
  <property name="MaxChunkAge"           value="-1"/> <!-- In game days before an untouched chunk resets. -1 disables the reset. -->
  <property name="SaveDataLimit"         value="-1"/> <!-- Save folder size cap in MB. -1 means no limit. -->
  <property name="TwitchServerPermission" value="90"/> <!-- Permission level needed to use Twitch integration on this server. -->
  <property name="TwitchBloodMoonAllowed" value="false"/> <!-- Allow Twitch viewer actions during a blood moon. -->

</ServerSettings>

Stop the server, upload this as serverconfig.xml over FTP, then start it again. Editing while the server runs gets overwritten on shutdown. If your host gives you a Config tab, you can paste individual values there instead of doing the FTP round trip.

How serverconfig.xml works now

serverconfig.xml is the one file a 7 Days to Die dedicated server reads at startup. Every setting is a single line, always the same shape: a property name and a value. V3.0 changed what belongs in it. The gameplay rules that used to be dozens of separate lines (GameDifficulty, XPMultiplier, LootAbundance, BloodMoonFrequency, the zombie speed settings) are gone, folded into one SandboxCode string. Everything else stayed exactly where it was.

So the file you build here splits in two. The SandboxCode field at the top carries the whole gameplay ruleset in one value. The sections below it carry what the sandbox menu never touched: who can find the server, what port it answers on, how many people fit, whether EasyAntiCheat and console crossplay are on, which map it generates and how hard the server has to work.

Two things to know before you upload. Changing GameWorld or GameName starts a brand new save instead of converting the old one, which stays on disk. And if you rent the server, the host usually passes the port, slot count and passwords on the command line, which overrides the file. Set those in your control panel, not here, and use this file for everything else.

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