Edit 7 Days to Die serverconfig.xml safely Find the configuration actually used at startup 7 Days to Die reads a server configuration selected by its launch command, commonly through -configfile=serverconfig.xml. The presence of a file with that name does not prove it is active. Check the startup configuration and first log lines, or ask support which visible file controls this installation. A hosting template can generate values when the server starts. Use the sample configuration shipped with your installed game build as the reference. Online examples may describe an old Alpha release and include removed properties or omit newer ones. Keep the game version in your change notes so that a future administrator knows which defaults and comments were being followed. Create a reversible editing point Let players leave, stop the server normally and download the active XML plus a full save backup. Save a separate copy named with the date outside the live configuration location. Note the current selected world and game name before touching anything, even if you only intend to change a password or player limit. Edit one group of related settings at a time using a plain-text editor. Preserve the document’s root element and each property’s name/value structure. Avoid smart quotation marks introduced by word processors. A property inside an XML comment is not active; adding a second conflicting copy elsewhere can make troubleshooting confusing. Keep XML and network values valid A typical property has the form . XML special characters need escaping inside attribute values: use & for an ampersand and " for a quotation mark. A missing closing quote or slash can prevent the configuration from loading at all. Use your allocated game port rather than copying a default from another server. The exact TCP/UDP ports and adjacent ports required depend on the game build and its configured networking protocols; check that build’s sample comments and the allocations supplied for the service. Do not expose the web dashboard, telnet or administration endpoints just to make normal player connections work. Keep the running world unchanged GameWorld selects the world and GameName identifies the save within it. WorldGenSeed and world-generation size are not harmless cosmetic settings for an established game. Leave these values unchanged when adjusting access, performance or gameplay options unless you are deliberately preparing a separate world. Also preserve any active UserDataFolder or save-location override. Changing the data root can make a working save appear to vanish while the files remain elsewhere. Never respond to an unexpected fresh map by deleting the old directory; stop and compare the startup values with your backup. Validate the result and undo only the change Upload the edited XML while stopped and start once. Read the earliest configuration errors, then confirm the expected world and save load. Join with a test player, verify the intended setting and make sure familiar structures and player progress remain. A running process alone does not prove the right configuration was used. If startup fails, stop and restore the saved XML. If the edit opened or generated a different world, preserve that attempt separately and restore the original selection. Give support the game build, property names changed and a redacted error excerpt. Remove server passwords and administration secrets before sharing configuration. Related guides Keep world names and generation settings safe Diagnose a game connection failure Further reading Official server configuration reference Developer save-location guidance Looking for another game? Browse game server setup and troubleshooting guides.